21: June and Juniper

"Aster."

"Daisy."

"Melanie."

"Topaz."

"Rachel."

"Ruby."

"Hazel."

"Cleopatra!"

"Lyra."

"Frieza!"

"Okay, now you're just being stupid!!" Nekowa berated Liam's horrendous sense of naming. "Frieza, really?"

"The hell do you mean?" Liam grinned playfully, "It is a cool name from such a cool character."

"We are not naming the child from one of your silly cartoons!!" Nekowa was at wit's end as her faced was as red as tomato from anger.

"Hey!! Watch your mouth, stupid cat! FYI, Dragon-"

"*Hiss!!!*"

"Alright, alright, sheesh!!" Liam definitely was caught off guard by the cat's violent reaction, "No need to be such a party pooper."

"Then, let's try again." Nekowa crossed her arms and eyed him sternly, "Hmm… June."

That certainly received some reaction coming from the girl as they could have sworn that they witnessed her eyes twinkled with interest.

"Heh, you like that, huh." Nekowa basked in triumph as she placed both paws on her hips with a smug look on her face, "It is the name of my dear grandmother, bless her soul, the Great Elder Cat, Nekojune."

"June…" Liam contemplated on the name for a moment before commenting on it, "Not a bad name, but it could probably be better. Why not make it more awesome, like Juniper for instance?"

The girl also reacted well upon hearing Liam's name, nodding her head with the same look of interest as the name suggested by Nekowa.

"You like that too?" Liam thought about the girl's favorable reaction, and he decided, "There's no rule stating that she only gets to have one name. June and Juniper, if you think about it, it's a match made in heaven."

"Agreed. I dig it." Nekowa smiled brightly, "The two names fit quite well, June for short, and Juniper for long."

Unknown to them both while they celebrated, the girl turned around for a bit and mustered a deep sigh on her part. In truth, the girl, now named June and Juniper, thought that it would be best to end the name-giving fiasco right there and then, because frankly speaking, it was quite annoying seeing her two new parental figures arguing like a bunch of kids her age.

June was touched by the gesture of her new name, she sincerely does, but if she did not do something about it, then they may as well forfeit the prospect of giving her a name and just call her girl.

And hey, any name honestly would suffice, as long as it given by the two who now she looked up to for saving and treating her like a genuine human being.

Unlike a certain Evil Witch back in her darkest of days. Even the mere utter of her name brought bad memories and caused fear in her every faculty.

Honestly, if June could smile, then she would be doing so right now, but her fate was cruel, and such privilege was taken forcefully away from her a long time ago.

Hopefully a brighter future was all that awaited her, with these two comical adults in the mix. Things were going to be fun and interesting, that's for sure.

***

"So, what's going to be our next move?" Nekowa asked as the three were all gathered near the table with the map laid out, "The nearest town is quite a distance away from here probably."

"Yeah, we got some more serious walking ahead of us." Liam palmed his head in annoyance. He then pointed at a village that was near the camp that they were in, "This village, it's most likely where the kidnapped resided. How about we make a short stop right there?"

"I suppose we can." Nekowa agreed, "But I wouldn't get your hopes up if I were you. The evil Witch and her lackeys most likely destroyed or ruined it already, given how they were here for around a year experimenting on them."

"I know." Liam replied in a sad tone, "I only wanted to visit it for the sake of closure. Look, even June wanted to go too."

Indeed, the girl nodded when they pointed the village on the map. The place was most likely where the girl lived, all before this series of shit load of happenings even occurred that destroyed everyone's lives around.

"I guess the kid also wanted some kind of closure." Liam said and patted June's head, "Alright, a detour to the village it is, before heading to the Town, no objections then?"

"None." Nekowa nodded, "It's about time we leave this place."

"But before we all that…" Liam said while eyeing at the bookshelf that served as the dungeon entrance, "It's not right leaving those people like animals to be rot and forgotten. Give me a day to bury their bodies."

"A noble soul until the end." Nekowa smiled at the young man's kindness, "Let me know if you needed help."

"Will do." Liam transformed to Defolta and descended back inside the dungeon, this time, feeling all determined instead of the fear that he initially felt back then.

***

A day as Defolta predicted passed and the 21 bodies of the villagers were buried right after she cleared the whole camp of every tent. Thanks to her Strength and Endurance as a Magical Girl, it proved easy to move and arranged things around, even on her own. In just two hours, the deed of clearing was done.

The trio now found themselves in front of a makeshift graveyard of wood and stone courtesy of Defolta's tremendous work efficiency. They held a silent vigil of their own to the fallen as the night sky served the proper atmosphere to respect the dead.

And speaking of the dead, the same can't be said for Matilda and her group of bandit followers. They do not deserve the same amount of respect, and thus, were treated like animal carcasses to be disposed.

"Defolta…" Nekowa said with worry, "Is it necessary to keep them in display, like that?"

The display that Nekowa referred was the gruesome scenery of Matilda's mutilated body that was still hanging on the pillar nearby. To even add insult to injury, Defolta spared no expense and even hanged the bandits in full open, sharing the dark destiny with their mistress.

"It's about sending the message." Defolta simply answered, "About the fate they are going to end should they commit unforgivable evil in their wake."

June was as blank as always even when she was exposed to the bloody sight. Many days of witnessing the same gruesome thing over and over again in the lab may have dulled her senses, and thus, her reaction to it was minimal.

But seeing Matilda, even in her dead state, still unnerved June. Instincts told her to look away and retreat to behind at Defolta's back.

Defolta and Nekowa felt sad for the girl. No child should be reacting like this. Both promised to make her life as comfortable and loved as they possibly can.

Shortly after, it's time to retire for the night, inside the main tent, which was the only structure in the camp that was not taken out.