#fun fact: there will be a bath towel item nearby to use while visiting this part of the island

[furubaycrossing]

onsen days ♨️

[nicrt]

(rub a dub dub, two boys in a tub) - a haven apartments oneshot

For @goddamnminyard , in response to destroying my feels one too many times.  Don’t think this is enough fluff to balance out the angst fest you and the cfha crew are currently doing though.

There’s a bathroom on each level of the apartment building, shared among the occupants of the floor. It’s as old-fashioned as the rest of the building – brick walls and pipes exposed, vintage cabinets and out-of-date rugs – but Ardyn’s a meticulous person; so, as landlord he keeps everything in top form or up to date at least. The heater, shower and sink are all in mint and working condition; it’s more than enough to keep the residents from complaining.

The fact that it’s a shared space means that there’s always a piece of personal item stored away at one nook or cranny of the room, a catastrophic mixture of the residents’ eccentricity showing. It means that there’s a list of general rules to be adhered to when utilising the place – like don’t leave wet towels on the floor, who’s turn it is to wash the bathtub, and then some. It means that there’s a schedule written out for everyone on when was the best time for them to take their turn in the bathroom.

But for the next few hours, Noctis has the whole bathroom to himself.

The bath’s running, hot water pouring into the old thing, causing the bathroom to steam up a little. Noctis drops the jacket he’d worn today on to the tiled floor, stretching himself out as he tries to rid the soreness from his muscles. There’s traces of sweat still trailing down his skin and drenched into his shirt; he feels dirt and grime all over his arms and face. He looks out of the window to watch the rain fall for a moment until the cold makes him shiver and he’s on the move again.

He’d been trekking with Gladio and Iris for a good portion of the day. They took one of the hiking trails meant for the public to use, through one of the reserves close to the city. Solheim was known for her mountains and forests, beautiful wildlife surrounding urban developments, a clash of old and new that worked harmoniously in a way. It screams of Solheim and it’s probably why Ardyn is the way he is, Noctis thinks.

Gladiolus had burst through his apartment door, calling dibs on Noct’s free time for the day, so that they can meet up with Iris. She’s visiting the city with her dad, and while her dad was on official business, she’s free to explore the capital. ‘Explore’ meant ‘trekking’ in Gladio’s dictionary. Though Noctis will opt for lying in bed all day long, it doesn’t mean he’s not able to endure a good long hike. And it had been a long time since he last saw Iris, so it’s nice to see her again, the little girl he’d grown up with. Accompanying the two siblings had been fun; watching Gladio lead the way, talking with Iris on what her plans are after high school, catching his breath after a particularly difficult climb. Thrilling and satisfying, as Gladio puts it.

But right now, Noctis just wants to sink himself into a refreshing and warm bath for the evening. Seated on the edge of the tub – the nice, warm heat a pleasant sensation on his skin – he kicks off his boots, then shrugs off his t-shirt and wiggles out of the trousers he likes to use for long walks. There’s a few streaks of mud on his skin, marring the white with tinges of black and brown. Noctis can’t wait to wash it all off. His socks and underwear join the rest of his clothes in the corner, the cold a little more prominent now, before he immerses himself into the warm water.

He recalls Stella once telling him that the bathbombs she uses, do wonders in relaxing her muscles while she takes a bath. Ignis mentioned to him once that a nice amount of Epsom salt would work just as well. Noctis glances at the packaging sitting atop of the vanity, double checking if the amount he’s put in when the bath first ran was right. Then, he twists around to dip a hand into the water; hot, but not bordering on scalding, almost two-thirds full now. He reaches for the tap, turning it counter-clockwise to turn the water off.

With most of the other floor residents out for the evening, Noctis thought to indulge himself in something. It’s rare for him to do so nowadays, what with running on a student’s budget and a hectic schedule. Though he has his dad’s monthly funding, he hasn’t touched it since he first moved to Solheim. And with classes at the local university in session, working at Weskham’s restaurant outlet, and studying and revising his course materials, there just wasn’t enough time for slow and steady.

The water sloshes around a bit as he puts a toe in and then jerks back at the sudden heat. He puts his foot back in, before placing his leg in, the water level barely reaching his knee. Carefully manoeuvring himself, he manages to get his other leg in before gently setting himself down into the tub. The first thing that really hits him is how comfortably warm it is, and that it instantly gives his sore muscles relief. Then it’s how nice it is to submerge himself into the water, as if he was about to float in one of the pools back in Insomnia.

Noctis sighs, relaxing in the warm water. He uncurls his legs, letting them stretch until the end of the tub. Small as he is – and not that he’s admitting he’s short – the bathtub’s only big enough to let a portion of his body be submerged. The water only reaches up to his chest, and then his collarbones if he leans back on the tub. He lifts an arm out of the water, watches the liquid trails dripping off his limb. Parts of the dirt were already washed off, disappearing and disintegrating as soon as it hit water.

His face suddenly feels sticky and itchy at this observation; lifting his feet and using his hands for balance, Noctis pulls himself downwards into the tub. He holds his breath when his face hits the surface; he feels pressure around his head, ears blocked from any sound save for whatever white noise being underwater gives. Noctis opens his eyes, and while it wasn’t blue or clear like the lakes of Duscae or the seas by Cleigne, it was still otherworldly to see underwater. His feet were above the surface, so he can only see the rest of his legs and abdomen. His hair floats around him freely, the result of the one day he decides not to style it up with hair gel.

Bubbles of air escape him as he breathes out of his nose. Closing his eyes, he pushes himself back up and inhales deeply for air as he breaks the surface. His eyes start stinging, feels strands of his hair getting caught beneath his eyelids and plastered onto his cheeks. Noctis had placed a towel nearby beforehand, so he blindly tries to find it, an arm pulling out of the water to feel around for it.

“Looking for something?”

Something soft hits his hand. Noctis grunts out his thanks, taking the towel in his hand and using it to wipe at his eyes. When he’s able to blink them open without any pain, he looks to his side to see a roguish smile being directed at him. Noctis returns it with his own smile, a light huff escaping him.

“Hey Nyx,” he greets back, hanging the towel off the side of the tub.

The bartender’s grin widens. He’s crouching next to the tub, still in his work clothes. The leather jacket Nyx likes to wear is hanging on one of the hooks on the wall. An appreciative hum leaves Noctis as his eyes roves over Nyx. He’s wearing the grey shirt today, sleeves rolled up to the elbows and the collar unbuttoned. He’s also wearing his black suspenders instead of his usual black vest, and that’s a different sort of sexy going on for the older man already. And while Noctis prefers seeing him in his leather pants, his work trousers were tapered so they look nice on him too.

“Eyes are up here, Noct,” Nyx says, and there’s a smug intonation in his voice.

“So they are.” Noctis replies. “Off work already? When did you get back?”

“About an hour ago, and I just got back. Libs is on duty tonight.” He tucks his arm together on the edge of the bathtub and perches his chin on them. “Tired?

Noctis chuckles. “Gladio. His sis is in town, thought it’d be fun to drag me out for a nature walk. He won’t be back tonight, staying with his family at a hotel.”

“You? And nature?” Nyx raises his eyebrows in mock surprise. “And walking?”

Noctis splashes water at him, causing the other man to yelp, sputter and fall back on his butt. Nyx glares up at Noctis, to which he lets out a laugh.

“Not my fault you’re not dressed for the occasion.” Noctis waggles his eyebrows at Nyx. “Or rather, you’re overdressed.”

Nyx huffs, but a smile stretches across his face. “Down boy. I’m sorry, but I’m too tired to do anything much tonight.”

This causes Noctis to pause and take a closer look at the man. True enough, Nyx does look more tired than usual. There are dark circles beneath his eyes, his smile lacks the same cockiness it usually has and instead of sitting back on his haunches to continue talking, he’s staying seated on the floor rug.

“Drautos overworking you?” Noctis asks.

“Just the usual, kid. No worries.” Nyx answers. “Though I have been working nights all week.”

“I know. You’re usually dead asleep by the time I leave.”

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to miss your morning kisses, darling.”

Noctis shakes his head. “’s no big deal. You’re cute when you snore.”

“I do not.”

Noctis imitates the snore he usually hears from Nyx, exaggerating it just a tiny bit. Nyx lets loose a tired laughter, leaning back on his hands while his legs spread out. The front of his shirt is wet now since Noctis splashed at him. Nyx really is overdressed for this conversation. And as much as Noctis likes to see a wet Nyx – in both contexts – he doesn’t want to ruin one of the few nice shirts Nyx owned. An idea pops up in Noctis’ head then.

He pats the water's surface around him. “Get in Nyx.”

Nyx cocks an eyebrow at him.

“I'm serious, get in. I added in some Epsom salt.” He jerks his head at the box on the vanity. “Doing wonders to my sore muscles right now.”

Noctis watches Nyx as consideration crosses the man’s face. “You sure it'll fit the two of us?”

“Does it matter?” Noctis smiles.

“Heh...you're right about that. But aren’t you dirty from all the hiking?”

“Nyx...”

Nyx shakes his head at Noctis’ pout. But he stands up anyways, taking off his shoes and socks, tossing them nearby the pile of clothes Noctis left behind. He hooks a thumb each under the straps of the suspenders, pulling them down and shrugging them off his shoulders. Follows up by unzipping his trousers, Nyx managing one naughty glance at Noctis, before he shimmies them off his legs. It’s hilarious to see him kick them off from around his ankles, and Noctis can’t help a little giggle escape him. But as they come off, and his tanned skin is revealed, a low hum of appreciation leaves Noctis. He doesn’t hide his staring at Nyx’s thighs either, watching them flex as Nyx kept moving.

For all his talk about being too tired for anything more tonight, Nyx has enough energy to pull off a strip tease for Noctis apparently. He's slow when unbuttoning his shirt, pulling one button out at a time while holding Noctis’ attention with a heated gaze. He knows Noctis likes the shirt off him just as much as it’s on him.

Noctis lets out an approving whimper, hiding half his face underwater. Nyx laughs at that, and then laughs harder as Noctis blows out bubbles in the water.

Nyx finally gets his shirt off, leaving him in a singlet and underwear. He takes the singlet off with ease, dropping it off to one side. Nyx is all lean muscle and brown skin underneath his clothes, tufts of dark hair mapping out on his chest, abdomen clenching as he shivers, the cold hitting him.

Noctis’ gaze wanders all over Nyx’s body, drinking in all and everything beautiful about this man. Nyx is like some godsent gift to Noctis, a revelation only meant for his eyes. The only piece of clothing left is the black briefs that clung tightly around Nyx, the pair that Noct really likes to see on him, seeing as it accentuates his shapely ass.

With one last playful look, Nyx pulls off his underwear and tosses it at Noctis. Noctis shrieks when the clothing hits him in the face. He casts it aside, turning away before looking back in time to see Nyx getting ready to plop himself into the tub.

“Nyx, what are you-”

There's a lot of splashing, yelling and laughing as Nyx drops himself into the water, back first. Water rises and sloshes around, a good amount falling out of the tub now that more mass fills the space. They’re a tangle of limbs squeezed together, Noctis the one complaining about how he feels squashed under Nyx’s weight and Nyx telling him to ‘quit whining and make some room’. In the end, Nyx has his head resting on Noctis’ shoulder, comfortably sitting between the younger’s legs. Nyx has to tuck in his own legs, too long to keep it all inside the tub. Noctis has his arms around Nyx’s shoulders, hands rubbing against his chest while in the water. They make soothing motions, small arcs on the skin, fingers tracing little circles.

Nyx closes his eyes and sighs, finally relaxing. He feels the tension in his shoulders leave, a calm warmth seeping into his muscles, as if it loosens them from whatever coiled position they were in. The ache in his feet is relieved and while he wishes he to stretch his legs out, he’s still rather comfortable in his current position.

“Better?” Noctis whispers, lips pressing against the shell of his ear.

Nyx hums contently in response.

“Hope you don’t fall asleep on me,” Nyx feels Noctis smile.

“’m sorry if I do…” Nyx tilts his head towards where Noctis lips are at.

Noctis leans down to press his lips on Nyx’s, in an oddly-working-positioned kiss. It’s good though, a good kiss. It’s long and lazy, relaxed and wanted. Nyx’s arm reaches around behind Noctis’ head, fingers treading into his wet hair, gripping him by the nape to hold him there. Noctis has Nyx’s bottom lip between his own lips, alternating between gentle sucking and hard presses. The angle works, they’re able to catch and touch more skin, slip their tongues cheekily into each other’s mouth, take more than what a chaste kiss can offer.

They stop for a breath, eyes fluttering open. They’re staring at each other, deep blue eyes looking into bright grey ones; precious steel adoring the ocean. They’re noticing the other’s swollen lips and flushed cheeks. They’re feeling the warmth of the bath and the heat of each other’s naked bodies, clashing with the cold of the outside world.

“You’re right…” Nyx breathes out. “It is relaxing.”

Noctis chuckles. “Good to know. Can’t do this all the time, unfortunately.”

“Mmm, maybe the next time everyone else is out again then.” Nyx rolls his head away, pulling his arm back into the water.

“I’d like that,” Noctis whispers, even though he knows Nyx has probably fallen asleep.

His hands take Nyx’s own and holds them in his grasp. He intertwines their fingers together, brushing upon the ring Nyx has on his middle finger. He rubs circles in Nyx’s palms with his thumbs. He hears Nyx’s deep breathing; the light snore he makes when he sleeps. He presses a soft kiss at Nyx’s temple, inhales a salty scent mixing together with something unique to Nyx. His head drops gently atop of Nyx’s, hair tickling his cheek. His heart clenches in such love and fondness for the older man, in a way he hadn’t been sure about once, but knows now that everything about this is right. He holds the other man tighter in his arms, savouring another moment that’s only between them.

“I’d really like that…”

wordcount: 2771 (aww I wanted to hit 3k) type: alternate universe verse: haven apartments playlist: expectation/lean on me – seventeen, chase me – dreamcatchers, beautiful – monsta x, to all of you – syd matters, coffee shop – bap, spring day – bangtan

[westword-stories-blog]

CrossSwords - Chapter Eighteen

The Castle was quiet, now that the majority of the participants had left back to their home town, others decided to reside in the Farza Town as a permanent resident. Others have disappeared without question and a few have decided to go on a little quest. This made Erie feel at least somewhat happy that everyone getting together made a difference on one another. The fact was that Erie was actually a pretty nice person who cared much for everyone she knew. But of course she couldn't show this since she was one of the higher ups in the Varska Knights.

She made her way to her suite where she would take off her heavy suit of armor. A silver breastplate, shoulder guards, chausses' with silver metal covering the main bit, greaves and sabatons. After she took off everything from the waist down she finally removed her helmet. Her long, orange hair fell right down to around past her shoulder blades. The only piece of armor she was left with on was a body piece made purely from chain mail. Once she took that off she was now only wearing a body suit that extended her entire chest, waist and went down past her thighs while the sleeves stopped at her elbows. There was a small zipper on the back of the suit starting from her nape going way down near her waist.

She pulled on the zipper, making the "zzt!" noise it would always make, having it reach her waist until she huffed softly. Slowly pulling each limb free of the grasp from the suit she finally was out of the body suit and gently placed it aside. "What a day..." She said to herself then walking over to a dresser, grabbing a fresh pair of clothes then placing them aside. She then opened one of the three doors in her room, one leading to the hall, the other to a personal armory and the one she was entering to a private bathroom.

The Commander of the Knights took an hour long bath, wanting to make sure she was feeling clean and refreshed. She exited the bathroom with a refreshing sigh. She covered her body up with a long, white, fluffy towel and walked over to her bed, sitting down near the clothes and body suit. "This really is taxing on a woman.." She spoke softly then suddenly came a knock on her door. "Commander Erie!!"

This startled the woman as she jumped up right and widened her eyes. "W-Wait don't come in!"

"Ah--? Okay. Well, Come quickly to the war room!" A voice yelled from the other side of the door. She was confused but she knew she had to handle this. "Damn it, no time to be comfy..." She clicked her tongue then tossed her towel to the side, grabbing a new body suit from one of the dressers and fitting into it, awkwardly she zipped the zipper right up the the nape of her neck and then got suited into her armor pieces.

Chapter 18: Time of Peace ( Part One )

Erie stomped down the rather empty hall, passing by various doors, statues and banners, taking a few turns until she reached a door at the end of a hall. She opened the door then walked forward, shutting it behind her. In front of her was a flight of stairs that led downward. She didn't think she would have to visit this room again for a while. So she descended, holding onto the wall as she made her way down.

When she got to the bottom there was a long hallway ahead of her, dimly lit by a small lantern every few meters. She walked down the long hall, her armor filling the place with noise as it clashed and clanked around.

When she finally reached the end of the hall there stood another door, she opened the door and walked inside. The room she entered wasn't a big room, but it had a table in the middle and there stood King Rose, Valerie, Matthew, William and now entering was Erie.

"My King, what's the problem..?" Erie asked the large man who was in charge of Varska Kingdom, the kingdom that reigned over the Mainland. "Commander Erie, it's been brought to me that one of the various villages and towns have been attacked yesterday.."

Erie - The Knight Commander gasped at this then walked forward, looking at the King. "W-What..by who..."

Rose looked up at Erie then back down. "Reports say bandits, but I don't think bandits have ever left the village engulfed in flames..." He stood there in silence for a solid minute before speaking once more. "Also..It's been said that, whoever attacked that village took something with them. One of the items of long past. The body of the Dragon's Flute"

"..The Dragon's Flute..?"

Rose nodded his head slightly. "Legends say it can summon a Dragon and if you can convince it, it may help you with whatever you want for a large price. But there are three pieces to this legendary item. The body piece, head piece and bottom piece. These three pieces exist within the Mainland as treasures. The Body was in the recently razed Ein Town. The head is in this castle and the bottom is the treasure belonging to Till Village."

Erie slammed her hand on the table. "If.."

Rose looked back up, as did everybody else who was quietly listening in on this conversation. "...If they're getting the pieces, wouldn't that mean they're summoning it!? Shouldn't we be protecting the villages with treasures even further?!"

"Yes, I agree with you, Commander." Spoke Matthew who had his arms crossed, standing beside Valerie who was staring at the table with trembling eyes. "While I think sending more reinforcements to the villages, I don't think it will help very much..See, the village that was attacked held an important treasure. As such, it needed to be heavily guarded. But whoever attacked was capable of destroying that place until there was nothing but charred wood and ashes. See...If we send reinforcements, we're just sending Knights to an early grave." William spoke up finally after standing in silence for a solid half hour.

Erie placed her hand above her face, looking pained. "Damn it...What do we do then?"

"We could send a large amount of knights to the villages and even have one of the higher ups go along too." Matthew suggested.

"But the nearest village with a treasure is more than a days travel!" Valerie stated, which made Erie's  choices very limited.

"Damn it! It'll take too long!" She exclaimed then looked down to the side. "...It'll take too long, but we have to try." Erie closed her eyes to gather her thoughts, taking in a deep breath. "We have to say something to the public, they're going to get scared, but if they stay within their houses due to fright. It may lower the chances of a high body-count if they ever attack Varska Castle and Town." Erie stated with a long exhale.

"Come on, let's set the event up..."

~ ~ ~

There was a certain wind to this day. We were about a day and a half away from Stacia Village and we were walking down a path with no destination within visible sight. Bradley heaved and slumped over slightly. "How long is this trip to Concord?" Asked the young man facing the slightly older one. "Well, Concord is the name of the nearest town to the Kingdom of Gaia-"

Ceri then popped from her slightly straight stance then darted her eyes to Jackson. "Hey, I gotta question."

"...Yeah, what is it?" Jackson turned his head over to the woman facing him.

"If the Kingdom of Gaia got it's name from the nation, why isn't Mainland called Varska?" She questioned, which made Jackson smile slightly.

"Well, for the longest time, Mainland was the entire country and the vast majority of it had yet to be discovered. But eventually people migrated and moved to the furthest reaches of Mainland to name their own place. The reason why our current 'Mainland' isn't called Varska is simply because the King has yet to make the change in name. It will happen eventually but for now it's name is Mainland. I personally think he hasn't changed it because it's the only remaining nation with the 'Mainland' title."

Ceri looked down in thought then nodded simply. "I see.."

"Anyways, the place we're headed - Concord is about a 2 week travel if we move fast in daylight. 1 and a half if we never stop moving..." He said while the sun gently reflected off the surface of his black-rimmed glasses. I finally then saw something approaching in the distance among all their blabbering, pointing a finger ahead of myself. "Hey, there's some trees coming up, this is the second forest we've crossed since leaving Staica, right?" I asked to which Bradley confirmed my question.

Before we approached the forest there emerged another group of people traveling the opposite direction of us, towards the Village we recently departed from. Ceri waved at them and they waved back, we exchanged some words then parted. Apparently they're headed to Stacia Village for a drop-off of supplies. Didn't know villages needed that kind of support but it could be for building that house Tessa earned.

We'd been traveling in the forest for the rest of the day until the evening sky was visible through the trees. We decided to call it a night and set camp up in a clean patch. In front of me was a small fire that emitted the burning red glow to help us see around our area. Meanwhile Bradley went to get more wood to burn, Jackson is still setting up our two tents and Ceri went to a nearby lake to bathe.

"Well, the tents are as set up, well..to the best of my ability anyway." Jackson sat down beside my eating self. I was munching on a handful of berries I was gifted at the village we had just left from. "You know, I thought by the end of the tournament. I would've shared some smiles and maybe made a friend...

Never would I have thought I would've went on a quest with 3 other people I just met awhile before the tournament." He fell silent after saying this, only staring up at the night sky. "..Yeah, I agree. I thought it was going to be a really fun time. But then suddenly my best friend gets taken away to some place I don't even know where, I get some vague mark on my hand by some supposedly malicious group and suddenly I'm miles from home..." I said in a bit of a melancholic voice, my gaze was fixated on the ground.

Suddenly the flame cast in front of us blossomed with more fire, it caught my attention and I looked up to see a male with a few more small logs and twigs in his arms. "Well, don't get so sad. At least you're doing something a lot more worthwhile then well, becoming a knight or something."

Jackson snickered then nodded. "Yeah, as cool as it sounds...Most knights are just stationed someplace and rely on a biweekly care package. I personally like the situation I'm in. We've established ourselves as a group, a clan, a fighting force. We're the ones who will make a difference in our world. We're nothing like the groups like Citadel, Solar Flare or even the Compassing Justice for that matter. But I do believe we can at least do some good, case in point: Tessa." Jackson let out a short breath then looked to the flame in front of us.

"I wonder if we'll ever do more than help small-time." Jackson added before falling silent. "Well, once Ceri returns we should head to sleep." He said while getting up and retiring to a tent. "Well, I might as well do the same, I'll see you tomorrow, Vince."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow.."

~ ~ ~

Almost a week had passed since the report of one of the villages being attacked. In this time-frame another one had been attacked: Till Village.

The fact that this place had been hit next was proof that whoever was attacking these places had the intent on getting "The Dragon's Flute". An item that would summon a specific Dragon to call, and if you could bribe said dragon it would help you with whatever endeavors you had in mind, the only problem was that the Dragon in question was a difficult one to convince and that he prioritized payment first rather than the helps and needs of whoever called him.

But it was okay. Because in order to actually make the flute work they needed the last piece, the head of the flute. So even if they did get both pieces they needed to plunge deep into the cellars of the castle in order to obtain it.

Today, King Rose stood in front of a large balcony settled around the front side of the castle. There beside him on both sides stood Valerie and Matthew who both seemed a bit uncomfortable at the time. Behind King Rose was a small group of knights and of course, leading these knights was Erie who was standing to the side of the balcony, standing straight and tall. Her sword was unsheathed and she had the point of it on the ground while she held the bottom of the grip with both hands, the sword itself reached up to past her waist.

The King raised his hand as to calm the citizens and people below who were all gathered around the gate of the castle, looking upwards at the royal figure.

"Attention my people!" The King spoke up after a long half hour of having people stand there confused and concerned. "We've lived in this Kingdom for a long while, some just leaving our world and some just joining it. All is quiet, all is peaceful..

But no longer."

There was a sudden uproar of gasps and murmuring before he raised his hand once again. "Do not worry. It is not war, famine or disease. However, it is brought to my attention that there are a wide range of bandits razing villages within my Kingdom. And so, I thought it be best to pass this word unto my followers.

My people! For the sake of your protection, and for the sake of my care. Please do stay in your homes until further notice. Our Knights will carry out supplies to each house and settlement. And if our town, our castle is ever attacked...I hope that you will all be smart and stay calm. For now, that will be all." The King bowed his head to his people who all seemed a bit shocked at his word. For the past long years it had been peaceful and no malice would take place for the longest time, not since the fall of the Sacred Eyes.

But they did not know that the Sacred Eyes was making a come back, and this time they were aggressive and merciless...

~ ~ ~

The consistent sound of a hammer against metal was satisfying to hear, the slightly dark skinned girl sat on a chair on a porch, under a small roof while watching the road of the village she had finally worked her way back into. The sun was slowly setting but there was enough light to see clearly, just being able to enjoy a mundane life was all Tessa wanted. She was happy. Ever since coming back to the Village she couldn't stop smiling, in fact. There wasn't ever a moment where she was frowning since her return.

"Alright, Tessa!" A burly voice called out, she turned her head to the right where the voice was calling. She got out of her seat and walked towards the source of the voice.

There stood a man, a blacksmith who finished his work after a long while. "Here it is.." He gestured her over where he and she would walk, eventually coming into sight of a suit of armor and a sword which was still cooling. She was taken aback at how the armor stood there, just about her size.

"You wanted a set, here you go." He said to her, smiling. The armor was mostly a thick leather with Iron covering a majority of the vital areas: Chest, legs, arms and neck. "Thank you! This is really cool! Can I try it on?!" She asked the man with a beaming smile.

"Of course, I don't see why not."

And with that, she ran off with the armor, leaving only the sword which would probably reach to her chest.

Once she came back out she was outfitted in the armor which hugged her body perfectly. She stretched and moved around in the set for awhile before returning to the blacksmith. "It works great, old man! I'm really really thankful!" The man simply laughed then nodded. "Well, if you're that thankful maybe you could stop callin' me that? I am housing you until you get your own after all."

"Oh, right..Uh, sorry!" She said with a nod of her head.

She took in a deep breath before taking the sword off from the rack, holding the grip in her hands and squeezing. "..It doesn't feel too heavy, nor is it too light." She gently brought it up and down then smirked. "This is perfect."

The man approached her in a laugh then she darted her eyes at him. "Stand back.

I wanna practice with this thing." She said while exhaling, he understood then returned to inside of his house. When he was gone she stepped out of the area and walked to a small field nearby the village. Taking swings at the air, vertical, horizontal, stabs and parries. She had already experienced some fights from when she was known as the "Forest Bandit" so a sword wasn't anything she couldn't handle.

Just then she heard a scream from her village, she turned around and saw that people were running and fighting back some strange silhouettes. Immediately she knew she had to do something so she began to run on back to her village which was in the middle of being attacked.

Next

"They're approaching!"

"This has been fun, really. But it's time to end this little 'battle' okay?"

"Not..Again..."

CrossSwords Chapter 19: Time of Defense ( Part Two )