“A marvellous sight, hmm?” Feyrith’s companion said. Wait, wha- he spoke!!! Feyrith’s head snapped to her right to see her large, armoured friend looking out into the far horizon.

Staring at him for a moment, all she could do was blink, once, twice, thrice… you get the idea. “...I thought you didn't know the language,” she exclaimed slowly after a short pause, her heart pounding. By the Gods, he can speak!

Her companion’s head slowly turned towards her, the abyssal darkness of his faceplate seeming to suck her in. “I didn’t.” He simply replied.

“Okay, that explains nothing.” Feyrith huffed to herself. But as it would seem, she had been heard.

“I learnt your language over our time together, by putting together the wording and structure from the many conversations I heard.” He stated, much to the shock of the auburn-haired wood elf. He learned an entire language from hearing a couple of conversations?! She thought in amazement.

“Winters.” He said suddenly, jolting Feyrith from her thoughts. “What?” She asked, confused.

“You can call me Winters.” Winters said, his emotionless tone putting her through a loop.

“Oh, right, yo-you can call me Feyrith,” the young woman stammered, internally overjoyed to finally have a name to put to his pale face - er, lower jaw? Yeah, close enough. She thought.

“Sooo… is it okay if I ask you some questions?” Feyrith asked, before quickly adding, “If-if you’re fine with that!”

“I'm all ears,” Winters stated, getting a confused and… dare I say, disturbed look from the elf in response.

Realising his blunder, he explained his words. “It’s a figure of speech from my people, implying that you have my full attention.”

Hearing that, Feyrith's features quickly changed into that of bewilderment, with a hint of humorous intrigue. “Well… I’ve got to say, your people have a weird way of saying things *cough cough* moving on. Umm… I just wanted to ask what you were, if th-that's all right.” She said as politely as she could, twiddling her thumbs in no small amount of embarrassment.

The dark warrior stared at her for several seconds, seeming to debate whether or not he should reveal anything. But after what seemed like an eternity, Winter spoke.

“I'm a human, more specifically, a Britanian. Does that answer your question?” Winter asked, content with his answer. Feyrith, on the other hand, only seemed even more confused.

“Wait… like…humans, from fantasy stories? You’re bullshitting, right? Right!?” The young elf exclaimed, her face scrunching up into deep thought.

Winters only tilted his head at that, contemplating her words. “I can assure you that I am human… though finding out that we exist only in fantasy stories is definitely an unexpected surprise. I could say the same about your own race, as we have a near unlimited supply of fantasy stories including elves in my world.” He stated, his voice modulator hiding his intrigue.

“Wow! Huh… you…you learn something new everyda- wait a minute! Prove it. Prove that you’re human.” Feyrith exclaimed.

“Humans have round ears and elven-dwarven facial structures!” She said excitedly, before trailing off, realising that she was getting ahead of herself.

Forcing herself to calm down, Feyrith locked her hazel eyes onto Winter, barely concealed energy hidden beneath the surface.

Winter only sat there, stiff and unmoving, his hidden gaze seeming to bore through her.

- - -

Why am I contemplating this? Royal Expeditionary Knights are forbidden from revealing their face or voice to any civilians, Alex thought before he sighed internally.

But… that doesn't matter here, I suppose. This isn't even my universe… so…

Fuck it.

- - -

Feyrith almost choked on air when she realised her ploy had worked, biting her bottom lip as she watched air hiss out of Winters’ helm. A loud *click* emanated from the armour as it released its seals, and her anticipation only grew more and more.

As Winters’ pale skin began to come into view, Feyrith found it impossible to hide her growing excitement, the slight grin on her face getting bigger and bigger.

With one final tug, the helmet left his head, a smooth, pale face greeting her. Only one thought came to the forefront of Feyrith’s mind. Oh no - he's hot! Snapping herself out of her inner dilemma, the short girl further analysed her armoured friend's features.

His jaw was as she remembered it, squared off and lightly clenched, his lips pursed in a serious expression, yet… seeming to hide some humour.

Moving up his face, she noticed a few blemishes on Winters’ somewhat albino skin, near translucent icy blue eyes greeting her own, a certain weight held within them. Faded blond hair graced the top of his head, the hairs pigmentation all but gone. And of course, he had round ears.

“So…you’re a human,” Feyrith exclaimed breathlessly, the full weight of the situation finally setting in.

“And you’re an elf.” Winters replied curtly, not even raising a brow at her sudden mood swing.

There was a lengthy pause as the two of them stared in wonder at each other… or at least, that's what Feyrith was doing. She wasn't sure about Winters’ internal reaction, or if he’d even had one to begin with.

From what she could glean from him, he was a very guarded individual - with even the thought of removing his helm coming with trepidation. But then again, all warriors had to be guarded.

Looking up into the icy blue orbs that were Winters’ eyes, she had to stop herself from getting lost inside them. The depth inside was mesmerizing - untold amounts of knowledge, wisdom and experiences showcasing themselves through his eyes as a medium.

Pull yourself together woman! You're a silver ranked adventurer - being composed is key! Mentally steadying herself, Feyrith took a deep breath through her nose before letting the air exit her body with an exasperated sigh.

Looking back up to Winter, a light blush adorned her face. One of his brows had ever so slightly raised during her inner battle, and the sting of self-imposed embarrassment bit hard into her soul.

“Are you well?” Winter questioned, mirth laced behind his words. That, combined with his… vaguely exotic accent, flustered Feyrith. Stumbling with her sentences, she unsuccessfully tried to reply, only to mumble and stutter a plethora of differentiating answers.

Finally composing herself, Feyrith watched as Winters smoothly slid his helmet back onto his head, hearing the satisfying click and hiss once more. Confusion cascaded her mind as she thought on his reasoning - and if there was any, to begin with.

“Why do you insist on wearing your helmet all the time? We’re in the city, I doubt anything would happen to us.” The young elf questioned, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side. The movement made her auburn brown hair shift wistfully across her face, which she had to fix.

Without even giving the question thought, Winters’ now helmeted face turned to her. “It’s unwise to become lax, especially so soon after leaving a warzone.” Not elaborating on what he meant by warzone, he continued, either not seeing or not caring about Feyrith’s perplexed look.

“Also, I’d find it unwise to flaunt my existence as a fictional species. That fact alone could cause some large disasters,” Winters’ finished explaining. The jump between his calm accented voice and the deep, monotonous tone that left his helmet deeply unsettled Feyrith, but she did her best to hide the fact.

“...I-I see your point,” She replied, her pondering hand clasping her sharp chin as she stared at the floor. Stuck in her own thoughts, Feyrith barely realised that they had begun walking back to her home by the guild.

Once again, people stared and pointed at them throughout their walk. Winters’ didn’t seem to mind the attention, as he continued onwards - his tall frame looking over the crowds.

Barely paying attention, Feyrith walked into his back when Winters’ suddenly stopped. Before she could say anything, Winters’ head darted to the right. Moving into a ready stance, he then bolted towards a nearby alleyway.

And when Feyrith said bolt, she meant bolt. The armoured man seemed to phase across the street.

Quickly running over to the adjacent alleyway he had entered, Feyrith arrived just in time to witness a beat down. From what she could see, a woman of wood elf descent was mugging a stout middle-aged demi-elf male.

Thankfully, it seemed that unlike many, Winters held no hate nor discrimination for the half breed. Picking the comparatively small elf up by her throat seemingly with ease, he paid no attention to her dainty fingers desperately clawing against his armoured gauntlet.

Without any form of strain, Winters sent a sharp blow towards the girl's skull, knocking her unconscious.

Looking over to a gaping Feyrith, the large armoured human, still holding the limp elf by her neck, casually gave Feyrith an energetic thumbs up.

“Don’t worry. She’ll be fine.” He stated.

What have I gotten myself into? Feyrith inwardly grumbled.