falin in the eye when she stepped in the water, now [name] is here too?

'well, it isn't that bad, actually... we're just taking a bath, nothing too frisky...'

the elf girl thought to herself with a small blush on her cheeks, smiling like a fool.

"oh no! [name]'s sinking!"

"what?!?"

marcille immediately dove down and helped falin drag [name] back to land.

"i have forgotten about my lack of knowledge and skill in swimming."

[name] muttered after spurting water out of her mouth, sitting up. she kinda just accepted her fate as she sank down earlier, which is just typical [name] behaviour.

"of course you did..."

"i can teach you how to swim, [name]."

falin offered with a sweet smile, sitting down next to the girl.

marcille's eyes briefly glanced down before she caught herself and mentally slapped her cheek, a little flushed.

"no, thank you. i think i would rather just stay here."

[name] hummed, splashing the water slightly.

"why not? you could learn a thing or two about swimming. who knows, maybe it could save your life someday."

again, the girl only hums and shrugged her shoulders from marcille's advice, tracing her finger in the soil underwater.

"if i do get in a situation where i am on the verge of drowning, i would just sink and die. it takes a lot of effort to swim back up to the surface... i would only exhaust my limbs."

"...huh."

"i guess that's [name] for you, marcille."

falin chuckled.

the two swam around the water near [name], keeping up the light and casual conversation they had going on.

"by the waaay..."

marcille glanced between the two with a mischievous expression with the intent to change the conversation.

"you think namari is the type to..."

their conversation faded into a buzz. the water just seems perfect, not too cold them. the stars littered the sky, and it made marcille feel safe.

but her gaze on the night sky didn't last, as she found herself staring at a certain someone.

she have never seen [name] in this light, and it felt... refreshing.

that's not the only thing she felt while looking at her though.

marcille tears her gaze away from the girl when she caught her staring, her face flushed.

good grief, was she being too obvious?

falin seemed to have found herself busy with the frogs that had started hopping along the river. this is both good and bad.

good, because falin wouldn't be able to witness what a fumbling mess she's about to be, and bad, because she won't be able to save her from herself.

"you feel it too, don't you?"

[name]'s hushed words snapped marcille out of her stupor, and she had to double check if she heard her right.

"wh-wha..?"

marcille mumbles out like a dazed idiot, flustered.

"you must have felt it too. that... buzzing on the back of your head. it sounds like a bunch of whispered words..."

'oh. oh damn... i misunderstood the situation-'

the flush of red on her cheeks immediately went away, and marcille hugged her knees closed.

there it was again, that eerie feeling.

"what are you talking about?"

[name] was silent. she didn't respond to marcille's question. instead, she stood up and marcille had to look away with a yelp as she got flashed with all her naked glory.

"uh-! [name]..?"

"sorry... maybe i have been rambling about nonsense this whole time. i will take some time to clear my head for a moment..."

and with that, [name] trudged further down the river, floating her way to the other side.

if it weren't for the fact that she was worried over the girl's weird behaviour, marcille would've been singing her praises for learning how to swim that quickly.

she sighed, sinking in the water until it reached her chin, staring back up at the sky, her expression hardened.

"yes. i do feel it... [name]."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

well, there goes that kiss marcille was planning all night long.

oh, wait, i forgot to mention that there was supposed to be a kiss?

not that it matters. [name] doesn't even know that her elf buddy is such a huge lesbian loser for her.

and so the girls retired to their own tents after the bath by the river, unaware of the deteriorating sanity of a certain elf.

marcille avoided her after the interaction in the river, which confused her. why did her face turn so red? was she angry with her? [name] has no idea.

falin seemed amused, but also worried. she reassured [name] that she didn't do anything wrong though, and she'd talk to marcille about it.

that left [name] with the others and when i say others, i meant chilchuck and toshiro.

the half-foot had made it his duty to braid [name]'s hair after he had caught her plucking a few of his hair to use for her brewery.

it's pretty easy for [name] to escape the half-foot. all she has to do is stand up and walk away, and chilchuck wouldn't even be able to keep her grounded in her place. he'd be dragged along.

poor lil guy, i know. but that's just his reality.

but of course, [name] doesn't even have enough energy and will to feed herself. do you expect her to struggle against that little hater? nah. she sat there, staring at the fire while chilchuck braided her hair into three braids.

toshiro watched the whole interaction, looking as if he wanted to say something to the girl, but would ultimately decide against it every time he'd catch chilchuck giving him that shit eating little grin like he's the grinch, about to steal christmas.

yeah, no. he'd rather not risk ruining a romantic moment with chilchuck right here.

namari is... well, she doesn't give a damn about what everyone was doing. she sleeps early like a granma, as chilchuck had called her.

after the whole ordeal, everyone went to their own tents and [name] situated herself outside of hers, sitting on a log by the campfire while staring intently in the darkness of the woods as if she's waiting for something to just pop out.

"you're still up?"

those three words startled the girl, and she quickly turned her head to laios, who had peeked his head out of his own tent, surprised to see her sitting outside, all alone.

"do you not find it strange? how we keep thinking that there is another person with us."

laios paused right as he sat down next to the girl, his brows furrowing together in confusion.

"the headcount, the sticks, the tents. it could not have been a coincidence."

"uh, we must've just miscounted..."

an awkward silence settled between them after that, and laios didn't know what to say next.

'man, [name] is spilling some crazy scary stuff! i mean, i think i know what she's saying but at the same time, i kinda don't wanna acknowledge it...?'

"we should leave tomorrow."

"but we haven't even-"

"trust me, laios."

laios is a weak man. one touch on his shoulder, and he's already nodding his head vigorously.

"sure, sure! whatever makes you feel safe..."

"i feel safe with you."

ba-dump.

ah, and there goes his heart. curse this woman for making him fall so hard over the bare minimum.

laios feels a lot of things, most he couldn't express properly without being deemed as strange and bizarre.

he doesn't want to mess this up with her.

"i'm glad i could make you feel that way, [name]."

"you make me feel a lot of things, laios. i must admit that... i do not understand all of it."

[name] wrapped her arms around her knees, pulling them closer.

"when you talk my head off about your monsters, i find myself quite fascinated and envious. i admire your passion, but i also envy it."

"why? you're very passionate about your potion brewing stuff too, right?"

"it is all i am good at."

she mumbles, drawing a bottle on the dir with her finger.

"alchemy is all i have ever known. maybe that is the reason why no one believes me easily. they know i am only capable of one thing."

"... don't say that. you're the most amazing person ever."

laios felt his hand twitched, and before he could even think about it, he reached out and held her hand in his.

"i'm not particularly good at anything else. yeah, i know about monsters and stuff and i'm very passionate about it... but that's about it. i'm not a talented mage like marcille, or a skillful locksmith like chilchuck, an amazing swordsman like shuro, a brazen weapon master like namari... or a genius alchemist like you."

his hand gripped her gently, the beat of his heart increasing with each word that left his lips.

"so don't say you're envious of someone like me. because you're a million times better than me, [name]."

"...even your words are special, laios."

[name] diverts her gaze for a moment and... is that the slightest hint of embarrassment on her face?

"you always know what to say, to make a soulless fool like me smile."

"you're smiling?"

laios blinked a few times. [name] really has to practice with her smile, but he's not complaining. he appreciates her either way.

that's not what he's focused on anyways.

they're still holding hands, for some reason. again, he's not complaining- but man, it sure did have him sweating with his face flushed red.

is he really an adult man, or a teenage boy that blushes like a dork whenever his crush is five feet near him?

he's pretty much lightheaded, but he couldn't look away from her. she's so pretty, laios just wants to put her in a jar and admire her, like a bunch of fireflies he had just caught.

...what? it's laios we're talking about here. you should've expected the weirdness.

"so there's this thing i saw in the book i was reading..."

"hm?"

"about how... certain monsters... uh, greet each other."

[name] stares at him blankly, before tilting her head to the side.

"what is it?"

"well... some monsters apparently press their lips together as a way of signifying their bonds together... a-at least that's what i've read..."

'me, that's me. i'm "some monsters" if it's not obvious enough.'

laios thought to himself with a shaky smile, looking like he's about to burst or something.

"i dunno... i just thought it was cool and i always like monster stuff... so.. maybe we can try it?"

"is that not just a kiss?"

'oh crap.'

"h-huh?! well, not exactly... it's monster stuff! so it's definitely not a human kiss or whatever-"

"alright, let's do it."

'... that's surprisingly easy.'

he was baffled, by how quick she is to agree. was he being tricked?

"wha...?"

"i told you, i trust you laios. so whatever it is, count me in."

laios always had the option to just straight up ask to kiss her, but where's the fun in that? besides, it's laios. did you expect him to have that rizz in him? nah, he has that wizz, which is just weird rizz in short.

he shook his head, mentally slapping himself. focus, this is your first kiss!

his heart was thumping in his chest as he placed his hands on her shoulders. he was too frantic to do it slowly, of course. so he quickly pecked her lips, jumping away from her and to the other log like a startled frog.

"...are you alright?"

[name] blinked with a 'what the fuck just happened?' look on her face, staring at the tall-man who sat on the other log with a straight face.

"that is also a part of their greeting."

laios muttered, sweating as [name] stood up and made her way to him.

she crouched, looking up with a curious look on her face.

"you did it wrong, though. there was no gentleness in the gesture, no appreciation. only haste."

"er- i mean-"

[name] cupped his face, and laios grew silent. it didn't last long either, but it was soft and tender, unlike the previous one.

laios muttered a 'woah' after [name] pulled away from him, as if he was starstruck.

"next time, do teach me more about these... monsters you speak of."

[name] walks to her tent, disappearing inside and leaving him sitting there with his jaw slacked.

damn, and people say romance is dead.

'is that how things are supposed to go? man, i don't know anything about these stuff...'

laios doesn't know for sure, but one thing he did know, is they both enjoyed that.

the tiny smile on [name]'s lips as she slips past him was enough proof of that, after all.

he just wished [name]'s previous words didn't creep him out as much, as he gazed at the darkness of the forest before him.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"why are we leaving so early? and here i was, enjoying the damn trip."

"right? i was plannin' to hunt for bones around the area."

"bones?!"

"boar bones..."

"oh..."

namari gave chilchuck a look, and the half-foot shrugged sheepishly.

"i think this was a wonderful trip, even if it was cut short."

toshiro chirps in with a small smile as he cleaned his blade, and the two gave him a look.

"you're just saying that cuz' you saw falin and [name] first thing in the morning."

"...."

"i guess it's a success for us, then?"

falin came up to them, carrying a pile of wooden bowls and utensils in her arms.

the others shared looks, confused by her statement.

"you guys are getting along really well. i'd consider that a win for us."

falin's statement earned a few embarrassed huffs, and she chuckled.

marcille watched the whole ordeal from the side, holding her bag in hand when chilchuck noticed her, and she visibly flinched and pretended she was busy with something else.

chilchuck glances down at his boots with a contemplating expression, before sighing and rubbing his head.

"hey... uh, elf- i mean, marcille... wanna help us out with the tents...?"

marcille had to do a double take, confused as to why the half-foot was inviting her out of nowhere when they barely even spoke the whole time they were here, but hey, she's not complaining.

"uhm, yeah- sure!"

falin grins at the sight of her friends starting to get along, and she quickly rushed to laios to tell him the news when she paused.

"laios? what's wrong?"

"ah- nothing... it's just that... i don't know where [name] went. i was gonna search for her."

laios had this troubled look on his face, as if he had just witnessed something disturbing that ruined his morning for him.

"and... i... uh, had this nightmare. about something in the forest... so i guess you could say i was spooked and paranoid and panicked when i realised [name] wasn't here."

'him too, huh?'

falin frowned, setting the cutlery aside.

"i'll search for her, brother. i might know where she went. go wake yourself up properly first and wash your face by the river."

"are you sure, falin? i could come-"

"no thank you!"

and with that, falin grabbed her staff, rushed out of the campsite and to a path that leads deeper into the forest.

she passed by the river, and soon enough, she found herself in front of a cave entrance.

"i've dreamt about this last night."

the girl muttered to herself, staring at the dark entrance before her feet started to carry her inside, leaves crunching under her boots.

the cave was dark, and she had to summon a light from her staff in order to see.

it didn't look like a naturally formed cave. it looked like a man-made one, with intricate carvings on the stone wall. strange.

falin navigates her way through the cave, and much to her surprise, she soon found [name].

there was an altar, and what seems to be a huge slab on it and there [name] stood, staring at the slab of stone with carved writings as if she hadn't even noticed falin's presence.

falin slowly approached her, but didn't say anything. instead, she began reading the carved words on the stone slab.

"they are not i, thou are not she or he... they are not they."

falin spoke as she runs her fingers on the carvings, reading the words carefully.

"god is here."

[name] followed up, reading the last words.

"...you understand this language too, [name]?"

"i believe that i am quite familiar with this writing."

falin hummed, smiling a little.

"are you ready to give her back now?"

"..."

[name] closed her eyes, and she almost fell back if it weren't for falin catching her, holding her up until she blinks her eyes open.

"where...?"

"what happened, [name]? are you okay? should we take a break from our little detour?"

the best falin could do right now is to cover up the recent events, after all, she too is aware that they're not alone in this woods.

but thankfully, they are kind enough to let them go unharmed. at least for now.

"man, seriously, where have you guys been? we've been looking for you all over, laios was starting to go bonkers on everyone."

chilchuck clicked his tongue as he approached the two girls who had just made their way back to camp, and was now preparing to leave with the rest.

"i had a little trouble trying to find [name] when she got separated from me."

falin smiles sheepishly, rubbing her head.

laios wasn't taking the bullshit though. he had already asked falin what happened, but she was being vague about her answer.

so he pulled [name] aside, holding her hand in his as they went ahead of everyone.

"where were you? you weren't here when everybody woke up early."

"i do not know for certain. i thought i was dreaming, but... that did not feel like a dream."

[name] held the straps of her bag tightly, staring at the ground as if she was spaced out.

"let's just leave, laios."

"yeah... yeah, good idea."

he nodded his head, calling out to his party so they could get moving.

laios made sure to stick next to [name] the whole way down the mountain, making sure that she wasn't being left far behind.

the memories of what happened last night kept his mind out of the bizarre events in the forest, so that's nice at the very least. only downside is now he can't stop turning red whenever he'd glance at [name]'s way, somehow shying away at the idea of holding her hand while walking or standing too close next to her.

"hm? [name]?"

laios stops as he notices her standing still while staring back at the foggy path they took.

[name] didn't respond immediately, simply staring as if she's waiting for something to happen, before she turns back ahead and walked next to laios.

"do not mind me. let us keep going."

"are you sure you're okay?"

"of course. in fact, i feel marvelous, as i have collected new materials to use for my brewery."

"really now?"

laios chuckled, sparing one last glance behind him before moving forward once again, never looking back.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

guys... keep in mind that this was supposed to be posted on spooky season aka halloween so that's why there's so much spooky elements...

I KNOW I KNOW IM SORRYYYY I WONT BLABBER ABOUT MY EXCUSES ANYMORE