Nobody came for us.

  Three days passed since the Admin’s announcement. AzurekNight messaged all the players advising we work together to survive. Scouts to survey the land and get information from the locals. Volunteers to brave the District Dungeons, while others stayed in Acedia to build a community.

  Char and I didn't commit to the makeshift army pitch. Instead, we spent the past three days in our comfy nook in the woods. Not that we were slacking. We'd completed a few quests and gotten a few levels. I learned a pair of recipes that could help out.

  Recipe: Buldak: You’re lookin’ spicy! A little too spicy for the average monster palate. Decreases aggro by thirty percent for the next three minutes. Ingredients: Chicken, chili powder, chili paste, soy sauce, starch syrup, garlic, and ginger. Mana Cost: 15. Prep Time: 10 seconds.

  Recipe: Sujeonggwa. A sweet and spicy drink to fill your FLASK. Increase a FLASK score by two points for two minutes. Ingredients: Cinnamon. Sugar. Water. Ginger. Mana Cost: 20. Prep Time: 10 seconds.

  Char led with headstrong aggression, while I stayed back to provide support. Aside from the looming threat of death, it wasn’t all that different from home. Even then, looming death could be mitigated with healing abilities and items. Honestly, monitoring a health bar was almost preferable to playing guessing games with my body.

  Though Char insisted we continue avoiding other players, I wasn’t so sure about our isolationism. Granted, I didn't want to get lured into a murder party, but there was safety in numbers–or at least in competent party comps. I'd be stupid not to be scared when even the simplest quests could be life threatening.

  What scared me most was the Admin turning me into a pile of hamburger with a snap of his fingers. He just might do it too if he got bored.

  I was content to lay low with Char for now and take on smaller quests. Sooner or later, we needed to get serious about finishing this game.

  Today's quest wasn’t given by any NPCs. Char and I were going hunting this evening. The surrounding woods were low level, so there was little danger if we were careful. And with Char's Danger Sense, we were always careful.

  Speaking of which, I was waiting on her. She said there was business to take care of and exiled me from the bedroom.

  "Char, you good?"

  Her groan echoed through the small hallway. "Yes, Robin. I’m talking to my sugar daddy and seducing him as we speak."

  "Just be sure you save some sugar for me."

  "Don’t worry. I’ll save plenty for you."

  "Sounds good." I waited about a minute before adding, "Tell him to stop eating my fruit snacks."

  "Shut up, Robin. I’ll be right there."

  Char finally left the bedroom scowling. "You should look more excited to see your wife."

  I shrugged. "Eh. The excitement died down after seeing you naked the first time."

  She scoffed. "I could say the same thing."

  That got a grin outta me. Well played, love. "I was hoping your private business would end with your hair done or in a skimpy dress."

  "Who the hell does their hair before a hunting trip?"

  "So the skimpy dress isn’t off the table?"

  There was the smirk I knew and loved. "Maybe I can find something in the market next time we go." She summoned her bow. "Ready to find dinner?"

  "Oh, no question. Food always comes before sex."

  "And that’s why we're still married." She kissed my cheek and frowned. "Was that too mean?"

  I shook my head. "Nah, that was funny." I kissed her cheek right back.

  "Good. Stay behind me and don't get hurt."

  The usual orders. "Sounds like a plan." I waited for her follow-up, but she walked silently out of the house. "Aren't you going to tell me to not get too distracted by the view?”

  "Why would I?" Char scoffed. “Be as distracted as you want. It's not like I'm dying today."

  A bit ominous for my liking, but I took her words to heart. What a lovely day to be distracted by. The setting sun lit the vermillion sky ablaze. One of the clouds looked like a frog swimming through flames. Another resembled a pair of hands holding each other’s wrists—no wait. Now I saw it as a kid playing guitar on the back of a dragon.

  Squirrels with razor-like wings soared from tree to tree gathering silver nuts and viridian flowers. Two cats made of leaves and bark patrolled the foliage. The bigger one snarled at us with raised hackles. Char snarled back, and the cats whimpered into the undergrowth.

  I chuckled. "What? You don’t want to adopt?"

  "You know I’m allergic."

  "To leaves and bark?"

  "I… hmm.” She pondered that. “You want one?"

  "Maybe looking after a pet could help us practice for the baby."

  "Yes, because cats and children are famously similar."

  "Small creatures that require love and attention? Sounds similar to me."

  Char rolled her eyes. "We'll talk about it later–" She gasped and dropped into a crouch. "See that, Robin?" she whispered.

  A deer stood about fifteen yards from us. No razor wings or bark-skin. Just a regular ole deer. The sun hit him just right and cast an ethereal glow around his body and glittering golden antlers. Ah, there was the fantasy element.

  "Look at those antlers. It's like he's wearing a crown," Charlotte said.

  "Maybe he’s the prince of the forest."

  "Prince?" Char scoffed. "You see the size of those antlers? He’s the king." She dipped her head. "Let’s leave him be." She said and slinked away.

  A twig snapped beneath my foot. The deer's obsidian eyes fixated on me. No sudden movements, Robin, unless you want to get gored by a deer. That sounded almost as embarrassing as it did painful.

  I slowly dipped my head. The deer held my gaze for a long moment before returning the gesture. "We’re going that way," I whispered, pointing at Char.

  The deer cocked his head the opposite way. I flashed him an o-kay with one hand and a thumbs up with the other. I swore he chuckled before darting off.

  Char waited for me by a small watering hole. She studied tracks leading toward a large bush. Drool dripped from her mouth onto the leaves and sticks. Guess we found the boar.

  Char tapped her drooling lips with her finger. "One," she mouthed and strung her brow. "Two." She pulled back the string and aimed. "Three." The arrow spiraled through the air and arced into the bush.

  "Ahhh!"

  Oh shit, pretty sure boars didn’t make that sound.

  A platinum-haired girl barreled out the bush, clutching the arrow stuck in her shoulder.

  "Damn it," Char hissed. "Hey, kid! Stop screaming. You’re gonna scare the—"

  Poor kid never saw the boar coming. It tackled her squealing something fierce, taking a large chunk of her HP. The impact knocked the kid against a nearby tree trunk. She immediately stopped screaming. That wasn't a good sign.

  Luckily, the boar ran off rather than follow up.

  "Change of plans, hubby." Char took off running through the water. "I’ll hunt down the boar. You look after the kid."

  "Me? You're the one who shot her, Char."

  Char either didn't hear me or pretended not to. She bounded after the boar, leaving me with the kid.

  Screenname: Shadowcloak. Race: Human. Level: 7. Class: Reaper. Affinity: Shadow.

  Kiddo was sprawled on her back. She was unconscious with hopefully no significant damage to her limbs. Middle of the woods was no place to stabilize her. Back to the cabin then.

  Thank goodness for fast travel. Since we weren’t in a dungeon or active combat, I could teleport to any previously visited locations. Charlotte said there was an item that allowed for escaping dungeons and combat, but it was pretty rare.

  I touched the back of Shadowcloak's head and fast traveled to the cabin's porch.

  "Make yourself at home, kiddo. Let me give you the tour." I propped the door open with a rock and carried her inside. "Here’s the living room. The couch only sits two, but there's a rug you can sit on. You like rugs?"

  No response since she was still unconscious. I gently jerked her head to make it bob up and down. "Glad to hear it, kiddo. Here's the kitchen," I said walking past it. "It’s where the food is. Let me know if you're hungry when you wake up, and I'll include you in our dinner plans. Hopefully I can make a good roast with fresh boar. That sound good to you?" I jerked her again, so she nodded. "Glad we're on the same page."

  I gently kicked the second bedroom's door open. "And here’s our guest room. Char and I haven't had any reason to spruce it up, but I'll bet the bed is more comfortable than the forest floor, right?" I didn't make her nod this time. It was a rhetorical question.

  "Sit tight," I said, setting her down. "I'll be right back with a blanket."

  Grabbed a quilt from my bedroom, but the pink dragon pattern made me stop. Char would not be happy if a stranger used her favorite blanket. I dragged another, less pretty, blanket into the guest room.

  Oh, the kid was awake.

  Her head rested against the headboard and stared out the window. Moonlight streaming inside cast shadows on the wall. The headboard's ridges resembled wings, and its shadow emerged from Shadowcloak's back.

  My own shadow loomed from the doorway to the foot of the bed. Yeesh, didn't like how I was looming. Better make my first impression less creepy.

  I rapped my knuckles against the door. "Hey, kiddo."

  She jumped and hit her noggin on the headboard. "Owwww!" She whined, rubbing her head with both hands.

  "You alright?"

  "No, I'm not alright," she snapped before actually snapping her fingers. "It's your fault," she lisped.

  Why was that familiar? "Hmm...-no, I don't think so."

  "It's completely your fault! Just wait till I report you... what's your name? I need it to report you."

  Oh, this was going to be fun. I leaned against the doorframe. "Robin."

  She snickered. "Robin? Like the bird.That’s totally a girl’s name! I can't be afraid of a guy who has a girl's name."

  "And I can't take anyone with that hair color seriously.”

  "But it's so cool. You're just jealous." Shadowcloak pouted and crossed her arms. "Where am I anyway?"

  "You're in my cabin."

  "Your cabin? You didn't kidnap me, did you?"

  "No."

  "That’s exactly what a kidnapper would say."

  "No, a kidnapper would probably say you aren’t free to go."

  "So, I'm free to go?"

  "No."

  "I knew it!" She looked so pleased with herself. How long until she realized the implications of her misconception?

  "We’ll have dinner when my wife gets back."

  She paled. "You're gonna have me for dinner?"

  "We're not eating you, dummy."

  "Don't call me 'dummy'."

  "We're not eating you, kiddo."

  "That's almost worse!"

  "Hey, easy. No need to shout at me. What’s your name then?"

  "My name’s uh..." Her attention returned to the window. "Window…"

  "Window?"

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "No, not window," she snapped. "I said Wendy O. Wendy O…-wall…-ace! Wendy O. Wallace. Yeah. That’s me."

  "That’s not your name."

  She winced. "Dang it. How could you tell?"

  "Probably because I’m not stupid."

  Now she was glaring at me. "You don’t have to be mean about it."

  "True, I don’t have to."

  "But you’re still gonna?"

  "You learn pretty quick."

  "I don’t like you," she grumbled.

  "I've been told I'm an acquired taste. You did hit your head pretty hard. Did you forget your name?"

  "No! Of course, I didn’t forget my name. I just don’t wanna tell you."

  "Because I’m being mean?"

  "No–well, now yeah. But mostly because I think you’re suspicious. And Dad always tells me to never tell suspicious people my real name."

  "Was he the genius who came up with Wendy O. Wallace?"

  She snickered. "Nope. That genius was me!" She lifted her head and emphatically pointed to herself.

  Call me crazy, but I didn’t think this girl understood sarcasm. This was going to be so much fun—hold on, Robin. She got shot by an arrow, woke up in a stranger's house, and has to deal with your sarcastic ass. Tone down the snark a bit. If her real name was off the table I needed a nickname for her. I certainly didn’t plan on calling her Shadowcloak.

  "Do you at least have a nickname I can call you?"

  "Shadowcloak," she said it like it was the coolest name of all time.

  "Yeah, that's a hard no."

  "Why not?!" She aggressively pointed her finger at me. "You're just jealous your name isn't as cool."

  "Eh, it's a bit silly."

  She winced. "You think my name is silly?"

  The bravado in her voice was gone. Some of the spark in her eyes faded too. I didn't think I was being that mean. Must have been a sore spot. I thought Shadowcloak was on the edgier side. Not quite Death McBloodlover but still a bit silly. How to salvage this?

  "A bit, yeah, but there's charm to it. I was just thinking we could call you something else."

  She eyed me warily. "Like what?"

  "How bout Nana?"

  She blinked. "That's what I call my grandma."

  "No, not nah-nuh. Naw-nuh. It's Japanese for seven."

  "That's dumb. Neither of us are Japanese—wait, are you actually Japanese? ‘Cause I’m sorry, and your language isn't dumb."

  "No, I'm not."

  "Then it's dumb! Shadowcloak is way better."

  "Shadowcloak sounds like you're trying too hard."

  "Nana isn't trying at all. It makes no sense."

  "What level are you?"

  "Seven!" She sounded proud to be so low-level.

  "Then Nana makes sense."

  "So, you'll call me eight when I level up?"

  "No, I’d call you Hachiko."

  "What's that mean?"

  "Hachi is Japanese for eight, but Hachiko is a famous dog."

  Her indignation was almost instantly gone. "Really? I love dogs. What kind was he?"

  "I don't remember."

  "Was it a pug?! Pugs are my favorite."

  "I know it wasn't a pug."

  "Rottweiler?"

  "What part of ‘I don’t remember’ did you not understand?"

  She frowned and sank back against the headboard. "I don't want to be Hachiko at my next level. Shadowcloak is better."

  "Whatever you say, Nana."

  She glared at me, winced, and rubbed her shoulder. "Why am I here anyway? Did something happen?"

  "What do you remember?"

  "I was in the woods when I saw a really cool bug. I followed it into a bush when something hit my shoulder. Then I started running, and I woke up here."

  "You don't remember the pig?"

  "The what?"

  "My wife and I were hunting a pig. Char—that's my wife, by the way, was tracking it. She thought it was hiding in the bush and shot an arrow."

  "You shot me with an arrow?"

  "No, aren't you listening? My wife shot you with an arrow. I just watched."

  "You're sounding better and better by the minute," she grumbled.

  "I know; I'm great."

  "I was being sarcastic."

  "And I countered by being sincere."

  Nana looked positively stunned. "I… what?" She rubbed her head again. "Whatever. Just tell me what happened after the arrow."

  "You got steamrolled by the pig, and it knocked you out cold. Char chased after it. I couldn't just leave you there, so I brought you here to make sure you’re alright."

  Nana narrowed her eyes at me.

  "What? You don't believe me?"

  She shook her head. "No, that's too nice. And you've been nothing but a jerk."

  "Well yeah, but I was bringing you a blanket. See?" I lifted the blanket in my hands. "I’m not always mean."

  "Just mostly."

  "Yeah, ‘bout eighty percent. So, want the blanket?"

  She hesitated but nodded. "You said something about dinner?"

  "That's the plan." I handed her the extra blanket. "If Char doesn’t get the pig then I’ll have to scrounge something from the garden. Anything you like?"

  "Wings, fries, cauliflower, and ranch. Those are my favorites. Especially wings."

  "Fresh out of wings, but I should have cauliflower and potatoes for the fries."

  "No ranch?"

  "‘Fraid not."

  She grumbled and sank under the covers. "Can you wake me up when there’s food?"

  "Will do. Sleep well, Nana."

  "It’s Shadowcloak."

  Inspiration struck when I reached the kitchen. Cauliflower fries to combine two of kiddo’s favorites. Never made ‘em before, but it didn’t sound too complicated. Maybe throw in some caramelized onions for Char. I decided to start with the onions before my wife arrived and ate them all.

  The front door swung open, and Char slinked onto the couch. Sweat glistened her face and neck. Her breaths were slow, labored, and more than just a bit exaggerated. "I’m… exhausted."

  "I can tell. The 100-meter butterfly is no joke."

  "What?"

  "You look like you went swimming."

  "I waded through some water, but it’s mostly sweat. Hot as hell out there in the woods." Her eyes flashed gold for a brief moment. "I sent the boar to your inventory. Cook me something good."

  "Roast boar with cauliflower fries and caramelized onions."

  "Cauliflower fries? Do you hate me or something?"

  "No, that’s why I’m throwing in the onions. Veggie fries are for the kid.”

  "Oh, right." She bit her lip, looking a little guilty. "She doing okay?"

  "A little annoyed but otherwise okay. She’s taking a nap in the guest room. I figured we could feed her and send her on her way tomorrow."

  "Does she have any friends?"

  I shrugged. "Dunno."

  "You didn’t ask her?"

  "No, but that’ll be your job when she wakes up."

  "I don’t want to talk to her."

  "Why the hell not?"

  "‘Cause I feel bad."

  "Don’t, she doesn’t even remember what happened. Just pretend the pig did more damage than you."

  My blade cut through the first onion with ease. One slash–quickly followed by a second. A third. In moments, the target had been diced to ribbons. It was almost unrecognizable from its true form. I couldn’t help but smile looking down on my work.

  "Dum dee do. Do dee dum. I’m in the kitchen choppin’ onions."

  "That doesn’t rhyme, Robin."

  "Yes, it does, Charlotte!" I had to fudge the pronunciation of onion, but I got it to work. "Ooh ooh ooh ooh. Ahh ahh ahhh ahh," I hummed, dicing the next one.

  "That sounds much better," Char whispered in my ear.

  I almost dropped my knife. "Geez, Char, could you not do that when I’m armed and dangerous?"

  "I make no promises." She hopped onto the counter and peeled an onion. "What’s the kid’s name?"

  "She won’t tell me her real name, but the screenname is Shadowcloak."

  Char raised her eyebrow. "You made that up."

  "Nope. I’m calling her Nana."

  "That some anime thing?"

  "Japanese for seven."

  "Why?"

  "It’s her level."

  "Ahh." She took a bite out of the onion.

  "Please don’t eat my ingredients, Char."

  She rolled her eyes and set the onion down. Thankfully, she didn’t mingle it with the other ones. "Making me eat cauliflower. Not letting me snack on an onion."

  "If it makes you feel better, I’ll throw some saffron and honey on the roast."

  "That doesn’t make up for using cauli—did you just say honey?"

  I nodded. "Lucky drop from that quest we did yesterday."

  "Why didn’t you tell me?"

  "Planned on saving it for a special occasion. Probably your birthday if we’re still in here.”

  Charlotte’s smile melted my heart. She could smirk and scowl like nobody’s business, but I treasured each and every smile she felt gracious enough to show me. The first was back in college when I caught her playing video games in class instead of taking notes, andI promised not to tell.

  "My birthday isn’t for another month. You’re really planning that far ahead?"

  "Well, yeah, it’s important to me."

  She pecked my lips. "I love you, Robin."

  "Yeah, I’m pretty great."

  She rolled her eyes, but the smile didn’t leave her face. "Keep the honey. I can hold out for a few months. I’ll talk to Shadowcloak when she wakes up." She hopped off the counter and scowled. "Yeah. Nana’s the better name."

  ***

  Nana slept soundly when I finished cooking, so we ate without her. Char liked the cauliflower fries a lot more than either of us expected. "You can make anything taste good with enough breading," she’d said. The distaste on her face was priceless when I said Susan would probably agree.

  Cleaning up in the kitchen was my job, while Char watched over Nana. Nearly cut myself drying a knife after hearing the scream. I bolted to the guest room. Char scowled at the young girl screaming at her.

  Nana gasped when she saw me. "Help! It’s the crazy lady who shot me with an arrow!"

  "I most certainly was not," Char snapped.

  "You most certainly was is," Nana returned.

  I shrugged. "Can’t argue with that logic, Char."

  She narrowed her eyes. "Don’t take her side, Robin."

  "Right." I turned to Nana. "You don’t know that; you didn’t even remember being shot until I told you."

  "I remember now." Nana crossed her arms and sank against the headboard. "Of all the people to kidnap me."

  Char sighed. "First off, we didn’t kidnap you. Second," she set a tray of leftovers at the edge of the bed. "Eat your food before it gets too cold."

  Nana turned away. "Probably poisoned."

  Char and I exchanged glances. She was clearly getting frustrated. I offered to step in, but she shook her head.

  "Here’s an idea,” Charlotte said. “What if I try some of your food? That way you’ll know if it’s safe to eat or not."

  Nana rounded on her. "Heck no! You’ll get your old lady germs all over it."

  Char stiffened. "Robin?"

  "No, Charlotte, you can’t shoot her with another arrow."

  "Don’t worry. She won’t remember this one either."

  The color drained from Nana’s face. "Uh, I meant that I can’t wait to grow up to be pretty just like you." She hesitantly ate a cauliflower fry. Her eyes widened, and she scarfed down the rest of her meal. "Who cares if it’s poisoned?" She said in-between bites of roast. "It tastes better than Mister Miyashi’s crap."

  "Mister Miyashi? Is he part of your guild?" Char asked.

  Nana gulped down a fry without swallowing. She gagged and coughed up chunks of food. Char rushed behind and pressed her hands against Nana’s stomach until she coughed it up.

  Nana glanced between the saliva-coated fry and my wife. "You just saved my life."

  "No, it wasn’t doing any damage—"

  "Thank you, Lady Charlotte."

  "Lady Charlotte." Char smirked. "I like the sound of that." She sat on the edge of the bed. "Do you have anyone inside Auro? Friends or guildmates?"

  Nana shook her head. "No. I’m by myself."

  "I see…" Char looked out the window with a resigned frown. "Could you excuse Robin and I for a moment?

  "Uh, sure."

  Char led me into the living room. That frown still plastered on her face. "I want to hear your opinion on Nana before I say anything."

  "She’s your responsibility, so it’s up to you."

  "You say that, but I know you won’t let me kick her to the curb."

  "Glad to know we’re on the same page, love."

  She chuckled. "Not that I was considering it. She’s by herself. No friends, no guild. Know what that means?"

  "No witnesses?"

  Char rolled her eyes. "It means she has no one to look after her. I know better than anyone how tough Auro can be, especially alone. I doubt either of us want a dead kid on our consciences. Maybe we take her in for a while. She could become my protégé or hunting partner." She actually squealed. "Or like a little sister."

  "That's… surprisingly nice of you."

  She frowned. "Surprisingly? I’m a nice person thank you very much."

  "The turnip farmer might disagree."

  "Lines of code, Robin. Nana is a real person." She sighed. "I don’t have to like the fact that I have a conscience, but it’s telling me to look after her."

  "Not that I’m against the idea, but for how long?"

  Char shrugged. "Until she joins up with someone else. Maybe she’ll join that player coalition and have lots of people looking after her. While she’s with us, she can help with the hunting. We’ll have so much meat."

  "Ah, there’s the ulterior motive."

  She scoffed. "I’ll have you know I’m only slightly offended by that remark."

  "Because it’s true?"

  "No, because you think I only have one ulterior motive."

  "Oh? Do I get a hint?"

  "Yes." She placed a hand on her belly. "Having a kid around would make better practice than a cat, don’t you think?"

  I stood behind her, my hand over hers. "I can’t wait to make you a mom, Charlotte."

  "Ooh," she said with a light shudder. "I like the sound of that."

  "Not as much as you like the sound of ‘Lady Charlotte.’"

  "I certainly wouldn’t mind if you started calling me that too."

  "Dream on, love." I pecked her cheek. "You want to tell her we’re adopting, or should I?"

  "I’ll do it; she likes me more."

  "No arguments here."

  Char and I returned to the guestroom. "May I sit down?" Char asked.

  "You didn’t ask before but sure."

  Char flashed a smile that was somewhere between polite and annoyed before sitting on the bed. "Nana, my hubby and I were talking. We feel bad that we shot you—" I coughed loudly, and Char rolled her eyes. "That I shot you. Since you’re alone, we’re thinking you should stay with us for a while."

  Nana glanced warily at me, Charlotte and then out the window. "They really are kidnapping me."

  "It’s not kidnapping," I said. "You can leave at any time."

  "I can?"

  I nodded. "Cross my heart, hope to die."

  She narrowed her eyes. "It doesn’t count if you don’t actually cross your heart."

  Fair enough. I made an X across my chest.

  "You have to say it again."

  "Cross my heart, hope to die," I said making the X again.

  "Okay." Nana relaxed. "Does staying mean more delicious food?"

  "That’s my speciality."

  She held up her plate. It was clean—aside from the cauliflower fry she coughed up. "Can I have more please?"

  "Of course. That’s my favorite phrase as a chef."

  "I can think of a few you like more," Char said with a smirk.

  "Not in front of the nine-year-old."

  "Hey, I’m twelve, ya know."

  "I stand corrected." I took her plate and retreated toward the kitchen.

  "Thank you, Mr. Robin."

  I stopped walking and shot her a befuddled look. "What did you just call me?"

  "Mr. Robin. That’s your name, isn’t it?"

  "Robin, yeah. Not the mister part."

  "But you’re an adult. It’s polite to call you mister, especially with you taking me in."

  I shook my head. "Nah, don’t think of me as an adult. I barely do. Think of me as a big brother and just call me Robin."

  "Okay, if you’re sure." She cleared her throat. "Thank you, Robin."

  "You’re welcome, Nana."