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Interlude 4

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

I quietly stared at the ceiling in the mostly unfamiliar room.

While I had agreed to this I was starting to slowly grow more reluctant to it with how things were developing into. When I imagined Carmesi's possible nightwear, I would have imagined something comfy, but far from skimpy.

On the first matter, I was proven right. But when it came to addressing the second element, I was caught off-guard by how scantily-clad she was. She only wore a simple sleeveless white shirt and a pair of short black pants. It wasn't something too… odd. Sure, I knew that in a normal circumstance where she was supposed to share the bed with someone else, the Fox Prime would have taken a more conservative approach out of self-preservation.

This wasn't the case here. This left me incredibly confused when she didn't make much of an interaction before deciding to settle down in the bed. I could still remember the suspicious look coming from Adela and… the amused ones coming from Grace. I had been rather confused by the latter's reaction, feeling like she knew something was up somehow.

Despite these concerns, the 'plan' went through particularly smoothly. I laid down first, the Fire Crest settled beside me. The disposition was awkward at first, a mix of my own lack of certainty about making the first move with her and Carmesi's own inexperience when it comes to these kinds of situations.

There was silence and… we were cramped since it was difficult fitting two adults in a single bed one beside the other. It was a clear factor that was known to me, and I could tell Carmie too had found that logical conclusion. Uncertainty, doubt and… a sense of interest. She eyed me with a tentative glance, almost confused by the fact that, differently from her guarded stance over the matter, I had taken a more relaxed approach to this.

The staring continued for a long while, with her green orbs growing more fascinated and less reluctant the more I kept on appearing at ease as I could in that very circumstance. Boldness almost coaxed her to make the first step. She shifted in her position, but didn't outright move at this first pull. The second one happened seconds after the first attempt, this time being 'braver' and more extended.

It all felt like a documentary, but in this case, the 'animal' I was watching was someone I cared for and was trying to not mess things up in her first effort at cuddling with someone. It was an adorable sight, but one I couldn't quite chuckle or laugh at right now. One mistake, and the progress she was currently making would have been undone by any reaction she could see as 'teasing'. So I remained patient as she finally lifted her right arm up, her limb stretching well over my waist before coming down. I felt her muscles there and… I saw her shift her head closer to me.

The embrace looked odd. It began in a bizarre way, but the way it was constructed out of this just felt so… unnatural. This seemed to be the first time she offered trust and that she put herself in such a position.

One can easily pull away from a hug. One can get away from an embrace if they are uncomfortable for a reason or another. The real problem comes in the form of doing something more intimate within the boundaries of trust when one has never given this much to someone else. I was… flattered. But at the same time I was worried about making a mistake and ruining things for her.

So I was really careful when I moved my right arm, the one which she was lying close to, and settled it around her shoulders. She was tense at the action, but she seemed to melt a little bit when she realized it was just that. A blink, she looked up and… stared. There were no words exchanged during this bit of the scene. There was no need for that, not yet at least.

We just stared at each other until I was certain she was at ease with the current disposition we had taken. Once that sureness was confirmed, I decided to finally speak up.

“How are you?"

A simple question, one that got a frown out of the young woman as she carefully shifted better for the soon-to-develop conversation. It was clear that she was getting herself comfortable, surely realizing that the discussion ahead of us was going to be a long one.

“I'm fine. I… is this odd?"

I waited for a moment and sighed.

“I honestly think it is a little bit. But I don't mind it."

…

I noticed her shuffle nervously at that, and I sighed. “Are you sure everything is alright?"

“I already said I am fine."

“There's not a single problem I can help with-"

“I'm not weak-"

“But saying the truth won't make you any less stronger than you are right now," I interjected. “You should know now that if I'm asking you something like this, it's not because I'm trying to make you feel weak or to see you as weak."

…

“And I know this can be… difficult to bring up because of how heavy the topic may be for you. I know you are a tough warrior, but I don't want you to never doubt the fact we are all here for you if there is an issue you believe we call all solve."

She sighed, nuzzling unconsciously onto my chest. “It's not so… simple."

“Then make it simple. I don't think you aren't beneath this kind of task."

Her eyes narrowed for a moment right up to my face, but she relented and nodded in agreement to this.

“I… this is way different than I imagined it becoming. Being a military leader against a much stronger and better-equipped enemy is never a good twist to one's career."

“Are you… worried about messing things up?"

“I… No."

…

“Maybe," The Fire Crest admitted, seeing how I wasn't buying that early response. “It's just that everything is so complicated. I'm training, I know what to do to train the others… but what if this is not enough? What if, despite all the attention and efficiency I put on my training, I still fall short on making this work?"

…

I sighed. “You are a dummy."

“You just told me-"

“Because you could have told us this before."

Her jaws hung low for a moment, surprise replacing annoyance at my continuation.

“What?"

“It's alright to be worried about the future. Pretty much everyone here is," I reminded her. “We all are walking with big shoes- big expectations, and our decisions now influence how lives will go. Will people under the cause live? Those who will… die, will they die for a reason or-"

“They will die for a good enough reason," The Fox Prime interrupted, showing her fierceness on the matter. “We are fighting for something that is worth dying for."

“But that doesn't make the loss any less pleasant," I pointed out, my tone growing sadder because of the circumstance.

There was a lengthy pause after this. We were silent for most of it as we recollected our thoughts on the matter. Eventually, I restarted the conversation since I really didn't feel any close to falling asleep. And I could tell Carmesi was in my same situation from just a glance.

“You know, when… this is all over, I don't see why you shouldn't see Earth yourself. There are… sports and other competitions to test people's many strengths," I commented quietly. “We have this big competition called 'Olympiads' where the best men and women for each sport is called to represent their nations in a series of challenges."

“But no deadly fighting?"

“Sports are considered the least deadly solution. There is still war but… it isn't well-appreciated," I said, taking a brief pause to think of some appropriate words to explain why that is a situation. “Humanity- I believe I already said that we aren't known to be peaceful most of the time."

Carmie nodded. “You mentioned numerous conflicts."

“Numerous, costly conflicts," I half-corrected. “In a single century, several millions of people between civilians and soldiers, all in relatively short wars."

She scoffed at that, but I didn't hesitate to speak once again.

“War for us, isn't the same as it was back many centuries ago. It isn't the testing ground for warriors to shape a new age or to bring hope to the old traditions," I continued to explain with a serious tone. “It became something of a… business. Those that make weapons entice the conflicts to happen. All for the sake of making money out of it. War is no longer a place for warriors, it is a place meant for people that could either die by battle, or die by experience."

“So what? Your people stopped this altogether?"

“No," I replied to her. “War's early principle, the one to prove people's worth through a setting, is still alive within these sports. While there are no deadly factors most of the time, there are some tough competitions that would probably interest you."

“List those up. Convince me."

I snorted, pulling her a little closer as she held back a smug smirk at that cheeky response.

“Well, the first thing I could think of is Boxing. It's like hand-to-hand combat, but you can only use punches and… your objective is to knock your opponents," I complied to her challenge. “Then there are the martial arts like Karate, Kenpo, Muay Thai and many other combat-only sports."

“I will… hold you on this offer. I want you to show me those instead of just listening to you give me crappy explanations and have me believe that it is 'so good' as you make it sound," She lamented, eyes narrowing back at me.

“Fine by me."

We shared a smile, more than ready to continue that little conversation when-

The door was suddenly slammed open.

“By royal decree, tonight shall be a group sleepover!" Addie exclaimed, spearheading the two girls that entered inside. My jaws dropped as I realized that, while Adela had remained in her usual nightgown, Grace decided to make things more embarrassing by joining the 'party' without any clothes on herself.

Carmesi's eyes widened at first, before tensing up as she realized what was happening in that moment. Before I knew it, the Fox Prime had shifted to outright lie atop of me, with her right arm now arched beneath my neck as if to stake her claim on her current disposition. The Fire Crest glared at the young queen, the gesture returned as they began fighting over the left side of the bed… while a certain Gazelle Prime happily sneaked inside the covers on my right side, giggling as little as she stealthily took hold of my arm and turned it in her pillow.

Eventually a strange truce ensued and, once again, the bed was stuffed with people as Adela managed to squeeze herself on the left side, effectively putting me in a sandwich of sorts. With Carmesi resting on my chest, and my arms stolen by the two other Primes, I was left in a pure coat of fur, sweat and confusion.

_ Mostly because I knew next morning was going to be really awkward with the state of undress Grace still was. _

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AN

Fluff for the Fluff God!