When Alicia woke the next morning, sunlight dancing through her cherry blossoms, the first thing she noticed was the Vampire peacefully leaning against her trunk. Kat normally slept on the floor of Alicia's bedroom, nestled deep in the nest of blankets they'd cobbled together all those nights ago. After allowing herself a few minutes of not-quite-cuddling with her girlfriend, Alicia stepped out of her Heart Tree for just long enough to move Kat to the floor.
Picking Kat up proved to be much easier than Alicia had anticipated, which caused her to wonder just how much her recent growth spurt was affecting her body. However, the sleepy, grumbling Vampire in her arms quickly pulled her thoughts back to Earth. She tucked Kat in, double checking that the bedroom was properly dark, then merged with her Heart Tree again to start her day.
The position of the sun betrayed the fact that Alicia had stolen far more than a few minutes in favor of morning cuddles. She'd likely spent at least two hours simply enjoying Kat's company, and while she had no regrets about this, it meant she had to rush to take care of her morning chores.
On top of watering the plants, she needed to work through a stretching routine and practice combat forms with Roxy and Tab. She also wanted to spend as much time with Elias as possible, as she knew the Mermaid wouldn't be a neighbor for long. As she watched Elias prepare himself lunch, the two discussed a plethora of options as to how they might continue seeing each other once the Key Dungeon had been finished.
By the time Roxy had joined the conversation, however, the two had begun hatching an elaborate scheme to trick the City government into building a series of canals, based entirely on the premise that Venice was a bustling hub of activity for aquatic races, and it would boost their tourism industry.
Needless to say, none of their ideas were very helpful.
Still, Roxy's presence inspired Alicia to get up, stretch her legs, and finally get to practicing. She spent the next hour on a series of simple exercises, all put together by Tab for the express purpose of helping Alicia adjust to her slightly larger body. Alicia had initially protested the need to re-acclimate--after all, the change had felt so natural she hadn't even noticed it--but the exercises quickly proved her wrong.
Simple maneuvers that she'd previously mastered suddenly felt foreign. Her muscle memory now worked against her, and she found it much more difficult to dodge incoming attacks. She was also surprised to learn that her extra mass wasn't entirely a bad thing; Tab and Roxy both confirmed that her strikes seemed to be hitting harder.
By the time training had finished, all three combatants had a small collection of light bruises. Not enough to prevent them from entering the Dungeon again, but certainly enough to feel sore. As a way to wind down, Alicia took another lap around her neighborhood to water her plants again. Happily, Roxy decided to join her, which Alicia realized was starting to become a habit.
Roxy even had a small watering can of her own, one made of thick bark that Alicia had grown, and now helped with the watering. While Alicia walked patiently from plant to plant, quietly measuring the steps to try and adjust to her new size, Roxy bounced around behind her, helping with many of the smaller flowers.
"So, what's it like?" Roxy asked. "I mean getting taller. Humans don't get to grow unless we have certain classes, and since I can't gain any Charisma, I don't even get to change this tiny chest of mine."
"Um, it's hard to say. I mean, you were there when Kat pointed it out; I didn't even know it had been happening. It's definitely weird to have to relearn all this combat stuff. When I duck, I don't go as low as I'm used to, and my longer stride makes fine movements a bit confusing. Still, it's not like bigger is better, right? I mean, you're a Rogue, I imagine you'd benefit more from being smaller!"
Roxy paused for a moment, her fingers tapping her chin as she thought. "Yeah, I guess. I won't lie, sometimes I get a little bummed that I didn't get a new Race in the Change, but... I also know how rough it was for people. If nothing else, staying Human probably helped me stay alive."
"Just make sure you don't fall for any scam artists claiming they can give you a new Race," Alicia warned. "It's never true. ORC actually sees dozens of cases each month of people getting swindled, hoping to turn into Angels or Catfolk or whatever. For whatever reason, no matter how powerful the System appears to be, it's got a few ironclad rules that no one can break."
"I know, I know. I'm not that bummed about it, honestly. I mean, everyone wonders from time to time, right?" Roxy smiled wide before completely shifting gears. "Oh, did I tell you I went to see Alouette with Kat the other night?"
"Kat mentioned it, but we've been so busy with delving stuff I didn't get many details. How was it? Isn't she great!" Alicia eagerly asked.
"Oh, incredible. I can't believe how skilled she is! Plus, since it's a bit of a walk, Kat even told me how you two met. It was so romantic! I had to stop myself from crying, and I only got the quick version!" Roxy had inched closer and was practically hanging off Alicia's arm.
Alicia caught herself blushing. "I mean, I guess... we just got lucky, that's all. Honestly, I'm more surprised at what our chance meeting inspired. I've got all these new friends now, I've Leveled Up a whole bunch, I even discovered I really like delving. It's crazy to think that all of this only happened because Kat missed her stop."
"It's so much more than that, though! Either one of you could have given up at any point, but you trusted each other and made it work! I was telling Kat that, if the same thing had happened to me, I'd--" Roxy bit her tongue, then looked over at Alicia. "Well, that's not important. I just wanted to say that you two are really cute together, and I'm super jealous. I... I really wasn't expecting you all to be so nice..."
With a wide smile, Alicia pulled Roxy in for a hug, squeezing her tight. "Aww, Roxy, why wouldn't we love you? I know Tab can be a little intense sometimes, but she's just fed up with Guild drama. You've pulled more than your fair share of weight, Roxy, and I'm just happy we've given you a way forward after
Ashes
has been suffocating you for so long. Hey, once all this Dungeon stuff is done, think you'd want to move into the neighborhood? I'm not sure what your current living situation is, but I certainly wouldn't mind the company."
Surprisingly, Roxy's bubbly attitude seemed to recede slightly. She stepped back, looking up at Alicia as her tears welled in her eyes. "I... you mean it?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Alicia asked, sprinkling some water over the rose bush they'd just arrived at.
"Well, I... I guess I'd never..." Roxy stumbled over her words for an impressively long time, eventually falling completely silent. When she finally spoke again, her voice was strangely quiet and monotonous. "Um, look, Alicia... I'm sorry."
"For what? You've saved my life like, a dozen times! If anything, I owe you an apology," Alicia said with a playful smirk.
"I meant for following you home after you visited the Dungeon camp, and for... I mean, like, I'm worried that I might mess something up down in the Key Dungeon. So, you know... I'm sorry if you ever get hurt because of me." Roxy was staring at the ground now, avidly avoiding Alicia's gaze.
Alicia reached out and playfully tussled Roxy's short black hair. "I'm the tank, silly. It's my job to get hurt."
The two smiled at each other again, but Alicia swore that Roxy's grin was somewhat forced. After another awkward minute of silence, Roxy handed back her watering can and excused herself, heading back to her house without her usual bounce. Alicia thought about following, maybe asking if she'd accidentally said something wrong, but decided it would be better to leave the Rogue alone.
When Kat finally woke up hours later, the group unanimously decided to not delve tonight. They still had a few days left, and with the assumption that the Third Floor was likely the last, no one was in a particular rush to charge into a boss fight without the proper resources.
Instead, they spent much of the night simply enjoying each other's company. Elias made food for everyone that needed it, Kat happily strummed on her guitar, and Alicia made a small bonfire next to the pond for them all to gather around. It was rare for their schedules to overlap like this, and they were happy to make the most of it.
Unfortunately, with only a single nocturnal Race present, it wasn't long before most of them needed to turn in. Surprisingly, Tab opted to sleep at home for the night; something she hadn't done since Roxy first appeared. Alicia hoped this was a sign that the Foxgirl trusted their newest member, but she knew that trying to predict Tab's behavior was pointless. Rather than dwell on it, Alicia decided to take advantage of their suddenly empty house.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow for the delve, yeah?" Kat asked. She stood in Alicia's bedroom, leaning against her Heart Tree as she prepared to say goodnight.
"Well... yes, I suppose that's also true," Alicia whispered, biting her lip.
"Also? What do you mean?"
"We have the house to ourselves, Kat." Alicia stepped closer, moving her hands to Kat's waist. "That hasn't been the case for ages, and I was thinking..."
Kat caught on, returning Alicia's smirk. "You're incorrigible, do you know that?"
