Chapter 135: Armor

Chapter 135: Armor

Arwin woke the next morning to find that only a single side of his body was warm. The rest of it was swallowed by the frosty fingers of a strong chill that seemed to have gripped the entire room. A shiver ran down his spine.

Holy shit, it’s freezing. Why is it so cold?

Lillia shifted beside him. She yawned but cut herself off halfway through it with a curse, attaching herself back to Arwin’s arm. “Godspit. It’s freezing in here.” She hesitated for a second and he felt her wince. “I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

“I think it was other way around,” Arwin said. He was still trying to debate on if he was displeased with the cold or not. On one hand, it felt like his entire left half was about one degree from freezing solid. On the other, it was keeping Lillia beside him.

A moment after the thought struck him did a grimace pass over Arwin’s lips.

My priorities are seriously wrong here. I can’t let this go on any longer. There are only days left before we deal with the Wyrms. If I’m distracted like this the whole time, I could seriously slip up and get someone injured.

I’d be stupid to do anything now, but I need to give myself a deadline so I know when it’ll be over. If I don’t, I’m going to keep kicking this rock down the road and remain distracted by it the entire time.

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Lillia was, as she had been finding herself feeling more frequently, grateful for the dark. It kept Arwin from seeing the embarrassment on her expression perfectly. If the Lillia of just a few months ago had known that she’d be using a mild chill to cling to the Hero’s arm like a lost child, she would have put herself out of her misery on the spot.

It would have been simple enough for her to release Arwin and stand up, heading over to the kitchen to start a fire and beat off the rest of the chill. She could have even asked him to summon some of his [Soul Flame] to banish the cold from the unusually chilly morning.

That would have taken her excuse away. And so, instead of taking any of the myriad paths that were open to her, she chose to remain exactly where she was.

I really need to do something about this before the Wyrms. What happens if somebody gets hurt because I’m too busy giggling in the corner to pay proper attention to the fight?

It’s not like I can tell him anything now. We’ve both got too much riding on us to worry about anything other than the upcoming fight. I’ve got to finish my preparations for it, and that means I can’t afford a distraction any more than he can.

What I need is a deadline. I’ll tell Arwin about my feelings after the Wyrms are dead and we’ve got some time to ourselves. That’ll let me focus on what I need to do now.

Lillia nodded to herself – and made absolutely no moves to release Arwin’s arm. They were still in bed, so there was no reason to go that far. If he was going to leave a perfectly good arm in her vicinity, then it was only logical that he should be prepared to sacrifice it until they started moving for the day.

“Arwin–”

***

“Lillia–”

Arwin caught himself as they both spoke at the exact same time, then cleared his throat.

“Sorry. You go.”

“No, you can go.”

Well now it’s fried, isn’t it? I don’t even know what I was going to say. The hell do I tell her? ‘I need to talk to you after all the Wyrms are dead’? That sounds like a threat! And if I say any more, it’s obvious what I’m getting at and there’s no point pushing it off at all.

“I was just going to say that we’ll handle these Wyrms and be on with life in just a few days,” Arwin said lamely. “I’m looking forward to that. What were you going to say?”

“I – uh, same thing.”

You were also planning on using the exact same lame line that I was?

“Right,” Arwin said. It wasn’t like he could say much. Even if he couldn’t tell Lillia his plans, that changed nothing. They would speak once the Wyrms were dead.

“Right,” Lillia agreed.

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Then, nearly at the exact same time, they both moved to stand. Arwin almost tripped over Lillia before he caught himself.

“Whoops. Sorry,” Arwin said. “Are you going to show me where the exit is, or am I going to have to feel for it again?”

Lillia cleared her throat. Her hand found Arwin’s wrist and she pulled him out of the room and into the kitchen, releasing his arm once they were in the light again. The chill wasn’t any weaker in the kitchen than it had been in her room.

Any lingering thoughts that Arwin had faded away as they headed out into the common room. Rodrick and Anna had already come down and were sitting in the same stool, Anna perched on Rodrick’s lap.

Ah, I’ve got it.

“Gifts for Rodrick.” Arwin said jerked his chin toward the bathroom. “They’re what I’ve been working on recently. Go try them on.”

Anna glared at Arwin as Rodrick shifted her off him and hopped to the ground. He bundled her up in the blanket and plopped her back on the chair.

“You stole my warmth,” Anna accused.

“But I got something shiny. Warmth is temporary. Fancy metal is forever. Be back in a second, hon,” Rodrick said, waggling his fingers as he grabbed both bundles and darted into the bathroom.

“I’ll get you for this,” Anna said.

“Sorry,” Arwin said with a chuckle. “You could have always followed him, you know.”

“No. I’m not leaving my sheets, and I’m not going to waddle after him. I’d trip and fall on my face.”

“What did you make–” Olive started, but she didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence.

“Holy fuck!” Rodrick exclaimed. His voice carried through the walls as if there was nothing there and he let out a disbelieving laugh. “No goddamn way.”

There were several muted thumps from the bathroom, followed by a muffled curse and more delighted laughter.

“No damn way,” Rodrick said. “No bloody way. I can’t believe it. Holy shit.”

Olive raised an eyebrow. “Now I really want to know what you gave him. Why does it sound like he’s just found out he has a child?”

“Another one!” Rodrick exclaimed, his voice raising in pitch before he froze. A second passed in silence before his muted whisper came – somehow still audible through the walls. “Wait. You’re kidding me.”

“Were those walls always that thin?” Arwin asked.

“Yeah. You can hear everything in there. Might want to make those thicker,” Reya said. “Might be weird if someone’s taking a bath and they’ve got people listening in.”

Lillia coughed into a fist. “Yeah. I’ll look into that at some point.”

“Whoa. My ass looks great in this!”

They all looked back over to the bathroom. Rodrick’s words had definitely been nothing more than a hushed whisper, but they’d somehow carried all the way through the common room.

“Arwin?” Anna asked, her eyes narrowing. “Did you make Rodrick lingerie?”

“No. He’s just weird.”

“Fair enough,” Anna said. “What did you make him?”

Before Arwin could answer, Rodrick stepped out of the bathroom. He wore the entire Ripple set. Its attributes had hidden themselves from view, but that did nothing to stop the beautiful armor from shimmering in the dim light.

“Well?” Arwin asked, trying not to laugh. “What do you think?”

“It’s okay, I guess.” Rodrick adjusted the breastplate and scratched at the side of his neck. “I’m cool about it, though. I get gifts like this from admirers all the time.”

“Do you, now?” Anna arched an eyebrow. “Turn around.”

Rodrick turned in a circle. “What do you think? Does it suit me?”

“You were right,” Anna said. “Your ass does look good in it.”

“Wait. You could hear me? How much?” Rodrick asked, a look of horror spreading over his face. “How thin is that wall?”

“Thinner than you’d hope.” Arwin clapped him on the shoulder. “Glad you like the armor, though.”