Scout Jones, better known to his friends as Jonesy, slowly makes his way through the forest towards Bathilda's house. His knees tremble with every step and he's trying his best to ignore the fact that he's already soiled himself.

How could he not when his orders are to march into a dragon's den and ask her to politely stop causing earthquakes while also finding out the reasons behind them.

Luckily his pants are only wet as Jones is trying his best not to shit himself with every step. Each one brings him closer to what he can only think of as his doom.

When he reaches the clearing, the sun shining down on him is warm to the touch when compared to the cold, shaded forest. It doesn't help alleviate his worries, however, and he begrudgingly makes his way toward the large wooden building.

Carefully navigating his way through what appears to be ploughed fields, Scout Jones eventually reaches the front door. His clothes are drenched in sweat and he looks as though he's had a bucket of water thrown over his head. Reluctantly, as with every step he's taken so far, he diligently carried out his mission and knocked on the door.

Standing there, Jones' whole body shakes in fear as the door opens. Inside the door, the woman he has watched over the last few days from afar is now right in front of him. Her golden hair and red eyes entrance the scout as his trembling comes to a momentary halt.

Holy Fuck! She is beautiful. All traces of fear disappear as he stares at Bathilda, his mouth hanging slack. Now that Jones is up close and personal with the monster slayer, he knows that the allure she possesses is unrivaled. Her lips are like seduction as they ask, "How can I help you?" The curvature of her body is sexiness itself as she places her hands on her hips and repeats the question. Even the way she raises an eyebrow in dismissal before closing the door on him is enough to make Jones' heart skip a beat.

It takes the love-struck scout a moment to realise what has just happened. For him, time blinked by as the beautiful woman came and went. In reality, he stood there for a full minute awkwardly-smiling at Bathilda as though he was missing a few brain cells.

Shaking it off and recollecting himself, Jones knocks on the door.m again. This time he intends to start speaking as soon as gorgeous monster opens the door. Unfortunately, what Bathilda perceived to be a silly game of statue knocking had irritated her a little bit.

Opening the door, Bathilda starts shouting before Jones gets the chance to open his mouth. "I swear to God, if you don't speak this time I'm going to...to... Beat you up. Do you hear me!?"

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Jones definitely heard her as his infatuated heart just got stabbed by her childish, yet threatening, words. His face returns to the fearful look he had when leaving Home and the colour drains from his skin. He almost matches Bathilda's complexion until his eyes roll back and he collapses on the porch.

"Did you kill him?" The redhead asks while examining the passed-out scout on the floor. After he had collapsed, Bathilda carried him inside and laid him down in front of the fire. It wasn't her intention to petrify the poor man. She was just annoyed that the first person to knock on her door did nothing except gawp at her.

"No! I don't kill people, Hiro. I just scared him. I think." Bathilda checks his pulse to be safe. She didn't want to terrify the poor man to death. She was only annoyed at him. Luckily, he still has a pulse and Bathilda sighs in relief.

"You killed me!" Knocking Bathilda out of her comfort, Hiro's words hit home.

"Yeah, but you're in one of my clones. It's different." She tries to put herself in the right by using the substitute.

"No. It really isn't." Not letting go this time, Hiro refutes Bathilda's statement.

"Well it's not my fault you didn't have enough magic to use the Illusion skill, is it?" Trying her best to avoid blame, Bathilda tries once more to palm it off onto something else.

"Er... Yeah! It actually is and what about the times you used me as bait? Or a decoy? Or a test subject?" Unluckily for her, Hiro isn't letting it go this time. She tries to think of other ways to avoid accountability, but gives up as she knows her companion is right. She has been treating him badly.

"Fuck. Alright, Hiro. I get it. I'm sorry." A heartfelt apology is always the best way to go when you've wronged someone. Bathilda isn't even sure why she tried to avoid the blame in the first place. She was more honest than anyone else she knew back on earth. Hell, even some doctors are shady as shit these days.

"Do you remember what happened when you died, Bathilda? Do you remember your death?"

"Sort of. I remember being in a Tornado and thinking of myself as Dorothy before I hit my head. I think? It's hard to remember. I remember that bitch Florence though! Her and her stupidly-ripped god. Seriously. Why did he look like that? Is he entering the universal strong-deity competition or something?"

"I bet your death was very traumatic. Just like they are for me, Every Single Time!" The pain of death is written across his face.

"I am sorry, Hiro. Really. I promise from now on, I'll do my best to protect you too. At first, I only thought of you as an interloper. A hitchhiker. Creeping along on my soul getting a free ride. I was super mad at first, you know? After a while though, a good many fights and a large house later, I started to see you as family."

"Family?" A smile creeps across Hiro's face. Until it is instantly wiped away by the next comment. "Yeah. You're like my little sister now." Bathilda giggles in glee.

"God damn it, Bathilda! I'm a man. M. A. N. Man! Why won't you just make me a man's body," Hiro sighs.

"I can't alter the clones, unfortunately. Although, I'm surprised you haven't just used illusion to change it yourself. You've already done it to the hair." Stating the obvious, Hiro's mouth almost hits the floor.

He's lost for words. Hiro is annoyed with Bathilda for not mentioning it sooner and he's furious with himself for not realising the simple idea. "Fuck!" He says as his body begins to change shape.