Home is Where the Respawn Point Is

"I still can't believe that after all that, you're still not tired. how does that even work!?"

Fiora threw up her hands incredulously as we hiked back to her place through the soggy woodlands.

"I come from a long line of manual labourers."

Which wasn't even a lie, in my old life back in Japan, my father's father's father's father, which makes him... technically ancient history. 

He was also apparently the founder of my dad's repair shop.

They worked hunched over a bench, and I hunched over my PC monitor and gamed all night.

Sometimes I wish I took him up on his offer to join him.

"Hey! Takumi! You spacing out on me over there or what?" Fiora thwacked me on the head.

for someone her size (about up to my shoulder) she's got a surprisingly strong punch.

I shook myself out of my funk and smiled apologetically at Fiora.

"Right sorry, just thinking about back home."

"Sounds like you miss it... Are you just visiting or did you flee?"

"I guess fled, if you can even call it that, it just kinda happened without me wanting it to."

Again, technically true, I did wind up here without me wanting any of this, but somehow with this elf girl here, everything seemed alright.

Fiora stopped abruptly and glared into the distance.

"Homebound but the path is blocked."

"What's blocking the path?"

"Other people... That way is a guild hot spot and I'd rather not have to explain you to the other guild members, not yet at least." She irked.

"You afraid they might think we're a couple or something?" I asked slyly.

She blushed furiously. "No!"

"Well they will, sooner or later. They probably already do." I smirked and nudged her lightly in the arm.

"You got some nerve teasing your saviour from a Wherep's jaws. Anyway, I know a shortcut to my place."

She pointed at a lightly beaten path whose only bootprints were probably hers and hers only.

It took us a while and a half to get there. 

As soon as we arrived at her cabin, which was as massive as a mansion, my jaw dropped.

There were towers, columns, and balconies lining the entire area.

It was beautiful but it also made the entire thing look dark and looming.

"This is amazing! Is this place really yours?" I exclaimed.

Fiora chuckled. "I'm glad you think so, and yes it is, though it's had work done to it, lots of remodeling all done by some builders paid out in full from high level quest completion rewards." Her gaze was warm and happy, almost proud.

"Fancy stuff." 

Didn't know what else to say.

"Right."

We hit a lull in the conversation until I remembered the stuff I was carrying in my inventory.

"Is there a spot for the meat and pelts that I've been hauling?" I said, breaking eye contact.

Fiora raised an eyebrow.

"Oh right, the meat! I'll tell you what, unload it all here and we'll clean it up and roast it here? A new friend and a new haul calls for a celebration."

I didn't really feel like we did a whole lot, but I wasn't about to spoil the fun either, it also looks like I'm the only person she's met that hasn't treated her like a tool or been downright nasty to her.

Why'd she go out of her way to avoid people, could she be on bad terms with her guild?

In Fate of War: 1407, guilds get ranked on a scale from ‘legendary’ to ‘please disband already.’ Judging by Fiora’s detour, she’s somewhere closer to the second.

Not sure if they go by the same ranking system. Doubt it.

It's more likely that she's just slightly less socially awkward as me.

"Takumi, you're doing that thing again, open your inventory already would ya!?"

She thwacked me again.

Didn't hurt as much this time.

I could get used to this.

~ a temporal jump ~

After unpacking our loot and prepped a feast and a half, we ate homemade campfire roasted Wherep-on-a-stick until a raincloud marked us as easy targets.

We then spent the rest of evening sitting indoors talking.

I learned that Fiora had become well known as a great archer since she was little.

I told her about the time I ended up falling into a creek and getting pneumonia for two days.

She laughed so hard she snorted.

It was adorable.

The rain lashed against the cabin windows as Fiora leaned forward, her red eyes gleaming in the firelight. “Hey Takumi, besides having inventory capacity that could rival a godly hoard, what else can you do?"

Huh—she's right, that's about the only thing I got going for me right now.

This world doesn't have game consoles and PCs so I'm not counting that.

"I'm a one trick pony Fiora!" I saluted earnestly.

"Gosh, I really did bring home a talking crate, what are the chances?" She playfully nudged me.

"A hundred percent."

"Self awareness is something my party lacks." Fiora said, tossing more scrap wood in the fireplace.

"Party?"

"Yeah, not in like a festive way, I mean a—"

"I'm familiar, but then where are they? Don't parties travel in groups?"

"I'm... The weakest link... They went on the trek without me." She frowned.

"Nuh uh, I'm not buying it especially since you basically tore through that Wherep thing like it was nobody's business."

"True, and while I appreciate the consolation attempt, Whereps are the puppies of the woodland..."

"Lies. That thing was massive."

"And it only gets bigger from there."

My eyes widened.

"Deadass?"

"Yeah you're bound to have one if you're not careful."

"No I meant, deadass as in, you're serious?"

"Your hometown's got some weird idioms, Takumi."

"Anyway, that's crazy, like, how big are we talking?"

"There's a passive creature that stands as tall as the trees, we use them to get up into high places if we can't dash-jump or if it's tricky to climb... and of course the bigger and stronger the creatures, the better."

For some reason I pictured a giraffe/brachiosaurus hybrid. it freaked me out and I shuddered.

"But that's for another time, It' getting late, time for some shut-eye, whaddaya say Takumi?"

"Sounds right to me."

We snuffed out the fireplace, Fiora locked up the cabin and she assigned her guest room to me.

Sleeping quarters.

I can't believe my luck.

Who am I kidding, the same luck that sent a wasp my way is now giving me bedding in a guest room of an elf girl's homestead.

My luck is spotty at best. Let's hope it stays that way going forward.