[
"..."
"..."
"Are we… not fighting again today?"
"Yes."
"..."
.
Aisha kept her sword out and in front of her.
.
"I'm not going to attack you again. Unless you think it would work a second time on you."
"Fuck off."
"Hmph. Remember this?"
.
Aisha looked down at a familiar white chalk circle. It was starting to piss her off.
.
"It's a circle."
"Yes."
"I-"
"Do you understand how the world works?"
"...What?"
"In my world… There were governing laws that supposedly determined how the universe worked. Supposed... "laws of nature." "
"Universe?"
"One of these laws was a law of motion. The last of three. It stated that for every action, there is an opposing force in the opposite direction."
"That doesn't make sense. How would anything move?"
"When I press on this floor, the reason it doesn't give way is because there is an opposing force pushing back on my finger. In a sense, nothing ever does move. Everything will eventually return to its starting position, it's beginning. All in time. All life ends with death. All creation… will eventually return to dust."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"The world works like this circle. If you travel along it's edge… You will eventually end up back at the start. Do you understand?"
"...No."
"Let me simplify this. There is a purpose to these lessons, contrary to what you believe. If you want to win against me… or anybody else, you have to have a plan. But a plan can only be formed with proper information… particularly, information on your enemy, your surroundings…. As well as yourself .
.
Do you know why wars happen? It's because of ambition. Human ambition. The way that we're built, is that nothing is ever enough. Even in this world, survival is no longer… a big issue. Conquering nature is a goal that has already been attained. But humans bore easily. So when nature has already been conquered…
.
This world… hasn't been around for long. It hasn't seen…
.
I digress. Everything that happens in this world is a direct consequence of humans. Other species, even intelligent ones, lack one very important thing. And that is ambition.
.
History always repeats itself. When the world is shaken, humans will move along this circle… all the wall back to the start. This cycle… repeats itself. Until the end of the world. And the start of the new."
"..."
.
Aisha didn't really see the point.
.
"The blood that runs through your body runs in a cycle, in an endless flow. Same with your breath.
.
If you want to pertain this to fighting, every movement needs to be fluid. Every time you reach out to swing, your arm must return to your body.
"...Ok."
]
.
Sin bent back, avoiding getting his neck sliced by a millimeter, his eyes widening. Aisha turned around, ready to attack again, but Sin hastily held his hands up.
.
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Wait!"
"...What."
"Are you trying to kill me?"
"Yes. You told me to come after you."
"I didn't mean try to kill me!"
"Then how am I supposed to attack you, if not to kill?"
.
Sin sighed, shaking his head.
"Maybe in a real fight, but I'm just trying to show you something. What if you had killed me?"
"Then I probably wouldn't have learned all that much anyways." Aisha muttered.
.
Sin cracked a wry smile, drawing his sword out of his sheath.
"Swordplay for practical uses, huh. I like it. Why don't you come at me this time, when I'm ready? Strike to kill!"
.
Aisha held out her sword in front of her, evening her breath. Charging at him wouldn't work a second time, so she would approach slowly and take her time. He couldn't attack from a distance. There was no pressure. She started to circle Sin, watching as he shifted his stance slightly to face her, holding his sword loosely in his hand.
.
Aisha sighed. Circling him like this wasn't going to accomplish anything. She approached slowly, stepping into slashing range and swiped sideways with her sword lazily. When Sin easily backstepped the swing, she swung again, and he intercepted the blade with his sword and twisted his hand, wrenching Aisha's arm and forcing her to drop her sword.
.
He rubbed his forearm.
"You've got a really powerful swing, you know that?"
"Hrrnnn... Is the demonstration over? Can we get to learning?" Aisha grumbled, picking up her sword.
"Try one more time."
.
Aisha threw her sword past Sin, surprising him as he turned to watch the blade soar past his head.
He had the wind knocked out of him as a powerful body slammed into him, his sword clattering to the ground. He felt his stomach. There were definitely a few bruises.
.
"Ok, fine. We can get into swordplay." He coughed out.
.
.
.
"When you hold your sword, think of it not as a tool, but as an extension of your body, like another limb." Sin explained, thrusting his sword in demonstration.
"What's that supposed to mean? How am I supposed to hold a limb?"
"Errr… It's hard to explain. Just imagine… That the sword is part of you. Fused to you."
"Ok. Now what?"
"..."
.
Sin rubbed the bridge of his nose in light frustration.
"Maybe this isn't the right way to explain it to you."
"I just have no idea how what you're saying is supposed to translate into action."
"Hm…. ok. Hold out your sword."
.
Aisha thrust out her hand, blade pointing straight up,
.
"Alright, look. See, you're gripping it too tight. Like you're afraid you're going to drop it. But holding it that tight is going to make your movements stiff and have less power."
"Mhm."
"Also, when you swing, you should follow through with your swing. If you try to swing counter to your last, you are moving against your own movement."
"Ok."
"Think of swordplay... kind of like your breath. You breathe out, right? That the energy exiting your body, and becoming… force. And then you breathe in, drawing the energy into yourself. But you can't breathe out, without first breathing in. You get it? It's like a cycle."
"Hm."
"I think it would be better if I taught you a form. Here. Follow my lead…"
.
.
"You need to reach over your head more."
"I'm trying."
"Really?" Sin asked, incredulously.
"Yes."
.
Sin walked over to Aisha, who was trying to hold her sword above her head. He pushed on her arm a bit, but it wouldn't budge further, and Aisha grunted in exertion.
.
"Your muscles are so tight! What the hell? How do you move?"
"I manage."
"You need to get a massage, or something. Or do more stretches. Here, how about this. Just try to raise your hands above your hands every day like this."
.
Sin looked outside a window, noting the deep color of the sunset.
.
"Actually, why don't we stop here. I'll ask Mihyang to draw a bath for you girls. Maybe it'll help you relax."
"...For all of us?"
"Yeah! We have a really big bath, for multiple people. The idea came from a Sakura empire engineer. Before… all of this. You know."
"What do you mean, "All of this?" "
"You know. Before the war!"
"Oh."
"You... don't look like you care all that much."
"As far as I'm concerned, it just means that I get more contracts."
.
Sin gave Aisha a strange look as he went to go find his maid, sheathing his sword and gently putting it back on a rack.
.
"Listen, the technique that I taught you is just a brute force form, meant to shear through a mage's shield. It's not very elegant, and I wouldn't use it, but I think you could make some use out of it."
"I have my doubts. During sparring… I could have killed you, you know. Sword master." She said, sarcastically.
"I've never claimed to be a swordmaster. I'm not nearly arrogant enough to think that. I think anybody claiming to be a master is too presumptuous. I think there's always more to learn, even from someone weaker than you."
"..."
.
.
.
Vigil laid her head back and sighed in relief and contentment, soaking into the warm heat of the bath. If there was one thing that she missed at home, other than her father, it was the baths…
.
She gave a look towards the girl to her left, submerged nose-deep into the water and blowing bubbles in the steamy bath. Aisha gave her a cute look, sinking deeper into the water. It made Vigil want to reach over and pet her...
.
"Do either of you need help washing yourselves?" Came a familiar monotone voice from outside the bath. Vigil turned her head to address it.
"Er, no. We're already in."
.
Mihyang entered the bath, showing off her shapely, thin body, lightly muscled from all her housework.
"Good. I wasn't planning on helping."
.
Vigil rolled her eyes as the bratty maid sat down in front of a shower head and began to wash herself.
.
"So how was training with my dad?" She asked Aisha.
"Hmph. Waste of time."
"Waste of time? Are you calling father a bad teacher?" Vigil asked incredulously, offended.
"No. He's the best teacher I've had."
"Oh. Then why..?"
"Swordplay isn't going to be helpful. At all. Maybe the stretches will help. A little."
"What do you mean? I think swordplay is very useful."
"When am I ever going to use it? Against you?"
"Er… no. What if you have to fight another guy with a sword?"
"I would just use my crossbow and keep a distance."
"What if you don't have any space?"
"I would probably just die, since I don't have a mana shield."
"What if uh… he doesn't have a mana shield?"
"This is starting to get really stupid." Aisha huffed.
"Well, there's at least one situation where it would be useful."
.
Aisha sighed and sank into the bath, returning to her bubble blowing. Vigil reached out a hand and put it on her back.
.
"Hey, it's something."
"It's not even close to enough."
"You should lighten up." Vigil said, irritated. "Why are you so moody all the time? I can't do anything about your situation. There's no need to be so… emo. "
"..."
.
Vigil sighed, but nonetheless she wrapped her arm around the small girl when she reached out for a hug. She felt a little bad for telling off the girl, but seriously, she was getting a little tired of her cryptic, self-loathing episodes.
.
.
.
"Good night, Mihyang." Vigil called out, as the maid turned off the light in her room.
"Sure."
.
Vigil closed her eyes, pulling her covers over herself and reeling into the soft bed. Even though it was great, adventuring with Celeste and her friends, and toughing it out in the wild, she sometimes missed not sleeping on the ground.
.
She let out a yelp of surprise as she felt the bed shift, and a warm body climbed into the bed with her.
.
"What are you doing??" She whispered aggressively.
"Going to bed." Aisha replied.
"You have your own room!"
"But I want cuddles." Aisha whined. "I can't sleep without them."
.
Vigil groaned internally.
"Ok, fine."
"Yay!"
.
Aisha happily snuggled into Vigil's warm body, locking her arms around her chest and burying her face. body was firm, yet squishy and soft in some places, like her chest and tummy. So that's where she rested her head, snuggling into the squishy body part and rubbing her face against it affectionately.
.
Vigil let out a soft laugh. "That tickles! Stop moving around so much!"
"Mmm!"
.
Vigil laughed again and was about to pull Aisha up to squeeze her cheeks, or tickle her back, but she stopped herself. Aisha frowned at the lack of headpats.
.
"Hey. Play with me!" She demanded.
"I-I-I don't think you know what that means. And I'm not going to! You're already sleeping in my bed!"
"So?"
"You've got a girlfriend!"
"So?"
Vigil huffed in frustration.
"What do you mean, "so???" I'm not… comfortable doing that much! You're one step away from cheating on Celeste!"
"What's cheating?"
"What?"
Aisha made an adorable little sound of confusion. "Hm?"
.
Vigil stammered over her words, shocked at Aisha's lack of knowledge about basic relationships.
.
"You- I- ... *Sigh*"
.
Aisha just gave her that damned adorable, confused look, tilting her head slightly.
.
"Listen." Vigil said. "I don't know how Fey do it, but humes usually… stick to one partner. And when you do intimate things with another person… you're just not supposed to do it!"
"But… I want to cuddle with you." Aisha whined.
"Why? Is Celeste not enough?"
"Celeste isn't here right now."
"You really need to hug someone that bad? You can't go one day?"
.
Aisha poked her head out from under the covers, nodding her head. God… the urge to just pet and fawn over her was incredibly difficult to suppress. But Vigil was disciplined.
.
"You can hug me, but that's it! I'm not going to… pet you o-or kiss you or anything like that. Ask Celeste for that!" She said, firmly.
.
Aisha whined and pouted, but Vigil held firm, turning away and closing her eyes. Aisha finally gave up, and laid her head on Vigil's tummy, pulling the covers over her head. She couldn't complain. Vigil was really warm, much warmer than Celeste...
.
A small heat blossomed in her chest as Vigil laid her arms over her back, pulling her just the slightest bit closer. It made her feel nice…
.
.
.
[
"Hauuuughhhh… Ahiiii! Mistweesss..."
.
Aisha felt like melting at the gentle, soft caresses that Mistress gave her on her face, rubbing her smooth, warm hands all over her cheeks and ears, playing with the fluffy little appendages.
.
She giggled at the melty little expression on Aisha's face, filled with absolute adoration and affection for her beloved mistress.
.
"Aww… I love you... Aisha."
"I- bwuve you twooo miswesssss…"
.
Aisha panted heavily, gasping for breath, as her mouth unconsciously opened, and a bit of drool began to escape her mouth. Mistress just giggled and wiped it up with her finger, popping the digit into her mouth and sucking like a vacuum. It made Aisha heat up, desperately grinding herself on Mistress's perfect body.
.
"You're leaking a bit." She teased.
"Bwuhh… I'm sowwy mistweesss…."
"We're going to have to plug up that little hole, so our sheets don't get dirty!" She teased in a sing-songy voice.
"Ohkey mistweesss.." Aisha replied, her face turning bright red and flushing.
"Oh… But I don't have anything to plug you up with right now. I could use a gag… But I don't think that would stop you from leaking... Naughty little girl. Maybe… I should use… my mouth?"
"Yesh! Yes! Pweasee! Give me kisses! I want it I want it I want it!"
"What a sweet little girl." She giggled, taking Aisha's face in both of her hands, caressing her lovingly.
.
Aisha opened her mouth hungrily, as her mistress leaned closer…
Their lips met in a desperate, sloppy kiss, and Aisha felt all of her remaining muscles that weren't jelly already, go limp and sink into ecstasy.
]
.
"Hey! You're drooling all over me!"
"Huh?"
.
Aisha was woken up by a light rocking, as she blearily looked around in her half-asleep state, unintentionally rubbing more drool all over Vigil's stomach.
.
"H-hey. Get up!"
.
Aisha yawned and removed herself from Vigil's warm body reluctantly, allowing her to wipe at her stomach with a tissue.
.
"Sorry."
"It's ok. It's not your fault, anyway."
.
Aisha yawned, trying to recall what she had dreamt of that night. For some reason, she just felt… giddy. And light. An amazing heat blossomed in her chest, that she cradled desperately. What was that dream? She usually didn't have them...
.
"Hey, also… you um… had a good dream?"
.
.
.
"Are you ok, dear? Do you have a fever?" Sin asked, stabbing at his pancake.
"Er… No. I mean. Yes. I'm ok. I don't have a fever."
"Something good happen last night?"
"No!!"
.
Vigil shifted uncomfortably in her seat, quickly banishing thoughts of… what happened that morning. She gave a quick glance to her left, where Mihyang gave her a blank stare, as always, and Aisha was just busy eating. It wasn't even a big deal to her!
.
She shook her head gently. She had other things to worry about. Perhaps the girl was just naturally this affectionate with everyone... That was probably it.
.
.
.
After a tearful goodbye from her father, and a not so tearful, barely visible wave from Mihyang, Vigil and Aisha were back on their way back into the outer rungs of the city, where Vigil's apartment and the guild were. At first Vigil had thought that the walk would be awkward… but if she just let Aisha's playful little touches slide, there was no real reason for her to make a big deal out of them.
.
"Aisha!" Came an excited voice from beside them.
.
Celeste wrapped Aisha in a big hug, burying her face in Aisha's soft and fluffy head, cuddling her affectionately. Aisha mewled happily, hugging Celeste back and squishing her head into Celeste's vast cleavage, rubbing her back. Celeste pulled away from the hug to pepper Aisha's face with little kisses. Said girl mewled, vainly trying to avoid the barrage of kisses, but soon her mouth, cheeks and forehead were covered in red kiss marks.
.
"Hey, you two've only been away from each other for a single day!" Vigil laughed.
"I know, but… I love my little darling so much!" Celeste responded.
.
Vigil smiled, relaxing. They were still that disgustingly cute, inseparable couple…
.
(I guess she really just does like cuddling. I feel so stupid.) Vigil thought, signing and shaking her head.
.
"Darling!.. I missed you so much!" Celeste squealed. "Let's go home… and um... "
.
Celeste shifted from side to side, blushing intensely and looking around shiftily.
.
"Ah… ok." Aisha whispered.
.
(What a couple of horny girls, geez.)
.
.
.
Aisha walked happily, her hand intertwined with Celeste's as they made their way back to the apartment. She didn't know why, but she just felt… giddy. Like she had a new purpose.
.
...She kind of wanted to do a contract. Oh well. It could wait. For now… she just wanted to feel warm, and soft, and cuddle her squishy girlfriend.
.
"Can you sing for me, Celeste?"
"Huh?"
"Like when we first met. Can you sing for me again? I want to listen."
"Aisha…" Celeste murmured, blushing. "That song is a spell meant to enchant monsters."
"Enchant me! It was good!"
.
Celeste didn't know what had gotten into her, but nonetheless she pulled Aisha close, squishing her cheek into the side of her breast. She opened her mouth and began to sing, a beautiful, clear sound that filled Aisha with heat, and made her head feel light. She closed her eyes and snuggled into Celeste's side, rubbing her head into her dress and enjoying the sweet sound, and the giddy fluffiness she felt in her chest.
.
Her ears twitched in displeasure as she heard Celeste's voice waver, and the fluffy feeling leave her. She looked up at Celeste, who looked like she was having trouble breathing and staying upright. Aisha's eyes widened in concern.
.
"Celeste!? Are you ok?"
"D-don't worry about me. It's just the pressure… someone… really powerful."
.
Aisha looked around to see that the entire street around them were exhibiting the same symptoms, some even throwing up in the middle of a street. She watched as a man fell to his knees and hands, as if crushed by a large weight on his back. Aisha didn't feel anything. Who was doing this..?
.
"I have returned."
.
The voice that came out was incredibly loud and clear, with an otherworldly, ethereal twinge to it that grated on Aisha's ears. She looked at the source of a voice, to see a blinding, gold light, emitting from a figure with white flowing robes and a halo. He looked around at the street, at the kneeling and prostrating humes. Aisha crouched down and put her hand on Celeste's back.
.
"Who's that?" She asked Celeste.
"That's Ifrit! One of the gods!" She gasped out.
"...I don't know who that is."
.
Suddenly, the heavenly glow faded to just a dim light, and suddenly the people in the street could move again. Aisha got a better look at the supposed "god," levitating through the streets. He was a brown haired man with long hair and a beard, flowing unnaturally, as if he was moving through water. When the man's eyes locked onto Aisha's, she could only see pure gold replacing his sclera and irises.
.
"...He just looks like an ordinary guy in his bedsheets." Aisha whispered.
"H-hey! You can't say that!" Celeste whispered back, getting back up.
.
Even though the pressure had lifted from the people in the streets, Aisha saw that people were still on their hands and knees, lowering their heads in reverence to this figure.
.
"Raise your heads, please, my-hm?"
.
He turned to Aisha, notably not bowing her head, and giving him a cold look. Celeste tugged on Aisha's pant leg desperately, but she was unable to get Aisha to kneel, as the man made his way over to them.
.
"Who might you be, my child? You must be a powerful mage. I can't feel anything from you." He asked, that ethereal twinge still there, but muted.
"I'm not your child, and I have no obligation to tell you anything."
The man chuckled good-naturedly. "All humes are children in the eyes of the gods."
"Whatever."
"I take it that you're not a believer in the faith? It's quite rare that I see one."
"I'm not. I don't believe in false gods."
"Oh? Would you like a miracle?"
"I have no interest in that. It's a miracle that you're able to walk the streets, if you run around making people sick around you."
He laughed again. "I'm very sorry, my child. It's not my intention to harm anybody. My job is to protect all under the sun."
"Tch. Some god."
"It's difficult to remember, sometimes, in the presence of mortals, to control my power."
"I thought that you were supposed to be a perfect being. You can't control yourself? You're full of shit."
.
Aisha could see the man's smile slightly waver into a pursed, tight smile, as his amusement turned into a slight irritation. She could vaguely see the people around them begin to gasp in horror, at the execution that may happen before their eyes.
.
"Kill me. Lose your temper, in front of all these people." Aisha muttered.
"Why would I kill you? I am a kind god."
"Yeah, right."
.
The man just laughed, slapping Aisha on the back and sending her flying to the ground. He walked away, leaving her to cough out dust and brush off dirt from her arms and chest.
.
"How petty."
"Petty!? You're lucky he didn't kill you!" Celeste scolded.
"Would a kind god do that?"
.
Aisha's voice was dripping with sarcasm and contempt. Celeste laid her hand on Aisha's shoulder.
.
"He is kind, you know. He heals the sick. He protects the city from bombardments from armies."
"He is only kind because he's satisfied looking at people from above. He's kind because he's looking down at you, and he finds it amusing to trample on you."
.
Celeste furrowed her brows. "That doesn't sound right. He hasn't done anything to do that."
"Don't you think that he would have muted his power once he saw that people were literally being crushed?"
"He didn't know!"
.
Aisha shook her head in disbelief. She seriously didn't… whatever. Aisha helped Celeste up, watching as Ifrit floated over to a poor looking man, placing his hand on his shoulder. He gave the man a few golden coins, saying a few words of good fortune and faith.
.
(People seem like they don't see this guy often. Where does he live, or go?) Aisha wondered.
.
Aisha gripped Celeste's hand in her's, banishing the thought from her mind. She didn't care nearly enough.
.
"You're interesting. Perhaps this will give you a bit more faith."
.
Aisha turned to her right, where the man appeared in a flash of bright light, holding out a black stone in his hand. When Aisha made no attempt to take it, he chuckled and the rock disappeared, and Aisha's pockets felt heavier.
.
"What are you doing." She asked, flatly.
"She means to say, thank you for your generosity!" Celeste stammered quickly. "I'm-sorry, she-"
"No need to be sorry, my child." Ifrit said. "Consider it a gift. I think you will need it."
"I don't know what this is."
"It's a very rare gem. I want you to have it."
"Yeah right."
.
Ifrit laughed. To Aisha, it was an annoying, grating sound. "It's not cursed. I have taken a great interest in you, with your… unique condition."
.
Aisha pulled her hood further over her head, dragging Celeste away with her. Celeste waited until they were out of earshot of the street.
.
"See! He is nice! He gave you a gift! He usually only gives believers gifts!"
"I thought everyone here was a believer."
"Well… you're not… totally wrong."
.
Aisha just rolled her eyes, pulling out the little rock and tossing it on the ground, not even looking at the stone. Celeste's eyes were drawn to the motion, her eyes locking onto the dull shine of the black stone.
.
She gasped, pulling on Aisha's arm frantically.
.
"Aisha! That's an onyx! Darling! Darling!"
"Er…. what?"
"It's a really rare jewel! Oh my god!"
"Oh. Uh… you can have it."
"A god gave this to you! I can't take it! You have to have it!"
.
Aisha gave the rock a dirty look as Celeste pressed it into her palms.
.
She sighed. "Whatever."
.
.
.
Aisha squealed excitedly at the sight of Celeste's fluffy bed, filled with soft pillows and silky blankets. She threw the rock on the ground, jumping into the mattress and sinking in, bouncing on the bed.
.
Celeste looked at the very, very precious gemstone that Aisha had thrown on the ground, frowning slightly.
.
"You really don't want this? Didn't you say you wanted to be stronger?" She asked softly, concerned.
"No. It's not like I can use a magic gem anyways. You should take it."
"You should definitely use it! People don't even know what this gem does! You should try things out! This could be exactly what you need!"
.
Aisha groaned, rolling around on the bed side to side and tangling herself up in the blankets, making a blanket caterpillar. Celeste just smiled, sitting down and rolling her out, staring Aisha in the eyes.
.
"Fine. I'll see what I can do." She said, begrudgingly
"It's not for me! It's for you! You don't have to take it if you don't want to. I'm just saying that it could help! You're always complaining about how you aren't strong enough!"
"Alright, alright…" She relented, puffing out her cheeks and pouting slightly.
.
Aisha kicked her boots off, carefully setting her scarf aside and pulling the ribbon out of her hair, letting it flow long and loose. She held both of her hands out above her expectantly, inviting Celeste to come and pounce on her.
.
Celeste smirked and took the invitation, unrobing herself and jumping on top of the bed, pressing her larger body against Aisha's smaller, firmer frame. She rubbed her nose affectionately against Aisha's, purring.
.
"I've been waiting for this for a while…"