The Guild House

"Hey, Risabeel?" Asked Blake while inside of Risabeel's room on the upper floor of the Guild House.

The Demon's room was a mix of dark and light purples from the walls and ceiling while her furniture was made from a dark almost black wood which Blake raised a brow at first, but after Risabeel took a liking to all of it, he couldn't say no to her.

Said furniture was a coffee table set on top of a purple rug, a queen-sized canopy bed with a see-through veil hanging over it. Taking up most of a wall was a dresser set with a large vanity table in the middle that had way too many drawers for Blake's liking or understanding and maybe even Risabeel's since she only ever used one of them.

"Yes, Sir Blake?" Risabeel was currently sitting in front of the mirror of her vanity table with Blake standing behind her.

"Are you sure this doesn't hurt or anything?" In Blake's hand was an iron file that he usually used when he was doing some touch-ups on an item. "Cause this is a bit weird for me?" But today he was using it on Risabeel's horns of all things.

The Demon's permanent head accessories were getting a bit too big for her, not in a sense that they were heavy, in fact, from what both Risabeel and Blake when he used her could tell Demon horns felt like a pair of glasses that never came off, but that didn't stop them from getting caught on things. A recurring event that had nearly cost Risabeel a tooth or broken bone to a worrying degree.

"Mmm? Not at all, Sir Blake...I would liken it to the feeling of one's hair or nails being shortened." Risabeel answered while rubbing one of her horns after Blake got done with it. "A bit more, would you?" She asked after comparing it with the other one.

"S-sure?" Blake nodded a bit reluctantly before going back to filing. "So? Uh, since we have the time? How have you been?" He asked, trying to take his mind off the eerie glow coming from the black horn dust that was falling on the floor. "That stuff better not blow up." He kept an eye on the growing and glowing pile at his feet.

"Rather fine, Sir Blake, although I am still given unwelcoming stares from some of the populace when I am out on quests, shopping or simply going about my day. None have dared to confront me..." Risabeel answered, then held up the hand she used when Kue performed a Soul Binding Ritual on her and Blake. "...that is likely due to you always being at my side..." She grew quiet after that.

"Risabeel?" Blake noticed that and stopped in his filing to look at the half thinking and half sadden face of his Demon Sword.

"...is it not a bother for you, Sir Blake?" Risabeel asked in answered, looking at Blake's confused face in the mirror. "I mean it is not always but most times you are rarely without me and I rarely without you. To others who do not know of us and maybe those who do, I fear it may come off as an oddity you would rather avoid..."

"And I should care why?" Blake did that same as the Demon by answering her question with one of his own. "Look, Risabeel, like I told you can in Fairmaw even if you're a Demon...I...I like you for who you are...you're nice and helpful...sometimes...ugh?" He had to think hard about the words he used since Risabeel didn't like the fact that the only thing she was good at was being a sword.

For whatever reason, Risabeel was plagued with the inability to do anything that needed her to be nimble and coordinative. Her most notable mishaps included the time she broke one of the wheels off the cart and sent it rolling into a forest, putting more holes in the floors of the Guild House back when it was still in ruins, and the lastest was the Demon tying herself up when trying to hang clothes outside...this was before Nash was in charge of that task.

"Oh...?" Risabeel lowered her head slightly at Blake's comment, but she wasn't feeling as bad as before, so his words worked a little.

"Okay, maybe bringing up your usefulness was a bad one...but you're still pretty good at that one thing you're good at..." Again Blake was trying to think of the best way to make Risabeel feel better. "...And besides, I would probably be back in Farimaw right now still trying to beat Renier's Garlan if it wasn't for you."

"Ah! I think not, Sir Blake!" Blake's words seemed to have taken Risabeel out of her slump as her stern look was reflected through the mirror with full force. "Although, I know next to nothing in the way of smithery. I have seen the reactions of not only pleased customers who come to you but also the very head of all blacksmiths in Gorz, Craftsmaster Deller no less, who all shower you in praise!" The Demon had raised her voice near the point of yelling. "And another thi-ah?"

However, a light tap from Blake's hammer to her head stopped her there. "Heh! And that's another thing I like about you. You speak your mind when you feel like it..." The smith chuckled as Risabeel put a hand to the spot where he tapped, not out of pain but to fix her roughed-up hair. "...and having a beautiful maiden such as yourself at my side most of the time is rather...uhm? Fruitful, I guess?" He added, failing at mimicking Risabeel's formal speech.

"I thank you for your words, Sir Blake, but would they not be better used on Saffire or Baba?" Risabeel asked, utterly unaffected by Blake's compliment by the look on her face that hadn't so much as twitched her Blake called her beautiful.

"Uhmm? What do you mean, Risabeel?" Blake was taken back by that one.

"Hmm? Sir Blake? You do not honestly think I have not noticed your attempts at winning the hearts of our Dragon and Ala companions?" Risabeel questioned, staring at the confused face of Blake in the mirror. "Not only have you used such flirtatious words and actions as you did with me a moment ago, but you have also been on courtship outings with both of them...and it does not stop with Saffire and Baba now does it?" She shot Balke her stern look as he stood in silence. "I have also noticed the way your eyes roam about Vasha's person with only perverted-intentions in them!"

"Uh...hmm..." Blake didn't have a come back for any of that, and here he thought Risabeel was an air-head that didn't pick up on things like romance, hell if he didn't know her he'd call her an idiot right now. "...I'm sorry for making you feel like I was fooling around with you girls."

"Hmm? Why did you include me, Sir Blake?" Risabeel's head tiled to one side with a curious and cutesy look.

*THWACK*

Was the sound of Blake's hand meeting his forehead. "By the Goddess on high! She's a freaking idiot!" Were his thoughts as he looked up at the ceiling, granted he wasn't trying as hard as he did with Saffire or the cat and mouse games he had with Baba. But still! Up until now, he was pretty sure Risabeel caught onto him.

"Sir Blake? Was that not painful?" Risabeel asked when Blake brought his head down and removed his hand to show a small red mark on his forehead.

"There was a fly...I missed..." The smith lied due to the saintly look on Risabeel's face that told him the amount of explaining he'd have to do for her to understand his feelings was not worth it...right now at least. "Okay, nice and slow with her I guess?" He nodded as he put the iron file down then rubbed the horn he was working on with a rag. "Okay, I think you're good!"

"Ah, why thank you, Sir Blake! Your skills are quite effective!" Risabeel did a once over on her horns and was left pleased with the turnout. "Now then allow me to show you the fruits of my training!" She shot up from her chair with a fist to the air. "...could you step back a bit?" Then politely shooed Blake away.

"Uh, okay?" Blake took a few steps back while Risabeel had her hand to her chest with her eyes closed. "What's she up to?"

"Hmm..." Risabeel was focusing, and once she felt ready, her eyes opened, but now they had a purplish glow to them. "Levitate..." She waved her hands around, and a veil of purple mana fell on the horn dust at her feet.

"Huh?" Blake watched as the horn dust began to float and gathered around Risabeel's waving hands.

"Yes!" The Demon cheered, keeping the mass of floating horn dust on the tip of a finger while her free hand grabbed an empty bottle on her vanity table. "Now in you go." She made the dust cloud pour into the bottle then sealed it with a cork. "Here you are!" She held the bottle out to Blake with a smile.

"Uh, thanks?" Blake took the bottle and held it to his face while giving it a little shake. "Whoa!" And caused the dust inside to give off a strong purple glow. "Your magic's getting pretty good, Risabeel."

The time spent with Nathan was paying off for Risabeel as she was finally getting used to casting spells without her teacher's guidance, she wasn't at the point of shooting lasers or making walls of mana yet, but progress was progress. One other thing about her magic training was that the Demon hadn't found what sort of type of magic she had. Nathan said such a thing would come with time and effort, and once that was worked out, she could get a spellbook to help her along.

"You jest, Sir Blake! This is nothing compared to Nathan's skills!" Risabeel put aside the kind words from Blake, the last few times she tried that spell she ended up knocking the still recovering Nathan through a wall, thankfully the mage was quick enough to put up Mana Barrier before he broke more of his bones.

"Just Nathan, huh? When did you start dropping the 'Sir' part?" Blake asked while trying to think of what the hell he was going to do with a bottle of Demon horn dust. "And why I'm stuck with Sir?" It's not like he didn't like the title Risabeel gave him when they first met. But she never said his name without it, so he was a bit curio- jealous to find out that someone else she called 'sir' was getting more friendly with Risabeel.

"Hmm? Is it not common for people to grow more familiar with eachother as time goes on?" Risabeel tapped on her chin as she spoke. "I have also come to address Lutwig and Nobel by their names alone, and as for Gram he and I share a kinship as we are your items for battle, Sir Blake."

"Yeah, I get growing more familiar, but what about me?" Blake pointed a thumb at himself, pretty much the one person Risabeel should be the most familiar with out of everyone.

"You, Sir Blake?" However, Risabeel just gave him a tilt of her head. "Is there something I have done to wrong you?"

Blake pulled a hand over his face at that, putting more confusion on Risabeel's face. "No. All I'm saying is that you can call me 'Blake' from now on, okay?"

"Ah? I see? After all, you are the person I have known for the longest time. We have shared many battles and even linked our souls. It is only right that I call you without any titles..." Risabeel perfectly explained why there shouldn't be any issues with her calling Blake by his name. "..." And silently held a small smile afterward.

"So?" But that wasn't what Blake wanted out of her.

"Did you mean at this very moment?" The Demon asked, dropping her smile to leave her mouth agape.

"Yeah? All you gotta do is say it out loud?" Blake nodded then waited to hear his name from Risabeel's lips.

"Of course..." Risabeel nodded, then went silent. "...Hmm! Only your name..." The same silence came after she spoke. "...It is only natural that I address you as such..." Second verse, same as the first except this was the third time in a row where the Demon paused at saying Blake's name.

"You can't do it, can you?" Blake asked when Risabeel was about to try again.

"Sadly...yes...Sir Blake...I do not know why? But every time I try to speak only your name, a tightness comes to my heart..." Risabeel held a hand to her chest with her eyes to the floor. "But why Sir Blake of all people?" She asked herself. She was even considering calling Stefon and Mordecai by only their given names. One was a noble from a family on near equal standing with House Penfenics, and the other was a thief she was unsure of. Yet Blake was a different story for whatever reason, and why did this bring such a feeling to her heart? "Hmm?"

Taking the Demon out of her thoughts was the light tap of Blake's hammer on her head. "Eh, don't worry about it! I kind of like being the only one who gets a title from you!" The smith smirked as Risabeel fixed her hair.

"That is very welcoming, Sir Blake." Risabeel nodded in agreement happily addressing Blake with 'Sir.' "Is there anything else you would like to discuss?"

"Nah, I'm good! But what about this stuff?" Blake shook the bottle of Demon horn dust getting that bright glow out of it. "...that's normal right?"

"I would not know even if I am the one it came from..." Risabeel put a hand to her chin as she thought about it. "...Nathan taught me that it could be used in magical experiments, but...I doubt anything of note would come from my horn dust, seeing as I barely pass as a witch to most spellcasters until they see my horns."

"Hmm? Well, I'm not much of the magical type...guess I'll keep it in my room then." Blake nodded to himself while walking to the door. "Later, Risabeel, if you need anything I'll be trying my best not to look at Vasha in the lobby." He said to Risabeel as she came up to the door.

"And if you do I will be sure to lecture you, hehe!" Risabeel giggled as Blake shrugged his shoulders in answer and left. "Good day to you..." She called out to him as he was walking away from her room. "...Bl-Bl-Blake..." The smith's name finally left her lips in a shuttered whisper too quiet for him to hear. "..." And was followed by silence as Risabeel slowly closed her door then leaned her back against it. "What is this feeling?" She asked out loud as that tight pulling at her heart turned into a burst of warmth she could not describe. "~Hehe, Blake? Hehe~" Which left her giggling each time she said his name.

Lobby

Currently at the front desk was Vasha writing up Blake's weekly work schedule. "Hmm? Oh? Sup, Chief." She turned her head at Blake coming down the stairs with a bottle of something black in his face. "What's in there?" The Goblin asked as Blake came to her desk.

"Just some of Risabeel's horn dust..." Blake muttered in answered and sat the bottle down on the counter. "...so how hard is it going to be this week?" He picked at some of the papers Vasha was working on but wasn't really looking for anything.

"..." Vasha took a moment to look at the bottle of Demon horn dust, wondering why Blake had that of all things on him. "Eh?" But shrugged afterward, this smith was weirder than some of the magical folk around here anyway. "Gimme those..." She took the papers from Blake since he was using them as a fan. "More of the usual, I gu-..." The Goblin paused when she felt the usual stare on her and found Blake's eyes glued to her breasts as they swayed back forth when she was arranging papers. "You know the fact that you haven't done anything to me is worrying." She muttered before pulling out her pipe, lit it, and took a few puffs.

"Hmm? I don't think you should. I mean by the laws of this fine kingdom; I own you. So, I feel like it's only a matter of time..." Blake joked as he rested his elbows on the counter and gave his Goblin a smirk with his head held in his hands.

"Yeah, and that Dragon back there is gonna roast you on a spit," Vasha blew some smoke in Blake's face as she leaned in on him with her chest being pushed up by one of her arms almost welcoming Blake to try something.

"And that's what I like about you, Vasha," Blake roughed up some of the Goblin's hair causing her black lips to curl into a smile. "I saw that." The smith pointed out only to get another puff of smoke in his face. "And speaking of our lovely Dragon friend, has she come out of there?"

Saffire spent most of her time in her cave since it had enough space for her to be in her Dragon form without getting unwanted attention and it was the furthest place from Baba's tower. The Ala didn't trouble the Dragon that much even with Blake's smithy being next to her cave, Baba didn't exactly like all the smoke and hot air in there enough to keep teasing the Dragon and Smith-knight she had an eye on. However, Saffire at least came out once in a while to see if anything was going on. But the last time Blake saw or heard her was last night when he was looking for iron ore and got roared at before he even got in.

"Not a word." Vasha turned to the door which also went to her room meaning unless Saffire could turn invisible or dug out an opening somewhere on Mt. Nod, there was no way the Dragon even in human form got by her.

"Welp, guess I'll check on her." Blake sighed as he hopped over the countertop, not wanting to use the rune that controlled the sides of the front desk before he got clocked on the chin for a third time by those things.

"Good luck." Vasha gave him a thumbs up.

"Thanks." Blake returned it as he went to see Saffire. "And watch that bottle for me! I don't want it getting smashed if Saffire tries to kill me!"

Blake's smithy

"Hey, Bread! How are things going in here!?" Blake called down to Bread when he got to his smithy.

"Good!" Bread was hammering out a few dents on a bit of armor that someone dropped off for repairs. "Hey, when are you going to get done with that?" He pointed at Gwyn's flamberge on a worktable.

Its black blade was shinned and sharpen with all of its nicks and chips gone. The crossguard was reshaped to curve inward like a crescent moon while the black leather around its ricasso and handle were replaced with some whitish gold leather to match with Gwyn's hair. The ball pummel was swapped out for silver mushroom-shaped one. All in all, the sword was ready to be picked up and used to slash somethings in half with one good swing.

"..." Blake took one look at the sword that had been in his smithy for about 2 weeks now. "...go...pick it up?" He asked Bread out of nowhere.

"Huh, why? That thing is super heavy!" Bread protested but still walked over to the sword and grabbed the handle. He already knew not doing what Blake said was a bad thing but so was trying to lift this sword. While Gwyn's sword came out at an unreasonable 100 pounds, Bread could actually lift that much, thanks to the hell Blake put him through every day. "Ugh! Gugh! RAAAH!" But even then no matter how hard the boy tried lifting the sword the best he got was a few inches off the table. "Wah!" Bread screamed when it slipped out of his hands and broke the table in half then cracked some of the floor.

"And that's the third one..." Blake walked up to the broken table and picked the sword up with some effort. "What are you so picky?" He asked the black blade expecting it to talk like his items, but sadly this blade was not one of those.

"What is up with that thing? And what is it made out of?" Bread asked while picking up bits of broken wood and stacked them in a pile for later. Not only did it do that weird weight thing but the black metal used in the blade was something the boy didn't understand, especially when Blake said it wasn't made out of Monster Ore. "Even Saffire had trouble bringing it here!" He added, back when Blake told him to get Saffire to carry it, the Dragon herself nagged about the weight even asking if Gwyn was human.

"I don't know, and...Ugh! I don't know." Blake answered in a flat tone as he gave the sword a few swings with each one; the blade felt heavier and heavier. "Maybe you're pissed cause she hasn't named you after so long?" He went back to talking to the blade and ignored the ticked off look Bread was giving him from behind. "What is it, kid?" That is until he saw his student's reflection in the flamberge's blade.

"Didn't you make that thing?" Bread asked further, Blake usually liked to boast about anything he made and would be telling Bread just about everything about it, but this one sword was the exception.

"Listen, kid, this is something Gwyn and I keep close to our hearts," Blake answered then sat the sword down on the other worktable and heard the wood crack under it. "By the way, has Saffire come out of there yet?" He moved on to another topic as he went to the tunnel leading to Saffire's room.

"Uh? No? I don't think so...?" Seeing as Blake was done 'answering' his questions, Bread went back to working on the broken armor. "Oh? But some growling and grinding has been coming out of there, so I think she's alive?"

"Huh? Growling is pretty normal, but what kind of grinding?" Blake turned back to his student before he went after Saffire.

"Uh? Kind of like metal on metal?" Bread held his hands like he was sharpening a sword.

*Shhhhhinnnk*

And as Bread was moving his hand this long ear ringing shink came from the tunnel followed by some of Saffire's enraged growling. A sound Blake and Bread knew all too well from those days when they were a bit too loud for the Dragon who lived next door. "Yeah, like that."

"Well, either she found an iron vein while making her room bigger or she's getting ready to skin me for messing around with her all those times." Blake guessed jokingly since he had no idea in the name of Goddess what Saffire could be doing and there was only one way to find out. "Prepare for random shaking and fireballs." He warned as he walked into the tunnel.

Saffire's cavern/room

"Hail, Saffire! The all-mighty and all-powerful Dragon! Please do not kill me! For I come in peace!" Blake yelled as he stepped out of the tunnel leading to Saffire's room. "Huh?" The first thing he noticed wasn't an angry fire-breathing red Dragon but a large piece of what looked like flaky dulled out scales. "The hell is this?" He grabbed it and got the familiar feeling of Saffire's scales.

Looking around, he found more of these flaky scales all over the place; Some were big, some small, some were random chunks while others looked like an arm or part of a wing. "Hmm?" Actually, the more of those Blake found, the more it looked like a Dragon could be made out of them.

"Hey, Saffire? What have you been u-" He went over to the edge to hopefully find Saffire. "Eh?"

And he did, she was crouching down in her Dragon form but something off about her? The red Dragon wasn't red anymore, she still had her sapphire spikes, but her red scales were now a vibrant shade of neon-pink and lost her usual intimidating appearance for a more cutesy/hilarious one.

"If Mari saw her right now, she'd want to put a giant ribbon on her." Said image appeared in Blake's mind, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Dammit!" Saffire growled, trying to get at something on her chest but her claws kept grinding against her pink scales and sent sparks flying along with the shink Blake and Bread heard earlier. "Why is this spot always so HHHHAAARDDD!" She stood up and roared into the air, shaking her entire cavern and maybe some parts of the Guild House at that. "Shit!" Which was one of the things that made her clamp her mouth shut. "!?"

"Ahaha! Hi..." The other one was Blake, smiling up at her with a hand waving the Dragon's way. "...I'll just get out of here and come back once you're done..." He made a quick turn and was instantly stopped by a pair of pink claws while a large shadow came over his very being.

"STAY! RIGHT! THERE!" Saffire ordered with enough furry that the hair of Blake's neck stood on ends and he could feel Saffire's hot breath on his back but didn't dare face her. "Good!" The Dragon flashed her fangs with her eyes glared, but her whole face had a softer look to it thanks to her current scale color. Sadly Blake was too afraid to see it right now. "What are you doing in here?"

"I hadn't seen you in a while, and I got worried?" Blake answered, still facing the claws and despite their color, each one was still bigger than he was and could squeeze him like a grape. "So? Dragons shed, huh?"

"Yeah! We shed! Got a problem with that!?" Saffire snapped, but the Dargon sounded a bit more on edge something Blake was pretty good at knowing from being the subject for most of her wrath. "So, what!? Are you gonna laugh at me!? Huh!? HUH!?" She poked at Blake's side with one of her claws and made him turn around to face her. "Alright! Let me hear it! Laugh it up! So, I have a good reason to melt your face off! Instead of none!"

Jaws packed with those dagger-like fangs and a burning fire greeted Blake as he looked at Saffire's pink face. "Does it hurt?" The only thing he could think of doing was to keep asking questions until the pink Dragon let him go for being too annoying or it backfired on him...meaning frontfire from Saffire.

"No...it gets itchy! A lot! It's worst around the wings!" Saffire flapped her wings with a snowfall of scale flakes falling around Blake. "I hate it when this happens!" She whined with a long snake-like hiss then clawed at her eyes. "And the ones around my eyes kept getting under her eyelids!" Loud and short growls and grunts came from the Dragon as she cleaned her eyes.

"Uh-huh? How often does this happen?" Blake kept going with his questions since it didn't look like he needed to run yet. "Just a bit more." But that wasn't stopping him from inching his way to the cave's exit.

"Grrr! Do you always have to talk so much around me!?" Saffire snapped her head down to Blake to hiss in his face. "Heh!" And almost knocked him off his feet when her nose bumped into him. "At least help me out with this one!" The Dragon ordered with her pointer claws going to her chest.

"Huh?" Blake saw a large heart-shaped scale deep red in color in the center of Saffire's chest. "Is that the last one?" It was a dumb question since Saffire was pink from nose to tail at the moment.

"Oh, you think?!" Saffire mocked, sometimes she wondered why she went along with this guy. "Cause he's too damn weird for his own good?" She thought then slowly brought her chest up to Blake by partly climbing out of her cavern. "Alright, get to it."

Blake was now face to chest with a Dragon who was looming over him with her large blue eyes locked on his every move, but thankfully Saffire's claws were used to keep herself from falling so the chances of her catching him were low. "Unless she uses fire..." He considered as he raised his hands to the heart scale. "Don't get mad if it hurts..."

"Like you could hu-nngaaah!" Saffire let out an inaudible groan when Blake got one of his fingers under her scale way too quickly for her liking. "*Pant* How did yu-ngh!" She tried speaking, but another finger found its way in, and the two began wiggling around against her soft skin to make room for the next one. "Ah...ah...ah..."

"Heh! I've been around a few scaly girls before I met you and I might have gotten some practice..." Blake smirked at the quivering mess that was Saffire's face. Her lips pulled back, her fangs chattered up and down, her claws dug into the solid rock she was holding and quick breaths of hot air, smoke, fire escaped her not-stop. "That's not the reaction I was expecting...?" Blake was almost regretting doing this but had to keep going at this point. "Ready...for the others?"

"Mmmhmm..." Saffire nodded with her head starting to dip down as if trying to rest it near Blake for some mental support. "...Just d-d-do it slower." She whispered with nothing but hot air getting blown on top of Blake.

"If I do it slower? It'll only hurt more and take more ti-" The smith tried to get Saffire to take that back but the bottom of her jaw hitting his back made him sigh in defeat. "...okay, nice and slow for the big bad scary Dragon." He obeyed after that. "But it's getting hot, hard, and sticky? Under there..." However, that meant his fingers got clamped between a hard as iron scale and the heat of a Dragon's soft inner flesh along with the sweat from his hand.

"I'm...not big...ah....or bad...ngh...or scary..." Saffire mumbled behind Blake's back as she rubbed her nose against the ground when the third of Blake's fingers got under her scale and stayed there until she felt okay with it. "He actually listened?" She was surprised to find Blake waiting for her to get adjusted to the new addition inside her. "Ahhh!" Only to set her off again when the fourth got added.

"But you're pretty big...in a few very nice places..." Blake teased, starting to get to work on his other hand after getting all the fingers minus the thumb on one hand in. "...And I don't mean your beasts...granted those two are up there." Maybe his usually flirting would get the Dragon's mind off the pain.

"You sa-hmm! That to all the girls yo-ah! Got fingers in?" Surprisingly instead of getting mad, Saffire played along with Blake's flirting. "Yeah, rig-ngh there!" She let out a husky growl in Blake's ear with a haze of hot smoke trailing down his back.

"Uh, no? Not really? A-a-and, none of my fingers, are i-in you...yet?" Now it was Blake's turn to be a quivering mess thanks to the combo of his fingers getting crushed and heated along with Saffire's comeback. "Alright, just 2 more big Dragon and then we can get to the fun part."

"Why does 'fun' *pant* have to mean something terrible half the ti-ngh-me!" The Dragon sunk her claws deeper into the stone of her cavern, getting right down to her knuckles. "I...I...think...I'm ready..." She braced herself as best she could and waited for it.

"You probably know already, but this is gonna hurt like hell at first, but then you'll feel great..." Blake made one last joke as he held on to Saffire's scale and felt not only the constantly rising heat from her body but the Dragon's heartbeat as well, throbbing at his touch. "1...2...1...2...1...2..." And using that as a timer, he slowly braced himself with his hands clenched, feet planted and held his breath.

*Ba-dump...ba-dump...ba-dump...BA-DUMP*

The unnerving sound of her own heart was the only sound left inside the carven and each second felt like a thousand tiny bugs crawling up the Dragon's back, in other words, her worst nightmare while the smith hadn't made a move or said a word, drawing this out for as long as possible. "H-h-he-!"

"RAHH!" The moment Saffire started speaking, Blake twisted his body, slammed his right foot down and tore off the last of Saffire's scales in one quick motion that came with this fleshy snapping sound and a splatter of red hot blood that fell near Blake's feet.

"Uh..." And to Blake's shock and worry, nothing else happened as Saffire's head had swung up into the air with her mouth agape in a soundless scream, her wings were stretched at full length making the already big shadow Blake was in even larger, and her claws had turned the stone they were holding into fine powder. "...Saffire?" All of which left the smith wanting to turn around and run for his life.

Then with the spark of an ember, Saffire's jaws lit up as she slowly brought her head down, while bringing her wings and claws in to enclose Blake in a giant pink scaly ball that offered no escape for the one inside. "..." Who was forced to stare into utter darkness minus the mouth shaped mass of fire.

"The next time..." The mouth of fire began to speak as embers leaped out and onto the heart scale, Blake was holding in front of himself as one last effort of useless defense. "...you do something like that..." Saffire's eyes suddenly gained a blueish glow that might have been Blake's imagination as everything around him was getting brighter when the Dragon pulled her wings back and held her head high. "...I will..." She stopped there as her claws were placed behind Blake and closed in on him. "Get me?"

"Yes, oh mighty Dragon who lets me live to see another day because she is so awesome and powerful!" Blake went on a nodding fit, by far out of all the things he's faced so far an angry Saffire was still pretty high up there.

"Hmph!" Saffire let out some smoke from her nose and gave Blake a downward stare so he could feel just how pathetic he was to her. "That's rig-KYYAAAAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" She let out a girlish shriek that didn't quite match her current look.

"Oops?" The cause of that was Blake rubbing the bleeding spot where Saffire's last scale was, with a bit of white cloth from his right pants leg. "Maybe I should have soaked this in some water from the smithy?" He asked himself as he pulled back with a blood dyed bit of cloth in hand.

"No, it's fine..." Saffire waved it off since most of the blood was gone and now she just had to wait for a new scale to grow in. "...thanks..." She whispered down to Blake as he held a hand out to her scaleless spot and looked at her as if asking if it was okay to touch. "...go ahead."

"It's still soft for now..." Blake muttered, slowly pressing his hand over the warm and only soft spot on Saffire. It was a slightly darker pink than the rest of her thanks to the blood that was wiped up, and he could feel the Dragon's calm and powerful heartbeat going up his arm. "...Hey, uh, so..."

"I'll be back to red by the end of the day...the pink is just the new ones..." Saffire cut Blake off before he could say anymore. The main reason why she was down here was that she didn't want anyone, especially Blake and Baba finding out about her shedding.

"Oh? Yeah, I was going to ask about that next..." But it sounds like that wasn't what Blake wanted to hear about. "...is that thing about you guys giving your hearts to others true?" He asked, keeping his hand pressed against Saffire's chest as her heartbeat slowed down.

The age-old legends of a Dragon's Heart, some say it's what's gave them all of their mightly power, others say as long as the heart is unharmed then these beasts are unkillable. Even greater and most well known was the myth that a Dragon could offer its heart to another be it a fellow Dragon or completely different creature. The heart's new owner would gain vast amounts of power equal to a Dragon, even a corpse would rise from the dead if given a Dragon's Heart as legends would say.

"Oh? That one..." Saffire's face showed some signs of surprise and wonder. "...uh, yeah it's true. We can take our hearts out and give it to those we find...worthy? I guess? My parents always said it was the greatest respect you could show as a Dragon. That you're willing to let someone understand everything about you and understand everything about them."

"Understand everything about eachother? I don't get it? Doesn't the heart just give the new owner powers and stuff?" Blake looked up for answers, from the monster bestiary he had it only talked about stuff like fire-breathing, getting wings, or living as long as a Dragon.

"'The heart's your soul and soul shows all' or something like that? It's a saying my father always told my siblings and me..." Saffire explained, bringing her head down to hang just above Blake. "By giving someone your heart, you share your life with them...stuff like happiness or sadness or pain..."

"Pain?" Blake pulled his hand away from Saffire, causing the Dragon to pull back as well.

"Yeah, that's where the whole live as long as Dragon thing comes from. Whatever happens to the one who has the heart happens to the Dragon, and it goes both ways...same for their thoughts...it's like being one with eachother..." Saffire had grown a bit quiet at this point left with some unease in herself. "...kind of like...soulmates...you live together and die together..."

"Then I guess I can't have yours..." Blake said out of nowhere, looking at the spot his hand was a moment ago.

"Eh?" Saffire's mouth was left partly open, she was expecting some dumb flirt shot her way, but the steely look on Blake's face showed that he was serious in his claim. "Why...?" She whispered, almost not wanting an answer from the man standing in her shadow.

"I mean have you seen the type of stuff I've gone through? Fighting Demons, wolves, Golems that blow up, or giant ones that kick me like a ball...a Dragon..." Blake threw his hands at Saffire on the last one and thinking back on it she was probably one of his hardest fights next to Gwyn and that Manticore. "...I am all for knowing how you think and feel mostly about me...but if I have to get that by hurting you then it's not worth it..."

"Gahaha!" However, despite Blake's sincere and heartfelt words, Saffire let out a guttural laugh in response. "That's what you're worried about, huh!? You really are weird! Gahaha!" Her face twisted into a massive grin with puffs of embers leaving the sides of her mouth. "Are you forgetting who you're wearing half the time when you get hurt?"

"Uh, yeah? I guess you're right?" Blake amitted other than some rare times, Saffire was with him just as much as Risabeel when it came to quests, and he was slowly starting to lose count of how many times she told him something hurt because he was too reckless. "So? Does that mean I'm worthy of your heart, my dear?" He asked with a playful bow while holding Saffire's heart scale to his chest.

"Pfft! As if!" Saffire puffed out a bit of smoke on Blake, and while he was waving it away, she got in his face.

"AH!" Instantly Blake jumped back. "Ugh!" And right into Saffire's claws that kept him close to her face. "You're really playful right now you know that, right? And it's not fun, that's my job in this relationship, heh!" He chucked a little, it looked like his big speech and getting rid of her heart scale brought out Saffire's sweet side.

"I like I said when we were at that hotel...I can be playful like...her?" The Dragon's eyes drifted away from Blake as her claws clicked and scratched against eachother. "Hmm!" Then her eyes snapped back to Blake when he tapped his knuckle on her nose. "What?"

"I like you for you, you dumb Dragon. Don't act like other people just because I like somethings about them," Blake told her before resting his chin on the tip of the Dragon's nose. "I mean what's next, you're gonna try acting like Risabeel? That's a bit easier but still." He patted around her face, trying to see if her scales were harder than before.

"But...you like them, right?" Saffire asked in return while Blake was poking and grabbing at her face, not in any loving way by any means. "Don't stop..." But the Dragon wanted him to keep doing it for as long as possible.

"Yeah? And I like you," Blake answered, pushing off Saffire with the Dragon inching her head towards him a bit.

"How can you say that to my face?" Saffire didn't get that side of Blake. He'd always come up with some flirt or sweet words even if there were times where she was ready to bite his head off or the fact she didn't show any interest in him. "That's a lie..." It was the Dragon herself who followed some random human and his group of friends to this city, allowed herself to be used as his armor, and even spent a night alone with him. If she wasn't interested in him, then why did she do all of that? Being bored was the usual answer, but what now? "Well?" She looked at Blake trying to think of an answer to give her and maybe that would help with hers.

"Cause that's how I feel and you're one of the easier ones to say it to..." Blake answered and brought a raised brow to Saffire's face. "...I'm not sure if Risabeel gets how I feel about her and Baba's...Baba..." The two shared a nod of understanding at that fact.

"Wait!? Are you admitting that you're after all of us!?" Saffire snapped her fangs at Blake. "You think any of us are okay with that!?"

"Yea?" Blake held up the heart scale and gave Saffire a shrug while the Dragon was giving him her own version of Risabeel's stern look. "Hey! You're a Dragon! Doesn't your kind go off grabbing as many mates as possible and start laying eggs amass!"

"NO!" Saffire roared in Blake's face but couldn't stay mad for long as a defeated look came over her. "Well...most of them do...but not all of us!" She corrected herself, but that only put Blake in the right. "...some of us are selfish...we like to keep things to ourselves! Why do you think there are stories about Dragons having massive vaults of gold and gems!"

"So, you want me all to yourself, huh? Well, I'd be willing to give up on the others if you just admitted it to my ~face~" Blake teased with a wink to the growling beast in his face.

Saffire simple took in a deep breath then pointed out of her cave. "Just get out..." If this kept going on, her heart might jump out of her chest. "...I just want to lay down and let my scales get their color back..." Before the smith could say anything, she dropped down to the bottom of her cave and curled up like a cat.

"..." Leaving Blake with a heart scale in hand and he wasn't about to ask Saffire what to do with it, so it looked like he got another 'gift' from one of his items. "Uh? Well? I'm gone then if you need anything just yell at the kid to get me..." He turned to walk out but stopped just short of leaving. "...and uh? This isn't going to make sense, and you might think I'm being a flirt again but...I have a big heart thanks to Reiner taking me in...there's a lot of space in it for a lot of people...and once they're there it takes a lot to get rid of them..." With that done, he brought the heart scale to his chest and walked out.

Down at the bottom of Saffire's cave, she was still curled up, but her claws were over her eyes, and most of her face was a dark shade of red, maybe due to her scales getting their color back or..."Why him of all people?"...the Dragon was all too happy to hear those words from Blake.

Blake's smithy

"So, is she fine?" Bread still working on that bit or armor asked when Blake got back. "And what's that?" He pointed at the large scale his master was keeping to his chest. "And what's up with your face." The other thing new about Blake was that his cheeks were slightly red with a small smile across his face. "And why are your pants tore up?" He added after giving Blake a look over.

"You ask too many questions, kid," Blake answered in a flat tone and tried to look as normal as possible. "...I took care of it, that's all you need to know..." He went up to the landing. "...and unless you want to get roasted alive don't go down there..." After that, he went off to the front desk.

"I wasn't planning on it..." Bread rolled his eyes but took a glance at the tunnel to Saffire's room. "...' He heard some of the yelling most of which was from Saffire, but he couldn't figure out what was going in there. "Eh," Not that the boy cared much. All he was worried about was Blake coming back and finding unfinished work.

Lobby

"Could you please just go away..." Vasha pipe a light and puffing out smoke said to Baba hanging in the air above the Goblin.

"But I am ~oh so very~ bored after my bath." Baba was soaking wet with a green towel wrapped around her petite body after taking a swim in the pool. "~Oops~ sorry about that..." And was dripping water down on some of Vasha's papers.

"You know your...'Hubby'...can't work if he doesn't get these, right?" Vasha pointed out while shifting the papers around.

"Oh? Then that means he has more time for me." Baba cooed, as she floated down lower, done with messing with Vasha for now. "Hmm? What's this?" She eyed the bottle of Risabeel's horn dust Blake left there.

"Horn dust from the Demon. Chief came down with it earlier, and he told me to watch it. But I'm more worried about what it might do..." Vasha answered, trying to see if blowing smoke on the papers would dry them. "Ugh!" Which kind of worked if it wasn't for the papers getting covered in soot, meaning she was going to have to make copies.

"So, the Demon's trying to get him with 'gifts' bodily ones no less?" Baba flicked a finger at the bottle and made it float up to her face. "~Oh~" And noted the glow it gave off when shaking the dust inside. "And where ~oh~ where is our favorite person in this Guild House?" She asked, moving around to hover behind Vasha's shoulders.

"Currently getting a face full of feet..." Blake's voice came from behind the 2 women, who turned around to find him with Baba's six-toed feet right in his face.

"~Hubby~" Baba let out a small cheer and was about to wrap her barely clothed and wet self around Blake. "Oh, what's that?" But the red heart scale he was holding to his chest caught her attention first.

"Uh...something that was pissing Saffire off?" Blake answered and hid the scale behind his back. He wasn't sure how Saffire was doing right now after what he said to her, but he wasn't about to let Baba know that the red Dragon was currently a big mess of pink. "And I'd be the one who gets hu- what's up with her?" His thoughts went elsewhere when Baba gave him a blank stare.

"It looks like my competition is trying to get the better of me, eh?" Baba cooed, twirling a finger around as the wind around her and Blake kicked up.

"Uhm, Baba? You're messing up Vasha's paperwork." Blake tried to stop Baba. "Ah!?" But the moment his feet left the safety of the floor, he knew he was at the mercy of the Ala. "At least make it a quick flight..." He begged with a small tornado circling him while Baba's wet body was sticking to his side.

"Hmm? I like to take things nice and slow, but if you like it quick and rough?" Baba whispered into Blake's ear right before her tornado shot out of the front door and into the air.

"AAAAAAHH!" With Blake screaming the whole way out and up as they went to Baba's tower.

"..." Leaving Vasha to stare at all of her papers dancing in the air, too high for her to reach. "Huh?" Then a gust of green wind rolled by that stacked all of them neatly on her desk.

"You're welcome..." Baba's voice whispered into the Vasha's ear when the wind came by the Goblin. "...and Hubby will be busy for an hour or so, ~sorry~ about that." The wind added before it fluttered into nothingness.

"I'd rather you didn't do that..." Vasha muttered, swinging her pipe from left to right while puffing out smoke. "...how is that guy so popu- no. Don't think about it." She caught herself before anything got in her head; the last thing she needed was getting in between those girls and Blake. "He's just my friend...boss...owner? Ugh!" But no matter what label she gave Blake, it made her head spin. "Maybe he's feeling like that right now?" The thought of Blake's screaming and got a good smile on her face. "Back to work." She settled for that and got back to work.

Chapter End