"I'm gonna blow that stupid, little pimple head right off her shoulders!"

"Now, stop talking silly."  Cinnamon chides.

 “But she’s such a rude, condescending, little-- Ugah!” I pray that this time my lack of articulation finally gets across my strong objection to Kryst tagging along with us. Clearly, the previous conversations throughout the day and the last five minutes of logical arguments haven’t been doing the trick to convince the way to forgiving bunny girl.

“Oh, Brian.” She says my name in her soothing coo as if talking to a small child or pet. “Kryst had just gone through a very traumatic experience. Can you really blame her for reacting the way she did?”

“Yes! Yes, I can!” I push my back away from the tree I'm leaning against and wave my arms about in frustration, “And so should you!”

Its late in the afternoon and Cinnamon and I have been resting in the shade of a large tree on the edge of a slowly flowing river for a good fifteen minutes now. She has removed her boots and sit on the bank, dipping her feet in the cool water.

“Sometimes we all just need to be a bit more understanding and show a little kindness." Cinnamon counters while swirling her toes.

I think back to the early morning incident with Kryst and the tentative truce which had been called.

Well, tentative from my point of view anyway.

The fairy had been completely dismissive of the entire affair, and Cinnamon way to quick to pardon the indiscretions. The soft-hearted bunny had even gone so far as to make repeated apologies to the little-winged jerk.

After a bit of sulking on my part, I’d finally stormed over and busied myself at the Drayger body, thankful that my skill ranks in Survival gave me something to keep me occupied. So, while Cinni slipped back off to sleep I had committed myself to the gruesome task of slicing off the hide, collecting claws, teeth, and even a few bones. It had worked fairly well and I'd managed to avoid any further interaction with the fairy.

With nothing to keep it fresh, I was wary of keeping any more of the raw snake meat around too. So I cooked the rest of it and then did the same with some of the Drayger as well. Letting it sit over the hot smoking coals for the rest of the night.

Even cooked I knew the meat wouldn’t last too long, but I figured it would do well enough to give me something to eat in the morning and during the walk to town.

While digging about in the Drayger corpse I also had a bit of an epiphany and decided to try and test my Adventurers Backpack. Sitting down with it I envisioned the sorts of supplies that I would need and then reached in.

For a moment it felt like I was digging around in a mess of cloth and a mixture of baubles but then my hand found a hard edge. When I pulled it free I held a simple carved wooden box about the size of a loaf of bread. Releasing the small catches on the side I opened it to reveal a variety of tools. A few carving instruments, a hand drill and small hammer, a couple boxes of assorted sized nails and metal pegs. Wire, a couple of roughly textured sanding blocks. Even a pot of glue and clamps.

(Travel) Tinker's Toolkit: Allows for crafting based skill checks -These specialized tools are used to assist in the pursuit of a craft or trade.

Adventurer’s Backpack: Mundane: This item can be used to pull forth 5 mundane pieces of adventuring gear. The items retrieved cannot have a value of more than 5 gold. Once an item is called forth from the pack it remains. Contents: 50ft Hemp Rope, Grappling Hook, Handsaw, (Travel) Tinker's Toolkit. Uses Remaining: x1

The thought of slipping back into my trance and see if I had managed to garner any more character points had also been a tempting one. Though I was unwilling to do so with Kryst around.

The fairy had kept herself busy, gorging on the food. Packing away far more than I’d have thought possible into her tiny body. Then, after she'd let loose with a rather impressive belch, she'd given me a nod and a "Thanks for the grub."

I had merely grunted back at her before she disappeared into the tree canopy.

It had been my hope that it would have been the last we saw of her, but nope. When the sun came up there she was again, flitting down from the branches to inquire about breakfast. Like the annoying scrub she is.

While I and the freeloading fairy had picked at the meat, Cinnamon had finished the last of her sandwich and even found us some native wild berries growing close to camp. A bright yellow cherry-like fruit that to me, tasted like cotton candy.

A second punch filled fight fest had nearly broken out after we had packed up camp and little Miss Thunderfist informed us that she'd thought about it and decided to take us up on our offer to tag along after all.

Joy.

And so grumbling and cursing both vocally and under my breath, we set out. Cinnamon and I have made some small talk but lugging the heavy hide and Drayger parts through the forest has steadily sapped our strength and slowed us down considerably, forcing us to make repeated rest stops throughout the day. However, seeing as I had no money I wanted to take anything that we might be able to trade in town along with us.

Leaning over the pile I tighten the ropes, making sure that when Kryst returns from scouting we'll be ready to move.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

I hate to admit it but she probably has saved us a couple hours of travel by directing our route toward clearer paths and game trails in the forest. And more than once she has pointed out places for river crossings and even had us avoiding a cliff or two.

During the trek, the forest canopy has, thankfully, done a fair job of keeping my eyes shielded from the suns glare. I have noticed that when we do find breaks in the trees, the bright light does sting my eyes and though it is uncomfortable it's bearable. Still, I find myself shielding them quite often, especially when an unexpected ray catches me.

Cinnamon stands up and move over to sit a little closer to me, drying her cute, four-toed feet before pulling on her boots.  I've got a few of my tools in my lap and have been working on carving one of the Drayger claws, every so often pausing to take in magical sights sounds and smells around me. It’s beautiful, the sunlight glinting over the surface of the river. The low liquid burbling sound of water as it trickles and splashes over the almost neon green mossy rocks of the bank.

We've both drank our fill when Kryst had first flown ahead, though looking at the shimmering surface I feel like setting my lips to it once again. Simply to have another taste of the cool clear liquid.

Next to me Cinnamon has gone quiet. She sighs, "I'm really sorry that you saw that side of me, Brian."

"What are you talking about?" I boggle, pausing in my carving.

"How I wasn't very considerate of Kryst's feelings." Cinnamon gives a small shrug of her shoulders."Remember how I made such a big deal about how small she was?"

"Cinnamon." I draw a deep breath and pause in my carving and sanding of the onyx-colored claw. "How did you make a big deal. And besides that, she had been insulting the both of us."

"That doesn't make it okay for me to be cruel. You saw how upsetting it was for her and I didn't make it any easier."

“Jiminy Christmas, Cinni. Will you stop apologizing already?” It’s my turn to sigh now, and I do so. Coupled with a rub of my temples in a vain attempt to ease my stress-induced migraine.

"You must think that I'm a terrible person." Cinni her ears lower as she plucks at some grass.

"Huh? Why?" I ask.

"Because of the way I acted." Cinnamon pauses, "First I made you think I ran away when the Drayger attacked and then after we... umm... kissed. Well, I guess I was a little disappointed."

I feel a lump grow in my throat and my heartbeat rises. "So, you were d-disappointed?" Embarrassment flushes hot across my cheeks and when Cinnamon gives a tiny nod all that keeps me from running away from her and hiding in the forest is that my legs have gone numb and won't respond.

"Cause it was so nice and then Kryst showed up and spoiled it, and..." Cinnamon turns her head away from me a bit more, " ...and I suppose that's why I was so mean to her."

She liked it!? Hot damn! I nearly throw up from the sudden untwisting then re-knotting of my stomach. What do I do!? What do I say!?

"No, Cinnamon, come on now." I shake my head, "I don't think that of you at all." With my elbows on my knees, I lean around trying to catch her eyes. "You didn't do anything wrong. And you should definitely never feel bad for standing up for yourself or for the way you feel."

"But, I'm not brave and confident like you are, Brian."

I open my mouth but no words form. Am I really in any sort of position to give her advice on being assertive? When was the last time I stood up for myself in my job? In my life for that matter. I've always been one to back down in the face of adversity.

Except in gaming of course. Then I could be a totally different person. Just like here.

Though I feel like me.

All I want to do while sitting here is to reach over and touch her hand. To reassure her that she is one of the kindest people I've ever met. To take her in my arms and comfort her. Yet, even though she just told me she enjoyed the kiss I'm too petrified by my own damn insecurities to follow through on the former, never mind the latter.

I had been confident enough to make a move on Cinni last night. Something I would have never had the courage to do in my real life. To strut up like an action movie hero and plant a passionate kiss on the beautiful love interest. Was it because I had almost died? Or was my character suddenly directing my actions? Just like knowing how to spin my pistol or--

A bee-like buzz derails my train of thought and Kryst lands in a branch a few feet up.

"Half expected to come find you two engaged in a round of hide the carrot."

At first Cinnamons ears perk up but then a blush flushes her cheeks and I can see she has just figured out that the fairy is referencing something of a more carnal nature and not an all ages vegetable-themed snack game.

My ire rises.

"Tell me, Kryst. Is being obnoxious an innate talent for you? Or did you pay good money to become such a professional suckhole?" I ask.

"Is someone still in a whining mood?" Kryst frowns her lips and makes them quiver in a mocking imitation of a baby crying.

My teeth grind and I nearly launch into another round of verbal fencing but I force myself not too. Further fighting would probably blow up in my face and mess up my chances with Cinnamon. She had just expressed a physical attraction to me, but she wasn't willing to acknowledge Kryst being a total waste of our time and an absolute tool.

As much as I would love to tie this frigging fairy to a lead weight and drop kick her out into the middle of the river I had to find some way to deal with her. I had no real personal experience with this sort of confrontational situation so my mind wanders back to past days at the gaming table. Lounging around, munching on snacks and downing bottles of overly caffeinated energy drinks. Everyone laughing and enjoying the ridiculous situations in the game.

Something in those memories causes me to pause.

There had been a multitude of times our party members disliked each other upon initial meetings. Mistaken identities and chance encounters were a constant staple of role play and party building. Was I now in a similar situation?

Deduction: Success!

Kryst was stubborn and hardheaded. Going at her to softly wasn't going to garner any respect. On the opposite end of the spectrum was attacking with too much aggression. Her every instinct screamed at her to fight back. A different approach was needed to deal with a character personality like hers.

Insight: Success!

"Here." She crumbles some bark in her teeny fists and sprinkles it above my head, "Butch up. Rub some dirt on your boo-boo and walk it off, Brantly."

"I'd tell you to kiss it better," I say dusting the bark off my shoulders, "but what if I end up liking it?" I give over acted shudder but inject humor with the hint of a smile, "Or worse, if you did!"

Charm vs Kryst Thunderfist: Success!

Kryst pauses, then lets loose with a melodic laugh, "Got that right." A grin breaks out on her small lips. "I would tear you up, Too Tall."

Holy crap!I think that may have worked! I wouldn't say we are ready to go braid each other's hair but she actually laughed, and her crossed-armed guarded stance has shifted to a less aggressive hand on the hips pose.

I let out a chuckle, stand and then help up Cinnamon.

"So, Kryst. Did you find anything?" Cinnamon asks.

"Yeah." she steps back of her branch and falls for a foot before her wings catch her to hover over our heads. "If you two are done sandbagging follow me.