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Event countdown: 62 d : 13 h : 01 m : 51 s : 792 ms
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Farron's wardrobe had expanded significantly since their last stop in town, but he was wearing the sheet again today. This was the second day in a row he wore it, and it was quickly becoming his favorite shirt. It functioned just like a robe, and as long as he wore pants underneath, it covered everything.
He was sitting on the second floor, his feet dangling off the edge and into the first floor as the sun set. From behind him came a sweet voice, "Isn't that the thing I made out of a sheet? I only made it in, like, an hour, so it can't be that comfortable."
"Making something like this in so little time is simply a testament to your skills as a seamstress. You're excellent at it."
She sat next to him to watch the sun and protested, "I am not. I'm ok, but I'm not that good."
"No, you really are great at it. You made just about everything I wear."
"That doesn't mean I'm good."
"If you weren't good, I wouldn't wear it."
She idly kicked her legs for a moment before asking, "Am I really?"
"You are, and you should know that. You wear what you make, too, don't you?"
"I guess," she muttered before returning to kicking her legs idly. Then, she shifted a little and got closer before nudging him with her shoulder. Not knowing what it meant, he nudged her back.
Then, a nervous but mischievous smile sneaked across her lips. She got even closer, wrapped her arm around his waist, and nestled against him. Stunned, his reaction was delayed for several moments before he wrapped his arm around her waist in return.
They remained in their bliss even after the gold had disappeared from the sky and their home was draped in darkness and shadow. But, even without the massive golden entity tinting the tops of the sea of trees in a myriad of entrancing hues, he could feel the home's beauty beside him.
And it was beautiful indeed.
Even in the darkness, it was true paradise.
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Event countdown: 56 d : 07 h : 05 m : 41 s : 876 ms
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Elise stopped in the same town, Chatwell, for supplies each month, and, like clockwork, she ventured back there with Farron this month as well. When they stepped through the door and out of the way of Eira's pups, who were clearly playing a game that involved some kind of wrestling, Eira emphatically welcomed them again.
"Elise! Good to see you!" Eits hugged her. "And Farron's back again! Glad you haven't dropped him yet, eh?"
Elise smiled wide. "Eira, come on… Actually, yeah, I am kinda glad." Farron, embarrassed, pretended to be distracted.
"Ooh, I see you, Elise!" She whispered to her, "Good job!" and winked before asking at regular volume, "Do you two still need different rooms?"
This brought Farron's attention back to the conversation, though it never actually left it, and he quickly interjected, "N-no. One will do, th-thank you." He rarely stuttered, but he did when answering this question. Eira looked back to Elise to make sure, and when she agreed, Eira's smile nearly broke off of her face.
After getting situated, they closed the door to the room and settled into a large bed. Though Farron took off his shirt, they were both fully clothed otherwise, which was the result of unstated norms that he picked up. Farron looked to her for signals, but in the end, by tacit understanding, nothing came off.
As she wrapped her arms around him and he wrapped his around her, she realized something and took his hand before saying, "Feel my hand."
"Your hand?"
"Do you notice anything about it?"
"… It's a little warm."
She giggled, "No, not that, idiot. Guess again."
"...I don't know. I give up. It feels different, but I don't know how."
"It's dry, Farron. My hands are never dry; they're always sweaty because of worry and anxiety and everything else… But they're dry when you hold me. I know I'm safe here. So, do it more… Please?"
Sarcastically, he joked, "Hah! You fool, you've played right into my hands. You just gave me an excuse to do what I was going to do anyway."
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Event countdown: 27 d : 06 h : 29 m : 13 s : 045 ms
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A month later, the couple made their regular visit to Chatwell. Eira received them like normal, and they slept in the same bed again. Eira, however, the nosy wolf she was, sat behind the corner, trying to hear something. However, she went to bed disappointed, and when her husband, Rex, who was trying to sleep when she came to bed, asked where she was, she answered honestly.
Her unfortunate habit had made an appearance again. "You know, you really need to do something about that. You don't need to be in everybody's business."
"I know, but I want to know what's happening with her. It's out of concern for her, honestly."
"Is it really? Or do you just want to pry?" Eira rolled her eyes, though she knew he was right. "She is a good girl, though. Look out for her if you can, but please don't pry."
"That's what I'm doing!" Eira tried to protest.
"No, it isn't. You're snooping. If you want to do something for her, tell me what you think of the boy with her. Do you like him?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I think she found a good one. No clue where he came from, but I'm glad she has him. He's polite, respectful, honestly a genius, strong enough to take care of her, and a perfect pair for her. He tried to explain a spell he used once, but I couldn't understand a word he said. Honestly, I could be convinced he's coming up with these spells himself. Truth be told, he is a bit quiet, but he's funny when he does talk."
"Good. It's about time she found someone."
"I thought the same thing."
The following day, most of the family was at a late-morning meal provided by Eira and Rex. The pups had gone out to play, so it was just Rex, Eira, Farron, Elise, and a few of the older children. Amid the idle chatter, Farron casually noted, "Your house is normally full during meals. Kind of interesting to see it without so many people."
Eira agreed, "Getting the other ones out of the house is nice. I love them, but feeding them is always a mess. I know you two don't have any kids, so you might not be able to relate, but are you expecting any any time soon?" Farron nearly choked on his steak and had to look away.
Rex warned her, "Eira, come on, we talked about this last night."
Elise answered while Farron was busy trying to swallow and said, "No, Eira, we're not. We only met each other about two months ago." When she saw he had mostly recovered, she asked him, "How long has it been since we met, Farron?"
As he was getting the last of it down, Farron asked Life to open the screen and saw the countdown. "Umm. It's been almost 63 days, so yeah, about two months."
Rex reiterated, "Don't pry, Eira. Their business is their business."
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Event countdown: 11 d : 11 h : 51 m : 13 s : 562 ms
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Over time, as their love deepened and matured, Farron walked further on the path of healing. He would never become without flaw, but the broken and calloused man he was was rounding and mending. He began to address his flaws and even develop virtues.
He was becoming strong but not overbearing, gentle but not weak, wise but not proud, giving but not a pushover, restrained but not secluded, and, above all, content. He was not perfect in any of these things. To be perfect would take lifetimes, but he was becoming better. Over time, he also came to recognize the man he was in the fire. The screams haunted him and always would, but seeing the harm caused by the person he was allowed him to better understand what he should be.
In the fire, he was depressed; he was a narcissist, and he was selfish. He was a fool. He was wrong and now regretted what he did, but he couldn't change what happened regardless of how much he wished he could. The heaven his death allowed him to uncover did not excuse what he did, and it never would, but he could try to make as much of this new life as he could as homage to those he killed with his apathy.
However, he was anxious. The first trials were supposed to be easy, but with this difficulty, who knew what would come? He was preparing for it, but he could never tell Elise the truth, the truth that he lied to her about the difficulty. He loved her. He couldn't bear to tell her that he betrayed her. It might help him escape the contest if she could help him prepare, but he couldn't tell her why she needed to prepare.
He'd find a way out on his own. He would. He had to. There was no other choice. He would find a way out. He would deal with it alone. He had to. He would. He had to. He had to. He had no choice. He had to find a way out when the event arrived. It was tormenting him, but he would never let her know he lied.
He couldn't participate in the contest, either. However, although he wouldn't participate in the contest before because he was lazy, he wouldn't do it now because he knew it would be poison to the life he had. The contest was for the greats and those who would become great. If he were great and surrounded by the powerful, what would happen to Elise? He couldn't stay here and participate. So, he had to fail the event. And he had to do it alone. It was his only option.