Sanora’s head aches when her swollen eyes flutter open. She groans through her dry throat and looks around. She fell asleep in Mari’s arms at some point, they are both still sitting on the floor, leaned against the bed. The sun has long risen, so Sanora gently shakes Mari awake.
“Huh?” She looks around confused while yawning.
“We fell asleep on the floor after...” Sanora growls before growing quiet and averts her eyes, the memories of the night coming back to her. “Thanks. For not giving up on me. I know I’m a piece of work.” She says quietly.
Mari looks at her for a moment, trying to blink away the tiredness. “You’re worth all the work in the world.” She lays her head on Sanora’s shoulder.
They just sit in silence, enjoying the moment.
“Hey Mari?”
“Yeah?”
Sanora turns to look at her with a smile, preparing to say words she never thought herself capable of saying after what happened with Vadia.
“I love you.”
“I Love you too.” Mari says without hesitation and smiles back at her as they lock eyes.
Sanora can feel it. This moment, this girl in front of her who is still with her despite everything they have been through, despite seeing Sanora at her lowest so often. It just all feels right in ways that things have never felt like with Vadia. She is truly happy, and there is nothing that can ever take this from her again. No, she will never let anything take this from her again, no matter what it may be.
============================================
They go out and get breakfast after enjoying their moment, then take a short walk in town, looking at all the new vendors that have set up their shops for the day, before eventually heading back home again to lounge in bed and pass the time by reading a bit more. Sanora has been itching to finally continue reading about the Suncore. She eats up the book with frightening speed, and soon her efforts finally pay off.
‘- a fight that requires not only a master of stone magic, but also one of flesh. Truly, a quite curios combination of skills was required for this mission, and for him it was clear which friends would be just perfect for this. The Immovable, a Gargoyle with such prowess she single-handedly stopped a golem with her bare hands. A feat which no other could even dream of accomplishing. And for flesh magic only one person came into question for the Suncore. One of his oldest and best friends, known to all as the legendary-‘
“Golemkiller?” Sanora muses aloud.
“Oh, you got to that part? That’s one of my favourites.” Mari says as she scuttles over.
“Well, it does sound interesting… but what about those people? The Immovable, the Golemkiller, who were they? It doesn’t mention any of their actual names on the book.”
“Ah yes, most of them have been lost over time. But as for the Immovable and the Golemkiller; these two are still vaguely known. Two saints are named after them.”
“Two saints are named after them?” Sanora furrows her eyebrows as the dots slowly connect. The image fits. The painting in Amni’s room with the man who looks like the Suncore. So, a Gargoyle woman and a flesh mage with uncontested skill… Yep, that sounds like Amni and Bawarag.
“Yeah, and not only that but your two friends at home are literally named after them as well. You know, Amni and Bawarag.”
“I think it’s actually the other way around.” Sanora says while idly flipping a page.
“What do you mean the other way around?” Mari tilts her head.
“I think the saints are named after my Amni and Bawarag.”
“You mean that those two are the envoys? The ones that fought in a war that is over a thousand years in the past?” Mari says with a smirk.
“Yep.”
Mari chuckles- “We really need to work on your jokes.” and returns to her book.
Sanora is about to rebuke, but just shrugs and keeps quiet. Mari would meet Amni and Bawarag sooner or later anyways. It’ll make for an even funnier reaction.
The sun slowly marches towards the horizon as the two read under the comfy blankets. After a few hours they take a short break to eat dinner. Sanora finally manages to finish the book by the time the sun is halfway behind the horizon.
She stretches after putting it down and falls into the pillow.
“That was way too short.”
“They always are.” Mari sighs as she puts down her book as well.
The tales in the book were nothing short of miraculous. Recounts of envoys melting small mountains in the wake of war or creating them. Of people lifting ten times their weight with one hand, of whole cities being razed to ground in a single day. Sanora can’t even imagine what these battles must have been like in real life. One day she wants to visit the old warfields for herself and see the scars in the land that are an echo of the battles past to this day.
“So, what do you want to do tomorrow?” Mari tears her from her thoughts.
“Which book do you recommend?”
“Hmm how about the descend of chaos? It’s about one of the three champions and her stories. Even the tales of the Suncore pale in comparison to it.”
“Now that’s hard to imagine.” Sanora chuckles.
“It is, but it’s true. They are called champions for a reason. An envoy is to a champion what we are to an envoy.”
“They are that strong?” Sanora gulps, thinking about the leagues between her and Bawarag even after all the training she went through.
“They are.” Mari nods. “Each one is strong enough to take on a whole army by themselves with ease. The book really does a good job in describing it.”
“In that case I’m already looking forward to it.” Sanora yawns. “Tomorrow.” She rolls herself into the blanket. Mari yawns as well, Sanora having infected her, before snuggling into the sheets as well.
“Sounds like a plan. Good night.” She lies down next to Sanora who looks at her. “Do you need something?”
Sanora says nothing and just shuffles over into Mari’s arms. She almost backs away, her hands still and hardly touching Sanora as if she was scared of breaking her.
“What’s wrong?” Sanora looks into Mair’s eyes.
“It’s… not nothing. Are you really alright being this close?”
“I can’t sleep with you yet, but I still need my cuddles.” Sanora says and nozzles into Mari’s chest.
“Only if you’re sure.” Mari says as she carefully wraps her arms around the girl.
“If it’s with you, I am.”
Mari smiles as she feels Sanora’s warmth seeping into her body, soothing her to the core.
“That means a lot to me. Good night, Sanora.”
“Night.” She replies already drowsy, and they fall asleep not long later.
============================================
The next day rolls around as usual. They eat breakfast before making a short shopping trip for lunch and dinner. Mari pulls a face once they set their shopping down on the table at home.
“What’s wrong?” Sanora asks her with a tilted head.
“It’s just that food is getting stupidly expensive lately and if this keeps up funds will start to get a bit tight soon.” She sighs.
“Oh, don’t worry about that, I still have plenty of money.”
“Which is great for an emergency, but if anything comes up and that is gone too, we’re in a pinch. So, as much as I love hanging out with you all day, I’ll have to go out with Bullwind again. They still kind of need me as well.”
“Then I’ll come along.” Sanora nods, eliciting a scolding glare from Mari.
“You’ll stay here until you’re in actual condition to go out again. You have been taunting death way too often lately.”
“But…” Sanora looks down with a drooped face. “What if something happens to you?”
Mari cups her face, slowly lifting it back up to look into Sanora’s eyes with a smile.
“It’s sweet that you worry about me. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”
“Promise?” Sanora asks.
“Promise.” Mari nods and pulls her into a tight hug.
A few hours of reading later both of them have dinner and go to bed after another slow and relaxed day.
============================================
“And you really have to go?” Sanora asks Mari who is dressed in her adventuring gear and about to leave for the guild. Over a week has passed since they first talked about it. They enjoyed every minute of their forced vacation to its fullest, knowing that Mari would soon have to go out and earn a living for the both of them. “You know with what I have left we could last quite a while.”
“Maybe we could. But I already told you that if that is gone, we don’t have anything left. And we never know if another emergency might come up, so we need some income to keep a buffer. I want to stay, I really do, but we shouldn’t take the risk with your condition.”
Sanora looks at her arm. It still hurts, the skin is still sickly yellow, but has slowly started to return to its natural colour. Her veins however still draw a dark pattern all over her arm. She still walks with a slight limp as well, and her stamina is at an all-time low, leaving her exhausted from even a little run. Although in Sanora’s eyes a little run is at least an hour long.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you can say adventurer’s guild.” Mari smiles at her, patting her head.
“Alright.” Sanora says quietly. “Be safe ok?”
“I will. See you later.” Mari gives Sanora a kiss before finally heading out. Sanora just stands at the door with her head hanging.
“Adventurer’s guild.” She says quietly as her shoulders drop.
============================================
The hours go by painfully slow as Sanora reads in bed without Mari next to her. Even the books don’t manage to captivate her today and she eventually drops it on the bed with a sigh. The worst part about being this immobile is the boredom. With Mari around she always had someone to talk to, or cuddle or do whatever and things just never seemed to get boring. But now that she isn’t around there is just an unbearable staleness hanging over the house. She lies in bed, staring at the ceiling while wondering about what she could do. Maybe cook dinner for Mari so she has something to eat when she comes home? But she quickly blows off the idea when she remembers her cooking non-skills. They just did laundry the day before so that’s taken care of as well. Practicing magic is out of question due to her arm, training due to her general condition.
With a groan she falls onto the pillow. She didn’t expect being unable to do stuff to be this boring. The book about the champions is interesting, but she isn’t really in the mood for action filled adventure stories. She gets out of bed and starts looking through the small chest filled with books. Mari’s taste is really showing. All the books are similar. Idolized stories about old war heroes. Sanora keeps digging through the books until almost all of them lie scattered on the floor. Only once she gets to the bottom of the chest, she finds an odd book. Its old and worn, having been read a great many times. A thick layer of dust sits on the cover.
Now curious she takes it with her and sits down on the bed. A cloud of dust flies off as she blows over the cover revealing the title ‘The lusty beastkin maid’. She spots a bookmark and flips open the page it’s in before skimming over it. Heat rises to her head as she reads a very intense and descriptive romantic scene of two women of which one is a beastkin. To think innocent Mari has such tastes.
“Oh my…” Sanora gulps. She wants to close the book and stash it again, but for some reason she just can’t tear her eyes from the pages. The heat in her face slowly starts to spread further down as well as she can’t help but imagine what she is reading. It has been a long time since she last had some action, and she never felt the want for it. Until today at least. She can’t tell what is turning her on more. The book itself, or the fact that Mari owns something like this. Just when her body is really starting to get heated, she feels someone in front of the house. Her passive flesh sense always picks up people walking by, but right now there are two right outside the door. She doesn’t recognise them, and they are not leaving either. Now weary, she puts the book aside and walks to the stairs to look at the door which slowly opens just when she rounds the corner.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“It’s not even locked.” She can hear quiet voices from downstairs.
“And you’re sure the owner is out?”
“Yeah, saw her leave some time ago. No one came back either.”
“Good, let’s hurry.”
Two rough looking figures come in, pulling masks up into their faces as they do. Sanora’s eyes look to her daggers still lying in the bedroom. She would get there before any of them could make it up the stairs. But the intruders don’t even notice her and make their way straight to the kitchen. Sanora sizes the opportunity and quickly grabs the daggers from the bedroom before quietly walking downstairs. She stands in the doorframe as the intruders rummage around drawers and shelves, packing stuff they deem worthy into sacks.
“And who the fuck are you?”
They jolt and look at her.
“You said there’s no one home.” One of them hisses at the other.
“There shouldn’t be. I saw her leave.”
“Oh, she did leave. Only problem is that she isn’t living alone.” Sanora crosses her arms with a smirk. Seems like this day isn’t going to be so boring after all.
“Well, that changes the plan.” The man clicks his tongue. “But at least she’s pretty cute.” He says as he draws a dagger.
“Put that away before you hurt yourself.” Sanora scoffs at the man who is holding the dagger in reverse grip.
“Big words for such a tender girl.” He laughs as he musters Sanora. “With that arm of yours I don’t think I’ll be the one getting hurt here.”
The other man just stands and looks at Sanora with furrowed eyebrows.
“Wait. Brown hair, blown arm, adventurer…” He mumbles as the other man starts walking towards Sanora. “Hey wait! That’s-“ He shouts but it is too late. The first man has reached Sanora and takes a swing. Not a second later he lands face first on the floor, coughing and holding his throat in which Sanora landed a clean punch in.
“-the kingslayer…” The second man gulps as Sanora turns her attention towards him with a smile.
“Come on, your turn. Give it your best shot.” She slowly walks towards him as he backs away.
============================================
Mari walks down the street. She’s pretty worn out from the day even though it was just escort quests which all went without incident, she is tired from being on her feet all day. But the thought of Sanora waiting for her when she gets home has been giving her a lot of motivation throughout the day. The sun is already setting, and the streets are calm. Most people are like her, tired and coming home after a long day of work. Her ears perk up when she overhears two of the neighbours.
“You heard about the break ins around here?”
“I did. Quite bold that they are starting to come up all the way here now. I hope lady Vadia will get her stuff sorted out soon.
‘Breaks ins?’ Mari thinks. ‘That’s a bit worrying. Better tell Sanora about this…’
Mari walks into the house with a yawn, finally coming home. Before she can even say something Sanora assaults her with a hug.
“Hey there.” She laughs. “I missed you too.” And wraps her arms around the girl as well. “How was your day?”
“Lonely.” Sanora mumbles into Mari´s, chest eliciting a chuckle from the girl.
“Same here. The others are sad you can’t come along too.”
“So am I.” Sanora sighs as she backs away from Mari. “It’s awful just sitting around alone all day.” She groans.
“So, nothing interesting happened?”
“I guess there was one thing, but it was over pretty quick. So, all in all, nothing.” Sanora shrugs. “What about you? Got any interesting quests?” Sanora asks as she walks into the kitchen, Mari following her without thinking about it.
“No, just boring escorts all day…” Mari sniffs the air. “Oh, something smells good. Wait, did you cook?” She asks carefully but Sanora laughs.
“I’m not that insane. I bought something. Figured you’ be hungry when you get home.” She smiles.
“Aww you’re so cute.” Mari coos. “And yes, I’m starving.” She says before they sit down to eat dinner together. They talk about Mari’s day and the sleazy rich people she had to guard and enjoy each other’s company. Once the food is eaten, they head to bed to spend the rest of the day reading and cuddling.
Sanora keeps shooting Mari sideway glances with a smirk all the time. At first, she didn’t think much of it. It seems like a pretty normal Sanora thing after all. But the longer this goes on the more nervous Mari gets.
“Is there something on my face?” She finally asks after a few minutes. Sanora’s smirk just grows wider.
“Oh no, nothing, it’s quite pretty actually.”
“Ok? So, what’s going on then?”
“Hm? Whatever could you mean?” Sanora says, holding her chin and tilting her head.
“Come ooon, tell me! What have you been cooking up.” Mari puts at Sanora.
“Me?” Sanora raises an eyebrow. “Oh, I haven’t been cooking up anything.” She reaches down the side of the bed and pulls up a book. “You on the other hand.” She says with an almost face splitting grin. Mari’s face goes from a pout to horror in a second when she recognises the book.
“Wahh! Give me that!” she shouts with her face redder than the morning sun as she tries to snatch the book out of Sanora’s hands.
“But why? It seems really interesting.” Sanora laughs as she holds the book out of Mari’s reach, opening one of the marked pages with one hand before she starts to read.
“Her breath grows heated as the tender lips caress her body all over, seeking for the sweet-“
“S-stop!” Mari cries and pushes harder to get the book away from Sanora. She loses balance, falling onto Sanora. The book clatters to the floor, leaving Mari hovering right above Sanora on the bed.
“…” Mari just gulps as they lock eyes. The moment seems to stretch forever as they look at each other with a knowing gaze.
“…you know I read something like this in that book.” Sanora smirks at her, breaking the silence. Mari just rolls her eyes and rolls off Sanora with a groan. “I really didn’t expect you to have such spicy books you know.” Sanora says as she rolls over to rest her head on Mari’s shoulder.
“You weren’t supposed to find any of those.” She turns away, her face still blushed.
“Why not?”
“Cause its embarrassing.”
“I don’t think so. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Sex is pretty fun after all.”
“Really?” Mari turns to look at Sanora again. “How… is it?”
“You mean sex?” Sanora ponders for a second until she realizes. “Wait, you’ve never…?”
Mari shakes her head. “Only by myself.” She says quietly.
“Huh. I didn’t expect that with how assertive you were.” Sanora chuckles.
“I’m sorry…” Mari turns away again, only for Sanora to gently pull her head back.
“It’s alright. If anything, I should be sorry for scaring you so much back then. But if you give me just a little more time I’d love to try again.” She smiles at Mari, looking into her gentle eyes.
“Are you sure?”
“I am.” Sanora nods. “To be honest, I’ve been feeling a little wanting after reading that book.” She winks at Mari. “So, if you’re patient for a little longer I’ll show you that just reading it doesn’t even come close to the real deal.” She purrs into Mari’s ear and goosebumps rise all over the girl’s skin.
Sanora yawns. “Woah, I’m tired. Being at home all day really takes a toll on me. Good night, Mari.” She gives her a quick peck on the check before rolling herself up in the blanket.
“Good night.” Mari is still perplexed, processing everything Sanora just said. For her, sleep is a very distant thought right now as her heart is still beating a mile a minute.
============================================
After a not so restful night of sleep Mari kisses Sanora goodbye for the day and heads out to the guild again, wondering what kind of quests they will do this day. She yawns as she walks into the hall. Balmir waves her over to the table where the others are waiting already.
“Didn’t sleep well?” He says as Mari takes her seat. She shakes her head.
“Not really.” She mumbles.
“The lass causing you trouble?” Serantis laughs. “I imagine she’s a pretty interesting housemate.”
“Yeah…” Mari says, averting her gaze. She hasn’t manged to work up the courage and tell the others about her and Sanora’s relationship. She knows that Mehena doesn’t harbour any ill will towards the gays. Balmir either doesn’t let it on or is the same. And Serantis, being a beastkin, has some generally odd standards when it comes to relationships. But either way, it is better to not shout it out into the world with how many people don’t take kindly on it.
“So, what’s on today’s plan?” Mari asks Balmir who nods.
“Right today’s plan. We’ve got some decent hunting jobs. Nothing special, just a bear that’s been causing trouble and the last stragglers of trercher season.” He tells her.
“As normal as it gets.” Mehena nods with a smile.
“That it is.” Balmir nods as he gets up. “Everyone ready?”
The group responds with a collective nod, and they get up. Mari is glad that Balmir always takes care of administrative things like taking quests. But then again, as their leader it is his job. After one quick final gear check they head out of the guild to earn a living. First off is taking care of that bear.
After leaving the city and walking to the spot where the people were attacked, it doesn’t take much to pick up the trail of trampled grass and blood. They follow the trails with Mehena leading them as the tracks grow weaker.
“Isn’t this a bit unusual for a bear?” Mari wonders out loud as they walk further away from the beaten path.
“A little.” Balmir nods. “They tend to stay away from the city to some extent, but things like this aren’t unheard of.” He says, but a look of unease remains on his face. “What makes me worried is how far away from the mountains and the forest this one is. I’ve heard rumours that something is driving wild beasts away from the mountains lately. Wolves come down into the valley, agnars come down into the forest. And I sure as hell don’t want to know what causes those to leave.” He mumbles. A cold shiver runs down Mari’s spine. Agnars, monsters capable of tearing humans apart in the middle like paper and unearth trees. So far, she has never seen one, and she’d like it to stay that way, even more so without Sanora around.
The group halts when Mehena raises her hand.
“Up ahead.” She says quietly and they all get low.
Through the high grasses Mari can spot it now. A normal bear, looking a bit famished, eating the remains of a man.
“Let’s see if this’ll make for an easy payday.” Mehena says as she pulls back the string of her bow and an arrow grows onto it.
“Probably just jinxed it.” Serantis snorts.
“Wanna bet on it?” The elf looks at him with a raised eyebrow.
“5 silver.” He scoffs.
Mehena smiles at him and lets the arrow lose without even looking back at the bear. It hits it straight in the eye and it falls over dead without as much as a scream.
“I’m getting dessert today.” She smiles at Serantis who rolls his eyes before tossing her the coins.
“Stupid pointy ears…” He mumbles.
“And I was thinking of giving you a bite as well.” She says with a smirk, causing Serantis to grumble something inaudible as he walks towards the dead bear.
============================================
Having gathered their proof of hunted prey, they make their way to the next and last target for today. A fer stragglers of trercher season shouldn’t pose much of a problem. If things go as smooth as with the bear they’d be back before evening. It is not often they have days this productive, and the group is in accordingly high spirits.
“Maybe I’ll go have a drink today.” Serantis muses.
“But you do that every day?” Mari tilts her head with a chuckle.
“I do!” The tall beastkin laughs. “Guess I’ll need to find something else to do.” He starts thinking and holds his chin. “Ah well, I’ll think about it over some drinks, I’m sure something will come to mind.” He eventually shrugs. “What about you, Balmir?”
“Well, my sword could need some sharpening, the straps on my shield are a bit worn too so maybe I’ll get new ones.”
“Diligent as always.” Mehena laughs. “As for me, I’ll take a look at the new bathhouse in the low ring.”
“Ah I’ve heard about it. They have some sort of salt mask that makes your skin pretty.”
“Exactly! I’ve been wondering about it for a while now.” Mehena says but before Mari can answer the elf’s ears twitch and her gaze locks ahead.
“We found them.” She says, her demeanour switching in a second as she draws her bow.
“Alright, let’s finish this and get home. Formation.” Balmir says and everyone gets ready. With a gesture he signals them to charge accompanied by the first arrows that fly at the monsters. The battle goes swimmingly as they cut down the monsters one after another. On days like these Mari almost feels a bit bad for taking a cut of the pay since she basically does nothing. But being there is still crucial in case someone does get injured, so she has learned to accept her share even on days like these.
============================================
“Good work everyone.” Balmir says as he hands everyone a small stack of coins back in the guild. “Enjoy your time off, we don’t have a lot of it. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He waves at them as he leaves. “And don’t party too hard.” He adds, looking at Serantis in particular before leaving through the door.
“You heard him girls, don’t party too hard.” Serantis says without a hint of sarcasm over his third mug of ale. The girls just give him a look but he doesn’t even notice it.
“Well, I’m off as well, lest Sanora burns the house down trying to cook something. See you tomorrow.”
“See ya.” Serantis waves.
“Until tomorrow.” Mehena nods at her as Mari heads home.
The streets are rather lively for a change since it’s still early afternoon. The sounds of bartering and talking surrounds her on all sides. It has been a while since Mari got to go home this early, save for the vacation. A smile sits on her face as she walks home. She can already picture Sanora jumping her the moment she comes through the door, almost like a little puppy that has been waiting at the door all day. Her heart makes a jump at the imagination of Sanora as dog beastkin. Maybe she should get some sweets to celebrate the occasion, even if they’re pricey. But for Mari Sanora’s smile is worth all the coin in the world, and now that she is back to working it’s not going to be an actual problem if she spends a few bucks for some sweets. Having made her decision Mari looks around the countless stalls. She stops, realizing that she doesn’t have a clue about what sweets Sanora even likes. She has only ever seen her drink mead and eat meat. She looks around with a pondering expression when a really good smell caresses her nose. Following it she ends up at a stall with a plethora of wooden boxes filled with all sorts of dried and cut leaves.
“Good day young lady.” The elderly woman behind the stall greets her with a warm smile.
“Hello. You sell tea here?” Mari says, taking in the mesmerizing aroma wafting at her.
“Not just any tea. It’s all specialties from the regions outside of the valley. From the Beastplains all the way to the northern isles and even from the mountain city.”
“Tea from the mountain city?”
“Trust me I was as surprised as you are.” The woman laughs. “But even those smiths have one or two good sorts. Very smoky though.”
“Figures.” Mari chuckles as she looks over all the small boxes. The selection is way too large for her to pick one. And not knowing what Sanora might enjoy makes it even harder.
“Can you recommend something for someone who likes mead?” Mari asks the woman. It might be a long shot, but she figures it might be worth-
Without even hesitating the woman picks a box and holds it out.
“Sweet and mellow, great with honey. Really captures the warm taste of the north.”
“Huh, that sounds good.” Mari says. “I’ll take one.”
Mari pays the woman and heads on home with the freshly bought tea.
“I Hope she’ll like it.” The girl muses as she walks home. She reaches the door to the house not long later and braces herself for the hug-assault before opening the door. However, Sanora isn’t there, and what’s more worrying is a really strong smell of something burnt immediately assaulting her as she steps in.
“Oh no.” She gulps and immediately makes a run for the kitchen. There stands Sanora, in front of the stove with a pot in her hand from which smoke is still rising.
“Sanora?” Mari says and Sanora’s head slowly turns to her, her eyes wide open.
“H-hey Mari. You’re home early.” She forces on a smile.
Mari just stands there looking at Sanora.
“Everything ok?” She asks with a smirk.
“Perfectly fine.” Sanora says but as if to mock her the pot suddenly starts burning again.
“You sure?” Mari is barely able to hold back her laughter anymore at the sight of Sanora who isn’t even noticing the flames in the pot.
“Absolutely.” Sanora nods. “I have everything under control.”
“So that’s on purpose?” Mari looks at the flames and Sanora follows her gaze.
“…it’s flambé.” Sanora says dryly and this finally causes Mari to break into roaring laughter. She almost topples over as she holds her stomach, trying to breath between laughing. All the while Sanora just stands there, with the still burning pot in her hand and not a clue what to make of the situation but laugh along awkwardly.
“When you’re done would you mind helping me out over here?”
“Right right, sorry.” Mari wipes the tears from her face and walks over to take the pot off Sanora. She sets it down and just puts a lid on it.
“You ok?” She asks Sanora, a smile still plastered on her face.
“Yeah, sorry.” She answers while scratching her head.
“It’s alright, the house still stands. What were you even trying to make?”
“…potatoes. I thought you might be hungry when you get home.” Sanora says quietly while averting her gaze.
“Aww, that’s sweet of you, thanks.” Mari smiles at her.
“Sorry I burnt them.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it someday. Sit down, I got something for you.”
“Alright.” Sanora sighs and walks to the table with a drooped head before plopping down onto one of the chairs. She watches Mari as she starts to make something. It boggles Sanora how the girl makes it look so easy every time. Finding the right spot in the stove for heat, throwing in the right amount of wood to keep the proper heat, knowing when to put in what. It all seems like magic to her. Although magic feels like child’s play compared to cooking. At least the sight is bringing Sanora’s spirits up a bit. Mari just looks so cute when she’s rocking the kitchen like that. If only her robes weren’t so wide cut now.
Sanora gulps at the imagination of Mari cooking while wearing only…
Her fantasy is interrupted by Mari setting down a cup in front of her.
“Are you really ok? Your face is pretty red.” Mari leans in closer.
“Ahh it’s… I’ll tell you later.” Sanora smirks at the girl who raises an eyebrow but lets the topic rest and takes a seat.
“So, what’s this?” Sanora looks at the steaming cup.
“Some tea I got. Thought you might want something sweet, even though you’re already plenty sweet yourself.” Mari winks at Sanora. But something about her seems off. She just sits there, her face pale as she stares at the cup with distant eyes.
“Sanora?” Mari asks, but Sanora doesn’t respond. “What’s wro-“
Out of nowhere Sanora throws a hand over her mouth and falls of the chair before vomiting on the floor.