Recovery

It had been a few days since the Priory of the Wyrm attacked Magnolia town. Many of those involved in the defense were left badly wounded, but through the use of medicine and magic, most had made a full, or almost full recovery. Almyra was doing alright, but was still waiting to be checked out of the hospital. She sat in one of the patient rest areas, reading her book with a smile on her face and her doll lying on her lap. She was back to wearing her normal clothes, which had (thankfully) been cleaned from her adventures. Someone had been kind enough to mend them with magic as well. She was eager to get out of this place, but understood the need to wait to make sure she was alright after the events that had recently occurred. She wondered where Anastasia and Ashelia were, if they were doing alright, or if they had even been released from the hospital already.

It seemed Nao was going on a day trip today, with Anastasia. He didn’t really have all that much choice as she seemed to have dragged him out while carrying a bouquet of flowers.  He had found it odd that she was carrying flowers- not that he had expected this to be a date or anything but it just seemed a little peculiar why she brought him out. Better yet how the heck did she find him in all of Earthland anyway?

He could recall every detail that happened that night at the jewellery store. From meeting the street urchin with the injured leg, and watching Tammy transform right in front of his eyes was a definite memory to have. Ugh he didn’t even know people could change like that and it sort of made him feel a little sick to keep thinking about it. But working with Ana and Tammy as a team was great despite him not being in a guild. Maybe he would ally with Blue Pegasus instead of another guild since they were so kind and good to him. Might have been an idea to get to know them a little bit more.

”It’s no problem Ana though I do wonder why you’d like me to meet all these girls,” he questioned her. ”I guess meeting all your friends is important. They part of your guild too? “ Was she trying to play matchmaker with Nao. He wasn’t really the most attractive guy out there and he was definitely someone who preferred to watch from afar and was pretty shy.  ”But if you say they’re nice people then I’m going to trust you about this.”

They eventually arrived at a building he hadn’t been to before but from what he could tell it was a hospital that they were visiting. He furrowed his brows at the thought that someone was injured in here. So was that why they had the flowers? Probably for the best but he watched Ana speed up before skipping off without him.

”H-hey wait!” he called out before he spoke to the receptionist to get the information again. He would have to follow quickly or else he would miss out on everything.

Nao walked fast through the corridors until he arrived at the room and opened it to see Ana talking to another girl. He walked in just as she said that he wasn’t Ana’s girlfriend and a cold sweat suddenly felt just above the hairline. Gladly he would wipe it off before walking fully in.

”Yes hi, I’m Nao,” he said, giving a wave from the elbow to the new girl. ”Ana and I worked on a mission together recently. I’m not really part of a guild or anything.” He didn’t want to ramble on too much but he tried giving a kind smile to her. Nao was here to save the day once more, by not letting Ana be known as the girl-with-the-imaginary-friend.

Almyra heard a sound coming from the hall. It was a cheerful sound, that of someone skipping merrily through the hallways of the hospital. She closed her book and stood up, holding her doll in her hand as she went to investigate. If there was something happy going on, she would certainly like to be a part of it. As she was walking to the door, Anastasia walked in with a bouquet of flowers. Almy's face lit up at the sight of her friend. "Ana! I'm a lot better now!" She answered, beaming, happy to have had her wounds healed and to be able to open her mouth again. She hugged her friend tightly as she ran over. She took the bouquet when it was offered to her and smelled the flowers, smiling at Ana as she spoke. "A friend? Great! I love people." She bounced a bit as she anticipated Nao's entrance.

As Nao walked in with a wave, Almyra rushed over to Nao to hug him in greeting, clearly excited to be meeting another person. "It's nice to meet you Nao!" She hugged a bit tighter before letting him go. "I'm Almyra." She didn't really make note of the fact that Nao was also guildless, since she didn't really care. A person was a person regardless of species, ethnicity, or alignment with various parties. "I'm glad you two came to visit me." She said to both as she went back to her seat. There were a few other chairs where Ana and Nao could sit as well. "It's nice to be able to see you again before I go home." She said to Ana before turning to Nao. "And it's nice to meet you." She hugged her doll to her chest with a smile. She loved to be around people, but tended to be at a loss for words in regards of what to talk to them about. Hopefully Ana or Nao would be better at striking up conversation.

The sound of familiar voices chatting somewhere nearby woke Ashe from her slumber. Many mages had suffered injuries in the recent incident with the Priory and she was no exception; when she was first taken to the hospital the doctors had told her she had four broken ribs along with some internal bleeding and a bruised lung. They had insisted she stay under their care until they were satisfied that she was properly on the mend, and thus she had spend the past few days primarily sleeping off her injuries. In that time she had been left mostly alone save for the doctors checking up on her.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes, peering around sleepily. Nobody was in the room save herself and of course Vendrick, who snapped a ghostly book closed with a puff of smoke when he saw that she was up.

Ah good, you are awake. If you are wondering where the noise is coming from, I would suggest looking two doors down. It seems your friends from the other day are here.

Ashe irritably mumbled something that seemed to vaguely contain the words 'friend' and 'sleep' in it as response.

Enough of that. Get out of bed and go see them. They have probably come to see you as well anyway, no sense making them wait.

Still muttering under her breath about the dubious usefulness of 'friends' compared to the wonders of sleep, Ashe slipped out from under the white hospital sheets and slid her feet into the fuzzy slippers her nurse had left for her in case she needed to use the bathroom. Carefully, so as not to make much noise or stretch herself too much, she shuffled down the hallway and peeked into the room.

Oh, I had no idea Almyra was staying this close. Well, her jaw was pretty serious, so I suppose I can understand that. Ana is the one visiting, of course, so who is...

Beads of sweat began to form on Ashe's brow, and her hands formed a white-knuckle grip on the doorframe. Sound faded away and one could almost see her eyes begin to swirl in a mixture of panic and confusion.

S-s-stranger?! Why would Ana bring some random person here? She knows I don't handle new people well! Wait...maybe...maybe they aren't here to see me at all, and he's just somebody Almyra knows? She quickly nodded to herself. Yes yes, that makes perfect sense! Obviously Ana wouldn't bring someone strange to come see me! But...then...

She moved away from the doorframe and shuffled back to her room, twiddling her fingers sadly. Well...I mean, of course they aren't coming to see me. Why would they? I'm not really that importan-

Before Ashe could finish the thought the sound of footsteps came from the hallway just outside her room. Almost out of reflex she flattened herself against the wall, hoping desperately that the footsteps would just pass by. They didn't, however, and instead Ana walked straight in and gave her a look that just said 'Really now?'.

"Oh, Ashe. Don't think we didn't skip out on seeing you.  You were hurt really bad too!  But I'm so glad you're doing alright." The blonde stated while promptly moving in for a hug as usual.

"N-no, er, y-you didn't have to come see m-meEOOW!" Ashe blushed and stammered from the physical contact, but it quickly turned to a yelp as Ana squeezed the bandaged area on her side.

"Oh, errr, sorry if you're still hurt."

"N-no, it's fine...it's just a bit sore"

Apparently taking her at her word, Ana practically yoinked her into the other room, saying something about an announcement. After dragging her by the hand in front of the other two Ana introduced her with a flourish.

"Tada!  Ashe is here too!"

"H-hello..." By reflex Ashe almost bowed, but remembered just in time and settled for a slight hand wave instead, half smiling at Almyra while completely avoiding looking at the new person.

Why did she have to bring that stranger here? D-does he have something to do with the announcement? Oh gods I hope not...

His wave would be interrupted very suddenly with the girl that they were visiting rushing up to him arms open wide before clamping around him with her cheek into his chest. This would take the novice mage by surprise for a couple of reasons. Firstly he wasn’t the kind of person that came into contact with others straight away, since he would usually use his magic to scope out an area and people to make sure they were not dangerous or weird. Secondly he just wasn’t use to bodily contact that wasn’t a kick, a punch or anything of similar aggressiveness. Thirdly… just girls in general were a little frightening to get to know and he had one wrapping her arms around him so kindly like she had known him for years.

Nao’s face would start to change colour from the usual pale to a flamingo pink tint, turning his cheeks to rise in heat to a molten level. The tightness of the hug Almyra was beginning to crush all the hard parts of his heart before she released him. This didn’t give him much of a chance to really try and hug back… if he even would have. His body began to freeze up in nerves.

Just calm down Nao. I-It was just a hug from a new friend! Nothing sinister or horrible or anything like that!” His mind was racing inside with all these thoughts, even though it had only been seconds and Almyra was returning to her seat and doll.

”I-It’s nice to meet you too Almyra,” he stumbled out of his mouth, carefully not to trip over his own words like someone who had one too many shots of tequila.

He would shake off most of the feeling as soon as Ana returned, his movements a little rigid and shaky from the shock of the hug. She also returned with a much taller girl, someone who seemed to completely blank Nao as if he wasn’t there. It was sort of understandable, gave some time for Nao to analyse her a little before actually talking. He didn’t really get the chance with the other girl since she managed to get in and hug him but he could already tell she was friendly enough to be around. Until then he would just make notes of the much taller girl in front.

”Well it’s nice to meet you both,” Nao would say, trying to sound as friendly as possible. He would then turn to Ana and ask about the announcement. ”I remember you telling me you had something important to talk to us about?”

Almyra smiled and waved to Ashe as she was dragged in by Anastasia. Her doll waved with her before she went back to hugging it happily. Her gaze alternated between Nao and Ashe as the two spoke. Both seemed to be very shy around people, based on Ashe's stuttering (and their interaction during the Priory attack) and Nao's basically turning to stone when he was hugged. She wondered why some people were so awkward around people. There must have been some cause for it somewhere in their life, or multiple causes.

Her thoughts were cut short, however, as Anastasia had an announcement to make. She looked to the musician, her eyes sparkling with curiosity over whatever it was she had to announce. She sat alert, ready to receive whatever news Ana had for them. She seemed very excited about it, which pleased Almy, who always loved to be around happy people. Still, despite her own excitement, she remained calmly hugging her doll.

T-t-team?!? If it were possible to stutter inside one's own head, well, this was the time to do it. The very idea brought the gears in Ashe's head to a grinding halt, and she missed a few seconds while she got them spinning again. A t-team? But why?

Ana went on to explain that she thought they would work well together, and that they would have fun going after treasure and such. Ashe couldn't deny that the thought of having others around to assist on certain expeditions appealed to her. After all, there were some things that one just couldn't do on their own. Some places might have magical traps or threats she couldn't deal with, and there was a limit to how much she could carry on her own. One could always hire help on the spot for those things, but it was never wise to place one's trust in mercenaries, especially when you're on your own. However...after spending some time with her Ashe felt like she might be able to trust Anastasia with something like like that.

"W-well...i-if it's y-you Ana, then m-maybe.." She blushed and mumbled, twiddling her index fingers together nervously. The focus wasn't on her at the moment though, and she was quiet enough that nobody really heard her as Ana went on to mention that they would 'need to fix' her and the new person's dislike of being around people.

Hearing that Ashe began to sputter indignantly, only to turn crimson when Ana got a sly look on her face and claimed that this 'Nao' would be the leader of a harem apparently comprised of Ana, Almyra, and Ashe herself.

"W-wha-what!? I-I'll have you kn-know that I do n-not need f-f-fixing!! I am p-p-perfectly f-fine!" She shouted angrily, then pointed an accusing finger straight at Nao. "And I w-will most certainly n-n-not be part of some s-stranger's ha-ha-HAREM!!"

And with that she immediately turned ethereal and ran through the wall, down the hallway, and hid in a broom closet. Sniffling, she wiped some of her angry tears on a bit of the hospital gown.

"S-stupid Ana. She should know better, treating me like there's something wrong with me."

She is not entirely wrong, you know. Eventually you will have to become used to people, or you will be alone your entire life. Having a team you can be close to is an excellent start towards that.

"Y-you...you can go stuff yourself too Vendrick! Just because you want me to act like some queen and boss around millions of people doesn't mean I have to, or that there's something wrong with me if I don't! So what if I'm alone? I don't need to be friends with everybody!"

She was silent for a moment, curling up by wrapping her arms around her legs and pulling tight.

"I don't need to be friends with everyone," she repeated quietly. "Just...maybe one or two. That's all I need. Everyone else can go stuff themselves."

The ghost king went quiet as well, a somber look on his face as he thought about what she said. Thinking back to a time when he was alive, her words hit home.

You remind me of someone who was very precious to me, Ashelia. The old king wore a sad sort of smile as he spoke. Perhaps you are right. Perhaps, if I had done things differently... He shook his head. But that is in the past. Even so, Ashelia, you should have a little more faith in the ones you would call friends. Even if there are only one or two of them.

He patted her on the shoulder and disappeared, leaving Ashe alone in the closet for now. She had a feeling she knew what he was getting at with that last remark, but she still didn't want to leave the broom closet just yet. Besides, knowing Anastasia it wouldn't be too long before she found her and dragged her out of there anyway.

As Ana would return, Nao felt her quickly put an arm around him and Ashe. He didn’t really seem to flinch or freeze up this time around, and he figured it was because he was so used to Ana now, that she didn’t really bother him all that much when it came to physical contact. Though there were still parts that he would freak out a little if she touched, such as grabbing onto his shoulders… ugh he hated that! He really didn’t want to have to feel like people were thinking that he hated human contact… he just didn’t like people being so close in front of him.

Nao was caught off guard by the suggestion of forming a team with the three girls in front of him. He thought it was going to be some big announcement, like she was moving to another country, and wishing use farewell. But a team? He didn’t really mind working with the same people over and over again, and he didn’t really have to do anything outside of the missions with them. And while he was thinking about it, half paying attention to what Ana was saying, he decided to take some time to study the three girls in front of him.

He already knew Ana’s abilities, Almyra seemed to be very friendly and liked to hug strangers, and Ashe seemed to be the complete opposite. Would they even be able to work together in a group? With Nao’s ability to focus on something very far away and be able to track someone from a distance, even when he had temporarily lost sight of them. But these girls? What were their powers? Had Ana considered the team composition? She was a support, he was a mix of self-buffing offensive, but were the others going to fit around this?

His focus returned as Ana pointed at him and Ashe and told them they needed to have their dislike of people fixed. Nao could only act a little shocked by this statement, as he didn’t feel like he had a flaw when it came to being around people. He just didn’t want people getting too close to him, especially with his eyes on.

As soon as Ana thought about this team being a harem around Nao, he saw Ashe point at him and dash through… the wall? Was it some kind of magical or ancestral power of hers? Nao would just softly sigh, his cheeks a little red at the dumb idea to make it a harem.

”A team would be nice Ana, but it’s not that I don’t dislike people… I just don’t like people getting too close to me. What with my eyes and all,” he said, switching his eye magic on. ”I just feel that people getting too close messes with my zoom. I might be looking into the distance at a magnification of ten times, and a person getting too close will look like a giant!”

”Maybe it would be best to see how Ashe is feeling in a bit… I don’t think the way you were teasing her is going to convince her to work with us, especially me!”


He wondered what to do at the moment before thinking of an idea. "Maybe we should talk about our strengths and what we could bring to the table! For instance: My eyes can zoom in to the distance, as well as track targets and point out weaknesses in a person. I can also tell people where to aim on a target. I'm also pretty handy with ranged weapons!"

Almyra watched quietly as Anastasia made her announcement. Her eyes lit up at the idea of making a team. She nodded. "It sounds fun!" She answered, indicating that she would happily join a team with Ashe, Ana, and Nao, despite having only met them recently. She blinked when Ana brought up her "giving the finger to half-human freaks". She didn't know what problem Ana had with them. All of the half-humans she had met had been nice. She tilted her head in thought, still listening to Ana speak. She mentioned Nao being the leader of a harem now, to which Ashe didn't respond very well.

"What's a harem? And what's wrong with half-humans?" She asked, looking rather confused before Nao brought up talking about their strengths and weaknesses. Almyra thought a moment about what she could do well, putting a finger to her lips as she did so. "Um... I can do math... and uh... and I can see things... things that most people don't... they help me figure things out..." She paused a moment and smiled. "I'm really good at finding things and solving puzzles and learning things, even if I'm not very good at fighting. I can make things decay, but I'm not very good at it." She said, finishing before squeezing her doll to her chest. "Oh! And Tammy can do this!" She said before tossing her doll onto the ground. It landed and stood on its feet. Controlling the doll with her mind, she had it run over to Ana's feet and hug her leg.

"I also have lots of books with lots of useful information in them." She said. She knew Anastasia could confirm the fact that she had a lot of books, given their adventures with the dumpster and the dragon. "I'm good at surviving in the wilderness, too. I can make fire and traps and camps and lots of things, since I've been exploring for years."

True to character not much time passed at all before Ana came looking for her. She still didn't feel quite up to socializing just yet, so she simply curled up and waited for her to pass by.

That is, until Anastasia went and loudly proclaimed in front of everyone in the hallway that if Ashe didn't come out she was going to 'play with her boobies'. Ashe instantly turned so red that steam could almost be seen coming from her ears. She began sputtering incoherently and shot up, bumped her head on a shelf, and yelped before throwing open the closet door and yanking Ana inside.

"W-what are you th-thinking?! You c-can't just s-say stuff like that in front of p-p-people!"

Ashe wasn't exactly sure why she felt so embarrassed by the perverted threat. She would be embarrassed in this situation regardless, but the fact that it was Ana doing it...it was odd. She felt...well, to be honest she felt more embarrassed because the idea excited her a little bit.

Of course, mentally admitting that made her even more embarrassed. Then she realized what it must look like to the people in the hallway; Ana had mentioned playing with her breasts and Ashe had pulled her into a broom closet and shut the door, which put the two of them in very, very close proximity. Coupled with their height differences, the result was that Ashe was practically forcing Anastasia's face into her chest.

Rather than blush even more, which was likely not even possible, the mental overload seemed to short her metaphorical circuits. Her whole body felt paralyzed, and while her mouth was open as if to speak no words could find their way out. To make things worse, the only one around who could break her out of it was Ana, and she was liable to take the opportunity to grope her. Though at this point Ashe wasn't entirely sure she didn't want her to.

One thing was certain however: if things weren't resolved one way or another Ashe was sure to pass out.

The Novice mages listening to Almyra’s abilities, and how clever she was. He seemed a little bit interested in the fact her doll moved, besides its desire to also hug someone. The ability to think through things and figure puzzles out was definitely an interesting idea. Between what he could see, and what she could see… he was pretty sure they’d be able to solve every problem in the world… huh… imagine that.

Nao would just simply listen to Ana in why she hated half-humans so much. He found it a little funny… at one time mages were hunted down by people and executed because of their powers. It wasn’t really much different when she had prejudices about people who were all human. It wasn’t their fault that they had two parents of two different species that liked each other so very much so they had children. Maybe she would just need to learn a little bit more sympathy towards these kinds of people.

He would furrow his eyebrows a little bit, almost frowning at the thought of her explaining how she didn’t like them. They were still as natural as her song magic, or the items she created. But it was just something he would talk to her about some other time. Maybe some kind of hypno therapy would help solve that problem.

He would sigh softly as she ran into the wall, before disappearing out of the door. He shook his head, putting a hand onto his head and closing his eyes for a few moments before opening them, and putting his hands down to his sides.

”Well, I don’t agree with her disliking people who aren’t the same as us. Just as like we aren’t always liked by people who cannot use magic in this world. I do worry about her a little bit, Almyra, but I guess it’s something she needs to learn a little bit about.”

Nao would just sit down on a chair, and wait for Ana and Ashe get back from their little chat. If Almyra had something to ask him, then he would answer it as honestly as he could. But for now… just waiting on those two.

Almyra nodded in response to Nao. She didn't like the fact that Ana didn't like demihumans because they were different, having been on the receiving end of similar dislike before for being a mage. She wondered a moment where Ashe had run off to, and if Ana had found her. She had her doll return to where she was sitting before picking it up and hugging it. It would be fairly evident that it meant a lot to her. She figured Anastasia and Ashelia would be back soon, so in the meantime she turned her attention to Nao. She watched his reaction, whatever it may be, her head tilted to one side as she thought. "Why did you freeze up when I hugged you?" She asked. Did he just not like hugs, or did he get nervous around people like Ashe? Hopefully he wouldn't take offense to the question or anything. He seemed nice and she wanted to be friends with him (then again she wanted to be friends with everyone).

Almyra let out a small yawn after speaking, sleepy as always. She tended to tire out quickly, with her mind essentially operating at 110% when she was awake, and her mental activity not going down as much as most people when she slept. It was a rather nasty combination that left her with only a few hours of full wakefulness a day and requiring she sleep extra each night.

A small 'eep!' escaped from Ashe's lips as Anastasia grabbed her chest through the thin hospital gown. While she remained frozen, unsure of how to react to being groped in this situation, Ana seemed to ponder what manner of soft pillowy things she was thrust into. Two more squeezes followed, drawing a gasp from Ashe. Thoughts kept whirling through her head, things she should be saying, such as 'A-Ana, you can't!' or 'S-s-stop that Ana!'. But, for some reason, she just couldn't get the words to come out. Perhaps because while Ashe did find it shocking to say the least, she also found it somewhat...enjoyable?

"A-Ana..those...those are s-sensitive..." she whispered shyly, then went stiff as a railroad spike.

Waaait wait wait! She thought to herself, mind in overdrive. What the hell was that line, straight out of a romance novel? Is...is this going to turn into that scene from 'Star in the West' where Rubio takes Alice in the broom closet at her own wedding, only I'm Alice and Ana is...Ana is Rubio?!?

With a push to extricate herself from Ashe's breasts Ana looked up, though it seemed the sight didn't quite register in Ana's head, and she absently squeezed Ashe's chest again. Immediately a sound starting working it's way up her throat, only to be stifled by Ashe clamping both hands over her mouth.

Nonono, you are not moaning in this situation! This is not a romance novel damn you! Ana might get the right- I MEAN WRONG IDEA!

A sly grin crept across Anastasia's face as she finally realized who she was stuck in the closet with. She made a quip about how she did say she would grab Ashe's boobs, and based on the fact she hadn't moved her hands she didn't seem to be in any hurry to stop groping them either.

"I...I...I'm not ready to lose my virginity!" Ashe blurted out.

She blinked a few times. For some reason, everything seemed to be slipping out of focus.

Oh. Well, this is it then. I'm going to die of embarassment, and my last words are going to be a quote from 'Star in the West'. I'm sure the author will be proud.

And just like that, without any further word Ashe passed out and fell on a pile of thankfully un-used cleaning towels.

Nao would listen to Almyra as she asked him a question about the previous hug and how he reacted to it. It was pretty confrontational to hear her ask him about that sort of stuff, but he figured that she was just curious on why he had reacted to such a thing to her, and not so much to Ana. Truth be told… he didn’t exactly know why it was, but he would try and explain to the young girl why he wasn’t so sure on hugs from her… just yet.

”Well you see Almyra…” he said, watching her yawn a little bit, before ignoring it and continuing on. ”Well I have this power with my eyes, you see?” He would then activate it, turning his dull brown eyes into a radiant and extravagant array of colours that would sway around his eyes and change. ”And with my eyes I can activate them and zoom into someone or something, and this zoom is at ten times the zoom of an above average person.” He could focus on all the marks and pores of the girl in front of him, or look to any bug in the room and see their eyes clearly.

”But the problem with this is, anything that gets in the way of the zoom while I’m doing it, is also huge. So when things are close I’m very wary, especially when they come from the front of where I am… So I froze up just in case I had accidentally zoomed in and was going to see you as if I was looking at a giant.” He would sigh out softly.

”But I’ll tell you what, if you want to hug me again, I’ll do my best to react properly… I’m just not used to such close actions. My eyes have also made me usually be the one to watch people from afar before I choose how to engage… Like a scout in an army, or salesman in the street! But I’ll do my best to hug you back, ok?” Hopefully he hadn’t offended her with anything he was saying…

Almyra kept eye contact with Nao, her head tilted and a smile on her face as she listened to what the male wizard had to say. He explained his reason for disliking people getting close in case he was zoomed in with his vision. It was reasonable. People were certainly surprised when someone popped up in their view when looking through binoculars, and no doubt, this was pretty similar. She nodded enthusiastically after Nao had given his explanation, happy to have learned and not offended in the slightest. There really wasn't much in this world that could upset Almy. There was too much for her to love and learn about to remain upset for long.

"I understand. But you should try talking to people more often than just watching them. There are a lot of things about people that can't be seen. And if we're going to be on a team together... well... I hope you can get used to hugs because I like them a lot." She did enjoy hugs, though any physical contact with people tended to make her happy. She would wait until Nao's eyes had turned back to normal before getting up and walking over to him, then give him another hug, this one a bit tighter than the last.