I don't own digimon.

Chapter 10

Totally not not Girlfriends

The walk back to the alleyways was quite silent for Yvonne and Munbimon. Not because of any lack of voice, more the result of Munbimon intent on gazing everything over the streets of Aldia.

"It's quite a town." Munbimon remarked and began the descent back down. Her partner came to a stop, allowing for the ghost monkey digimon to land comfortably on her shoulder. "Why do you and your people limit themselves to just a set of alleyways?"

Yvonne took a deep breath and maneuvered Munbimon to face her.

"Mostly space." the barbarian explained, scanning the rooftops for anything suspicious. Hoping for perhaps the figure from earlier, she kept her expectations considerably low. Judging by the real lack of anything other than roofing tiles at the moment, maybe this was somehow too high of a bar set.

So she let her focus return to her partner for now. "We're not as long-lived as say, a halfling or elf."

A confused look was the response back. Doesn't bode well in the slightest in my book.

"Orcs live a meager 40 years." Yvonne continued, letting out a deep breath. "We're kind of expected to not make it all the way - dying by battle or injury."

A ghostly paw 'rubbed' against her face. It felt odd, but not the worse thing felt today. Did bring her a question. An honest one, possibly lacking an answer. But one worth asking nonetheless in this situation.

"Munbimon, did you start as a ghost or did that happen later in life?" she inquired, feeling her partner scurry up her arms and back onto her left shoulder.

"The former." she answered, looking towards Yvonne's empty hands. "Uh… what happened to your warhammer?"

It took a couple seconds for the barbarian to realize what had happened. It was obvious what had occurred, didn't change the fact that she had made such a mistake in the first place. Turning around, she broke into a full-on dash. This had not been her intention to leave such a weapon behind after the burial. In between seeing Marigold and the events that had transpired earlier, she felt like she was running on empty - emotionally. Once she had her warhammer back in hand, they would head home and just… relax. If luck was possibly on her side, she would find Marulyn and maybe get to the bottom of this. If not, she would try tomorrow. Maybe. She was almost tempted to just keep the bear for herself and give it a name. Snuggles? No, too silly. Bob? Eh.

"Watcha doing?"

Of course, now seemed to be the moment that someone would notice her now. In this case, Yvonne and Munbimon were now facing down an elf. While shorter than Yvonne, she makes up for it in her average bust and fiery eyes. Why else would Yvonne be sweating bullets at the moment? Or perhaps that was the result of something else. As for her garb, we have the traditional robes of a mage of some kind. Though, I can make out some form of light armor underneath. Of course, the scent of cherries was in full effect here. Expected really, even sporting the blossoms in her short auburn locks.

"Uh… Do you want your be-"

Before Yvonne had a chance to finish, the elf walked over and took a deep breath. A slap followed. No broken hands, thankfully. That would've been awful.

"No 'Hi, how have you've been?' or 'Sorry about missing you after so many months?, Yvonne?" the elf announced, stripping Yvonne of her helmet. The teddy bear remained in the secret compartment. Right now, that was the least of the barbarian's worries. No, she needed to mend the bridge she accidentally set aflame. Talks of teddy bear ownership could come later.

"You're right, Marulyn." Yvonne remarked, letting her gaze fall upon her 'girlfriend'. She wanted to curse the encounter at the restaurant, to cast it out and start from that point once more. Memories and experiences doesn't work that way. Just one teensy mistake did not make something bad. Unless it started a chain of events. Then maybe. "Hi. How have you been the last couple months?"

Marulyn looked away. I guess this hadn't been her intention to meet her girlfriend today of all days. Hmm… Yeah. That's probably it.

"Uh… pretty good." the elf remarked, Yvonne's gaze even more intent on her. "Something wrong?"

Yvonne took a deep breath of her own.

"In a field of lilies, with a bowlful of cherries." she announced, Marulyn's face going white. Muttering something into the silence, she dashes off. But not before dropping Yvonne's helmet. Which was quite nice of her, counterbalanced by her running off to who knows where. She doesn't even slip the headgear back on, letting her partner wear it. "Marulyn, come back here!"

Marulyn doesn't answer, well within hearing range currently. Silence did all the talking for her.

"Is she always like this?" Munbimon whispered, getting what she could assume to be a head shake. Kind of hard to tell when you're sitting on the person's shoulder on top of wearing a helmet. A deep breath followed.

"If she is, I wouldn't really know." Yvonne answered, making a right and doing her best to keep the pace up. In between the armor, Munbimon and the 'exercise' earlier, she had to be at her limit. But the barbarian kept pushing. Please don't collapse from exhaustion.

Nonetheless, the shortcut did pay off for the barbarian. Somehow, she managed to close the distance between her and the elf. A perfect opportunity to make a move of some kind. Doesn't even have to be romantic. Actually, scratch that.

"Gotcha." Yvonne whispered, effort made when she knocked Marulyn to the ground. "Now, can we talk?"

Groaning was all that was offered to her right now. So carefully, she flipped her 'girlfriend' over. All while keeping some sort of grip on the elf.

"It's not ready yet. You jumped the gun on me." Marulyn muttered, cheeks rosy red now. "A kiss would totally make up for this~"

The elf got a double take. She chuckled and somehow managed to tap the barbarian's nose. Which got a face even redder than her own. Don't blame Yvonne for feeling that way. I would too, if I'm being honest here.

"Just kidding." Marulyn continued, the red in her girlfriend's face growing brighter. A light tap from Munbimon eased it up for her. "I don't think either of us are ready for that quite yet."

"Yeah…" Yvonne whispered, letting some her weight off of the elf. But not too much. Don't want Marulyn running off once more. "I saw your mom earlier."

The elf's expression shifted. Gone was the confident woman, the cautious soul taking the place for the moment.

"She always seems to get into everyone's business, doesn't she?" Marulyn muttered, sitting herself up. Yvonne allows it. "Though, I'm guessing she thought we were dating?"

Yvonne looked away. Yep. Definitely cursing the restaurant encounter at this point. Hopefully it doesn't come up in some other way that bites someone else's butt. I just jinxed them, didn't I? Please don't let that be the case.

"I'll take that as a yes then." Marulyn continued, finding the weight on her body a lot lighter. Yvonne had sat herself down, Munbimon doing the same. At least now, the helmet is off and in the barbarian's lap for the moment. "Anything else?"

A sigh, followed by Munbimon pumping her chest. I guess she speaks for herself. Could've at least waited for a proper introduction.

"What's the story behind that monkey of yours?" the elf continued, her gaze split between Yvonne and Munbimon for the moment. Her reaction is much the same as her mother with Cinemon. Is this normal for people in Aldia? When the rooster shouts that it's morning, does he do it with an accent of some kind? That just sounds awful. Not that I'm a big fan to begin with. An alarm spell works just as well for these kinds of situations. Far more predictable too.

"She showed up and said I was needed for something." Yvonne explained, trying her best to pet her partner. The attempt wasn't so successful. "Her name is Munbimon. She's a 'digimon'. Whatever the heck that means."

A nod, followed by chuckle. Not quite the response that the barbarian hoped to hear. But then Marulyn stopped. Much like Yvonne, she went in for a pet. Different person, same result. I guess some things never change. Not that one can blame the elf for being so curious.

After, Yvonne held her left gauntlet out and revealed the D-Venture inset within. Between meeting up with everyone and this point, this still looked the same as when it entered the gauntlet mere hours before. Oh well. Worth checking.

"That's an… interesting device." Marulyn answered, leaning over to take it in. She gives it a slight tap. Nothing happens. Not entirely sure what my expectations for such an interaction. Possibly it would shock her? Yeah. That could be it. I'm no expert when it comes to the matter of these things. Wouldn't surprise if those Distant Harmony people had some more concrete idea on the matter than I did. "What does it do… exactly?"

Munbimon gazed up to her partner. In return, she got a nod. So the pair stood back up. Which I guess could come across as antsy. Probably be back down in a second.

"Infuse." Yvonne announced, feeling the outline surround her. "Spirit!"

Without a weapon though, there was little use for the power. Not that there was really a need for one at the moment. Not that her 'girlfriend' had even noticed in the slightest.

"So magic powers then?" the elf remarked, getting a shrug from Yvonne in return. She countered with a sigh, getting ready to ask her next question. "So, where's your warhammer?"

The barbarian sat herself back down. While it was obvious that this would come up eventually, didn't change the fact that she misplaced her weapon.

"In the graveyard." she muttered, gazing out into the distance. Shorter days were on the horizon, but there should be enough daylight to get to the graveyard and back to the alleyways. "If you don't mind, I need to go gra-

Marulyn grabbed hold. A slight tug followed, forcing their gazes back to each other. The next string of words would decide this. Part of her suspected she was playing right into her mother's games. But she didn't care in that moment. They could get to the bottom of that later down the road.

"Why don't we make this a 'date'?" she suggested, Yvonne caught by complete surprise. "Hey. We're already living together. This is just taking it a step up."

Scooping up Munbimon and her helmet, Yvonne let out a groan, cursing the restaurant for good measure. While the possibility of a second date sounded tempting, right now she had so many things swirling around her that something would have to give. Something for later down the road.

"Fine." she muttered, watching Marulyn perk up. "Just this once. Then we'll see."

Free from the elf mage's grip, Yvonne scooped up Munbimon. In turn, Marulyn grabbed the barbarian's helmet. Ideas swirling in her head, she let those thoughts in. Someone did notice her act though. Didn't look too happy either.

"Don't mess with it." Yvonne whispered, gaze already on her date at the moment. Maryuln's mind was already spinning with ideas. Usually something involving summons and the conversion of said summons. The urge to break into a spiel/story is so tempting at the moment. But, I'm holding it in. Unless something comes up later though. Then I will.

"Come on. The idea for a set of living armor based off a succubus is totally amazing and worth the cost." Marulyn countered, getting an eye roll from her girlfriend. Munbimon focused in on her, interest piqued.

"How exactly would that work?" the ghost monkey digimon inquired, watching Marulyn focus in on her at the moment. "I get that these 'succubus' things coexist with your people, but why would shaping one of them into a set of sentient armor help?"

Marulyn's gaze swiveled over Munbimon. A notepad came out. Along with a pencil, of course. Can't forget about that.

"So you're a digimon." the elf mage inquired and watched Munbimon float her way around Yvonne as they walked. "Do others like you exist?"

A nod, followed by a snicker from the ghost monkey. A look from Yvonne brought an end to that tomfoolery. Then it's back to the mage for the moment.

"Yes." Munbimon continued, looking towards the pair. "Most of them are creatures of some kind. Tigers, wolves, T-rexes. Stuff like that."

Silence and confused stares came from both women, hardly believing the words that just came out of the ghost monkey's mouth. Now that's a mystery I would like to know.

"Uh… what's the last one?" Yvonne remarked, trying to picture what this 'T-Rex' would look like exactly. Wait… is this one of those… 'dinosores' things? Somehow related to dragons, but I can't remember in which particular way. Oh well. Probably come up later in some regard.

"Imagine a giant two legged lizard with tiny arms and runs on two legs."

Oh. I was expecting a far more detailed explanation for that. But it works just as well here.

"Are there any humanoids?"

This time, it was Munbimon's turn to look at them all confused. Perhaps she thought the elf had somehow misspoken. But no, that was most likely far from the case here.

"We have stuff like the Ange and Devi lines, but I don't think that's what you want to know." the ghost monkey digimon remarked. "Before this, the only stories of true humanoids are humans."

The graveyard came into view, Munbimon's words echoing about in between the rubbing of pencil against paper. Bright oranges and pinks were already filling the sky, but the purple of night was already fast approaching.

"No elves, orcs or any other races?" Yvonne remarked, watching her partner just nod. Try as she might, this wasn't adding up. While humans were a tenacious bunch, that didn't explain the lack of other races in this other world. Killed? No. Such a war would have not been kept secret. If anything, the whole world would know. Maybe some trace of these 'groups' still existed in written form.

"Correct. It's been kind of a learning process today." Munbimon continued, Yvonne's cheeks flashing red. The expression disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. At least the rest of her face was back to normal by this point. "Sorry if that wasn't helpful."

Marulyn shook her head.

"Not at all." the elf mage remarked, notepad and pencil returning to her robes. "If you remember anything else of note, do tell me. I would be happy to write it down."

She got a nod for that. Which Yvonne used as her opportunity to get some distance from her 'girlfriend'. A breather moment than anything else. Especially with her goal within reach.

"Want to do anything after this?" she asked,watching Marulyn close the distance with relative ease. A shrug served as an acceptable answer. Or would've been, had she found her left hand free.

"Sorry." Marulyn whispered, turning to face Yvonne. A smile hangs on her face, ready for the final leg of the journey. So the barbarian headed off to the back corner of the graveyard. "I'm going to guess that you're not the only one who got one of these digimon?"

Yvonne looked away. Which made the answer all the more obvious to an extent.

"You could say that." the barbarian muttered. "Six of us, including Madame Von Strauss of all people."

Marulyn nodded, pulling her notepad out and scribbled that down. Then it was back to her girlfriend for the moment.

"Oh yeah… her." Maruyln muttered, her turn to stare towards the dirt. "Really that bad?"

Yvonne just nodded. While the barbarian wasn't entirely certain how much she could really disclose to the elf mage. Without the full picture, she was just throwing speculative darts without real cause. An act that could easily easily backfire on her.

"She killed a 'grunt' for finding her 'hideout'." Yvonne explained, words just rolling out with some thought behind them. Not enough to clue in her girlfriend on the bigger picture. "Then she tried to scam out a second grunt, which got them milled as well. Oh, were also supposed to stop said grunt's leader from destroying this world."

Marulyn shook her about for that remark. Partially to make sure the barbarian was alright on top of making coherent sense. She was, thankfully.

"And you didn't, I don't know, tell someone like the mayor?" Marulyn continued, the warhammer finally in sight. "Or is this one of those cases where keeping silent is better for the moment?"

Yvonne took a deep breath. No good answer here.

"The latter, at least for now." she whispered, grabbing hold of her warhammer. Pulling it back, she let it rest on her shoulder. Then it was back over to Marulyn. "Uh… thanks for coming with me."

Red cheeks once more, she watched Marulyn smile. Maybe this 'girlfriend' thing wouldn't be so bad. As long as they stayed away from the intimate stuff. For the moment.

"Of course." Marulyn explained, cracking a wink in Yvonne's direction. She was fine with this. As they made their way back towards the alleyways, the future seemed to have much to behold for them after all.

Notes:

Yes, I'm going by D&D rulings when it comes to ages of our various races. Makes things more interested when it comes down to the Madame stuff. Probably the biggest challenge this time around was getting the feel of Yvonne and Marulyn's relationship. Awkward, but not too much. This is a pair who are rarely able to see each other, but try to make the most of their time when they do get the chance.

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Next time: Ella tries to sleuth. It sort of works.