After reaching Grandma Reah's abode, Noxtis checked and saw the small house empty. Frowning slightly, they ended up going towards the village hall and thankfully found the village chief, Grandma Reah, and Elder Gundlach all there enjoying some snacks and tea.
Before even entering the hall, grandma Reah chuckled. "There you are, I was about to send a search party out to find you rascals if you were gone much longer. What have you been up to?"
"Hi gran, and nothing much. Embervesent and I were sparing and training as usual and we lost track of time. It wasn't until Embervesent here told me that they were about to return to Crimson Scale city so we thought it best to head over to find you."
Eating another juicy strawberry, the old turtle grinned. "Is that what the kids call it these days? Careful not to be too loud during your 'sparing', you could sprain your hips."
Almost falling to the floor in disbelief, Noxtis realized that their actions had been caught by the crafty old turtle. 'Is she still mad that I ate all her cookies that one time?'
Ember on the other hand also caught the hidden meaning behind Grandma Reah's words and blushed while gingerly touching her own hips.
*cough* *cough* Feeling a large headache forming, Elder Gundlach choose to ignore the suggestive words being given and focused on the pair of unlikely lovers. And while he was initially furious at the thought of his charge being defiled, Reah had quickly taught him to relax after a few bonks to the head.
"Miss, we leave for the city in the morning. The rest of the Merchant disciples are already prepared and are relaxing at the moment. Just be sure to join up with us before daybreak when we set off."
"Got it Uncle Gundlach," Pointing towards Noxtis, Ember added. "I plan on bringing him along with us if that's alright."
A cross of veins popped up on his forehead as Elder Gundlach grit his teeth. "For what reason are you bringing along your lov...*cough* I mean companion along? You know that only disciples are allowed to travel in the carriages. Your grandfather won't be happy about you breaking the rules again, he already let you tag along on this expedition.
Waving her hand dismissively, Ember wasn't worried. "I'll talk with Grandpa Flint myself about the situation when we get back. The Red Drake Auction House is going to do their usual event soon right?"
Elder Gundlach's headache soon appeared and he sighed in defeat. "Yes Miss, they should be doing their auction when all the caravans arrive back in the city."
"Good, let's go then Noxtis, I'm tired and we need to get up early tomorrow." Bowing to the seniors, Ember left the building.
Bowing himself, Noxtis decided smartly to not say anything in return as the Crimson Scale Elder looked pretty defeated at this point.
Concern decorated Grandma Reah's face as she had taken care of Noxtis from the moment he had arrived at the village. "Noxtis, how much do you trust this little lass? While I agree that you should travel and broaden your horizons, do not get swayed too much by a pretty lady."
Hugging Grandma Reah, Noxtis assured the one person who had raised him for as long as he remembered. "It'll be okay Grandma, Ember is quite a beauty. But if I were to be one hundred percent honest, it's her determination to achieve her goals and dedication to her passions that have grown my admiration of her. I will do my best to become someone who is worthy of her trust and strong enough to protect it."
Kissing his forehead, Grandma Reah smiled and shooed him away before the little lass would get too impatient.
Gazing over to the dispirited Gundlach, Grandma Reah poked. "You heard what he said, pretty noble and pure goal don'tcha think? They look so cute together."
Grunting in annoyance and nursing his headache that had faded only slightly, Elder Gundlach brought out a large wine bottle from his spatial ring.
"Ooooo Flame Belcher huh? You must be in quite the mood to bring out this beauty, you will share right?"
Groaning even more, Elder Gundlach regretted his momentary lapse and begrudgingly poured the old turtle a cup.
~ ~ ~
Running to catch up with Ember as she had already walked towards their hut, Noxtis tapped her shoulder. "Are you sure this is okay? Your Elder looked pretty angry back there. I could always travel on foot to the city."
"Don't mind him, Elder Gundlach is just a doting Uncle. He would be concerned if I sat down the wrong way. As for walking to Crimson Scale city, even if you didn't run into the various savage beasts and had enough food and drink on hand, it would take way too long to get to the city. No need to be humble and just travel with me. Now hurry up, I can tell you're exhausted."
Arriving back at the hut, Noxtis practically fell face-first into the bed and his snores echoed through the room.
Giggling at the sleeping Noxtis, Ember sat next to the bed as she wasn't as tired as he was. Brushing aside his hair and gazing at his visage, Ember admired the peaceful expression. Touching his ears, Ember noticed the frayed ear and frowned as she remembered the tale of his youth that Noxtis had talked about.
Grabbing the blanket and pulling it over the both of them, Ember wrapped Noxtis' arms around herself and snuggled into his warm and comforting embrace.
~ ~ ~
Getting up quite early, the sun had barely started to brighten the sky as Noxtis awoke. Still a bit groggy from his overzealous training, Noxtis yawned and felt his left arm unusually numb. Lifting up the bedsheet slightly, he saw a cutely sleeping Ember using his arm as a pillow. Doing his best to avoid waking the sleeping beauty, Noxtis shimmied out of the bed and stretched to get some semblance of feeling back into his body.
Hearing a shuffling coming from behind him, Noxtis looked over and saw a half-asleep Ember rubbing her eyes and wiping away her drool.
"You ready for the trip Ember?"
Nodding in response, Ember yawned again and stretched herself, feeling oddly rejuvenated having had a much more content rest than she has had before.
As the duo arrived at the location of the Crimson Scale carriages, they were met with disgruntled gazes from all the disciples. Clearly showing their disgust at the unexpected travel guest that Elder Gundlach most likely had already informed them about, the disciples choose to ignore Noxtis and not cause any commotion and potentially suffer the wrath of the Crimson Princess.
Stepping into the first carriage, Noxtis was blown away that the inside of the carriage was much larger than it showed on the outside. Which is considerable when counting that the carriage looked pretty large on the outside already. Considering the status of all the merchant disciples as well as Elder Gundlach, Noxtis realized it was obvious that they wouldn't be crammed too close together.
Each Disciple and the Elder had their own compartments with a small but comfortable bed and an area to cultivate/study/do whatever merchants do.
"So you said there would be savage beasts on the way to the city? I didn't notice anyone that was dedicated to defending the carriage from the outside."
Laying in the center of the qi gathering array, Ember began to absorb the qi for cultivation but still answered. "I'm not sure for certain, but Uncle Gundlach said all the merchant carriages are inscribed with demonic beast wards that scare off lesser savage beasts as well as provide general defense against projectiles. Most of the time when traveling the roads there won't be any high-level demonic beasts anyway.
If anything, the thieves and raiders are the ones to be most concerned about but most know not to mess with the Crimson Scale tribe."
"Ahhh, that makes sense. I suppose the Crimson Scale Elders are for protection just as much as guidance as well. At least that's good to see that the tribe is concerned for their disciple's well-being."
"Mhmm, well I am going to cultivate. It's going to be a long and boring trip so do whatever you like but try not to go outside our room unless absolutely necessary."
Lying on the bed and getting ready to take a nap, Noxtis shrugged. "You don't have to worry about that Ember, your beauty is more than sufficient for my heart."
A small smile crept on her face as she rolled her eyes and concentrated on gathering the fire qi and blocking her body's stubborn greedy nature.