The water squeaked from the pipes, letting it run to warm up, peeling his filthy clothes from his body, the dust and sweat leaving a muddy set of smears along his body. Stepping into the weak stream felt like he'd stepped into the most magical waterfall that he could imagine. He stood, letting the hot water run down his body, his stress feeling like it was melting, his anger seeming like petty frustrations by comparison. The cold hand that touched his back made him jump, turning to see Jes jump back as well, their eyes meeting.

"Jes!? Is something wrong?" The panic in his voice as his mental wanderings shattered and it brought him back to his own mind.

"You didn’t answer when I knocked, I brought you some soap." Her gaze averted as if her life depended on it, almost starting directly at the ceiling.

Davin felt the heat in his cheeks as it began to climb. "Thank you, sorry about not answering, I was lost in thought." He looked down at her, she was wearing an oversized tunic of a soft-looking fabric.

She shoved the basket of toiletries into his stomach. "You'll likely want these." She turned abruptly and left the small bathroom at a run.

His cheeks still hot he turned water to cold for a brief moment to cool down, muffling a yelp as he stood in the cold water before turning it back up. He washed almost mechanically, thinking of Jes and how she blushed upon seeing him, thinking it was less of an accident than she played it. He felt refreshed as he dried himself, wrapping the towel around his waist, he looked at his filthy clothes, almost brown from how much dust and filth they were currently covered in… he never had a chance to stop in at his room to grab fresh clothes, he hoped that Jes didn't mind. Making sure that the towel was as tied as well as it could be, he headed out of the bathroom, he quickly found Jes cleaning in her kitchenette, scrubbing something that from where he was standing, he couldn’t tell what it was. He walked up slowly, he watched as she was cleaning a small pan.

Clearing his throat. "Ehem, showers free, so it's your turn.

"The pan clattered into the sink as Jes jumped at Davin's words. "Ahh!" She let out a strangled scream, trying to hold it back and failing miserably. She leaned over the sink, breathing heavily as she tried to recover. She jumped at the noise, letting out a small squeak. "OH! Okay, I'll go shower." She looked at him standing in just his towel, blushing once again. "I didn't think about that! You'll need clothes, I should have a kilt that you can wear and a shirt that should fit you. "She quickly ran over to the cupboard that made up her closet, pulled out a few items, and rushed back to Davin, shoving the items into his arms and rushing to the small bathroom, her blush deeper than Davin could ever remember seeing.

Davin chuckled to himself as he heard the water kick on, dressing slowly, he wasn't used to kilts or skirts, but he could see it as a handy thing to keep around for guests. The shirt did fit, but was a little fluffier than he would have liked, reminding him of the iconic pirate blouse. He looked around her small apartment, a wall of trinkets that Davin recognized as puzzles, similar to the one that they had picked up on their date, most had been solved, but several others seemed to be in a state of work. He smiled, thinking about their 'date', and he started looking out for traps, she seemed to enjoy puzzles and traps in her off time. Her apartment was simple otherwise, but he also didn’t think she had much free time to spend here since there was no tv or radio, the natural silence was a little unnerving, glad that the sound of the shower was still humming in the background. He missed music, and he started wondering about the bards, and if they'd discovered metal… hell even some sort of swing would be good, did bards make bands? Was a question worth asking Jes about, maybe even Gale, he seemed like someone that would be into the club scene. Could be another thing that he could help with. He was still distractedly thinking when Jes had finished her shower, seeing him standing near her puzzles.

"If you want to try one, just don’t do the ones with the yellow block next to them, those are the ones I'm still working on. And I know that we grabbed some food on our way in, but I think I'm still hungry, how about you?" picking up the pan that she was scrubbing when he came out.

"I'm still hungry too, want me to help?" Davin asked earnestly, pointing at the pan in her hand.

"My treat, you’ve been through a lot today, and I know you're planning to go out into the wilds soon, so this might be the only chance I have to do this before you go." Her cheeks flushed some.

She started pulling out food from her cupboards, reminding Davin about the lack of refrigerators, the rhythmic thumping as she did her prep work was calming. The meal that Jes made for Davin brought back many different memories, some of his wife, some from his mother, the bland lackluster food was surprising. Since he'd been in the afterlife, almost everything that he'd eaten was what he would have considered in his past life as some of the best that he could have ever eaten without having gone to some five-star Michelin restaurant. She kept looking over at him nervously, the two of them eating mostly in silence. So when Davin spoke, it caused Jes to jump a little.

"I don't plan to stay away forever, but there is an entire world out in the wilds, I can't just stay here, I know that you're here, so I know how to find you." He smiled at her, trying to come across as comforting.

"Oh, I know, and you're always welcome here, I might have to get a bigger bed though, and a cupboard, I'm not giving up any of my clothes space you'll lose yours in the dorm once you set out." She kept eating, the response seeming almost absent-minded.

"Wait, you want me to move in?" Davin's confusion was clear, and he didn't know how to respond.

Her own words catching up with her, she dropped her fork and covered her face, the blush on her face went all the way to her ears, her muffled response from behind her hands. "I uh, I want you to…

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

If that’s okay?"

His cheeks flushed, finding himself wanting to scream yes, finding himself really only capable of nodding vigorously. Jes let out yet another squeak, also seeming to not be able to bring herself to words either. The two of them sat in panicked happy silence.

After a while, Davin took charge of the kitchen, the pile of cocoa nibs that he got from the vendor were strong, and finding that Jes had a mortar and pestle, he began to grind the nibs. He'd never done the process from this point, he knew what needed to happen, but knowing and doing are vastly different. The paste that he was making was only part of the process, adding in the sugar and continuing to grind the nibs, the thick paste was one of the original forms of chocolate. He liked more of a semisweet chocolate or milk, but for now, he was just starting with a classic dark, he would need to remember all the steps in the tempering process, but this much would get him to a point to bake with. Chilling the cocoa paste in the icebox felt like the longest time, Jes's excitement was endearing. The snap as Davin broke the chocolate was like he'd hypnotized her, she watched as he broke it all into bite-sized pieces.

"So, when you put it in your mouth, you want to let it melt in your mouth, just suck on it, let the flavor fill your mouth, it will start out a little bitter, but it will sweeten as it melts in your mouth." Placing the first piece on her tongue. Watching her as the piece melted made his heart flutter, her eyes lit up and her smile went wide. His heart melted, watching as she danced in silence, her face rolling through every emotion.

"How is it so good?!" Her eyes were wide, eyeing the other pieces on the plate.

"This was all I made, so don't overdo it, there are a lot of things we can do with a proper chocolate too, and we can change the flavor and see what you like the most." Pulling the small plate far enough out of her reach.

"Like what?" She tried reaching for the plate, Davin again pulling it from her reach.

"With this, I can make some cake, brownies, and a few other things, I saw how many tokens you passed over, so I know this wasn’t cheap." Pulling one of the smaller pieces from the plate and handing it to her.

She eyed him dubiously. "What did you think of dinner?" A smirk raised on her lips.

"It was well executed very well." He averted his eyes, looking anywhere but at her.

"Executed well? Guess someone just volunteered to do the cooking when he's in town." She crossed her arms and huffed.

"Sounds like a plan to me, need to earn my keep, can't just get by on looks alone." He posed, showing his jawline exaggeratedly.

"Eh, looks only get you so far, not good enough to invite you to stay with me." Waving him off and sticking her nose into the air.

He took the chocolate and put it into her icebox. "Don't eat the props, I'll get some baking supplies in the morning, I'm glad you even had sugar."

"Telling me what I can't eat? Talking like you live here or something." She chuckled at her joke.

"Well, how else will I make you treats?"

Her eyes glazed and a small line of drool dripped from her lip, wiping it away she looked at him, locking her stare with his. "Treats you say?"

The two spent the evening talking, planning, and moving a few things around, Jes had only what amounted to what most recognized as a full-sized bed, so it was a close night for the two of them, but neither of them minded.

"I thought that was going to end far more violently, I don't think that I would have kept the same level of composure."

"Eh, I wasn't big on staying angry, it doesn’t accomplish anything but wastes a lot of energy."

"That is a fair point. Some here know how to hold a grudge, so just keep that in mind."

"Fair point, who have you pissed off? So that I know."

"No one has sworn an oath for my destruction if that is what you're implying."

"Basically what I'm implying, but at the same time, just because they haven’t sworn an oath for it, doesn't mean that someone out there won't want my head as a result."

"They can't take your head, if you perish, you will be shattered into your spirit and be transported instantly to one of the soul pillars where a friend can pull you back in."

"Shattered? Like I'm made of glass?"

"Yes, shattered, and more like being broken into your key soul components, soul-bound items stay with you, but everything else falls where you do."

"That just sounds like it will cause trauma."

"It does, it is one of the largest reasons that the city is so populated, most that take residence here didn't seek the chance to be adventurers, they found the chance to live a second life here much more than they expected."

"And that is the real reason that the food here is so good?"

"Basically, they have had a lot of time to perfect their craft."

"So avoid Shattering, got it."

"Yes and no, I feel that getting one at lower levels is better than having it happen higher up, the backlash seems to be lower, but if you can avoid it, I encourage it, it is still not a pleasant experience."

"So in a few days, I think we will be hitting the wilds, any advice?"

"Work with the ranger trainer, I think that plan will help you, plus, the quests that they have around there are usually good practice for the wilds as whole."

"How often should I check the power that can direct me to them?"

"Maybe once a day? At this point, I have only sensed a few instances, and the one that you saw has already faded, so I don’t know what regularity they are settling in."

"Keep me posted, and I'll do the same. Now, I don’t want to feel like I'm cutting you short, but I do have company, and I don’t know how to set up a 'do not disturb' on my own mind."

"Oh, right, then I will let you get back."

The darkness engulfed him.