After they finished Jer's memory the group sat down to discuss things, Jer as usual, led the discussion. "We have had a tough time connecting to each other because at least one of us was awake at any given time, mainly to keep watch while the others slept. I propose that we get together bi-monthly, and that one of us share our experiences at said get together."

The others agreed with his proposal and said their goodbyes. Leaving the white room to reënter their own dreams.

Three woke up the next day feeling refreshed, happy to know that his friends were doing well, due to their connection he was sure he would feel it should one of them die. It was still good to know they were doing well and had met pleasant people like he and Sumi had. Having confirmation that his friends were doing okay let him focus completely on the task of the day. Grimli had promised them he would find them a proper monster to fight for their promotion to level ten.

He put on his clothes and stretched his limbs, he woke up Sumi who was sleeping in the top bunk. She mumbled and tried to roll over back to sleep, he kept poking her until she woke up properly.

"Wssat who!" She suddenly sat upright, her blond hair in a frizzy mess. "Wash you wakin me up for." She muttered.

"Breakfast." Three said, "We get to reach level ten today."

Hearing that, the energy swiftly returned to her body, her eyes glimmering as she grinned in anticipation. "Our first rank up!"

Three grinned and gave her a slight nod. "Our first rank up."

She swung herself out of her bunk and started doing her hair. Three tossed her clothes over once she finished with her hair and they headed downstairs together. An excited Emmi was waiting for them, having made breakfast for the two of them in such a way they could eat while walking. She motioned them to follow, outside the house leaning against the wall basking in the morning air stood Talin and Davis. The two grinned and joined up.

"Mornin'!" Davis said.

"Good morning." Talin added.

"Mornin!" Sumi answered. Emmi grinned, and Three bobbed his head in greeting.

They headed over to the adventurers guild where Grimli had told them to gather. On the way they were discussing what kind of monster Grimli had chosen. It was not standard tradition for adventurers to choose a monster for the lower ranks to breach the barrier. Grimli was the exception, saying that now that he had taken the group under his wing he would make damn sure they reached proper strength. Enough strength to down a barrel of ale in one go and beat a proper dwarf in a fist fight, that was the way he phrased it anyhow.

The villagers were slowly waking, a few of them setting up shops or heading over to whatever work they had to do, a lot of them greeted the group, the young adventurers born and raised in the relatively small village were well known and liked by most. They exchanged greetings, increasing their pace as they hurried to the adventurers guild. They entered through the wall to see Grimli standing along three other people in full gear, the group was waiting for them. One of them was a balding man, who Emmi told them was a priest. A male elf in robes was chatting in a relaxed manner with Grimli, the elf was bald of all things. The last of the group was a Halfling, a child born of an elf and a dwarf. He was short, slightly taller than a dwarf, but had the thin features of an elf, only to be put completely out of contrast by a most magnificent beard. Only Grimli managed to outdo the Halfling in a contest of beards.

Grimli walked forward with a grin, introducing the group to the rest of his adventurers team, the priest was called Orma, the elf Bob. When Grimli told them the elf's name the group stared at him in disbelief,

Grimli chuckled, "I shit ya not, the bald bugger be called Bob!"

The elf smiled and bowed to them, "Greetings, A am Bob, resident mage of this particular party of idiots."

The rest of the party chuckled at the introduction. The Halfling stepped forward and introduced himself with a wide grin on his face. "And I am Tinkman, last of the idiots."

"So mr boss dwarf sir," Sumi turned to them and showed the group a dazzling smile, "What be our victim of the day!"

The elf burst out laughing at the way she addressed Grimli, the Halfling chuckling and the priest was doing his best to keep his face tight.

Grimli ignored all of them and grinned at his favoured pupil, "Why, we gonna go kill ourselves a Jurgor!"

Emmi blinked in surprise, "Are you sure, aren't those level twenty rated?"

Grimli chuckled enthusiastically, "That they are! Which is why we be comin, I think ya can handle it, but we be joinin just in case."

Grimli lead the group out of the village and further towards the northern wilderness, Three asked Emmi about these Jurgors.

"They resemble bears in a way but their skin is all scales like a lizards, they have fur running in a stripe from the top of their head to the tip of their tail. The tail also resembles a lizard's, its head is mostly the same as a bears, except its eyes are lizard like, its snout is slightly elongated actually i wonder why people say they resemble bears... They are easily more lizard than bear."

"They don't hibernate either, and instead of giving birth like bears they lay eggs, a single Jurgor can lay upto ten eggs. Thing is they don't need to copulate to lay them." Davis added.

"Copulate?" Three asked.

"Yea, you know, nother word for sex?"

Three blinked and tilted his head, "What is sex?"

Davis stumbled and stared at him, then scratched his chin.

He grinned, "Sex is a secret that unlocks when you are eighteen!"

The adventurers heard him and chuckled, Three took his words to heart however. Everyone noticed but no one really felt like explaining it to him.

The halfling took Talin with him to scout, teaching him a few tricks of the trade.

Sumi had fallen into conversation with the priest and the elven mage. Discussing the peculiarities of her body and the effects on her magic it had.

Emmi, Davis, Grimli and Three also had their own conversation, They were discussing which weapon was best, each of them had their own specialization and refused to admit that any other weapon was as good as the one they wielded. Three asked them about what was good about each of their weapons, he wielded a warhammer now because that was what Grimli had given him, he had no attachment to that particular weapon however. Before the discussion could evolve into a full blown argument, Talin and Tinkman returned.

"We found a Jurgor!" Tinkman grinned, "Wasn't to hard, the creatures are a dime a dozen 'round here."

Talin nodded in agreement.

Tinkman lead the way toward their target, Talin fell back with his team to discuss strategy and get prepared for the battle.

"Jurgors are big, and rather strong, despite their size they are faster than you would think." Emmi looked at the others in turn. "Three will command its attention, then the rest of us will use the strongest abilities we have right from the start on its right front leg, we destroy it, burn it, cut it off or break it! That will severely hinder its mobility, so we can then take our time and kill it, agreed?"

The rest nodded as they came closer to the clearing, which the Jurgor had claimed as its own.

When they entered the clearing and the trees parted, they came face to face with a creature that was far more impressive than Three had expected it to be from their explanation. The scales on the nearly two meter tall creature were a snowy white, with patterns of black. The stripe of fur was a deep black, turning into thick looming eyebrows, over the snout that beared rows upon rows of teeth. The jurgor saw the group approaching and instead of the hiss he had been expected the creature roared.

Three shook away his doubt and charged the creature. the Jurgor maddened by the intrusion, charged him, its paws uprooting the grass beneath, claws digging into the dirt. Its jaws spread, showing Three close-up just how many teeth the creature possesed. The creature smashed into the shield Three had extended, the Jurgor being by far the heavier of the two slammed Three out of its way, knocking him to the ground. Three struggled to get back to his feet, his large shield getting in the way, the Jurgor pounced him, Three managed to get his shield up barely in time, its claws tearing at the hide covered wood. The shield splintering beneath its ferocity.

"Now!" He heard Emmi scream.

He heard her yell out other commands but his attention was completely on the the monster trying to claw him to shreds. Another paw slammed into the shield, a crack appearing in the piece of wood he was hiding behind. It stretched its paw back, with a massive swipe it obliterated the already weakened shield. The monster finally having a clear view on its opponent roared, snapping at him. Three could feel the blows from the rest of his team as they slammed into the creature, it roared in rage and opened its massive maw trying to crush Three's head. He managed to get his arm between its jaws just in time, the raging Jurgor not caring if it was his head or arm, closed its jaws around his arm, its rows of teeth managing to pierce his skin with tremendous force, he felt his bones strain as they barely managed to resist being snapped in half.

An arrow streaked past, slamming into the creatures eye. It stood up on its hind paws, clawing at its eye in pain. Three took the oppurtunity to scramble away from the creature and retrieving the weapon he had lost in the collision. His arm had sustained heavy damage, he picked up the hammer in his other hand, roaring his own challenge at the creature.

The jurgor stared down at the people assualting him, Emmi and Davis were striking its paws with all the strength they possesed, Sumi was throwing out an entire firestorm of spells, the air sizzling from her power. Talin was shooting arrow after arrow at its face, trying to keep it distracted from the others. Three stood up, sending the familiar surge of energy into his muscles, He felt them expanding, growing, writhing underneath his skin, he felt himself grow, as he picked up large warhammer as if it weighed nothing, charging the creature to join his friends in combat.

Another arrow streaked past him as it slammed into the same eye Talin had pierced before, the creature shook, blood spurting from its eye as it sagged, slamming into the ground causing a minor tremor. Everyone glanced over at Talin, who was himself staring at his handywork in surprise.

He shrugged, "That was more luck than skill, I was aiming for itsother eye."

The group chuckled as they sunk to the ground, that fight was tough. Three could feel his blood pumping, it had been a good, even if an eventually short fight.

After they defeated the Jurgor, they made quick work of its hide, Tinkman was showing Talin how to skin the creature while keeping the hide undamaged. The rest was being lectured by Grimli about what they did right and could do better, Orma the priest took a look at Three's arm but was surprised by how far the regeneration had already progressed, he cast a relatively minor heal spell to aid the progress. The journey back the group was discussing which skills they wanted to rank up.

"I'm going to rank up my Ogre's Strength." Emmi told them.

"It grows passively and I looked up what it ranks up into, it becomes Ogre's might, granting me double the strength per skill level, it also reduces the weight of worn armour. To a fourth maximum, I think ranking up the skill as early as possible would be most profitable for me."

Grimli nodded approvingly, "It be a good skill to rank up early."

"Lesser regeneration for me!" Sumi said, "It restores my mana faster as well, so I can throw infinite fire arrows, like KAPOW!" punching the air a few times she grinned at them.

"I shall rank up aim." Talin said, "It will become unerring accuracy, it will give me a new stat, perception. It will increase my scouting proficiency and make my shots far more accurate."

Tinkman nodded proudly, "Yup elfie here is going to become a fearsome shot!"

"I'm not sure yet, thought I'd rank up sneaking." Davis said scratching his chin. "I really wish we could rank up weapon mastery skills."

"What skills do ya have." Grimli asked.

"Twin fang, Sneak, Axe mastery, Dual Wielding mastery and Backstab."

"Backstab!" Tinkman yelled. "Backstab is a rare skill to have in the top three skills, if ya rank it up ya can teleport behind yer enemies once every ten minutes orso, it becomes a powerful move called Shadow Strike."

"Teleporting huh," Davis muttered scratching his stubble, "Sounds good to me guess i will go for it."

"I will go for Iron skin, my regeneration is already effective I want to try ranking it up without using the point I get from leveling." Three tapped his chin, "I'm hoping to find something that I can use to passively level it over time, I thought perhaps I should just put a sharp nail in my shoulder."

"You want to put a nail in your shoulder, are you insane?" Emmi said staring at him.

Three blinked, "I can turn the pain of in the selected area should it bother me, pain of this level wouldn't bother me anyways." He shrugged, then muttered. "Perhaps poison would be more effective, I bet there is a skill for that as well."

Emmi threw her hands up in the air, muttering about boys and insanity.

Tinkman walked over to him and they started discussing several poisons that would not bother him with his regeneration rate yet would be effective and lasted long enough that it would increase his skill proficiency.

Eventually they decided on a proper poison to start with, taking out his tools Tinkman started working on it during the trip, gathering the ingredients on the way. Eventually he had a batch mixed up, he called the poison Cotton Wish. It had no cotton, nor anything to with a wish and when Three asked where the name came from Tinkman told him he honestly had no idea, he shrugged and gave him the poison.

"You feelin it?" The halfling asked.

"I feel a little light in my head." Three answered.

"Most people would be puking their guts out right about now so your body seems to be handling it well!" Tinkman said whilst slapping his back.

They talked some more about the effects of poison and before he knew it they had reached the village again and stood in front of the adventurers guild.

Everyone ran in to get their rank ups, marveling at the changes it had on their bodies. Three got his upgrade and Emmi and Davis were impressed by his toughness when they slammed their weapons into his back to see if they could do any damage. Emmi managed to make a decent cut using her Slice ability with her new Ogre's Might, Davis didn't manage to do any damage at all. Happy with their new upgrades they headed back to their house, the hunting had taken up most of the day and night was falling. Emmi's mother prepared another delicious meal, Emmi was animatedly telling the story of their fight with the Jurgor, Captain Tulo listening to his daughter with a small proud smile. Soon enough night had fallen, Sumi and Emmi were learning some stitching techniques and such from Emmi's mother.

Three told them they shouldn't wait up for him as he would be heading out, the rest nodded getting back to their needle work.

Tonight he would go hunting by himself, the fight against the Jurgor had made his lack of strength apparent and he would make sure to grow stronger.

Three stepped out of the village, letting the guard who always took night duty at the north gate, a man called Lem, know he was heading out and would return later. Lem nodded and let him out, telling him to watch himself.

Three stepped out into the northern wilderness, he had not yet gotten himself a new shield and had even decided to leave his hammer behind, a foolish idea most would say. He simply wanted to match his power against the creature that traversed the world on their strengths, their own terms. He envied them for this, he wanted similar power, he would take this power, tonight in the darkness under a moonlit sky, he would venture into the world of monsters, in an attempt to become one himself.

Three made his way through the thickening forest, a good hour or two away from the village. He had asked Tinkman many questions about the species of creatures that lived around these parts, many interested him. For the first time he was glad of his lack of need for sleep, he had hidden it from his family and his party. The others still needed their sleep like regular people, he however, did not. A side effect of his core he supposed. He shook his head, ridding his head of thoughts as he paid more attention to the ground and the area around him. It did not take him long to find tracks, Warmors. He grinned, a good opponent to test his strength on, Warmors were the bottomfeeders of the northern wilderness. Small, covered in white fur, they resembled rats in their mannerisms. Their appearance had more of a smilarity with a small wolf and a sabertooth. Smaller than the a dog they were no threat for average monsters, until they attacked in packs. What he found here were plants and tracks trampling everything into the ground. There had to be atleast a few dozen of the creatures.

Three clenched his fists as he followed the tracks further into the wilderness. He cautiously made his way forward, eyes sliding from one side to the other, searching for any sign of movement. A hiss made him twist, he stared one of the Warmors right in its beady red eyes. He spread his gaze around to see he had been surrounded by at least forty of the creatures. They all started hissing, the sound melding together into a soft, thrumming whisper through-out the forest. Three grinned and rolled his shoulders, he took a fighting stance and a deep breath, inflating his chest. Once he filled his lungs to capacity he let rip a roar of defiance that caused the Warmors around him to flinch and freeze for the briefest of moments.

The creatures started hissing louder, agitated by the fact their prey dared fight back. A Warmor to his left took the initiative, leaping at him, its teeth bared. Three grinned, he threw his shoulder back and rammed his fist right into its mouth. The creature, eager at the opportunity clenched its jaws, determined to rip his arm off. Its teeth struggled to get through his newly attained Titanium Skin. Three in a moment of psychotic genius twisted his hand, wrapping his fingers around the creatures spine. The creature squealed as his fingers penetrated innards to wrap itself around the spinal column. Its brethren raced at him to help their hurt pack-mate. With a squeeze he shattered its spine, the creature going limp. He retracted his hand, covered in its dark crimson blood.

Its brethren hissed enraged at seeing their brother fall, their fangs snapping at his arms and legs. They did not have the power to pierce his skin, he curled his fingers making a fist and started smashing into anything that moved around him. A Warmor jumped at his face, he grabbed both sides of its jaws and ripped them apart. Another lept for his neck, he spun around, twisting his body, his left heel gaining speed and smashing into the creature. Another gnawed at his ankle, he smashed its spine with a stomp. Another was closeby, Stomp, its brains splattered over the grass. He spun around throwing his fists and feet, even using his teeth at one point to devastate the ranks of creatures attacking him. Soon enough the creatures started backing off, hissing now not in anger, but in fear at the blood soaked creature they had mistaken for prey.

With a screech they scattered back into the forest, leaving a blood soaked maniac smiling, eyes surveying the destruction he had caused. It felt good to fight those who attacked him, to squash them as they tried to harm him. It felt right! He rolled his shoulders as he wiped the blood from his eyes. It was not yet enough, he yearned for more, he needed stronger opponents. He walked deeper into the forest, searching for monsters that would prove more of a challenge.

So lost was he in his search for battle that he never even noticed the announcement that appeared.

[Skill: Aura of Fear gained]

[Due to users genetic compatibility Aura of Fear has evolved into Dreadfull Presence]

Not even knowing of the aura that wrapped itself around him, so dark it was nearly palpable, he headed deeper into the forest. Searching for something he knew would be a true challenge, he saw tracks of more Warmor packs but disregarded them. They had not provided him with a proper fight, that was when he came upon familiar tracks. A Jurgor, an opponent that had proven itself to be too much for him earlier today. He smiled, unaware of his fearsome appearence with his blood soaked clothes and dreadful presence.

He followed the tracks through the wilderness, not bothering to hide his presence. His steps cracked twigs, and rustled leaves, he was loud enough to be heard from far away. He did not care, he was not here to hunt, he was here to challenge. The noise he made daring the Jurgor to come and protect its domain, he saw the claw marks on the tree, proving that he had indeed entered its territory. A roar heralded his next opponent, as a Jurgor even larger than the last approached him from across the clearing. It sported white scales yet instead of the usual black fur, this one had crimson fur, with crimson patterns framing its scales. Once he read the tag he new the difference.

[Crimson Jurgor, Mutant ® Lvl : ???]

A rare mutated version, its level had to be atleast ten above his. He grinned, licking his teeth, just the opponent he had been looking for.

The Jurgor roared at him, angry at the cocky intruder that was challenging it. Three filled his lungs and roared a challenge of his own. He flexed his muscles, sending the familiar flow of power into them, his muscles rippled and flexed as they grew. He smashed his hand into his fist and charged. The Jurgor roared and raced forward to accept his challenge, the two smashed into each other, a mesh of teeth, fists, fur, scales and flesh. The jurgor managed to cut through his skin, leaving shallow cuts wherever it slashed. Three's fists were doing damage as well, leaving dents and small bruises on its scales. It snapped at his neck with its teeth, Three used all the strength he could muster to keep it at bay, he worked his legs underneath its stomach and vaulted the creature over him, where it smashed into the ground. It rolled back unto its feet and growled. Three jumped back to his own feet and snarled, flexing his hands. The Jurgor charged, Three rolled his shoulders and met it fist first, his fist smashed into its jaw, the Jurgor shook its head to recover from the blow. Three not giving it any reprieve smashed his fists into whatever he could reach.

The creature howled in pain but recovered, spinning around and slamming its tail into Three's stomach with enormous force. He sailed through the air his back smashing into a tree, its bark splintering upon impact. He spit onto the snow, red splatter marking its flawless white surface. He looked up, surprised to see it was snowing. The Jurgor growled at him, angry that its opponent was taking his attention off it. The monster roared and charged once more, its claws flinging the newly fallen snow into the air. Three shook his head, getting his senses back and smashed into the creature. He lost the battle of momentum and was smashed into the ground, where the Jurgor was doing its utmost to turn the snow crimson with its foes blood.

Its claws tearing first shallow, then deeper furrows into his skin. Three hissed in anger as he started smashing his fist repeatedly into the creatures ribcage, he felt the bone slowly giving way to his blows. His regeneration working overtime trying to close up the wounds. His tough body and skin the only things keeping every attack from being a fatal one. Three, disregarding the danger he was in, smashed his fist into the creatures rib cage time and time again, finally after a series of punches, so many that he had lost count, he felt the bone snap, the creature howled in pain and jumped off him, glaring. Three scrambled to his feet, the snow colored crimson beneath him, he pawed the snow with his bare feet feeling the cold ice and the dirt beneath it. He glared in challenge at the Jurgor, the Jurgor met his gaze with a glare of its own. Soon enough the two were at it again, trading punches for slashes, kicks for tail slams. Both of them biting and clawing at each other, Three was starting to get the upper hand, his regeneration showing its worth as his foe tired while he did not.

The creature backed of, huffing in exhaustion. It glared at him but refused to back of, Three roared at the creature once more, the creature returning the gesture with a roar of its own. Although the roar was still impressive it had nowhere near the power it displayed when they first met. Three, not caring for its plight, charged the creature, the creature not willing to admit defeat faced down his charge with one of its own, its exhaustion fueled leap easily dodged. Three slipped past its maw and swung up upon its back, he wrapped his arms around its neck and pulled, cutting of its air supply. The creature yelped as it clawed the ground, Three refused to let go, It twisted in the air, slamming Three into the ground. Yet still he refused to let go, it growled and tried twisting and turning to get Three of its back. Suddenly it stopped moving, holding perfectly still. A sad rumble filled its chest, on instinct Three decided to let go. He jumped of the creatures back and walked in front of it. The jurgor stared at him with its lizard eyes, it flattened its ears and put its head on the snow. It rumbled again softly, the sound almost resembling a purr, Three walked up to the creature, the once mighty Jurgor staring him in the eyes, unmoving. Three gently extended his hand and put it on the creatures snout.

[A Crimson Jurgor, Mutant ® Lvl : 31 has submitted to you, Accept it as your companion?]

Three stared at the message wide eyed, he tapped it, checking for more information.

[If you accept a creature to be your companion, you will receive ten percent of its stats, while it receives ten percent of yours. This does not remove any stats of your own, simply adding them to your own maximum. The highest level skill will be exchanged at 50% efficiency, neither party will lose any efficiency of the original skill. Companions loyalty is based upon actions and strength of both user and companion]

Three smiled at the message, it would strengthen both him and the Jurgor. He would have to earn its loyalty though, at the very least he had proven himself to be the Alpha, that should be enough for now. He clicked accept, he now saw the Jurgor's tag in green instead of the usual red.

[Name companion?]

Three stared at the message, scratching his chin. He thought of name, it was simple but he thought it fit his new friend.

[Companion has been named Crimson]

[Skill received, Heat vision.]

[Your companion has received the skill, Lesser Regeneration]

Three grinned at the messages, he looked towards his new friend.

"Well Crimson, I will be heading back to town, I will come back tomorrow night!" He told the creature.

It flattened the ears on its head, giving him a gentle nudge with its snout. He scratched its ear, heading out of the forest.

With a last glance behind him, he left the forest. A pleased smile decorating his face.

Three walked up to the gate, Lem's eyes widened slightly upon his return. Three looked down at his clothes and saw he was covered in blood, most of it dried.

"Good fight?" The guard asked.

Three grinned and nodded "Good fight."

Lem gave him a small smile and opened the gate, "Might want to wash up a bit before heading back to the house, there is a public bathouse not too far from here, you know where to find it?"

"Yea Emmi told me about it before, it would be impolite to show up in this state, thank you for the advice."

"No problem, ya have a nice night!"

"You too." Three answered.

He made his way to bathhouse, wondering if he could wash his clothes there as well. He entered the wooden building, it was a good deal larger than most other buildings in the village, the entire complex was based on the ground floor however. He entered the bathouse to be greeted by an elderly lady, she eyed him up and down. "Eight coppers for the bath."

Three blinked, scratching his chin. He checked his pockets for money and frowned. "Its fine if you don't have any on ya, just pay double next time." The elderly woman told him, waving him through the door.

He entered the room, another woman had just finished taking off her clothes and was heading for the bath. She spotted him entering and her eyes widened when she noticed his clothes, Three nodded to her politely and took his clothes off. He put them into a device Emmi had called a MagiPress, It heated up both the cloth and the water, evaporiting it, the steam created soaked into the cloth, which after a few seconds the magic would reassorb, releasing heat and drying the clothes. An extremely convenient invention.

He turned around to see the other woman had already entered the bath, he followed her, pulling aside the curtains to enter the steam room. The woman stood there, wiping off her body, his gaze lingered on her form. Her black hair matted, clinging to her body. A drop of water ran down from her hair, over her side, down a curve, then over her leg. He watched it flow, the woman turned around to look at him. Her sharp icy blue eyes sending a shock through his body. She was beautiful he realized. His body was reacting to it, he had never felt anything like this before, he rolled his shoulders uncomfortably.

Trying to shake the feelings, he entered the bath, he felt the womans gaze linger on his back. He heard footsteps approaching him from, he tightened his muscles, trying to control his breathing.

"There is a lot of blood in your hair, its awfully caked." Her silky voice split through the air sending a shiver down his spine. He tried to hold still, breathing in deeply.

"Let me clean it for you." She whispered.

Three tried to speak, to refuse her offer, but the words refused to come out. The woman pushed him forward a bit, deeper into the water. She took a seat on the bench behind him, he felt her warm flesh pressing against his hips, then his back. He was paralyzed, unable to move. She backed off slightly and ran her fingers through his hair. She took pluks of hair into her hands and meticously washed them clean. She ran a gentle hand over his shoulder, taking another pluck of hairs into her hands. The process continued for a while in complete silence. Three paralyzed by indecision, this was different from how he felt around the other girls. It confused him, these feelings, his... bodily reaction. He would have to ask Emmi about them.

The silence stretched, the woman finally finished her work, cupping her hands and letting the water she gathered fall over his now matted hair. She moved back a little, tapping his shoulder. "If you would be so kind as to help me with my own hair?"

"U-uh yes, of course." He muttered, feeling an unfamiliar heat rising to his cheeks. He turned around, the woman facing the wall, her hands folded resting on the ledge, she placed her chin on her hands, her back facing him. His breath caught as he saw the dim light reflect on her pale, moist skin. He saw the little curves from her spinal cord, the lines of muscle from her shoulders, the silky black hair clinging to her back. He saw the way her body thinned from the chest down, to widen slightly at the waist. Another jolt through his body, he waited a brief moment to calm himself.

He took a deep breath and tried his best to copy what she had done to him, he scolded himself inwardly for his shaking hands. He took her hair in his hands and gently, carefully, set about cleaning them. A gentle sense of ease washed over him as he worked, it felt familiar, right. Different from fighting, it was... peacefull. Soon unbeknownst to him he was sporting a smile.

Sooner than he would have liked he finished. He told her so, he watched her slowly get out of the bath, his eyes glued to her figure. She turned to face him, his eyes captivated by her gaze. "I have a farm of sorts in the northern area, ask Lem to point you you to it, I could use the help of a reliable young man like you, if you have the time drop by tomorrow." She smiled, the curves of her lips, the small gesture somehow sensual. Three quickly nodded his agreement, as she left the house. He couldn't help watching her departing figure, he sank into the bathtub, struggling to comprehend what just happened.

--- Vyria POV---

Vyria left the bath behind, walking back to her clothes, she was panting now, her cheeks almost unnoticably flushed.

'What is wrong with me!' She tried to still her heavy breathing.

She thought back about the tall, muscular young man, his ivory palor, the crimson of dried blood clinging stubbornly to his skin. His confident, calm stature. The way he exuded strength, she remembered the way she wanted to flinch, the way she got goosebumps when he walked past her. Fear briefly slipped into her mind, replaced by an... unknown emotion.

Then she had asked if she could wash his hair! She hadn't even waited for him to respond, she had pressed her body against his and! She still struggled with the memory, she was a scientist! She spent her time figuring out problems, learning about monsters. She struggled with people she found it hard to talk to them, then what in the name of the seven fallen gods was that?! People called her cold, she didn't feel any of that so called cold now, she felt her body heating up.

She wondered if he would come to visit tomorrow.