The notification meant nothing to him in comparison to everything else. In the days since Falk left to get her a new cloak Thera had only come out of her room occasionally to eat, leaving him with nothing to do but extract information from his god and direct his lingering anger about the situation into his creations, and as he finished altering the barrier enchantment tied to his shoes to fit his needs he got his level up.
A part of him wanted to redo the entire thing, but he heard the door open and tried to look casual as he rushed to it, Thera not meeting his eyes as she left her room to get a snack.
“Ben, I’m sorry I’m just really not up to anything right now. Maybe later,” She said the same way she did every time she’d left her room since, only this time, instead of just accepting it as he had been, he threw himself to the ground, shocking her as he did.
“I’m sorry,” He told her before she could try to leave. “I knew you’d hate it when I told you to do it, but I still got you to cast a sleep spell on everyone. I’m sorry I couldn’t think of a better way to handle things.”
He couldn’t meet her eyes. He wanted her to swear or yell at him or something, not lock herself away again like she’d been doing. He waited for anything, but he hadn’t been expecting her to pull him from the ground into a hug.
“I’m not- I was never mad at you Ben,” She said as she squeezed him tighter. “It’s just, things had been going so well recently. Nobody’s been bothering me about it and it’s been looking like I might not need the cloak at all soon and then this happened and… it’s just a reminder that I’m basically a monster to the people around me without it.”
“Thera-”
“I know you don’t think that, but I do. Nobody else in the entire world does this to people Ben, not like I do. How could I be anything other than a monster? Since you have my brace so good right now I should just hide away in Anailia where I won’t hurt anyone.”
He gently took her face as she held him, bringing her eyes out of his chest to look into his, letting him see the tears in them.
“Listen-”
“You can’t change my mind on this. It just takes the same thing happening in Stonewall and I’ll have to go through all of this again. It would be safer for everyone if I just hid from the world.”
“Well if that’s something you want to do then I’ll come too,” He told her, watching her eyes widen in shock as he went on. “I’m sure your mom would employ me, and like you’ve said before, it’s weird for me to still be acting as an apprentice with my levels what they are, I should be cutting the cord.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” She told him as she let him go, beginning to walk away. “I know you want to learn more from my uncle, it would be stupid to just leave.”
She wanted to ignore the offer. It was something he’d said in the heat of the moment, there was no way he’d actually do it. It was only the feeling of him gently taking her hand that stopped her as he quietly spoke.
“You’re more important to me than that.”
“What?” She couldn’t help but ask, turning back and seeing eyes filled with gentle earnestness. “Ben, you’re being silly. Your life is in Stonewall.”
“Sure, there’s Sonya and Falk and a few other acquaintances, but Myriad will be available wherever I am, and more importantly it wouldn’t feel like home if you aren't there. Besides, I just don’t like the thought of you being alone.”
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She went back to his chest, hiding her face in it, not wanting him to see the vivid gold of her blush and hoping he couldn’t feel her heart pound as she stood there against him. For a while they both stayed there, neither saying anything until Thera broke the silence.
“You’re not leaving Stonewall.”
“Thera-”
“You’re not leaving ‘cause I won’t either, okay? I was mostly just saying things, it’s not like I want to leave aunty or uncle, and as much as I’d like to see my new cousin more, living with my parents sounds like a massive pain. Besides… well it’s my home.”
In that moment she couldn’t say she didn’t want to leave him either, as true as it was the words stuck in her throat, like saying it would be admitting something to herself she wasn’t ready to handle. She felt her blush begin to recede and looked up to see the gentle smile on his face as her stomach growled, breaking the tension and drawing a laugh from him as she went to let him cook her a meal for the first time in days.
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After eating they both went to sit in the living room where Ben had been sleeping, Thera grabbing a book to flip through now that she had the energy while Ben dug through his bag looking for something and managed to come out with what looked like loose wire that he immediately began bending and fiddling with.
“Okay, I need to ask, what are you doing?”
“Felt like making something but I don’t have many options, figured I’d go for a little necklace to pass the time,” He explained as he started shaping a square pendant for it. “I used to weave necklaces and bracelets and stuff as a kid so I figured it could be fun. Heck, I’m pretty good at what I do, maybe I’ll try to make some real jewelry when we get back. Actually, now that I think of it I never see you or Sonya wear any Thera. Are you not a fan or is that just not a custom in Anailia?”
He felt fairly sure he’d never seen Sonya wear any at least and he hadn’t paid enough attention in any of his visits to the succubus homeland to say for sure, but Thera shook her head. “Plenty do, I guess I just don’t see much point when they’d be hidden away by my cloak. I’m not actually sure why aunty doesn’t though, I’ve never thought to ask.”
“Huh, well in that case maybe I’ll make you something when we get back to see how well I can do. While I’m at it I’ll see about getting Falk to make something for Sonya, maybe we could make a contest of it or something.”
“I’m pretty sure that would make her day,” She said with a laugh, smiling brightly for the first time since they came back to the house and just in time for Falk's return.
As he came back with cloak in hand, hearing his niece's laughter he couldn’t help but break into a gentle smile as he greeted her with a hug. “I’m glad to see you’re doing better.”
“Um, I guess I had a good talk about everything,” She said, eyes shifting to Ben for a second before looking back to her uncle. “So what now? Should we just head out?”
The adventurers from Stonewall had all found their own way back given the situation, they wouldn’t need to wait for anyone, but Ben spoke up. “I need to do something for Myriad before we leave if that’s alright, it should only take a few hours.”
“He says it’s very important.”
“Works for me, I need to sleep a bit before anything else anyway,” His teacher said before turning to his niece. “Thera, you should probably stay in with me while the boy does his thing to be on the safe side. Me and Ceselee have made very sure that everyone was crystal clear about what went down, but I don’t want to risk that idiot doing anything again.”
“Alright, I guess that’s for the best,” She said, not in a hurry to explore the town, even with a new cloak after what happened. “In that case just be careful out there Ben.”
“Of course, be back soon.”
He didn’t know if Falk had any idea what he was thinking when he asked for a few hours, but he was grateful he got Thera to stay behind. It helped make things easier on him, and with almost everything he needed ready he grabbed his bag and went on his way, heading to one of the town's blacksmiths while they were still open.
As he opened the door he was greeted by the friendly shopkeeper, eager to help and make a sale.
“What can I do for you today?” He was asked with cheer, and Ben knew exactly what he wanted.
“I’m looking to borrow your forge and buy a few materials, I’m happy to pay a rental fee if you're willing.”
The smith gave him a funny look but agreed easily enough. He wasn’t making anything at the time and profit was profit so once funds were exchanged he pointed to the small one in the corner and brought him everything he asked to buy as Ben mentally went over his plans before he began heating everything, starting with his cursed ring.