Sarah sat on the cushioned ground, feeling as relaxed as never before. Melissa had shown great creativity in making this place more comfortable and habitable. For one, she had found a steady water source, which she also led into some sort of basin in the ground, where they could wash up after their outings. It was something small, but it made the difference for Sarah, so she wouldn’t feel like a savage beast.
When Sarah’s clothing barely covered her body anymore, Melissa made clothes out of the different soft materials and the weird ropes they had found in the cave. She even made mats and chairs which were more comfortable than even the furs. She would take this stuff out of the dungeon.
Sarah looked over to where Melissa was sitting next to Neil. Somewhen the last few days, Melissa had also reached level 10, apparently took the ‘path of altruism’ and had been steadily climbing since then. She got better and better at treating soul injuries and trauma, which saved Neil.
While Sarah’s skill “Slightly Crazy” protected her from many things, Neil didn’t have anything like this. This meant, that the constant threat, fear, and carnage dealt a heavy number on his soul. Thanks to Melissa though, his soul could heal every time and got tougher with every outing they made.
Sarah’s soul on the other hand was mostly fine. Melissa even suggested for her soul to heal by itself. This would make it even stronger over time. Melissa didn’t have to convince Sarah any further than this, as getting stronger was pretty much her reason for living by now. Apart from other things such as food and…
When Melissa stood up to walk over to her, Sarah’s thoughts jumbled into a tangled mess. Cleaned up and in new clothes, Melissa looked even more beautiful than before.
Sarah gulped when Melissa sat down next to her and sighed exhaustedly. “He should be fine. Something this time had rattled him pretty hard though. Are you fine? Mind to let me take a look?”
“No, I’m fine. More than fine. I’m getting closer to my goal after all.” Sarah answered, and her gaze became sharp and vicious. But the next question from Melissa threw her out of her thoughts again.
“What would you wish for?” Melissa asked and let her head lean on Sarah’s shoulder.
Sarah’s heartbeat quickened and she stiffened up, to not let Melissa’s head fall. “What do you mean what I’d wish for?”
“Don’t you remember? The wish that has been promised by the system. Anything and everything we wish for. At least if we manage to reach the peak, whatever that means anyway.” Melissa answered and started playing with the hem of her simple shirt.
Sarah was dumbfounded by the question. It felt like a lifetime ago, that she had read the message of the system promising said wish. But she had never really thought about it again. Too far away it had seemed until now. “I… I don’t know, to be honest. You?”
Melissa’s hand cramped up and she scooched closer to Sarah. “Safety, I think. For nothing bad to ever happen to me or the people closest to me ever again. That would be enough for me.”
Sarah had to laugh a little, only for Melissa to look up at her angrily. Sarah cleared her throat and hurried to explain herself. “Don’t understand me wrong, I don’t think your wish is stupid. I just think you can reach this wish without the help of the system. We can make this wish true.”
Melissa’s eyes narrowed a little and a smile crept on her lips. “Are you trying to hit on me?”
Sarah’s mind went blank and she started stuttering incomprehensive words. “I-I-I don’t… w-what do you…” Her tail coiled and twisted around nervously and she grabbed it fiercely to not betray her inner turmoil.
Now it was Melissa’s turn to laugh a little and she lay a finger on her lips. “It is just so cute to see you like this. You normally have this indomitable spirit and you let nothing and no one intimidate you. But only I can bring this side of you to the surface. I want this to stay like this.”
Melissa came a little closer, her lips and hands now trembling nervously. Sarah could feel Melissa's rapid pulse beat under her skin. Melissa hesitantly opened her mouth and she seemed vulnerable and insecure now. “What do you say? Do you… also want this?”
Sarah’s heartbeat quickened even more and she felt like her heart would spring out of her chest. Her mind was completely blank and she couldn’t find any words to answer to Melissa’s honest and overwhelming feelings. But Sarah had never been one of many words or eloquence. She wasn’t good at saying how she felt. So she would show her.
As gently as Sarah could, she laid her arms around the slender figure of Melissa and pulled her closer to her. The whole world around her vanished, as she felt the warmth and softness of Melissa’s body.
When they kissed, an electric current seemed to shoot through her body and she got lost in the moment.
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After a long, blissful time, Melissa separated again from her. She chuckled a little and rubbed her lips.
“Was I so bad?!” Sarah asked in alarm, which caused Melissa to laugh loudly.
“No, you dummy. Your kisses are just… let’s say a little prickly. But in a funny way. The acid resistance training was worth it, at least.” She said with a mischievous smile, and Sarah’s heart skipped a beat.
Melissa’s gaze turned a little softer and she laid her hand on Sarah’s cheek.
“I’m happy that you feel the same way as I do. I feel like I got my wish already. I now realize, that I never have felt safe until now.” Melissa gave her another gentle kiss and smiled at her. “Thank you for giving me these feelings.”
Sarah could only widely smile and pulled Melissa closer into her embrace. It didn’t take long for Melissa to say something again. “If we get out of here…” She wanted to say, but Sarah interrupted her.
“There is no ‘if’. We will get out of here.” Her voice was full of unshaken conviction. She had not an ounce of doubt inside of her.
Melissa tensed up for a moment but soon relaxed again. “Thank you for your confidence. Just don’t overdo it. I don’t want you to die.”
“Don’t worry,” Sarah reassured her and pressed her shoulders slightly. “I am harder to kill than the cockroach.”
Melissa snorted slightly and cleared her throat afterward. “Alright my dear super-cockroach, what I wanted to say was, that we should leave the tribe after we get back.”
Sarah was so surprised upon her suggestion, that she even forgot the insult. “Leaving? Don’t you like the people there?”
Melissa shrugged. “Somewhat? I am not quite sure. Being away from Andrew for such a long while made me realize, that I never really felt anything strongly. I think nobody did. Our group has a strong cohesion, but I assume, that this is because there we have no strong emotions for each other. It is easy to get along if you don’t care a lot about anything.”
Sarah nodded gravely. Even though she had thought she had been careful not to get influenced by him, she had also noticed the change in her emotions the moment she had gotten away from his influence.
“That’s probably a good idea. But where do we go?” She answered, not knowing where they would find shelter.
“There is another cave system further down the river. But it is too close to the place where you came from. While it isn’t dangerous in its immediate surroundings, you quickly have a problem if you walk too far in the wrong direction. That’s why we never really considered it as another campsite. But if we’re only a small group, I think we should be fine.”
Sarah nodded and a happy feeling bubbled up inside of her. The thought of returning to the tribe had always somewhat pulled her mood down when she had thought about it. But the fact, that Melissa wanted to leave, freed her from going back there.
“Cockroach will be sad if we leave,” Sarah said jokingly and received a fist into her stomach.
Melissa held her aching wrist and looked up at her with furrowed brows.
“Just a joke, just a joke. I mean, he was on the kitchen team, right? We need someone to cook for us.” Sarah said with a smile.
Melissa rolled her eyes and pulled her closer again. “Just shut up and kiss me again.”
Sarah obeyed only too gladly.
Afterward, they talked and enjoyed their newfound closeness for a long time, until they fell into deep slumber cuddled together.
They slept as deeply and peacefully, as no other night until now.
Sooner than Sarah would have liked, they were woken up again.
She tried to focus her tired eyes onto Neil, only to see him looking up at the ceiling with a blushed face.
Sarah looked down at her, quickly dressed herself with embarrassment, and shook Melissa awake so she could too.
“What is it, Neil?” She asked gruffly, while she tugged her shirt into her simple trousers.
“Can I look again?” Neil asked, still blushing profusely.
As an answer, he got a slight punch into his ribs.
He groaned and held his aching side. “I guess that’s a yes.” He wheezed out and finally looked down again. “I have made something for you.” He said and handed her two weird objects.
Sarah had to look at them for a few moments until she realized, that these things looked like her horns. “Are these…?”
“These are your horns yes. They cracked apart when you mutated and I took them with me. I have managed to strap them together in some kind of glove. When you slide your hands into here, then…”
Sarah held up her hand and interrupted him. “I don’t need a weapon. My body is more than enough. You can keep them.”
Neil looked like he wanted to disagree but seemed to realize something. He nodded and shrugged his shoulders. “I won’t say no then.” He said and strapped the horned gloves onto his hands. “Are you ready for the challenge?”
“What challenge?” Melissa asked from the side, still a slight blush on her face from before.
“We will kill the elite enemy. We think that the dungeon boss might be hidden behind it, as we haven’t found it anywhere. So we have to assume to either be fighting them together or immediately after each other.” Sarah answered awkwardly. She had forgotten to tell Melissa about their plan because of certain… events.
“That’s too dangerous!” Melissa shouted and held her arm tightly.
Sarah gently loosened Melissa’s grip and held her hand. “We know the danger. Don’t worry, if things go awry, I’ll throw Cockroach at our enemies and run away.”
“That’s so evil!” Neil shouted from the side, but they ignored them.
Melissa tightly grabbed her hand and bit her lips. “Just promise me you will run away when it gets too dangerous. I cannot lose you. And I hate it, that I cannot help you.”
“I’ll get back alive. I promise.” Sarah answered without any doubt in her eyes and pulled Melissa closer to her.
“What about me?” Neil asked with a sad voice but was ignored again.
“I’ll be angry with you when you die,” Melissa whispered and leaned closer.
“I know. And as cute as you are when you are angry, this wouldn’t be worth it. I’ll come back.” Sarah answered and leaned forward to kiss her.
She pulled back before she could feel all too comfortable again and separated from Melissa. She looked into Melissa’s eyes for a few moments, until she turned around and grabbed Neil by his collar. He protested but couldn’t defend against her strength. He soon stopped struggling, and let himself get comfortable at getting tugged along. She saw out of the corner of her eyes, how he waved towards Melissa with a crooked smile on his lips.
But Sarah didn’t look back anymore. She didn’t want her conviction to waver. This couldn’t wait any longer.
“Let’s kill these abominations and get out of here.”