"Oh no you won't!" Karla objected. "You want to take off again after all that? I won't let you!" she said, sweeping her arm in front of her as if she still wielded her katana. "But you said ... But I thought ... You said I had to win. But in the end I lost." I stuttered nervously. Karla laughed mockingly. "Of course you lost. You didn't really think your brutish battle axe could beat my katana." Karla teased. I was sincerely confused.

Karla came up closer. "I lied. You didn't need to beat me. I only wanted you to show me that you really meant it," she admitted. "Wolf, we work well together and I enjoy it when we party. I don't know how far we can get, but I want to put in the effort. And when you help me, it really makes a difference. I sincerely want us to continue working together," Karla said.

At that moment I realized that I had gotten my partner back. We would be able to hunt again, and reap the rewards that came with it. We were a good team and the creatures didn't stand much of a chance against the two of us. All the battles we had fought played back in my mind, with Karla surprising the creatures from behind with her katana as I slamming them to the ground with my battle axe.

"But I don't just want to party with you," Karla continued. "Though we don't always see eye to eye, you've helped me when I needed it, supported me when things were rough. You also had some rough moments that I hope I managed to ease a little for you. But we also laughed together, teased each other, and shared some of the best moments I've ever had. I really like having you as a friend. I don't ever want to give that up," Karla declared.

I knew then, that I also had gotten my best friend back. She had shown me more kindness and support than anyone else. We had built a trust that only friends can have. No matter what happened, it wasn't who we were that would ever be a problem. We had grown to like each other till we filled our cup of friendship until it overflowed and introduced a new set of emotions.

Karla looked away. "My feelings did not stop there though. When someone else came along, I felt embarrassingly jealous. I wondered how I could have these feelings for a friend, it just didn't make any sense. I didn't know how to deal with it, and I didn't want to cause a row, so I let you go. I thought my feelings would go back to normal once you were gone." She looked at me, her eyes now just glistening enough to betray her emotions.

"It turns out, I couldn't bear it, I wasn't able to let you go. When I heard you were looking for me, I went into high gear. I wanted to reach out to you more than anything in the world. But out of selfishness, I wasn't going to just pretend like nothing happened. I wanted to know how much you cared. That's why I played the angry girl, so that you wouldn't hold back. I deserve all the flak you gave me. I went all in, at the risk of you walking away," Karla said.

I moved up close to Karla. "I didn't go through all that trouble just to walk away. But I honestly believed that you were serious about the outcome of the duel, and that your blade had killed any chances of being with you. I feel like a fool that it took some distance between us to realize just how I feel. You are so important to me, without you everything loses its meaning," I said.

Karla rested her hand gently on my chest. "I want something from you. I realized it when we were apart. I hope you feel the same way as I do," Karla said. My feelings for her rose up and I felt my heart pounding in my chest and my face blush. I stared into those fantastic eyes of hers which were silently echoing her words. "I don't want us to ever be apart again. I want to be with you Wolf."

I reached out my hands to her shoulders and pulled her close, and we kissed, without further hesitation or restraint. Everything around us became irrelevant, we were at that moment the only people that mattered in the world. Any fear about showing my feelings for Karla melted away. I could now let myself go, absorbed in the feelings we had for each other.

The familiar sound of the game generating creatures caught our attention. Mobs were respawning close by. Out of all the possible way of disrupting the moment, we got the most typical of game elements. Karla gently broke off and leaned her forehead on my chest. "Are you still good for a little hunting?" Karla chuckled. "You better believe it. I'm not going to let them get away with interrupting us." I joked

We hunted together the rest of the day. I was happier than I had ever been. I reformed my party. I reconciled myself with Karla. And even though I hated the fact that we were stuck in a virtual world that could actually kill us, I was happy that it permitted us to find each other. In the end we found far more than we could ever have imagined.