Agnes wanted to continue her watch, keeping Felandria close by. Felandria resisted, trying to come with me, but Agnes grabbed ahold of her.

Despite being a monster, Felandria was physically weak, and Agnes had no trouble keeping her held, so long as her wings were pinned to her side.

Her talons dug into Agnes's thighs, but Agnes didn't even grimace in pain. Now that I thought about it, her talons didn't hurt when they hit me either...

"Anon! Anon!" Felandria wailed, "I want to come with you!" She struggled more.

"Shh... you'll wake everyone else up." Agnes said, "and the guards will most certainly kill you."

Felandria quieted down, and I left them to their watch.

My sleep was dreamless, and I awakened to a bright light in my face.

"...God?" I asked, before my vision cleared.

Agnes was standing over me, Felandria being held back as her orb of light hovered over my head.

"No, just us." Agnes said, "stay still!"

"Let me go!" Felandria kicked at her, "I want to be with Anon!"

"No." Agnes said sternly.

Felandria's protest fell on deaf ears, and I took over watch for the rest of the night. Agnes and Felandria went to rest, Felandria fighting the whole way, and soon it was just me and the stars.

I looked up at the night sky, half expecting something to attack me. I lit a torch. That should prevent more of whatever Felandria is from attacking me.

I wondered exactly how some of my Paladin abilities were activated. I had a healing touch that could neutralize diseases, poisons, and venoms, but no idea how to use it.

I placed a hand on my chest and thought hard about that ability. Nothing. I suppose I'll have to wait for an actual time to use it for it to work.

Another ability I seemed to have notified me of the presence of Ghouls. I remember that ability back when we first encountered them. I wonder if that works for all monsters, or just specific ones?

Then there was that blue aura...

Jeez, this stuff's all confusing.

I laid back on my pack, looking at the moon.

This is the part where I get attacked by some monster...

Nothing. Huh.

My watch was uneventful, aside from a scorpion approaching me a few hours in, to which I screamed like a girl and ran away.

But other than that, it was a rather tame night.

Watching the sun rise was beautiful, the glowing orb of light slowly rising above the sky, pinks and oranges cascading over the desert sand, giving everything a purplish color.

I yawned. Today may be a long day...

How am I going to hide a monster in this caravan? There's that merchant who saw us spare her too... Hm.

I suppose we could put her in a supply caravan no one checks... but if it is dark in there, that could pose problems...

But so long as it was light outside, I suppose Felandria would be hesitant to escape the caravan.

That young merchant though... I should probably check up on the situation with him.

I walked through the caravan, looking for him.

I found him unconscious on one of the carriages, holding a bottle in one hand.

"Hey, are you alright?" I shook him gently.

"Wh-what?" His eyes slowly opened, and recognition flickered in his eyes. "Where am I? What..." he looked down and saw the bottle in his hand. "Oh... must've been a wild night, huh?"

"Yeah." He didn't seem hostile...

He looked up at me, confused. "Were we under attack...?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He rubbed his eyes. "You don't remember? Ghouls raided the caravan, and then a group of Werebats swooped in and attacked..."

"There was a battle, and you wandered into the fray. We killed all the monsters, but you fell unconscious halfway through." I hoped this would work. It was an obvious lie, but I hoped he didn't realize it.

Luckily for me, this young man didn't think too hard on it. Most likely because of the bottle in his hand. Agnes was craftier than I thought she was...

I left him to his devices, warning him to drink responsibly so he doesn't wander into another skirmish again, and I headed back to the camp.

Agnes was up, heavy bags under her eyes. "Morning... Anon..." she yawned.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, and she stared up at me.

"She wouldn't go to sleep." She rubbed her eyes, "she just kept going all night... I couldn't sleep a wink..."

"Where is she now?"

"Sleeping..." the sun had now risen somewhat, so I assumed the caravan would be safe from Felandria, at least for now.

I found her, sleeping on the ground. Her wings were folded over her chest, her ears twitching in her sleep. She looked quite cute like this... I shook my head. None of that.

I picked her up. She was rather light, so it wasn't a big deal, and I tried to sneak her into one of the carriages.

Fortunately, most of the traders had yet to awaken, so I was able to find a small caravan filled with crates of... something, and laid her down into it.

Her claws twitched in her sleep, and she sniffed the air. I froze, not wanting to wake her up. It was dark in here.

"...non... hard..." I heard her murmur in her sleep.

I turned to leave.

"Anon... do me harder... I need it..."

Nope.

I rushed out of the carriage, my face red as I shut the entrance.

No one saw me... I hope...

The caravan began moving again after a breakfast once again comprised of jerky and hardtack. Real tasty stuff here.

I then realized that Felandria didn't eat anything. I felt concerned, and I grabbed a small portion of food to give her later.

The sun was sweltering as usual, but Agnes and I have gotten somewhat used to it. Somewhat.

This heat sucks.

Agnes casted her water spell again, and curiosity overwhelmed me. "How much water can you make at a time?"

"10 gallons." Agnes smiled at me.

Wow. Not bad.

"Of course, I have many other spells that you've seen before. I can heal using Cure Wounds, and you've seen me use Guiding Bolt several times before, no? There's the Light spell, Guidance, Lesser Restoration, I could go on for a while."

"Could I learn Guiding Bolt?"

Her brows furrowed. "I don't know. Paladins can learn holy spells, but to what extent I am not aware of..."

"Hm."

"Now, what kind of abilities do Paladins have?" Agnes tilted her head at me.

"Uh... well we have an ability that can heal, as well as neutralize toxins in the body. It isn't a spell I believe, though. I also can detect undead monsters... I think."

"What about that blue aura?"

"I... don't know. I'm kind of new to this whole Paladin thing."

She raised her eyebrows. "Really? You seem so natural at it."

"Thanks." I smiled, and she smiled back. Her smile was so cute.

I really got to get ahold of myself. Finding a monster and a holy woman cute...

An awkward silence fell over us as we walked. Agnes poured water into my waterskin, and I took a swig from it. The water was warm and gross, being out in the hot sun for awhile, but I didn't care.

"Hey, Agnes..." I turned to her.

"Yes?"

"Could you teach me one of your prayers?"

She smiled, "of course! I'd love nothing more!" She clasped her holy symbol in her hands, "one of the more simpler prayers goes like this:" she closed her eyes as we walked.

"Oh heavenly mother, matron of the light, deliver from us our enemies, and bring us, your children, under your protective wings and shield us from the unholy snares of the Demons. Protect us, for we are but your mere servants, from the scourge of darkness upon us. Lead us not astray, and shelter our souls."

As she recited this, I noticed her symbol spark a bright, warm white color for a brief second, before the light faded.

"Now, you try." Agnes said, smiling. She didn't seem to notice the light.

"Okay..." I closed my eyes and recited the prayer.

After finishing the prayer, I opened my eyes. Nothing.

"Is something supposed to happen?" I asked Agnes.

"The gods work in strange ways..." she looked down, "but I'm sure if you believe in God, and trust in her guidance, she will find a way to reward you."

Pretty optimistic by my standards. While I know my existence here is because of the gods, I haven't been contacted by her at all since then, which makes me think their reach or influence must not be too particularly strong. Maybe they didn't hear me, or something.

Agnes's smile was so bright it almost melted my heart. "If you'd like to hear any more prayers, feel free to ask."

"Of course."

As we walked together, I noticed the distance between us had closed somewhat. I turned a little red, and my eyes trailed towards her clothes, once again sticking to her sweat-drenched body. Seeing these curves now only made me think of the baths... and seeing her nude...

"Are you okay? You're turning red." Agnes looked up at me.

"I'm fine." I said, turning away.

"Is the heat bothering you?" She got closer as we walked, "do you need to rest real quick?"

"I'm fine-"

"No, you need to sit down. Here." She took me to a carriage near the back of the caravan. "Rest here. It's okay."

She sat down beside me, looking over her holy symbol.

"Anon..." a voice murmured from behind us, and I realized which carriage we were sitting on.

Agnes froze, and the two of us turned around to peer through a narrow opening in the entrance.

Felandria was curled up in a ball, her ears twitching a bit in her sleep. "Anon... kiss me again..."

Agnes's face turned red.

"Anon... hold me closer..." I noticed in her sleep, one of her claws was slowly reaching downwards...

Agnes grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled me off the carriage. "Okay! That's enough rest for now!"

She would not stop looking at me judgmentally for the entire rest of the day.