Cellestra returned and I extended an arm to summon water for her to wash her hands with. I then cast the spell that would blow warm air to help her dry them.

“How many people would love to have such a luxury?” Cellestra mused.

“Probably quite a few,” I replied.

“It’s incredible,” She said before putting her backpack down and fetching the wolf pelts from my abdomen.

“How are you feeling?” She asked in a genuinely caring voice.

“I feel… much better,” I let out. “Thank you.”

“I hope you can wait for my answer,” The elf continued. “I hope we’ll both be able to give our heads some much-needed rest tonight.”

“I’ll live, don’t worry. At least you didn’t run away...” I said, only half-serious.

“How could I run from you?” Cellestra said as she sat down to my side. “You’re a wonderful person and I enjoy our time together. I don’t see how that would change now that you’ve told me this.”

Her words put a smile on my face which didn’t disappear as I lay myself down on top of my spider body.

“I’m happy to hear that,” I said softly.

“I’m impressed by your bravery to tell me,” The elf continued as she placed the back of her head against my side. “I still can’t believe I got confessed to… by another girl... a half-spider one at that.”

“You have no idea how much that last part worried me,” I replied to her.

“No kidding. It’s why I’m so impressed you managed to tell me.”

“I don’t know what to say. I guess I should thank you,” I said after a few seconds of silence.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. We’ll get some rest and talk about it tomorrow… if you want.”

“I do.”

Cellestra yawned and placed one of the wolf furs over her frame. “Let’s do that then. Good night.”

“Good night,” I wished her back while I focused all my attention on my spider half.

Soon enough, Cellestra was sleeping quietly. I then realized I’d forgotten to cast my healing light spell on her. As soon as I remembered, I cast it, not wanting her sleep to be disturbed by horrible nightmares. I then waited quietly as I felt my elven half fall asleep.

Hours later, dawn arrived, causing me to cancel my illumination spell. It was interesting to view the rise of the sun and see its light start to spread from the horizon to then reach onto the plains around me. I’d never seen anything that was so simple, and yet so magical at the same time. I hadn’t ever bothered to stand still and take the time to appreciate it.

My worries from before seemed to have mostly vanished. Although, I was eager to hear what the elf had to say about everything. Her reaction the day before had given me hope that there was a chance for her to feel the same way, though. I hoped and prayed that she would… could feel the same way as me.

This feeling was just too wonderful to not share.

Two hours or so after sunrise, the elf at my side stirred and slowly awakened. I gave her the time she needed and pretended to ignore the fact that she’d leaned against one of my legs with her side. I forcibly awakened my elven half with two legs, causing sudden jolts of sensation to stream into it.

Cellestra yawned audibly and stretched her arms, hitting my leg in the process.

“Oops,” She let out. “Morning, Kealyna. Slept well?”

“Morning, and yes, and no. You know how I am weird like that.”

The brown-haired elf let out one of her cute giggles before standing up. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t care, though.”

Cellestra walked to the brown linen bag and pulled out some more bread before digging into it.

“Damn, this stuff is getting stale.”

She then walked to her own backpack and pulled out two more apples. It would seem she wasn’t lying when she said that half the bag’s contents were apples.

She handed one to me and sat down in front of me as she alternated between bread and apple.

“And these aren’t going to last much longer, either,” She mentioned after taking a bite from the apple.

“At least you’re smart enough to eat the perishables first,” I said.

“We’re lucky you don’t need to eat as much. On the other hand, it does mean that it’s likely I’ll have to throw some away. Maybe they gave us a bit too much at the temple.”

“Better too much than too little, no?” I replied.

“True,” Cellestra said with a smile. “You know what I miss?”

“Tell me,” I let out, a smile growing on my face as I was curious what she was going to say.

“Tea.”

“Why didn’t you bring some?” I asked.

“How am I going to boil—” She cut herself off. “...I’m an idiot.”

“Are there any common herbs that you can make tea from?” I asked. “I imagine that it shouldn’t be too hard to dry some leaves if you miss it that much.”

“Thank you, and yes, but I don’t see them growing around here. As far as I can tell, we’ll be passing through a forest soon. With some luck, I can pick some there.”

I chuckled. “Would be great, if that satisfies your cravings.”

The elf smiled as she finished her breakfast and excused herself. Moments later, we did what was starting to turn into a routine. She washed her hands and we packed up for the journey. She then climbed onto my back and we headed towards the forest. Neither of us had so far brought up anything from last night, but I didn’t mind. I would wait until Cellestra was ready to talk about it.

“You know,” Cellestra finally talked after I ran for a while. “I’ve been thinking. I don’t know anything about love. I do know that I like you as a person and that I enjoy spending time with you. I know I’ve said both these things before…”

She sighed deeply. “I sure am bad at this.”

“Take it easy,” I suggested. “It’s okay. Just take it easy.”

Cellestra inhaled and exhaled deeply once more. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t mind… you know, trying… or at least keep an open mind about things. I hope you understand that I cannot give you a definitive answer, as I myself don’t know what I feel.”

“That’s fine,” I said confidently. “It’s a fair answer. We have plenty of time to figure things out.”

“Yeah,” Cellestra said with a smile. “You’re right.”

She then moved one of her hands on my soft hair and started running her fingers through it. I closed my elven eyes as I delighted in the feeling.

“Does it feel nice when I do that?” Cellestra asked, curiosity plastered on her face.

“I wish you’d never stop doing that,” I said, completely honest.

Cellestra giggled in response. “Yet spiders don’t seem to like it.”

“They don’t?” I asked, surprised how anything could resist getting petted like that.

“Nope. They tend to skitter to the side or away when you do it. Not really the kind of petting animal, I guess.”

“That's… a shame.”

Seconds later, we reached the edge of the forest, which meant I had to slow down considerably as the wide-open fields were replaced with trees, dirt, and undergrowth. As much as it slowed me down, I tried to keep up the pace as much as I could while going in a straight line. I imagined we may need some assistance after getting out of the forest from a possible nearby city to ensure we stayed on the right track.

For now, however, I made sure to focus on my surroundings with my thermal vision. At the same time, I was keeping an eye out for anything that could serve as prey for me. I still had no idea how long I could last on my reserves. Despite Cellestra’s story about tarantulas being able to survive without food for months, I wasn’t intending to try it out on myself.

Goddess knows that not everything about this body adhered to normal spider rules, so to say.

The forest itself wasn’t anything special. It was the same old story regarding plants and wildlife. At some point, Cellestra did call out for me to stop. When I did and asked if she’d seen anything, she pointed towards a brush with odd speartip-shaped leaves that were unnaturally dark, and berries that were transparent, but deep red.

“Tea.” She said with a single word.

“Oh,” I let out as I walked closer so the elf could harvest some leaves, which she’d put away in a small pouch that she carried on her belt.

“Also, these berries are delicious. Try some.”

I extended an arm to gather a few of the berries that were just inviting me to come and eat them. I knew that it was unwise to eat anything you came across, but my toxin resistance skill had eliminated any need for me to be careful.

There was also the fact that Cellestra was literally stuffing her face with them, so I guessed I’d be okay.

I put a few of them in my mouth and found them to be as delicious as Cellestra’s face indicated. They were sweet and sour, but not too sour. They were also unlike anything I’d ever tasted. I simply had nothing in my mind that I could compare it to. The experience was just odd.

“You like them?” The elf asked with a wide smile on her face.

I nodded. “They are great.”

“Good to hear,” She said before turning her head to the linen bag in front of her. “Shame they spoil so quickly. Otherwise, I would have taken a load with me.”

“Can’t be helped, I guess. Fortunately, tea doesn’t spoil quite as fast. I reckon it would be a good idea to wait until we are out of this forest before drying those leaves, wouldn’t it?”

“Agreed,” Cellestra said. “And on that note, let’s continue. I have plenty of the leaves and don’t want to hold you up any longer.”

I nodded and continued running around trees, trying to find a way through this dense forest.