---
"I noticed," she replied, glancing toward the ridge where corpses still lay somewhere behind them in the distance.
Sekhmet exhaled.
"You should not have come," he said.
Lily's eyes sharpened.
"And you should not be here," she replied. "But here we are. The forest is so vast yet we meet…"
Sekhmet stared at her, then looked away, because something about the way she said it made the past feel too close.
Bat Bat chose that moment to flutter off Sekhmet's shoulder and land directly on Lily's lap without asking permission.
Plop.
Lily blinked, surprised.
Bat Bat looked up at her with wide eyes, then spoke with childlike confidence.
"Pretty."
One of the guards stiffened. Another stared like he had seen a ghost. A talking blood tiny bat was not normal and common, even in Null.
Lily stared down at Bat Bat.
Then she slowly smiled.
"You are adorable," she whispered, as if she might scare it away if she spoke louder.
Bat Bat puffed up proudly.
"I Bat Bat," it declared.
