After Theo reclaimed her lost footwear, time seemed to pass by unabated inside the cave. They sectioned off the mossy area of the dwelling to prevent any further mishaps and returned to their duel for a time. Around the time Theo started using acorns as smoke bombs, however, they decided it was probably best they stopped. At that point, it was clear neither cared about the bet or it’s repercussions any longer. Instead, the two enjoyed each other’s company while resting their well-exercised bodies, almost like old friends.
“You know, I think you have what it takes to be a bandit yourself,” Theo offered Aksel her praise, her eyes resembling that of a salesman on the cusp of offering him the greatest deal of his life.
“Thanks… I think.” Aksel replied, not sure if an aspiring hero should be pleased by such compliments.
“As it happens, the position of second in command is still vacant, and I think you meet my strict requirements for entry. Given your skill with a… stick, I believe I can offer you the position.”
“What luck.” Aksel wasn’t interested in the deal Theo was offering but felt compelled to hear her out.
“Picture this: a small, skilled team at our command, the halls of our hidden bandit keep filled with the spoils of our good work. Gold and silver from the Vairet mines, Calvaria wines fresh from the vineyards, Ashing silks from… that place silks come from, and Dasia… Whatever they produce.” Theo trailed off, losing track of what each region of the Divine Kingdom was known for.
“I think Dasia is mainly known for fishing.” Aksel added.
“Dasia fish!” Theo continued, “And not to mention all the sheer coinage we could get. I’m talking enough that I could even pay off my own mother’s debt, we’d be so rich. Not that I would,” she muttered under her breath for that last part, before getting back on track. “And then, at the end of a long day of adventure, we could have fun like this. What do you say?” Theo beamed, waiting for his response.
“I’m flattered you’d think of me, but I’m planning to be a knight, remember? I’m pretty sure what you desire and what I desire couldn’t be further apart,” Aksel explained.
“Huh? Oh, right, we’d be enemies…” Theo scratched the back of her head, her eyes drifting away as she contemplated how to bridge the gap between them. “What if I offer you 30% of everything we take? That’s a lot of stuff,” The bandit leader almost sung the last part to Aksel, though the offer was no less enticing for the effort.
“30% is no doubt generous on your part, but I’d still pick the honest career of a knight.”
“31%!” Theo upped her offer.
“The money really isn’t the issue here.”
“32%!”
“How much higher are you going to go before you give up?”
“Hmmmm, fine! Final offer, 35%! Take it or leave it.”
“I’ll leave it, thanks.”
“40%!”
“You’re not even listening to me, are you?”
“50%, split right down the middle. Join now and I’ll even throw in a back massage!” Theo pointed dramatically at Aksel, her face straight and overly serious about the situation.
“I—” Aksel started, but didn’t get the chance to finish this time, as Theo interrupted him.
“Ah, don’t tell me yet. Just think about the offer for a bit, will you? You can answer me later, okay?” Theo implored her cave companion, her eyes reflecting a mix of hope and anxiety. It was in that moment that it occurred to Aksel just how much this meant to her. Though Aksel still had no interest in the line of work she was offering, whether his cut was one percent or a hundred, he found himself unable to continue breaking her heart.
“Fine.” Aksel relented.
“Wait, does that mean—” Theo got her hopes up, but was brought back down to Mythrin quickly enough.
“I’ll think about it, like you suggested. But, if your proposal truly is earnest, then give me the rundown. How does this work?” Aksel asked, hoping to at least get some insight into the inner workings of Theo’s mindset.
A spark twinkled in Theo’s eyes, as a smile of pure, childlike excitement overtook her expression. She was clearly overjoyed at the prospect of recruiting her first member. Upon realising the kind of face she was making at him, she turned her head away and used her hands to try and relax her expression. Aksel smirked; it reminded him of how his little sister would act when she was too proud to show how happy she was.
With slightly red cheeks, Theo turned on her heels, her face smug and filled with the confidence of someone who had everything planned out.
“I’m glad to see you’re coming around to the idea. It would be quite a simple operation to start out with, of course. First, we’d need to arm ourselves, no point in going out there with our sticks.” They both looked at their sparring weapons stacked upright against the wall. As if on cue, Aksel’s much longer branch chose that moment to fall to the ground in the most comically timed fashion possible. Clearly, they weren’t going to pose much of a threat with those.
“Didn’t you try to rob me without—“ Aksel attempted to point out the error.
“We agreed that didn’t happen!” Theo quickly cut him off.
“Right, sorry. Continue.”
“So, after we get some weapons, we’ll take to the road!” She pointed with flair towards the cave entrance. “This area is nice and sparse with plenty of places to hide out in. We could probably rob a few random travellers or lone merchants on the road without kicking up too much of a fuss. Ah, no killing people, by the way. Dungeon-kin are dungeon-kin and animals are animals, but I don’t want anyone’s blood on our hands unless we have to,” she waggled her finger at Aksel as if scolding him for the idea.
“That’s kind of reassuring, actually. Go on.” Aksel prompted, so Theo continued.
“This place is a good location, not too many dungeon-kin around, at least none we couldn’t handle as a team. Plus, it’s quite far from any knight patrols that they wouldn’t bother us unless someone tipped them off,” she eyed Aksel briefly. “There’s a stream nearby, so we shouldn’t have any trouble getting water, and there should be enough game to hunt nearby to last us indefinitely. Manpower might be a small problem at first, but everyone starts small. I’m sure we can find worthy members to add to our ranks over time.”
She began counting on her fingers. “We could use more regular bandits, of course, but I’m thinking people with specialised skills. Miners, builders, alchemists, healers, blacksmiths, the works.”
This is getting really ambitious, Aksel noted, as Theo continued.
“We could use someone to mine out this cave and give ourselves a bit more room. Or if that doesn’t work, we could expand into the forest. Picture this; great big wooden walls with tall towers overlooking it all, a few small houses and buildings on the inside for our members. We could even have a nice big firepit in the centre with a massive spit roast over it. Ah, it would be so much fun hanging out after a hard day’s work and sharing drinks with my underlings,” Theo tried to paint the picture to Aksel. “We’d definitely need a cook too, maybe even two, one for me and one for everyone else. Can you cook?”
“Me? Erm, I guess?” Aksel shrugged. He knew some basics of survival cooking since he figured he’d need to know while out in the wild, but he wouldn’t exactly call himself proficient.
“Good enough, you can cook for us until we can get our professional in.”
The Second in command and the cook? This just keeps getting better.
Of course, we’d need some sort of mysterious trainer to get our men into shape too, I’m thinking a demi-human. Oh, but maybe an Orc would be better,” she pondered, before moving on. “Anyway, that would only be the first stage. After a while, we’d easily outgrow this place and need to seek greener pastures. I’m thinking we’d move west to the Vairet region, maybe around Treda-Dale. There’s lots of trade that goes through there from all the surrounding villages and farms and not nearly enough patrols to keep all that loot on the roads safe.”
Theo was almost chuckling to herself thinking about her future. As she turned away from Aksel, she put her arms out to either side of herself, as if speaking to a large audience. “Just think about it, we’d be unstoppable, with me, the beautiful Faithless Theo and you, her loyal second in command of her black surcoats. We’d be known far and wide as the scourge of merchants, the claimer of riches. People would write songs about us, brew beers in our honour, and put our names in the history books! We’d be invincible!”
Theo finally finished her pitch, and turned back to Aksel, only slightly out of breath with starry eyes filled with a fire that could only come with such levels of unjustified ambition, as she eagerly awaited his answer. “Well, what do you think? Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? I put a lot of thought into it this morning.”
“I’ll say. You were on a roll. I’m surprised you didn’t end it with taking over the kingdom.” Aksel spoke in jest, as Theo waved her hand dismissively.
“Come on, don’t be silly.”
“Yeah, even you’re not that—“
“I only had the morning to think that much up. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you my full plan to overthrow the kingdom,” she stood there proudly as she made such a ridiculous statement.
She’s not serious… right?
“… Excuse me.”
A soft unfamiliar voice, devoid of passion, echoed inside the cave, interrupting their talks of overthrowing the government. They both jumped in surprise and scrambled to their feet. Their eyes darted towards the source of the voice, quickly catching sight of the person responsible. From the mouth of the cave, they saw her.
It was a girl, around seventeen to eighteen if Aksel had to guess, though it was difficult to gauge from where he stood. She had long hair that fell down her back in multiple colours. Two-thirds of her hair was black, occupying the right and centre portions of her head—while the remaining third was a snowy white, taking up the left side. Her eyes told a similar story: the right one showing an emerald green, juxtaposed by a scarlet red on her left.
Unlike her more personal features, her attire felt rather lacking by comparison. She wore a slightly worn, white collared shirt that seemed too big for her slim body, with a leather vest worn on top, followed by some black leggings and leather boots caked in mud. A small pouch was attached to her waist from a belt hidden under her loose shirt.
Compounding all this was the fact she was absolutely drenched.
“… Cave people?” The strange girl tilted her head and spoke again, after staring at the two for some time. Once again, her tone was soft, almost devoid of emotion, except for a noticeable inflection that Aksel interpreted to mean she was asking a question.
“Cave people? No, we’re just travellers seeking shelter from the rain.” Aksel said, waving his hand dismissively.
“Yeah, that’s right, we’re totally not bandits using this as our base of operations!” Theo clarified.
Aksel couldn’t but facepalm at Theo’s unnecessary addition.
“… Your clothes,” the stranger said, her eyes landing on Theo’s revealing outfit, just as a thought crossed Aksel’s mind.
Wait, does she recognise this outfit?
“… It’s lewd.”
Aksel had to turn away, unable to contain the uncontrollable snickering that leaked from his mouth from such a blunt, yet unquestionable statement. Theo’s blushing face betrayed her embarrassment once again.
Okay, I guess she wasn’t the bandit that used to live here, Aksel noted, still giggling to himself.
“It’s not lewd, it’s a combat bra! It’s not my fault someone stole my clothes!”
“… Combat bra?” The strange girl tilted her head again, her voice shifting its near-emotionless tone to ask the question. Theo however, ignored it.
“Enough! Why are you here in my cave?!” Theo demanded, pointing an accusing finger at the intruder, whose expression had hardly shifted since she arrived.
“… Your cave?”
“Yes! I own this cave. I found it so it’s mine.”
“… Ohhhhh.”
“…”
“… It’s dirty,” the girl casually insulted Theo while surveying the room. A fresh wave of embarrassment struck Theo, blindsided by the poor review of her hideout’s cleanliness.
“Wha—Shut up! I’ll clean it later! Now get out of my cave, no new tenants allowed!”
The critic, still dripping wet by the entrance, looked behind her at the ongoing storm outside. After a few moments, she turned back to Theo.
“… It’s raining.”
“So what?”
“… I’ll get wet.”
“You’re already wet! And that doesn’t give you the right to barge in here!”
“… Ohhhh.”
“…”
“… Can I stay here?” the girl brazenly asked. Forget not reading the room, she was completely illiterate to the situation, just saying anything that popped into her head. Even Theo, who usually boasted an excessive amount of energy, looked frustrated just talking to her. It was at this point that Aksel decided to step in.
“I don’t see why not.”
“Aksel!” Theo shouted back in protest.
“Are you really going to send her back out into the rain?”
“Argh, my second in command is already trying to overrule me. Still though, I don’t want to appear so cruel.”
“I’m not your second in—”
“Hush Aksel, I’m thinking,” Theo silenced her subordinate, contemplating the moral dilemma on display in front of her “…Pay me.”
“… Pay?”
“Really Theo?” Aksel voiced his displeasure at charging for shelter.
“You paid your way in here, so it’s only fair that she does too,” Theo pointed out.
“Well, that’s true, but—"
“Exactly! So, intruder, what do you have to offer?”
The girl untied the plain pouch attached to her waist and rummaged through the contents. After a brief search, her multi-coloured gaze returned to Theo.
“… Clothes?”
“Sold!” Theo snapped up the first offer the moment it was made, unable to rein in her excitement at the prospect.
“I’m sorry, what clothes?” Aksel jumped in, sceptical of the offer.
“… My clothes,” the stranger confirmed.
“The chest might be a bit tight, but I’ll happily take them,” Theo nodded in approval. However, even Aksel could see that the size differences went beyond ‘a bit tight’, given Theo’s bust was more than twice the size of the new girl’s.
“Theo! Will you stop stripping people? It’s not okay!” Aksel reprimanded the bandit, unable to believe this was somehow becoming a regular occurrence.
“It’s not stripping if it’s voluntary payment,” Theo said, pointing in Aksel’s face. Feeling she could get away with it, she lightly tapped his nose with her outstretched finger, earning herself a much-annoyed glare
“… Here.”
The two swivelled to witness possibly the fastest undressing of all time, only to see the potential tenant still completely clothed, holding another set of unorganised apparel in her hands—ones that Theo recognised.
“Hey! Those are my clothes!”
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Payment still in hand, the stranger tilted her head—something Aksel was beginning to interpret as her asking a question or, in this case, not understanding something. With boots stomping on the stone floor, Theo marched over and forcefully recovered her lost items.
“I don’t believe this; did you steal these?”
“… I found them, so they’re mine.”
Hearing her own logic used against her, Theo fell silent, unsure of how to respond properly to her thief. Aksel, however, was not so quiet.
“Where exactly where you hiding those?”
“… In my bag,” she said, tilting her head again as she stared at him. Aksel looked at the bag she was referring to, but its size was only a little bigger than his own coin purse. To fit Theo’s old clothes in there would be impossible.
“Yeah, sure. Now where were you actually hiding them?”
“… In my bag,” the stranger reiterated in the exact same tone. Before Aksel could get frustrated, the girl plunged the entire arm into the pouch. Aksel and Theo’s mouths hung open, gawking at the display, when the arm exited the bag to reveal a single gold coin for her captivated audience.
“… It’s big.”
---
After witnessing such a blatant display of magic, Aksel and Theo took some time to recover from their initial shock. Once that subsided, Theo graciously accepted the offered payment and invited the enigmatic girl to join them by the burnt-out firepit. When they had all settled, the two began their interview of the mysterious person, eager to receive some answers.
“So, what’s your name?” Aksel opened the conversation.
“… My name is Vine.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Aksel, and my frien— er, companion? What are we exactly?” he scratched his head, unsure of their relationship.
“I’m his boss,” Theo stated, completely serious.
“I’m not your second in command,” Aksel retorted bluntly.
“Huh?! But didn’t the whole idea sound cool?” Theo sounded genuinely shocked.
“For the last time, I’m not a bandit!”
“Not with that attitude!”
“ANYWAY, her name is Theo,” Aksel promptly ended that conversation.
“… Thank you for having me,” Vine’s soft voice never shifted an octave.
“Yes, yes, now where in the First’s name did you get that bag?!” Theo practically shouted at their newly named guest.
“I’d like to know that too. Given that there’s no mana left in the world, I’m surprised it still works,” Aksel added. Ever since The First returned over a thousand years ago, all mana in the world had been sealed away forever. To have a working magical item of any kind these days was a marvel.
“… Lyric gave it to me,” Vine answered.
“Who is she? Can she get me one too?” Theo asked excitedly.
“… No.” The flat rejection of her advances made Theo visibly wince.
“Okay, let me ask you something then,” Aksel spoke up, entering the discussion. “Where did this Lyric even get a bag like this, and how does it work?”
Vine looked at her bag, stared blankly at it for a while, then turned back to him.
“… Magic.”
“Yeah, I got that, give me some credit at least.”
“… Lyric found it, when we were travelling before.”
“Does that mean she’s not traveling with you now?”
“… She’s not.”
“I see.” With few answers forthcoming, Aksel broke off his pursuit, for now. “Well, as cool as something like that is, just be careful who you show that to. And I don’t mean that just because it’s a thief’s wet dream,” he quickly eyed Theo before refocusing on Vine. “Magical items of any kind, even mild ones like your bag, are likely going to land you in trouble… or worse.”
“… Wet dream?” Of all the words he said, those were the ones that seemed to stick out to her.
“You know what, just forget it,” Aksel told her. At least he had tried to warn her. Magical items of any kind were considered taboo, at least within the Divine Kingdom. After all, the church taught everyone from a young age how mana and the magic that came from it was the source of all humanity’s woes back in the age of magic before The First returned to them.
Aksel however, was a bit odd in that respect. Though he was taught the same lessons, heard the same tales, and understood the meanings each were meant to convey, he couldn’t help but feel magic sounded kind of… well, cool. Although not as amazing as the powers of the faith, of course.
He could never express that opinion too openly, having been raised in the light of the faith of the First, which declared was that mana and its magic were sealed because it was inherently evil. Aksel knew what to say, when to say it, and how to keep out of conflict with his more zealous peers. Besides, no matter how much he liked the idea of using magic, it always came back to the same problem, one even more fundamental than the lack of mana in the air.
Humans can’t use magic.
Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration. There had been humans in the past who could use it, but those individuals were very, very, rare exceptions to the mostly cast-iron rule. That’s why tales of magic users featured casts of mostly elves, the foremost experts in the topic, or the Beastlings and demi-humans, who could leverage their magical roots to bend mana to their will. Humanity meanwhile was pretty much relegated to the occasional hero summoned from other worlds, adventurers clad in so much enchanted gear they were a walking spell in it of themselves, or once-in-a-generation prodigies destined for greatness.
When it came to the command of the divine, however, humanity was second only to the angels themselves. Every baby is blessed by the local priest from birth, taking them into the light of The First. This blessing is meant to provide a protection from magic, disease, and hardship—or so it is intended. This was one reason he didn’t have to worry about catching a cold from the rain.
It’s no surprise everyone’s against the idea of magic. We can’t use it, and those that can have hardly ever been friends to us.
“… I’m cold,” Vine murmured softly.
Snapping out of his trance, it dawned on him that their guest still looked as though she swam there—completely drenched in rainwater. It was remarkable she wasn’t shivering.
Theo, whose eyes kept caressing Vine’s mysterious bag with the lust of a lover, delivered the news.
“Sorry, I already burnt all our wood. Well, except for our sticks, but they’re still too wet to be useful. Oh, but I’ll sell you the use of my rag—I mean, towel.”
“Theo.” Aksel eyed her with visible disappointment.
“What! She’s loaded. Did you see that gold coin? Wait, maybe I can rent out that moss in the—”
“… Here,” Vine interrupted her train of thought as she casually handed over a coin that most of the human race would have had to work weeks, if not months to earn—assuming they didn’t eat or sleep during that time. Theo and Aksel stared at the coin, and then Aksel glanced at Theo.
“Theo?”
“Y-yes, Aksel,” Theo barely acknowledged, reaching both her hands out carefully to accept the coin like it was a priceless artifact in danger of shattering should it be caught in a light breeze. Slowly, cautiously, she brought it to her chest.
“You’re drooling,” he pointed out. Indeed, a small string of saliva had descended closer to the Gold Halo, eager to sample its beauty for itself. Not daring to sully this most valuable of items, she quickly wiped the spit away and refocused on the precious coin, entranced by its beauty.
“… Towel?” Vine interrupted whatever Theo was doing.
“What? Oh, yeah.” Without looking away from her baby coin, Theo probed around the area where she remembered leaving the old raggedy sheet. Feeling the wet cloth, she scrunched it up in her fist and tossed it at Vine. She didn’t care why it separated into multiple pieces when she threw it.
“Theo! Those were your clothes, you idiot.” Aksel grabbed the actual sheet that was sitting beside him and handed it nicely to Vine, who remained indifferent to the panties that fluttered atop her head and the other various articles of clothing now scattered across her body.
“… Thank you,” Vine spoke in her usual tone, making it sound more half-hearted than Aksel wanted to believe. After removing the undergarment from her head, she took to drying her long, multi-coloured hair, and met Aksel’s eyes once more, as straight-faced as the moment they met. He found himself gazing into them, noticing the finer details. Her right, emerald-green eye was so pure and lush that could be mistaken for the gem itself. If it was a work of art, it would have been praised as a masterpiece. But her left eye, the one which was bathed in scarlet red, was so lifeless, so empty, it was unnerving. The combination was unsettling, yet he couldn’t help but be drawn to it.
When it dawned on him that he had been staring too long, he quickly averted his gaze.
“So, Vine, why are you out in the forest anyway?” Aksel asked, a question he probably should have posed a while ago.
“… I’m lost.”
“Oh, do you mind if I ask what happened?”
“… I walked into the forest, and I got lost.”
“I see… How long ago was that?”
“… Many moons ago.”
“Right, erm, so what’s that in days?”
“… Many days ago.”
Aksel couldn’t help but respond with a wry look. The worst part was he couldn’t tell if she was joking or if that was a serious answer, seeing as though her tone never shifted. Not wanting to get bogged down, he decided to move along.
“Okay, well, maybe we—” He quickly looked over to where Theo should have been sitting, only to find her gone. Instead, she was hunched over in the corner of the cave to where her ultra-hidden treasure vault was located, carefully arranging something, presumably her coins, into some sort of order.
“Erm, maybe I can help you out? I’m travelling through Carnifex in the morning on my way to Treda-Ton, so I can at least get you to a main road.”
“… Do you know where I can find my forever home?”
“Forever what now?” Aksel furrowed his brow in confusion, unfamiliar with the term.
“… Lyric said I’d find it… A place we’d both go one day and live happily ever after… Can you help me find it?”
“Well, like I said, I can take you to the road. From there I’ll try and point you in the right direction if you’d like.”
“… I can pay.”
“PAY!?” Theo screamed from the loot hole, the eyes of the salesman returning. With angelic speed, she zipped over and pushed her weight onto Aksel’s shoulders, leaning closer to the potential client.
“What do you want? Food? Farms? Fun? Whatever it is, we’ll help!” the starry-eyed Theo announced.
“What’s with the ‘we’?” Aksel questioned with a strained voice as the would-be bandit pushed all her weight onto him.
“… Do you know where I can find my forever home?”
“Of course we do! Aksel goes there all the time!”
“I DO?!” Aksel exclaimed at Theo’s sudden and immediate response. Upon hearing these words, these statements of fact by Theo, Vine’s expression changed for the first time since they met—maybe for the first time in a long time—as she looked at Aksel with emotions he honestly didn’t believe she had.
“Really? You’ve been there?” Though her voice remained soft, her usually passionless words were infused with a little surprise. Above all, hope seemed to creep into her tone, a guttural reaction that outpaced her typical detachment.
Seeing this response from her—this genuine, human reaction—it made it almost impossible for him to say no. Looking over to Theo, he saw her beaming at him with practically sparkling eyes at the prospect of receiving more money from this girl. For a moment, he was considering going along with it.
What am I thinking? I don’t know where her home is! He snapped out of his guilty mindset, and gave an honest response, regardless of how disappointed she might be.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know where Theo,” he turned his head to look at her, emphasizing her name, “got her information from, but I don’t know where this home is.”
“… But she said you did,” Her tone returned to a passionless one, deflated from before.
“I’m really sorry, I don’t.”
“… But she said you did.” Vine repeated herself.
“I wouldn’t even know where to begin, I’m afraid.”
“… But she said you did.” Her stare drilled into him, making him feel like the villain even though Theo was the one who landed them in this mess. Before he could rattle off yet more apologies, a hand covered his mouth.
“I’m sorry, Aksel is just a little confused, he gets like that sometimes,” Theo told Vine with a sweet smile on her face. Aksel stared up at her, unamused. “I’ll just have a chat with him and refresh his memory,” she assured Vine as she started dragging him deeper into the cave.
Deciding to be as uncooperative as possible, he resolved not to assist Theo in any way, simply allowing himself to be dragged away limply in protest.
Convening by the moss while ensuring Aksel between her and the dungeon-kin plant, she began whispering in his ear like a worried conspirator.
“What are you doing? Just say yes already,” Theo admonished him, annoyed as though he was going off-script in an otherwise well-rehearsed plan.
“Why would I? I don’t know where her home is,” Aksel replied in a hushed tone.
“So? Does it matter?”
“Of course that matters, gold for brains. What am I supposed to do if I say yes? Take her to Treda-ton?”
“Why not? She’s loaded. She can probably pay for our stay.”
“What do you mean, ‘our stay’? Wait, are you joining the faith with me?” Aksel was blindsided by this revelation. He thought they had forgotten about the bet.
“What? No, of course not, idiot. I’m coming with you so I can get paid.”
“I’m not taking advantage of her like that,” Aksel shout-whispered to Theo. “Besides, I’m going to the capital of the faith so I can become a knight. How am I supposed to find this home of hers anyway? Plus, she’s carrying a freaking magical bag, not exactly something you want to be brandishing around there.”
“Fine then, don’t go to Treda-ton. Why not take this as a personal quest instead?” Theo proposed.
“Why in The First’s name would I do that?”
“Think about it. You aren’t that good in a fight, you’re under equipped, and you will probably run out of money very quickly in the Faithful capital, right?”
“…Go on,” Theo had hit the nail on the head.
“So, why not hold off for a while and go on a little adventure with Vine. I’m sure if you find a nice enough place, she’ll be happy.”
“But—"
“And, just think about it. Vine is just a helpless, confused, but loaded girl, who’s likely to get herself in trouble. Don’t you want to be her saviour, Mr. Hero?” Theo asked in a cutesy manner, poking him in the chest.
Aksel glanced over at Vine, who stared at them with a neutral expression. He grimaced as he considered the idea, placing his hand on his chin, then to his head as his brain tried to resolve the moral dilemma before him. Should he continue pursuing his goal of becoming a hero and leave this ridiculous quest behind? Or should he embrace the true spirit of being a hero and aid this clueless girl in finding her home, while keeping her out of danger?
Which is better, being a hero in name, or being a hero in action?
After taking an unreasonable amount of time to decide his answer, Aksel sighed and looked at Theo.
“Fine… I’ll help her,” he conceded, feeling as though his adventure had been hijacked—an answer that prompted Theo to leap into the air with a joyous “YAAAAAAY!” almost bashing her hands on the mossy roof of the cave. He could have sworn he saw a stem reach out for her at the apex of her jump, just missing her by a hair. With that settled, they walked back over to Vine and sat down to deliver his answer.
“Okay, while I can’t say I know where your home is, I can try and help you find it. I’ll need to stop off in Treda-Lake so I can at least get my purity tested, but afterward, I will help you, if that’s okay?”
His words didn’t seem to lessen her newfound excitement, feeding into her hopes like a wooden chest on a non-existent fire. She reached over and grabbed one of Aksel’s hands with both of hers, which were surprisingly soft to the touch.
“You promise you’ll take me there, after you’ve done what you need to do?” the wide-eyed Vine asked with all the passion she could muster. The weight of the quest and the commitment he was about to undertake hit him all at once. Making a mental note to settle the score with Theo for all the future trouble she was about to cause him, he accepted his fate.
“S-sure, Vine, I’ll take you there.”
“… Thank you,” Vine smiled a perfect smile, muted, yet filled with joy and life that any regrets or doubts he had, all seemed to fade from memory.
That one beautiful moment lasted only as long as Theo felt she could stand being left out.
“And all for the low, low price of one magical bag…thingy.”
“… Deal.”
---
Shortly after the deal was struck, nightfall began to set in, and the group had to face their next, more taxing issue: organising the sleeping arrangements. This was already hard enough with just Aksel and Theo, given that they only had a single drenched cover between them, which now had to stretch to three people.
Fortunately for them, Vine simply reached into her bag and pulled out a large blanket. The blanket itself was of fine craftsmanship, dry and large enough for two people.
“Don’t suppose you have another one in there?” Aksel queried.
“… Lyric packed it for me, so I only have enough for me.”
“Oh,” he was getting a little envious at the godmother Vine seemed to keep referring to.
Theo’s eyes sparkled ever so slightly as she saw the situation play out. With great confidence, she put her hand on Aksel’s shoulder and leaned over to whisper in his ear. “Hey, she seems to like you. Try getting closer to her so we can take a look at that bag.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Aksel whispered back, but Theo wasn’t looking for his input or approval as she put her plan into motion.
“Hey, Vine! Could you share with Aksel please? He gets lonely and cold at night if he doesn’t sleep next to someone,” Theo assassinated Aksel’s reputation with a cheery smile across her face.
Vine looked at him, and then to Theo, tilting her head as she spoke.
“… Shouldn’t Aksel sleep with Theo?”
“Huh?” Theo didn’t understand her question.
“… Aren’t you together?”
“What? Of course not!” Theo told her, a little more affronted than Aksel thought was necessary.
“… You aren’t, seducing him?”
“Like hell I am! What would give you that idea?”
“… Your lewd clothes?”
“I told you it’s a combat bra!” Theo maintained her story as if she believed it herself.
“… You keep clinging to him,” Vine pointed out, causing Theo to swiftly retract her hand from Aksel’s shoulder, as if it had suddenly become unclean. Again, the reaction seemed a little too strong for Aksel’s tastes. It was true though, Theo seemed to have no problem jumping on him, leaning against him, or touching him unnecessarily, especially after she was so guarded a few hours prior. Aksel hadn’t noticed until it was pointed out, but Theo was getting increasingly comfortable with him.
“I don’t have feelings for a guy I just met today! It’s just nice to have someone I can be myself around who isn’t looking for my money or my mother!”
“… Lewd.”
“Shut up! Will you accept him or not?” Theo made it sound like it was her final offer.
Vine’s gaze returned to Aksel—a judging stare that made him feel rather uncomfortable.
“… Okay.”
Despite her approval, Aksel could say, without a shadow of a doubt, that he didn’t feel right sleeping in the same bed as the girl he barely knew. Unfortunately, he also wanted to sleep in a warm bed tonight, and Vine was the only business in town. So, despite his misgivings, he decided to go along with it.
Aksel watched Vine closely as she fished around inside the bag, curious about the process, as was Theo from the other side of the room. Soon enough, Vine produced two sets of pillows and a thick groundsheet for her increasingly comfortable bed.
“… Here,” Vine offered, passing Aksel one of her luxurious pillows, “You can have mine.” He was a little confused by the wording, but seeing the setup, it became more obvious.
“I take it the other one’s Lyric’s, right?” Vine nodded, confirming his suspicion. It seemed that whoever this be-all, end-all of travel companions was, they really went all out in their preparations, which made her absence all the more questionable.
Theo, on the other hand, was busy cursing herself for giving Aksel the chance to sleep in the comfy bed. For the record, her own sleeping arrangements consisted only of her very revealing combat gear and a blanket everyone and their mother seemed to have dried themselves on.
“Hey, do you think I could use the groundsheet, please?” Theo decided to ask.
“… You can use my towel,” Vine pointed to the ragged sheet she purchased.
“Huh? But I was going to use that anyway.”
“… Enjoy.”
“Oh, come on!"
Despite Theo’s protests, Vine didn’t respond further to her pleas. Pouting hard at being ignored, Theo took the used blanket and threw it into the moss, observing the drying process, and muttering to herself, “This better give it back to me once it’s done.”
Despite Theo’s hardship, Aksel’s own experience was not without its own bumps.
He waited patiently for Vine to set up the bed, not wishing to interrupt her process. That was until she gathered everything into a big pile and dumped it on the floor. With her ‘set-up’ complete, she began to crawl into the heap.
“Hold on, aren’t you going to set it up first?” Aksel asked, unsure of what he was seeing.
“… Something wrong?” Vine retorted.
“Yeah, where were you planning for me to sleep?” The bed was little more than a tangled mound of fabric. She stared down at her creation briefly before fixing her mismatched eyes back on Aksel.
“… Don’t use Lyric’s pillow.”
“That’s what you’re concerned about? Just look at that mess; I’m not made of jelly! How am I going to fit into that disaster of a bed!?”
“… I believe in you.”
“Okay.” Now done with her nonsense, Aksel decided to take action. “Just move over; I’m fixing this.”
With no extra prodding required, Vine yielded her pile to Aksel, who transformed what could have only been described as a calamity into the finest damned bed he’d ever made. Going out of his way to clear the tiny rocks under the groundsheet, he unfolded and straightened it out across the floor, fluffed and placed the pillows on top, and finishing it off by neatly locking in the blanket. Even in the moonlit night air of the cave, the thing was a masterpiece.
“There, done. Now isn’t that better?” Aksel felt a small amount of pride at his work.
“Uh-hmm.”
If his work was a masterpiece, however, Vine was that touchy child covered in ink and mud. Barely acknowledging his efforts, she walked across the finely laid bed and flung the cover over herself.
Breathing a sigh of exhaustion, he simply laid down in the comforts of his underappreciated work. Gathering what parts of the blanket he could, and after assuring himself that sleeping next to Vine meant nothing, he drifted off to sleep.
For around half an hour.
When the foot kicked him in the side of the head, Aksel slowly and angrily opened his eyes, giving his assailant, the greatest bandit in all the land, his best death stare.
“Wwwhhhhaaaaattttttt?” Aksel grumbled, dragging out the entire word in a semi-whispering tone, doing his best not to wake Vine.
“H-have a h-h-heart,” Theo stuttered out through chattering teeth, tightly hugging her arms around herself while shivering amid the cool night air.
“There’s only room for two,” Aksel grunted, turning his eyes away from the girl who brazenly disturbed his sleep with a foot to the head. While part of his answer was out of spite, and potentially revenge, it was also true that the bed really only had room for two, and adding the third person would make it a little… cosy.
“W-wha-tt-t kinda hero are y-y-you?”
Aksel glanced back with half-open eyes. He knew he’d have to let her in one way or the other, so he decided to make the most of it.
“Fine, I’ll let you in, but you owe me.”
“F-f-fine.”
“It can be anything I want it to be.”
“I-I said f-fine.”
“I’ll be trusting in the words of Faithless Theo of the Black Surcoats then. Just give me a second, it’s a lot to take in.”
“I-I said fine! N-now let me i-i-in!”
“No takebacks.” A small, sadistic smile spread across Aksel’s face—one a person aspiring to be a hero likely shouldn’t be making. He would never have let her freeze outside after seeing her in that condition anyway, so it was just a small taste of revenge for all the work she was about to put him through. Leaving barely any room between him and Vine, who was still fast asleep, he allowed Theo into the sanctuary of warmth and comfort that was the bed. Grabbing what cover was left, she pushed her ice-cold back to Aksel’s, and the two finally ended what felt like the longest day of their lives, again, after Aksel assured himself that sleeping with Theo didn’t mean anything either.