Stefan POV-

"Remember to fix your stance when you swing" Amy screamed as Stefan gathered himself from within the grass and crawled a few inches towards his discarded sword.

Once his hand was tightly grasped on the hilt of the source of his hatred and frustrations, he made to stand and turn back to his terrifying instructor, when he saw Claire in the distance.

She was farming with Sonja in the wheat fields not to far from where Stefan trained with the female pirate.

Claire's smile almost knocked the wind out of him for the second time in the past five minutes. The first being when Amy kicked him the stomach and down to the ground mercilessly. But this feeling now, was at least more pleasant.

There she was. Her short brown hair shining gold in the late morning sunlight of Mianite, her laugher clear and joyous as she and Sonja talked as they worked.

Though she was a significant distance away, he could see the way her eyes crinkled when she smiled, the way she shook her head to chase future laughter away.

It was odd to be in the same place as her. A feeling, that at times, Stefan had thought would he never get to feel. But it had worked, they were both in the same world once again.

And probably being watched.

He had debated telling her about the streaming he had managed to work out, but it seemed unnecessary. She was very focused and stressed on this war. Knowing that people from our world had seen all those things she was afraid people would hate her for...he would not be the cause of another burden.

Though it did unsettle him at times that people could see and hear them talk, eat, and sleep.

At least he didn't have to hear any of it. He was far from his parent's money-hungry claws and free to get to properly know his childhood friend without them interfering.

At some point during his train of though, Claire turned to pick up a crop she must have missed when she caught sight of his stare. Stefan tried to turn around before she could catch him but it was too late.

Luckily ,she just gave him a big bright smile and waved at him, which he miraculously managed to return despite his aching muscles and half-conscious mind due to her smile.

Before he could debate what to do besides waving like a crazy person for a few more seconds, something hit the back of his head.

A hand. Amy's hand.

"Don't get distracted Stefan, you can look at the pretty girls on your own time" Amy said, tightening the hold of his hand on his own sword and kicking his legs back into an appropriate stance.

Right. Training.

For the past two days, that had been the thing he hated more than anything. Though he wasn't in bad shape due to all the equipment lifting and running around in his lab for the past few months, it still felt like he would faint from exhaustion any day now.

How Jordan had learned to wield a weapon so quickly and efficiently to be even matched with the Mianite champions, the gods only knew.

Of course, she had been taught by Tom, who Jordan assured him, had been merciless when it came to training.

Stefan was trained in a...less violent matter, probably because no one wanted to seriously harm him and risk Jordan's wrath.

When Amy had almost killed him during his first lesson yesterday, Jordan screamed right to her face and threatened her to death.

Stefan had been too shocked to point out that he had been equally at fault for his possible demise, but even with the guaranteed "re-spawn", Jordan had been furious.

Her and the pirates still weren't on good terms, but Jordan had decided to give Stefan some space to sort out what he wanted to do and how he wanted to train after her outburst yesterday.

Stefan had wanted to tell her how much it mean to him that she had worried so much for his safety, but ended up not having the courage to do so.

For now, he had to focus on this fighting dilemma.

Claire had told him to think about it in a way that would make more sense to him.

Apparently, she had focused on the mechanics and physics of fighting and ended up advancing at a faster pace because of it. She also used her intellect to focus on marking an opponents patterns and possible next moves. A puzzle, she called it.

Like the one they built as children, putting all the odd pieces together to create a uniform image.

So he stared the female pirate in the eyes and went to attack the same way he had earlier, but this time, at the last second, he switched his footing to gather up proper momentum and effectively blocked Amy's attack.

Amy, eyes wide, began to counter attack again, but as Claire's words replayed in his mind, he ducked just in time to avoid a nasty haircut, and used the hilt of his sword to strike Amy on her back causing her to fall on the floor.

Surprised that his plan actually worked, Stefan quickly tried to get a correct hold on his sword and in a not so smooth manner, pointed the tip of it right above Amy's neck before she could regain balance.

Amy, still in shock, smiled wide and pushed the blade away from her breathing pipes. Getting up in one smooth push from the ground, she jumped up and down before hugging him tightly.

"After two hours you finally did it!" She screamed, her long hair tickling his bare arms.

Of course all this screaming caught the attention of the two ladies farming, but it seemed that they had been staring long before that.

"Nice move Stef! You're catching on quick" Claire screamed, making her way over to him with a basket of wheat, fruits, and wrapped up meat in hand.

Stefan politely broke away from Amy's embrace and tried his best to fix his disheveled hair and dry up his sweaty skin with his shirt.

Once her and Sonja made it to the clearing, Claire gave Amy a polite nod as greeting but nothing more than that. Even though she had every right to hate the pirate girl, Claire still insisted on being polite.

He loved her for it. But not love love of course, just deeply admired....yeah.

"After watching you fall on your ass for an hour I'm glad you finally got a good hit" Sonja said, pushing her blonde strands back behind her peculiar fox ears that he still wasn't fully accustomed to.

"Thank you" he said

Claire came up to him and hugged him despite his sweaty appearance, which she didn't seem to mind one bit.

Once they broke the small hug, she handed him an apple from the basket in her hand.

He tried to calm his beating heart at her praise and embrace, giving her the biggest smile he could muster before bitting into the apple. Much like her mother and sister, Claire seemed to take his eating very seriously, refusing to let him starve.

"Your advice from earlier really helped get me to the right mind set" he said after swallowing his bite "Thank you"

"Here I though that hit was due to my excellent teaching methods" Amy said "You wound me Stefan"

Claire just smiled brighter and nudged him on the shoulder before going to pick up his discarded clothing items.

"We should get going if we're going to eat and rest before going over to the wizard's place" she said

Sonja gave him one last praise on his performance before heading back home to cook lunch with Tucker.

Stefan thanked Amy for her help and joined Claire on their walk back home.

Though he had been in this new world for a few days now, he still hadn't seen very much of it due to his training. As they passed by the center square of the island, he couldn't help but marvel at the giant statue depicting majestic stone scales.

Claire's doing.

"I made it for Ianite a long time ago" she said, looking up at her work, brown eyes still shining in the sun.

"You did well" he replied

"Well, building is relatively easier here than back home so don't give me that much credit where building is concerned" Claire said, handing him a canister of water as he discarded his apple core.

"I suppose it was easier, I managed to create a small hut with little to no problem thanks to you" he said, taking a big gulp of water, tasting the refreshing water, before handing it back.

"You did well all on your own, I just explained the magic and how it worked" she said

And he had. They had been working on various things for him to work out his building skills. Somethings more complex than others, but he managed just fine so far, even improving some things she had been working on for moths.

"Yes, but I see you have your father's eye when it comes to architecture"

Claire's face fell slightly at the mention of her family, something they hadn't talked all that much about since his arrival.

"Still, I think he would have been very proud of your work yesterday" Claire said

"I doubt it, your father hates me" he said flatly and Claire burst out laughing.

"I'm serious, both your father and brother hate me" he clarified

"But I bet my mom LOVED you. Right?" She said, amusement still twinkling in her eyes.

"I have never been shown such kindness, from both your mother and sister" he said, remembering all the late nights in the lab, the smell of freshly baked bread that spread through the room followed by a warm embrace and loving words.

Claire kept laughing as she walked backwards before him, hands away from her weapons for once and resting loosely behind her back.

"Oh yes, Adel must have loved you like nothing else, but you're mine now" she said

Warmth rushed all across his face at her words and he had the vague sense that he had stopped walking.

Not long after that, Claire must have realized her words, because she too stopped and placed her hands on her reddening face.

"I didn't mean it like that! I meant, like you're in my company now you know" she said, stumbling over her words, which made Stefan even more flustered

"Yes, of course. I never assumed it to mean anything else than that!" Stefan said equally as fast.

"I meant like I care about you like she did..does. You know, if you need someone to be kind to you, I'm here!" Claire said, still ranting until Stefan decided to walk up to her and pry her hands off her face.

He willed his poor heart to slow for the tenth time today before clearing his throat.

"You have already shown me unimaginable kindness" he said "I know you would never see this....friendship as anything else"

Claire stopped her fussing and looked him in the eye.

"Why would you say that?" She asked

"Well, because I'm not the kind of guy girls fall for I guess"

"Amy Bluebeard would beg to differ you know" Claire added, but her voice didn't hold as much humor as earlier, but still teasing in a way.

"I'm not a very strong fighter and I can't protect anyone" he said

Claire rolled her eyes and placed her basket on her left arm, linking arms with him with her now free right arm.

"Strength isn't everything Stefan. There is your kindness, your intelligence, and your strength of mind that are worth much more than physical strength will ever mean" she said, resuming their walk away from the scales.

"You really think so?" He said, still shocked

"Of course. Besides, there are different kinds of strength Stefan, kinds that make you far stronger than anyone in this island and beyond" Claire added, squeezing his arm.

"Don't sell yourself short where physical strength is concerned. It took me months to wield weapons properly and work up my body to sustain the ability to survive it. I know it's stressful, but this stuff takes time. It's not like what we are used to back home like when we read a book. If we really put in the amount of time and effort, we can finish it in a day. When it comes to training, nature sets the limits and growth periods, all we can do is follow a steady pace" Claire said

It was true that he had grown frustrated lately after just days of training, but he didn't think anyone had noticed.

But perhaps there was no one that would understand that frustration better than her.

"Thank you Claire" he said, not knowing how to express his gratitude for the kind words she bestowed.

"So if you are interested in Amy, I guarantee she will say yes. And if she doesn't see how wonderful of a guy you are, then I can always kill her for you, she'll re-spawn of course" she said, shrugging at her death threat.

Stefan laughed. Both at the idea of Claire thinking he was interested in the pirate that helped plot a mission that hurt her and at the fact that she was willing to kill for him.

"Thanks LC, but that won't be necessary" he said

Claire stopped they walking and turned to him, joy dancing in her eyes once again.

"LC?"

"It's your nickname, given that we are friends and all. Stands for Lovely Claire, I heard someone referring to a Claire like that once, and it fits you...if you are ok with it" he said, suddenly nervous at his unplanned outburst.

"Don't you dare change it! I love it, even if I don't see myself as particularly lovely" she said, motioning to the various weapons strapped to her body.

"Don't sell yourself short. Physical strength isn't everything" Stefan said, bringing up her words from earlier.

"Nothing slips past you Stef" she said, catching the falling leaves around them as they passed by her magic forest.

Leaves of all different kinds of colors fell all around them as the evening winds swept by, coating the floor in an array of shades, almost like a rainbow.

Under normal circumstances, Stefan would have never stopped to view the world around him, only caring about his destination, but it was now that he noticed its true beauty and tranquility with the girl by his side.

It was nice. Nice to finally have a true friend.

To have someone who understood him, who cared enough and noticed when he was troubled and knew exactly how to help.

Someone who saw what kind of man he had been and gave him a second chance.

Someone who he could talk to and not have to put up walls from.

Someone who saw good in him.

With that realization in mind, he gently un-linked their arms and grabbed her a falling flower from a purple tree.

After placing it in her hair, he smiled freely the rest of the way home as they talked about everything and anything at a comfortable pace while he twirled her around with their linked hands.

A hobbit he had seen her do while prowling her gifted forest.

For once, he wasn't racing anywhere, but enjoying life.

*******

Claire POV-

"I'm mostly sure that it was two cups worth of flour" Jordan said as she cracked a few eggs on a wooden bowl and began stirring, swaying her hips to the beat of the song coming from her iPad by the window. (Song above is the song playing)

Stefan was on the other side of the kitchen, doing his best to apply salt on their left over meat to store it for the remainder of the week.

It was an old fashioned method, but given that refrigerators were unavailable, it was the only alternative. One she had gotten used to long ago, along with slaughtering animals and skinning them for food.

After finishing lunch, her and Stefan decided to make dinner before sleeping for a few hours in preparation for Stefan's magic training.

With her belly full of food, her energy meter had been restored enough to take on such task.

Now she was starting to regret choosing such a difficult recipe.

Her mother's apple and peach pie.

Jordan had wanted to make something good for Stefan to enjoy after all his hard work during training, but she didn't account for her faulty memory.

Stefan had mentioned how much he had loved her mother's pie after all.

"I remember it being three" Stefan said, wiping left over salt on his stained white shirt before making his way over to the counter she was working on.

"Yeah, that sounds right. Pass me the flour?" She asked, pointing to the main counter where a brown bag rested.

He did as instructed but once he made it back to her and opened the bag to pour into the bowl, the flour ended up spilling all over her.

"I'm so sorry, I should have been more careful" Stefan said, wiping her flour covered shirt with his hands.

Jordan got a handful of four from the bag and without a second of hesitation, threw it at him.

Stefan's arms, chest and shirt were covered in flour along with his still wet hair from his shower earlier.

Jordan couldn't contain her laughter any longer and grabbed on to the flour covered counter to hold herself together.

She half expected him to get mad and yell at her as anyone in his position would have, but he just cracked a wicked smile and placed his hand in the flour bag, causing Jordan to slowly back away, still smiling.

"You think that's funny LC?" He said, slowly taking the hand out, bits of overflowing flour spilling onto the wooden floor.

"Are you sure you want to start this war. I have a good winning record where fights are concerned" Jordan said, pushing off the counter and going around it slowly

Stef grabbed another bunch of flour with his other hand and approached her.

"That's about to change today" he said, a smile still on his face, bringing out his dimples, which she loved.

"Don't you dare" she threatened, getting ready to bolt for the door behind her

He just let out a small laugh and threw the flour faster than she had time to register.

Next thing she knew, her face was covered in it, so much so that she had to wipe it out of her eye lids and lick it off her mouth. Luckily, she had closed both before the flour made contact.

Jordan stood there, looking at the mess she was, white covering her once black tank top and matching pants. Her boots were also dirty but being leather, most of it brushed off during contact, but there was a significant amount of flour inside her boots from what she could tell.

"Stef...prepare to die my friend" she said, pulling the bag to her side of the table and quicker than she had ever done anything in her life, she scooped up flour using both her hands and threw it across the table, hitting Stefan before he could duck in time.

"You....you look like a marshmallow!" She screamed, laughing as she did so.

He was shocked to say the least, but he was also happy for some reason.

She realized, he was having fun.

Before he could get another hit, Jordan rushed from the door, her own laugher trailing her as she emerged into the living room.

Just as she did, a puff of flour hit her back side where a laughing Stefan was savoring his victory.

Fine. He wanted to play that way...that was fine with her.

Against her logical reasoning, she grabbed one of the buckets she had placed around the house just in case someone decided burning it would be fun, and threw it on him, making the flour turn into a pasty substance against his skin.