Snow entered her tent. She got out of her clothes and was in a simple shirt and shorts. She glanced over towards Dairen, who was cuddled up like a burrito, sleeping soundly in his little corner. 

With a yawn, she slipped her feet in. Allowing herself to enjoy the coolness of her sleeping bag. Laying down, she stared up at the ceiling, thinking about all the events that had transpired. She closed her eyes, trying to get some sleep. 

For a moment, there was peace. The cicadas were singing their usual song, while the fire crackle and the low voices of a handful of people awakened could be heard off in the distance. 

A scuffling sound of sheets against sheets could be heard, and a warmth she didn’t expect to feel was present. Her eyes snapped open. She snapped her head towards the side where the feeling was coming from and found Dairen had weaseled his way towards her. 

The only thing sticking out was his face, quietly sleeping close to her own. 

Snow jerked backward, unable to sleep so closely without shouting from the unexpected encounter. She froze when he moved, coming closer again. 

When did he get so close?! Snow thought, trying to see if she had enough room to run away, but every time she moved a bit, Dairen would follow her like a lost puppy. Was he doing this intentionally? She wasn’t sure without shaking him awake. 

Eventually, she had nowhere else to escape. Her back against the lining of the tent. Her head facing him. She didn’t realize until now that he had quite long eyelashes. Even his hair was a bit shaggier than before, covering half of his face. 

Dairen’s face was smooth with barely any pimples or blackheads. She couldn’t help but jealously stare at his perfect skin tone, which she wanted herself. Her hand unconsciously reached out, pushing away his hair. Her fingers brushed against the side of his cheeks. 

When her hand passed, Dairen’s eyes were partially awake, staring at her with warmth. For a moment, their eyes interlocked. 

Eventually, Dairen reached out, tracing his hand on her face and onto her pink lips. His hand scooped over, pulling her body into his arm. 

Snow was overwhelmed by Dairen’s sweet, but slightly musky scent. Her body froze, unsure what to do but stay still and stare. 

She couldn’t decide if Dairen was completely awake or drunk from the way he was acting, and he didn’t just stop there. 

Pulling her entirely into his embrace, she was wrapped in his arm, making her feel small. He kissed her forehead. 

Snow heard the thumping of his heartbeat and the heaviness of his breathing. She looked up. Their nose and lips, not even a few centimeters apart. Their eyes met temporarily, he sighed, staring and watching for a very long time. 

Snow was trapped in his silverish green eyes. Her mind was blank, unsure what to say or do. When the sound of loud, boisterous drunk voices outside made Snow realize what predicament she was in.

Coming back to her senses, she pulled back, surprised by his sudden advance. 

Dairen frowned, but he didn’t say anything and watched her with a predatory gaze.  For a while, they kept their distance. He didn’t push forward anymore and instead pulled her in as he snuggled together and into her white hair. He inhaled and slowly went back into a deep sleep. 

Snow was thrown entirely off guard by Dairen’s bold movements. She could feel his muscles against her chest and arms. Flustered, unable to do anything but stay still, allowing him to fall asleep, Snow didn’t dare to move. 

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The pulsating electric feeling didn’t dissipate, completely throw her off guard. Her eyes shot, words unable to come out of her lips, she stayed in his arms until sleep eventually overcame her. 

*****

Snow woke up with a groan. Her body was sluggish and heavy. Her head was slightly pounding from the drink last night, realizing that she had drank a bit too much. Turning her head towards her side, she found Dairen awake and staring at her. 

Her mouth gaped open and closed. Eventually, she was able to force some air through her throat. Snow said, “When did you wake up?” 

“Just a few moments ago.” 

Snow tried to play it off cool. “Why are you staring at me…?”

Dairen momentarily went silent. He scanned her face, reaching over to push away her hair. “Because you are beautiful.” 

His sudden words brought an unexpected wave of heat to her face. She blushed, coughing as she got up. Last night closeness made her squeamish, and she wasn’t sure how to face him. Hopefully, he wasn’t fully awake to remember everything that had happened last night. 

“Thanks.” 

Dairen frowned, displeased that she got up too quickly, leaving the sleeping bag's warmth behind. He reached up to grab her wrist but stopped himself. 

Snow reached over to grab a few of her clothesk, then glanced at Dairen. “If you don’t mind.” 

Dairen realized what she was asking for as he jumped up and went out of the tent. He disappeared. 

An unknown weight lifted off her shoulder. Quickly, changing out of her nightclothes, she wore simple black cut up jeans with a sleeveless turtleneck shirt. It hugged her body, bringing out her figure. Pulling up her long black boots, she got up. 

Taking a step out, she opened the flap door to the outside. 

Dairen was patiently waiting for her, watching the others' busy morning getting up and getting ready. 

“Aren’t you going to wash yourself?”

“I have already done it.” 

“So quickly?” Snow was baffled on how fast he changed. 

“It doesn’t take so long, Snow.” 

“Well, I must be a bit slow.” 

Both of them walked in silence, unable to start a conversation. Snow’s mind was filled with last night, her cheeks slightly warm, and unable to say anything back. It was as if there was a rock stuck in her throat, making it difficult to speak. 

They continued onwards, watching the camp come to life. The heavy smell of a freshly cooked breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast lingered in the air, making Snow’s stomach grumble. 

She headed straight towards the fire camp, where a table of food plates was laid out in a buffet typesetting. Angie was leading a group of priest and priestess, serving food for everyone to eat. 

Snow stood in line, waiting for her own turn. She happily got a plate of food, which for some reason, the cook put more food into than the others. Before she could retort about the amount of food she was given, the cook went to the next person. 

Walking away with a slightly heavy plate, Snow headed towards an open log, where she saw Mike, Dairen, Rodney, Audrey, and Angie all sitting around having breakfast. 

Angie was half asleep drooling, while Rodney had both plates on his lap. She swaggered a bit, flopping onto his shoulder. Rodney reached for her with a spoon in hand, and he scooped up some grits and brought it over for her to eat, tapping it a few times on her lips. With a whine, she groaned at him. 

“Angie, breakfast,” Rodney whispered to her. Angie opened up her mouth like a baby chick. 

They were in their own little world, making Snow feel a bit warm watching them. Audrey had an ale in hand, early in the morning lightly drinking, with a wide grin. He was gobbling up his food, trying to scarf up everything followed by ale's deep chug. 

Mike was leisurely eating his while looking through his reports. 

Dairen was sitting across from her, picking at his food with his fork. He looked up at her for a brief moment and then looked back down his plate, unable to say anything. 

Snow slowly ate her food; she picked through a few and ate through her breakfast. 

Mike put down his paper and said, “I got a report this morning that they will be here a bit early at night.” 

“I was hoping that they would take a bit longer.” Snow forked a sausage and took a bite. It’s juicy sausage splashed in her mouth, allowing her to enjoy the food. 

“On the bright side, we have confirmation that the dungeon core is for sure with the dungeon boss.”

“Really?” Snow placed her fork down, “Where exactly would that be?”

“Apparently, it’s on its chest.”

“Any other descriptions?”     

“They said it looks similar to some weird dinosaur creature.” 

Rodney said excitedly, “That would be an interesting fight.” He had finished eating as he placed it on the ground. “I’m ready to knock this bitch out.”

“As of now, we have to deal with one problem at a time. First off, let’s get the problem that is coming dealt with and done with.” Snow sighed. The thought of dealing with Jack was something she didn’t want to do. Honestly, she wanted to run away and leave all the problems behind at times. 

“For sure. We can’t have Jack running around doing whatever he wants, to,” said Mike. “I’m quite sure that we’ll come out of this, alright.” 

“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves,” Snow said. She knew such expectations were ideal, but she wanted to make sure that they weren’t easily blindsided. 

They finished their breakfast, getting ready for the end of the day for the entanglement with Jack.