In the morning, Davin found Jes still pressed into his side, her soft breathing the only sound in the room, wrapping his arm around her, he found himself thinking…. He had died, and the value in his memories was stripped away, and all of the events that led to his death have been blocked, till from he could understand, until his spirit was strong enough to accept the events. He had to admit to himself, he liked Jes, she was fun to talk to, and they got along really well… but, he'd had a wife, a family, he had been happy, and now all of that was gone. Everything in this world was new to him…. He'd not seen many people, so he was hoping this wasn’t some form of Stockholm syndrome or nightingale syndrome, he needed to see about getting out for the day, just for the change of scenery, there is so much to this city he was in that he only saw a glance of while chasing after Gale, and now he was curious… no, he was just distracting himself… was he ready for a relationship? Did Jes want a relationship? Was he overthinking it all and it was just part of the training? Oh, no that is a dark path, do not follow that train of thought. While Davin let his mind run away with him, Jes's breathing started to change, there was a slow deep yawn, her arm pulling from under the covers, fingers opening wide, then her arm dropping suddenly onto Davin, causing him to let out an "oof".
The sudden noise from the quiet room caused Jes to jump some "Oh, Davin, I'm so sorry, I forgot where I was, Oh No! was I here all night?! I didn’t intend to intrude" with the rush of words flowing out of her mouth and the sudden realization of her full situation and position, her panic caused her to lose her balance as she backed away and abruptly fell out of the bed.
"Jes! Are you okay?" Davin reached for her and then quickly moved to the edge of the bed, looking down at her tangled in the blankets, breathing heavily.
Letting out a long sigh, "this was so embarrassing… can you look away for a few moments while I pull myself together…" Sitting up and turning his back towards Jes, she let out a small whimper, the sounds of blankets shuffling and the creaking of the floorboards. "okay, I'm ready".
Davin turned towards her, her cheeks a darker shade of purple, "morning" Davin smiled sincerely, "how can I help you Jes?"
Jes went even darker in the cheeks, "I came to talk to you since you'd taken your first skills from your class, and warn you that you may have a dream, or more a memory while you slept."
"Ah, well thank you, I appreciate the late warning" Davin still smiled looking up at her from the bed.
"Late? Oh, you had a memory? I hope it was something pleasant." Curiosity plastered all over her face.
Davin held out his hand and waggled it, "ish? Just some memories from just after my son was born."
"Oh, you had kids?" her face lighting up in excitement.
"Yeah, two, but my son was born first" His face went a little red as he remembered how they woke up this morning.
"I love kids! One Of the things I miss here more than anything." Her face dropped with that.
"There aren't any kids here?"
"Nope, no one that was under the age of what would be commonly referred to as middle age."
"Wow, making me feel old in the subtlest way possible eh?" Trying to look as offended as he could manage.
"What?" Panic leaked into her voice, "That isn't what I'd meant at all, I was just stating the facts of this world."
Davin's snort in response made her cheeks darken once again, but she shortly joined in with her laugh. "You would think that someone as skilled in reading people as you wouldn’t be so taken in by sarcasm."
"Sarcasm doesn't have the same ques as normal lies, and I did just wake up… I will be more alert shortly." Stomping softly in protest against Davin's teasing.
With that Davin settled back into his bed, and patted the space next to him, "I'm in no hurry to get up, and most of me still aches, want to stay and chat?"
She sat softly, her own emotions causing a stirring in her, looking at how much of the bed Davin had let her claim through the night shows that he was more courteous than she was used to. She pulled off her boots and belts, and took the time to get comfortable, she had to admit to herself that she felt safe with Davin, he was smart, funny, and he was easier to talk to than anyone that she'd met in ages. Ages, patrons will, times like this remind her that she has been here a long time, putting her previous lifespan to shame easily by tenfold, but at the same time, time didn’t pass here the same way that it does from the outside world. Laying there next to Davin she moved close, he didn’t pull away, he'd even moved in such a way to where if she wanted to she could snuggle close to his side… she took him up on his subtle offer, putting her arm over him and snuggling into his side.
"Thank you." She whispered.
"Anytime, I should be the one thanking you though, not just for the warning, but you being here when I woke from my dream was comforting. It's weird to think about what you miss once you realize it had been missing." He moved his arm to rest it on her back and pressed her close in the closest approximation of a hug that he could get from the position that they were in.
What Davin thought was a few hours passed in the blink of an eye, or more to the space between wake and sleep, finding himself in what felt like a safe and warm situation, which he hadn't noticed since he hadn't felt that since he awoke in this world. He made no attempts at anything untoward, he didn’t even think about it as he fell asleep almost instantly after Jes settled into his side.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
When the two of them finally woke, it was far less chaotic than the first time, both coming into wakefulness as they shifted and stretched. "Is it bad that that was one of the most restful nights I'd had here?" Davin slowly sat up, continuing the stretching.
"You know, I have to agree to some extent, maybe not since I've been here, but a very long time." The thud of her feet tapped lightly on the floor as she sat up.
"That alone is worth more than I can admit, I doubt that I'd ever be able to thank you properly." His own feet hit the floor and stood up, letting out a low groan as he did.
"I'm sure I can think of something that would work." A flirty tone in her voice.
"Any chance we can take a break from training for the day? I could go for a change of scenery, as much fun as it all is, I also want to see the city, I didn't get much of a look while I was chasing Gale" Davin began to strip from his clothes absentmindedly.
"Hmmm, you know, that does sound like a good idea, I haven't been out of the hall in more than a week, so a tour of the city could do us both some good, plus I need to see if I can get some new tools made for me." Pulling on her boots and extra belts from the night before, standing up her jaw dropped as she watched Davin, stripped down to his underwear shaking out a pair of pants, a small squeak coming from her open mouth.
Davin turned, facing Jes, in his own defense he thought it would have taken her far longer to reattach the gear shed dropped, so he wasn’t prepared to see her eyes and mouth open wide as he stood there in nothing but a pair of undershorts, leg raised to put it into his pants. "How'd you get dressed so fast?" Paid no mind as she stared, a smirk plastered to his face.
"P..pra..practice." She cleared her throat, still watching as he continued to dress, "Have to do it enough in less than favorable situations, you get good at it after long enough."
Finishing pulling on his pants and shirt, "Fair enough, I've heard the same about firefighters and anyone that was in the military." Grabbing up the other items he figured he'd need for the day, "so if we're going into town, should I bring my bag?"
The dumbstruck look finally dropped off of Jes's face, trading it for confusion "Huh? Oh, yeah, not a bad idea, but you don’t have any money yet."
"Well that answers that question, was curious about the actual currency, no one had talked about it yet, was beginning to think it was the barter system all over again."
"Barter system? Yes, barter is viable with some vendors, but that is usually when materials are involved, but no, we use tokens, similar to most worlds modern coinage, but a lot lighter and impossible to falsify."
"How would I get some of these tokens? I'm guessing that a line of credit would be out of the question?" Patting his pockets as if he were hoping to find a few magically.
"You will get a few tokens and other supplies once your training is finished, it is usually more than enough to keep you going for a bit." Her voice took a somber tone as she realized what she'd said.
"Speaking of, what is the value and exchange rate? What do they look like?"
Pulling out the small pouch she kept on her person, "these are the smallest ones, I keep a few on me for those that are set on stealing from one of the trainers." She pulled out a small iridescent square token and showed it to Davin, "the small one is usually enough to buy you a drink."
"They look like they would snap, is that glass?" Reaching out and touching the token, having a near glass-like surface but not as cool to the touch as glass, almost like plastic.
"But today will be on me," she smiled widely, "then the next one is on you." taking back the token. "I will need to stop at my room before we head anywhere though, need a fresh change of clothes anyway."
With that, Jes headed out, leaving Davin alone in his room. Letting out a large sigh. "Whoa man, that was, woo. Okay, deep breaths." Shaking his arms and legs as if trying to shake the excitement off of them.
Davin grabbed his bag, then made his way into the hall…. Seeing that none of the traps were set as they had been for the last few days, and that made him nervous, to say the least. His steps were still silent as he moved through the hall, checking more areas, his paranoia ramped sky high. Each step sent chills down his spine, expecting the worst, making it all the way to the door, and finding it unlocked and the traps not set. Swinging the door open, he realized that this was the first time he'd actually opened and walked through the door from this side. Seeing the others in the common area broke the anxiety that Davin had been building, letting out a big sigh, and falling back to lean against the wall.
As Davin calmed down, he finally gave the room a full scan, seeing Gale, he grabbed something from the tables to eat and sat down next to him. "Okay, why is it that when nothing in the hall is set, it's far more terrifying?"
"I know what you mean, can be unnerving, but that’s half the fun, now that you've done it though, you get to have it at random intervals and triggers, should keep you on your toes." Gale nodded as he spoke, "You get a freebie for today, it's been ten days since you started, so no training."
"Oh? Ten-day weeks?" Davin looked curious as he eyed Gale.
"Basically, plus you got the crap kicked out of you and your class skills, so honestly it seems like as good of a reason as any. Plus, Jes said you two were going to head into town, and who am I to try and stop that woman when she looked that excited." A devious smile spread across his face.
Davin started to blush, trying to cover his face and play it off, "well I’d brought up how I didn't get to see much of the city before making it here, and she thought it was a good idea." Shrugging in an attempt to be nonchalant, and failing miserably.
"Oh yeah, you joined on your first day, and not even a few hours in, but yeah, also we use ten-day weeks, from what I've heard, the days are longer than some worlds and shorter than others, no one knows the exact amount, but it's always a 'feeling' that it's not right." Pulling out his pocket watch and checking the time.
"See and part of me wanted to duck out on training for the day." Snapping his fingers exaggeratedly. Feeling relieved for a free day, it settled on Davin on how little that he knew of this world, and based on what Compass had said, he isn't the only one that will be exploring the new world. "Is the Rainbow Bastion protected from the rest of the afterlife?" The words felt weird in his mouth as he said them.
"Nope, there is a gap between here and there, and it's big enough to keep them separate, there are a few ships that stop in some of the strongholds that are out there." Tapping his chin in thought.
"Strongholds? Like a fort?" Confusion was clear in his voice.
"Exactly like a fort, it's pretty dangerous out there, between the monsters, the dungeons, bandits, and the ones that buck the system…" A grim look crept onto his face.
Davin's jaw went slightly slack at the casual callout of the sheer danger that was out there. He was thinking more like an untamed wilderness similar to that of things like the 'wild west' of America's past, not a hostile environment of a true fantasy world. "Monsters, dungeons, and now the influence of my world… We still can't die right?" The mild sound of fear in his voice.
The Smile that grew on Gale's lips did not go unnoticed, "The influence of your world? What news do you have to share my friend?"
Davin told Gale about the conversation that he'd had with Compass, and the things that his arrival here in the afterlife is likely to bring, Gale was quiet at first, but as the conversation continued, the glee on his face grew, because he knew, the world was new again, and it has been a very, very, long time since this seemingly static 'world' had seen any change. The two continued to talk about it, all as Gale knew it, giving Davin a lot more information than he was expecting.
Their chat lasted till Jes arrived.