The trio of Lyle, Ascalon and Stella sit at a restaurant enjoying a meal after another successful mission. The place was crowded with people, it was lunch time after all, and many people were waiting for something to eat. The smell of many different dishes could be perceived in the air, with a touch of burnt smell. Some customers were waiting impatiently for a table while others just left upon seeing how many people were there.
While Ascalon and Stella ate normally, Lyle seemed to be a bit… down, but not down like that he looked sad, but rather tired. He had very noticeable baggy eyes and during the mission he had not only almost fallen asleep but he almost didn't seem to be given its all, or rather that he could not give his all.
This didn't go under Stella, who noticed this strange behavior from her partner, they have been teammates for 2 weeks by now, and each day Lyle seemed more and more tired, which had started to preoccupy the healer. Was he sleeping well? Could it be the training sessions he and Ascalon had been doing in the evening? It's something she really couldn't tell, she was not even staying at the guild like her teammates so she didn't know what happened there at night, but she knew someone who did, Ascalon.
After they had finished their meal, they set out on their way back to the guild, Stella stayed a bit behind and dragged Ascalon with her. Lyle was too tired to notice.
"What happened?" Ascalon questioned as he tried to make Stella stop grabbing him. The healer lets Ascalon go from her grip.
"What's up with Lyle?" She asked him, Ascalon seemed a bit confused by her question.
"What do you mean?" He asked, causing the healer to look at him with incredulity.
"Are you serious? Haven't you noticed that he has been sleepy almost the entire week?! Aren't you his best friend or something?" She exclaimed with a hint of anger. "Today we had to hunt a bunch of wild hogs and he barely had the strength to swing his sword from the beginning!"
Ascalon looked at his friend walking like an undead. "Okay, you may have a point"
The axeman thought for a moment about the state of his friend. "I have kinda felt him waking up in the middle of night, I wonder what he is doing at night".
Stella looked at her tired teammate with concern, she had to find out what the hell had been keeping him awake until so late these past 2 weeks. And somewhere inside her wondered, why did Ascalon not seem to worry about this? He was his best friend for the sake of the gods! She couldn't prevent herself from giving him a judging look that he noticed.
The axeman looked at his companion, a bit weirded out by her judge in her eyes. "Well, I'm sorry, I know it's clear he is having some trouble but I can't do anything! I suck at this kind of stuff, like, giving moral support and that shit. Whenever I try I just make things worse!" He told her.
Stella's judging look disappeared, she sighed. "At least you could've told me, I can try something" She affirmed.
Ascalon didn't have any reason to protest against that, so he just accepted it.
"Alright, do whatever you think it's needed". He said.
"I may have an idea, but I'll need your help" Stella said to Ascalon, who looked at her with a hint of curiosity. The healer told her plan to the axeman, after which they both looked at Lyle who was walking in front of them.
At night, Lyle and Ascalon were at their room in the guild, each of them sleeping in their respective beds, when a sudden knocking on the door woke them up. Lyle stood up and walked towards the door while Ascalon just managed to sit in the bed while rubbing his eyelids.
The swordsman opened the door, being surprised to see Stella standing there.
"What are you doing here?" He questioned her. Stella looked Lyle in the eyes, a bit ashamed.
"I… couldn't find anyone to… stay with this night…. mind if I sleep here?" She lied, surprising Lyle.
"I'm not… sure" He replied with doubt.
However, Ascalon spoke up before he could say anything else while approaching the only window of the bedroom.
"Don't worry, you can take my bed" He said to Stella as he climbed into the window. "I'll be sleeping on the roof, I'd like to see the stars. Good night!"
Ascalon disappeared through the window before Lyle could even question him.
Lyle looked at Stella, confused by what just happened.
"I guess you can stay, but stay away from my bed" He told her.
Stella just smiled and approached Ascalon's bed, throwing herself at it and wrapping herself under the sheets. The swordsman closed the door and laid down on his bed.
Not much later, Stella pretended to have fallen asleep, waiting for Lyle to do any strange move, she wanted to know what was interrupting his sleep. She had to wait for a while but after some moments she heard Lyle standing up from the bed, grabbing something and then leaving the room in a poor attempt of not making noise.
Once he was gone, Stella sat on the bed, she noticed that Lyle had taken his sword. The healer stood up and approached the door, she opened it slowly and looked at the hallway, just barely noticing Lyle going downstairs. She followed him, keeping her distance to prevent him from noticing her. The swordsman had walked down to the first floor, Stella watched him as he approached a door in a corner of the guild's lobby that led to the gardens of the guild, she hadn't noticed that door before.
Stella followed him outside, she hid behind some bushes as she looked at Lyle standing next to a fountain in the middle of the garden, she saw a dark aura surrounding him and he began to swing his sword against nothing but the air. This is what he had been doing all these nights, staying up late to train.
The healer watched him for some minutes until the dark aura suddenly disappeared and Lyle fell to his knees.
"Lyle!" Stella said, going out of the bushes and walking towards Lyle, who had been surprised by her presence.
"Stella? What are you doing here?" He questioned, panting.
Stella looked at him with a bit of anger.
"What am I doing? What the fuck are you doing?!" She yelled at him "Staying up late to train your abilities?! Are you aware of what happens if you don't sleep well?!".
Lyle stood up "I know but I don't care, I need to become stronger as fast as I can, I have to be able to fight off anyone!" He said with a noticeable tiredness. "I need to master my usage of the Dark Boost!".
"Dark Boost? That thing that makes you have that dark aura?" Stella asked.
"Yes" Lyle replied "It's a powerful ability that increases my power and becomes even stronger when I have negative feelings and thoughts" He explained.
"But it consumes too much energy, that's why I'm trying my best to improve my usage of it! The more I use it, the less energy it'll drain each time. I have to become stronger no matter what, I will… I will not let anyone else I care for die!" Lyle exclaimed with determination.
A sudden slap at his face put Lyle out of his thoughts even though it didn't hurt at all. Stella had slapped him. The healer gives her teammate a look of both anger and a bit of pity.
"Look Lyle, I can understand that, but this is not the way! The training I see you do during the day is enough! You don't have to also keep training at night! You are not becoming stronger you are just fucking killing yourself in a very slow and painful way! Moreover you are doing an over effort, you know what that causes? Something I can't heal, so relax with this shit of training or you'll face some undesirable consequences!" She yelled at him.
Lyle looked at her with surprise, he then sat on the ground, looking down. "But I can't… I can't take it slow… at any moment… at any moment… everything could" He seemed to be on the verge of tears.
Stella sat on her tiptoes and put a hand on his shoulders, trying to comfort him. "Calm down Lyle, why do you say that?" She asked with genuine concern, she wondered what could have him like this.
The swordsman looked at his companion and told her everything about what had happened with the demons in his village, even though he had been trying everything to not think of that, the more he tried the more he thinked on that.
Stella looked at him in shock. "Oh shit… that's… that's fucked up" She said.
She understood why Lyle wanted to become stronger so fast, after what happened, it makes sense that he feels that something like that could repeat when he least expects it.
"Lyle… I can't say that I understand that feeling… but if there is something I know about, it's health, and what you are doing is not benefitting you in any sense, you are just damaging yourself and it's dangerous that you continue like this, being at your maximum capacity and training a few hours will not only be more effective but also more healthy than just… training at all times and be always tired. You can't just think of what could happen to others, you have to think for your own good, because if you are not good, then how will you help others?"
The words of the healer made sense in Lyle's head, he had been worrying about being able to protect the little he had remaining, that he forgot to think on his own well-being. He sighed.
"I guess… I guess you're… you're right…" He admitted, looking away from Stella.
"I'm glad you could understand that, now let's take you to bed" Stella said as she and Lyle stood up, the healer holding him from the shoulders, helping him to walk.
"Wow, your muscles are really stiff. But don't worry, I know a solution for that" She said, causing Lyle to look at her with curiosity about what she meant.
Back at the bedroom, Lyle sat at the corner of his bed, with Stella on her knees behind him, her hands on his shoulders.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it" She whispered in his ear with a seductive tone that made him shiver.
Stella's hands began to glow softly in a yellow light as she began massaging Lyle's shoulders. For a moment, all of Lyle's worries and preoccupations seemed to dispel at the soothing feeling of Stella's hands massaging his shoulders and then roaming all over his back.
"Do you like my technique?" Stella asked with her seductive voice "I call this ability 'Soothing Hands', it's perfect to make massages and…" She gave the back of his neck a little touch on his neck that sent a jolt of energy through his body "Some other stuff~"
Lyle's body was so relaxed that he could barely think of anything, and soon enough, he fell into a deep slumber. His head fell back, falling into the healer's chest, she caressed his head with her Soothing Hands as her own tiredness began to make her fall asleep.
The next morning, Lyle woke up under the sheets of his bed, he felt something soft and warm hugging him, his face was buried in something really soft and as he opened his eyes he noticed that it was Stella's breasts. Once the realization hit, Lyle jumped out of bed, falling into the floor and waking up Stella.
The swordsman looked around for a bit, not remembering well his last moments before falling asleep the previous night, he had his clothes still on, so that was a relief. Stella sat in the bed, she stretched and then looked at her teammate.
"Did you sleep well?" She asked him.
Lyle took a while to respond, still recovering from the realization that he had slept the entire night hugging a woman, he was blushing hard.
"Yes… I feel… good" He managed to respond.
Stella did a cute little chuckle "I'm glad to hear that" She said giving him a warm smile.
The swordsman stood up. "Thanks for… last night".
"You're welcome" She replied "And if you ever need any moral help, just talk to me! You are my friend and I care about my friends!".
Lyle smiled, it was nice to see a side of Stella that wasn't… her normal behavior.
After some minutes of organizing the room, they both left it. At the door Stella talked to Lyle
"And remember that both Ascalon and I will be there for you if you need anything, even if he says he's not good with moral support" She said, Lyle thanked her.
"And also… if you ever feel like… needing something more… I'll be more than happy to help~" She said in a seductive whisper.
Lyle blushed, although not as hard as previous times. They both just walked downstairs without saying anything else.
In the lobby of the guild, Ascalon was waiting for them. "Lyle! Looks like you finally took a good rest" The axeman said looking at the well rested face of his friend.
"Yes. I have been training at night, but Stella made me realize that… it was not good for my health to continue doing that, so… I'll be taking my training with more calm" Lyle explained.
Ascalon smiled. "It's ok buddy, I guess we could also soften up the training we do during the day, until you're fully ok!" He said.
Lyle nodded. The healer smiled and made a proposition to her companions "What if we take this day off? You know, just… don't do anything, sometimes it's good to spend a day doing nothing, letting your body relax with whatever you feel like it".
Ascalon seemed to doubt a bit but decided to accept for the sake of his friend's well-being. Lyle nodded in approbation to the healer's proposition.
The rest of the day was spent doing nothing of much relevance, Stella showed them the city a bit better since she knows the place. They went through a street that was filled with stands where people were selling plenty of different stuff, but most of it didn't really catch their attention, however, there was an exception with Lyle.
In one of the stalls there was a man selling many different necklaces, they were pretty but there was one in particular that had caught Lyle's attention, a necklace with a decoration in the shape of a dragon. Ever since he was a little kid, Lyle had a fascination for those majestic creatures, one of his life dreams was to someday see a dragon in person. He stared at the necklace for a while until the man selling it took him out of his trance, offering a very reasonable price for the necklace that Lyle accepted. Although he would've bought it no matter what.
With the necklace now in his hands, Lyle put it on, he liked how it looked on him. Stella complimented the accessory Lyle had bought, so did Ascalon but with less enthusiasm. They continued their walk through the bustling city, and before they noticed, the sun had already begun to hide in the horizon.
Lyle and Ascalon wanted to go back to the guild, but Stella had other plans.
"Guys, I want to invite you to my favorite bar! It's a very nice place! My treat, I swear!" She exclaimed with enthusiasm.
The pair doubted a bit but ended up accepting their friend's invitation, who were they to reject some free drinks?
As the darkness loomed over the city, the healer guided them both through the streets of the city until they were standing before a nice looking place with a sign that had written on it 'Firewood Bar'. Stella entered the place followed by her teammates, who looked around at the inside of the neat bar, a bunch of people drinking beer and playing stupid games, enjoying their time.
"Surprised?" Stella asked, looking at her friends.
"This place does not tolerate troublemakers" She said pointing out at a very intimidating looking man standing in a corner, watching everyone. "Which makes it a very nice place to come and take a drink, that's why it's my favorite! Here, follow me to the bar".
Lyle and Ascalon walked behind Stella to the bar that was empty with the exception of a drunk woman sitting in a corner. They sat in the middle of the bar, in front of them, at the other side of the bar, there was a woman cleaning a jar, clearly a bartender of the place. She was a fairly tall woman, maybe about as tall as Lyle when standing, she looked like she was in her late 20's, she had a noticeable big chest, but the most highlighting part of her was no doubt her face, she had long black hair and a fringe that covered most of the upper half of her face, only leaving visible her black left eye. Her expression was rather unnerving, she had the paleness of someone whose life had left them a long time ago, her eyes didn't have any bright on them. A detail easy to miss was a little dark mark under her visible eye, it was like a little root that came out of her eye, but due to her fringe it was very hard to notice.
"Hello Mistia! How are you tonight?" Stella greeted the woman.
"Greetings Stella, do you want the same as ever?" Mistia replied, her voice tone was so dry that it felt almost like… there is no point of comparison for how lifeless her voice sounded.
"Yes, I do, but you aren't giving it to me, so just a beer please!" Stella told her.
"What do you want to order, my friends?" She asked, looking at her friends.
"I guess I'll have a beer", Lyle said.
"Do you have wine by any chance?" Ascalon asked.
Mistia turned around and looked at the several bottles and barrels behind her, then she turned around once again.
"Yes". Her voice tone was so lifeless it was disturbing.
"Then I'll take a glass of it" Ascalon said, a bit weirded out by the bartender.
Mistia stared at Ascalon for a few seconds, which only weirded him out even more.
"Uuh… Do I have something in the face?" Ascalon asked.
"Have we met before? There is something about you that feels… familiar" Mistia asked, tilting her head.
Ascalon was confused by the question. "I don't think so…"
"Huh… weird" She said, getting back at her job.
The bartender served the drinks the trio had ordered with the least amount of motivation any of them had ever seen in their life, well no, just Lyle and Ascalon, Stella was already used to dealing with her.
"Here are your drinks", Mistia said as she gave each of them the drink they had ordered.
They all began drinking, Ascalon sipped the wine slowly and calmly. Lyle took his beer sip by sip, he didn't have any hurries. Stella drank a good chunk almost immediately.
"Good as always!" She exclaimed while cleaning her mouth with her forearm.
They continued to drink their drinks, while Ascalon and Lyle hadn't even finished one, Stella had already swallowed multiple jars of beer, already drunk.
"Alright, I think that is for me" She barely managed to say.
"Will you two want anything *hip* else?" She asked her friends, both of them denied.
"Alright, Mistia *hip*" give the… the thing… that thing I…" Stella tried to ask for the bill.
"The bill?" Mistia asked.
"Ye! T-That thing!" I'm treating tonight" Stella declared.
"That is surprising" The bartender said as she passed the bill for the drinks at Stella.
The healer took some of the gold she had brought with her and paid the bill, accidentally leaving a bit more than she should've, but Mistia didn't bother on pointing it out and her friends hadn't noticed.
"Alright, now with that settled *hip* Let's see what we have here tonight…" The drunk healer said as she looked around for a possible mate for the night. She stopped her search upon noticing a woman drinking at a table all by herself.
"Well mates, don't wait for me!" Stella said, standing up and walking towards the woman.
Meanwhile, Lyle and Ascalon remained on their seats, finishing the drinks they had ordered. While Ascalon sipped his wine with a strange air of elegance, Lyle looked at the bartender, Mistia, he had been watching her for a while, she caused him a strange curiosity, he wondered why she looked so lifeless, what could've happened to her to look like that? His thoughts were interrupted upon noticing that the bartender was looking at him. He stopped looking at her, fearing that she may think he's a creep. Mistia walked closer to Lyle, she was now standing right in front of him, Lyle looked at her in the eyes, he couldn't tell what was going on her mind right now, he was getting nervous.
"Hey, it's that a dragon?" Mistia asked, pointing out at the swordsman's collar. He was surprised by the bartender's interest in his dragon necklace.
"Oh, yes, it is. I really like dragons, hehe" He replied with relief, letting out a little smile.
"Dragons are really cool" She declared, this time with almost some emotion in her words.
Lyle smiled as he began to ramble about the histories of dragons he's read, even if she didn't express it, the bartender seemed to share Lyle's adoration for dragons.
"I have always wished to see a dragon in real life! But I've heard that they are nearly extinct" Lyle said.
"I've heard that most dragons got extinct thousands of years ago, and nowadays the most common type remaining are ice dragons, and even they are rare to find", Mistia said.
Lyle was amazed just to think about it. "Dragons of ice? Oh that sounds just like the most fantastic thing ever, just imagine it! An enormous reptile with wings and made out of ice!" He exclaimed with emotion, making the bartender let out a tiny smile.
"It sounds like it is", She declared.
Ascalon looked at them both continuing to ramble about a bunch of things about dragons, and this made him realize something, it had been a while since he had seen a smile with a smile on his face, a genuine smile. Even though it makes sense, he hadn't noticed that, ever since the tragedy, Lyle hadn't shown to actually be happy, but now, it seemed like he was.
Ascalon was happy for his best friend.