She could do it. The thought is so strong it pushes Yue straight back to the ground after she'd thought she'd gained her feet again at last. She could do it and after a few weeks of indulgently long bedtimes, hot dumplings, leek soup, and fox scritches she could close the book on what by then would have turned out to be a single absolutely perfect day. 

She could do it! And it would be so easy, wouldn't it? Wishing for a quiet ending is a much simpler thing than wishing for the story to go on and on, when you get right down to it, and even though she'd never say this [i]out loud[/i] doesn't Cyanis kind of owe her one after everything she's just done? So it's simple. It's easy. All she has to do is ask.

She could do it. She could trudge out of here and make her wish, and whatever weirdness she'd gotten herself caught up in would go back to sleep. She'd have a hike and a half on her hands to make it back home, but without any demons chasing her or terrifying Princesses pretending she was worth bothering with it'd actually be... well it's a super nice day today, y'know? As long as she took it slow, it'd actually be pretty fun! A walking song or three, the wind on her face and the sun glinting off this lovely armor-dress. 

Everyone in the village would all laugh. Bao Bao would clap her on the back (again) and tell her that was too much dress for her, and Mei Ren would shake her all exasperated know-it-all and say something about maintenance and upkeep and everybody would want to know how and where and why, but when she told them that she'd found True Love, if only for a day, and then danced her sword wheel they'd see it in the sparkle in her eyes and the arc of her body, and faster than blinking they'd all jump straight to being happy for her.

And it'd all go back to normal after that. She'd wear the dress every day, for a month. Two months, maybe three or even four if she was feeling particularly wicked. After that it'd start to seem a little... much. So she'd build a tiny shrine of her own and she'd hang it up there to quietly worship and love it in her own way. Somewhere that the sun would still catch it, yeah, over by the big window on the east wall. And if she was extremely clever and traded a few weeks' worth of sunshine at the market she could probably find a way to run some water through there so that it'd still feel at home even in hers.

And on every Water's Day she would take it down and put it on, and then together they'd spend an hour or two practicing with her wooden blade to keep the memories alive and flowing before they sat down somewhere with a good view of the Terraced Lake to take in tea and sweets. Tanghulu would be the best, of course, but nobody would say no to red jam and rice, right? Not to mention, as long as she could find the materials to make the dough, the possibility of something [i]really[/i] exotic like taiyaki or even (dare she dream?) cake! The wind would play with her hair and the sun would warm her body and Kat would curl up in her skirts and be safer and more in love than anybody ever, and on days like that she could feel bigger than a mountain so what would she even need, really actually honestly maybe, with the kind of life that would put her in the songs? Why would she need it, when she could have this?

Yue catches sight of Hyra staring at her, and she blushes. Her fur is gorgeous in the daylight; her wolfen features so perfect and elegant that it shames her just to look at them. Those red eyes are as piercing as ever as they stare straight through her. Yue can't bear to look straight at them. Hyra doesn't pad closer to congratulate her or nuzzle at her bruises or even just get close enough to share a connection. She just... watches, like she's waiting for the betrayal to come at last. 

Ah. That's it, isn't it? That's the reason not to make her silly wish. Because she... no, that's not right. That's not a good reason at all. No, hey, no! Stop it! Stop looking at her like that! It's, it's, it's more complicated than that, ok? What business does she really have going on bigger adventures than this, huh? Didn't she just prove that even this was too much for her without all the help in the world? What if Yin caught her? What if Yin... er, s-s-sorry, [i]Princess[/i] Yin wasn't alone? What if there were more giant sword demons and big snake ladies and daemons and ad campaigns or somehow something even worse than those? It's too much! It's irresponsible! And it's scary and she misses her house, ok? Is that so wrong??

And... besides. If... if she wishes for everyone to forget about her, it's not like Hyra will have to suffer. The only reason she's trapped as a wolf in the first place is because of Yue! With no Yue to try and protect there's no reason for Princess Yin to be mad at her! Right? So Yue goes home, Hyra is human again, and nobody else has to sit around feeling sad about it or anything! Everybody wins! Everybody... wins.

It takes the effort of a thousand left-handed parallel thrusts, but Yue stands up. This time it sticks. She's holding two swords in her hands, her own wooden blade, and the glittering sword that lifted her chin just a little while ago. She looks down at it and tries to smile, but something catches in her throat and she winds up sniffling instead. Well, this is it. If she's going to do it, she should go ahead and put this somewhere honorable so the shrine still has a treasure. That's the proper thing to do, isn't it? It's what a hero would do, anyway, at the end of her journey.

And maybe that's why? Maybe that's why she doesn't do it. She bends down to fetch her bag instead, and tucks the priceless treasure inside there, instead. She takes a deep, sniffling breath. In... a-a-a-aand o-ou-out. Ok, well, one little mistake's not gonna mar the end of her adventure, right? She takes her first step toward freedom, and sees Hyra turn and pad away ahead of her.

Her heart is shattered glass. No, she's wrong. She's wrong! She was wrong! If this is right, then why? Why can't she stop crying? Her legs are aching and tired, but she pushes herself to move quicker. Catch up, you idiot! You have to... no! No! Hyra's lope picks up speed, determined to stay ahead of the news. Yue runs faster and faster, but it's a heck of a thing for a person to catch a wolf on foot, isn't it? For somebody who's never even run a race, let along, [i]won[/i], it's completely impossible. The flash of silver fur disappears farther and farther ahead, never to be seen again.

"Wait! Hyra, wait! W-wait for me!!"

Her voice strains hard enough that it cracks on the final few syllables, music for breathing sincerity into the world. The silver flash stops. Does it turn around? She doesn't wait to find out. Her footfalls are heavy and increasingly clumsy, even with her shifting glass sandals. But the tugging sensation in her armor tells her this is right. This is the only right thing for her to do. She gets closer and closer and closer, close enough to touch. Close enough to trip and fall and throw her arms around the neck of a great white wolf in a way that leaves her with a skinned knee she doesn't feel at all. She buries her face in Hyra's softness and feels the proud muscles rippling underneath. And she cries, and she cries, and she cries. Until there's no more tears left for her to give, or breath for her to speak.

In the quiet, there is only the two of them. Only her shuddered breathing, and Hyra's quiet snuffles. Only the feeling that this is right, and if this is right, then there's only one thing to be done. Yue pulls away and breaks into an awkward, wet smile. She's still holding her sword, see Hyra? She lets it fall to the ground with a clatter. She needs both hands to hold the wolf's face firm. And she has to hold it firm, because how else can she pull close enough to take her lips and kiss Hyra full on the muzzle?

Soft. Wet. Lingering... Fuzzy. As first kisses go, it's far from what she dreamed of. But all the same, when she pulls away she's blushing like the setting sun. Her fingers won't stop trembling as she fumbles to pick her sword back up, and she almost falls over twice trying to stand back up. Only Hyra's weight and her gentle push gets her upright again.

"Uh... r-right. Let's, uh, um! Y-yes! Let's go... yes! Get, um. Let's go do the... the thing! I promised, right? Let's fix you up."