Raspberry Fields

Traveling the dungeon with her was one of the best things to have ever happened to me. I cannot really say when I noticed that going with her made everything much better, and yet it just happened one day. I got up and saw that everything was so much brighter along side of her. Traveling with my brother had been fun, of course. But seeing her do what she was passionate about had truly changed everything. I never was a very loud person, and I had always found myself alone when I was younger. Until I met her really, my only friend was my older brother. Even then, school had been lonely without her. She came into my life with so much energy and light, it was hard to not want to be around her. 

That is probably why I loved to travel with her so much. 

We were all well aquatinted with the dungeon by now. Our party had been traveling together for sometime. Namari was always so strong and cool. Shuro made quick work of almost all of the monsters that we came across. My big brother of course was always enthusiastic and motivated, he knew so much about monsters! Chilchuck was always a bit grumpy, but he sometimes was almost father like to us, even if he pretended he didn't really care. And then there was Marcille. 

She was beautiful. It was one of the first things that I had noticed about her. She had the most beautiful golden hair that looked silky smooth even after days of rough travel. In comparison, my hair was dull and somewhat sad looking. I admired her for that hair of hers, but it grew more as time went on. Her eyes were green, it was like the forests coming to life within them. Her ears were so elegant and pretty too, and the way they dropped or lifted depending on her mood made my heart flutter every time. Beyond all of that though, it was her smile that had truly struck my heart. Her bright smile when she discovered something, or when she was able to help the party out.. It was infectious. I wanted to see that smile always. I was so happy when she had joined us, but truly it was selfish of me. I wanted to see that smile more, and I knew within the dungeon I could see it. 

The party was traveling down the dungeon together. I was not really sure what the ultimate goal was. For Marcille, I knew how much she wanted to study and understand dungeon magic. We had spoken about it together many times, in the quiet dark of my room at school, in the hidden dungeon I had found that became our spot. It was forbidden magic, but it was a magic that we kept between us. A secret that I held close to my chest and could continue to hold dearly. It made me feel special that I was the only one who knew why she was traveling with us. 

Laios remained on the look out and alert, even as we walked along the safety of the second floor's canopies and bridges. By now it had been all up stripped of valuables, and the monsters here were generally easy to avoid, or kill. Even if we came across something, our party was well used to fighting all sorts by now. Even dragons were no match for them so long as they were working together at at all capacity. I admired them for that, that being Namari, my big brother, Shuro, and Marcille. Chilchuck was skilled too when we needed to get through a trap or avoid getting killed by the dungeon itself. I really only felt like I was there as a safe guard. The thing I was best at was dealing with the ghosts that appeared, but that only happened on the lower floors. Healing and casting protection on everyone was truly beginning to seem more like a safe guard than anything. After all, Marcille was capable of healing too. I did my best though, and I did love to explore the dungeon with everyone. 

"Alright, I think this is a good place to stop for the night." My big brother announced as we came across one of the makeshift houses nestled amongst the tall trees of the second floor. "If we are going to make it further down this time, we have to be careful and conserve our energy as much as possible." Usually we were very cautious about rationing our food, and ensuring that everyone had enough rest. I couldn't fix hunger, or exhaustion, so it was imperative that everyone took their turns rejuvenating themselves. Marcille yawned and stretched out, her expression calm as she plopped herself down. 

"Thank god~ My feet were starting to kill me." She sighed, glancing over at me with a grin and patting the ground next to her. "Laios, do you want us to take first watch?" Her blonde hair looked so pretty in the moonlight that was beginning to shine through the window. I wanted to braid it. 

"Sure. Is that okay with you guys?" He asked, glancing back at Shuro and Namari who both nodded. Chilchuck didn't protest either, sighing as he grabbed his ration for the night. Meat jerky and some dried fruit. Nothing to write home about, but it was the easiest to travel with for long periods of time. I looked back at my pack and sighed. The one thing about traveling in the dungeon that I hated was the food. I always missed the delicious restaurants that were in town, and having to survive off of meat jerky and dried food wasn't exactly my favorite thing in the world. 

"Thats fine, I am exhausted anyways." Namari said, eating her portion quietly before she quickly got her bed made up. "I am going to get some shut eye. Night." She said, and Shuro quickly followed suit after saying goodnight to me. It was only a few moments later before Laios and Chichuck did the same, leaving us alone. 

I loved this time of night, when it was just the two of us awake without the rest of the party. I reminded me of when we were in school, just the two of us against the entire world. The ticked on and I eventually turned to braiding her hair all nice for bed so that she could wake up and it would have that nice slight wave to it that it often got. After about an hour, everyone was fast asleep minus the two of us. Marcille turned towards me after a second, an indicator that it was safe for us to whisper to each other. My cheeks were red, although they always were a bit red. I hated that about my face. 

"You have been really quiet today, Falin. Everything okay?" Marcille asked me, looking at me so intensely with those beautiful emerald eyes of hers. I nodded and tilted my head slightly in response. 

"Everything is fine. I guess I have just been very lost in thought." I admitted, though that was not that unusual. I often got myself caught up in thoughts. Marcille giggled slightly at my response. 

"I see. I am glad that you are okay though." She hummed, tilting her head a bit before suddenly her expression dropped. "I miss when we were at school... We used to have nights like this all the time, away from everyone else." She said softly, and I felt my heart skip a beat. It was nice to know she also missed those nights. 

"I miss it too. School was nice.. But I am very happy we can travel together now, Marcille." I said to her, for a mere second worried that my feelings would be too obvious. Marcille stared at me, looking me over carefully before suddenly she moved slightly closer. 

"Falin.. We've been friends a really long time now, right?" She asked me, and I nodded. She was very close now, so much so that made my heart feel like it was going to explode. 

"Of course. You are my closest friend." I said, hesitantly leaning closer. I almost felt dizzy. 

Her lips were parted ever so slightly. They were so pretty, lightly pink and well taken care of despite how long we had been traveling.. Her skin looked so soft and flawless, unlike mine with it's unevenness and red hue. I always thought about her lips in unsavory ways, but that was something I kept to myself. I never wanted her to know. I was so afraid of losing my dearest friend after all. 

"Friends.. Yeah. We have been friends a long time now." Marcille repeated, suddenly her expression twisting as she grabbed my shoulders. "Falin... I.." She spoke hesitantly. I stared up at her, unsure of what she wanted to tell me. In my mind, there was no way that she could ever have felt as I did. No when she looked like that, after all. 

"Yes?" I asked, smiling at her. It felt like it all happened so fast. Suddenly I found my eyes opening wide as I proceeded the feeling of her lips against mine. It was soft, gentle, like rose petals gently touching my lips. She pulled back, looking on the verge of tears as she went to move away. 

"Falin sorry I--" I didn't let her finish as I leaned in and kissed her gently back. I didn't really think too hard about what I did. My head was fuzzy from confusion, and.. I was almost certain that I had fallen asleep and was dreaming yet again. In my dreams, this happened a lot after all. She kissed me back, harder this time. Her arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer so that our chests were pressed against each other. It was soft. She gently ran her tongue along my lips and I happily parted them. She slid her tongue in, tasting sweet of the dried raspberries she had eaten earlier. I tried to taste of much of her as possible. It was my dream, after all. I would allow this delusion to go on a bit longer. Our tongues moved around each other, causing my entire body to shiver with anticipation of what could happen further. It wasn't long before I took her hand and led up towards my chest. She began to feel me, and I felt my entire body burn with thoughts of only her. After neither of us could breath, and only then we pulled away. Saliva connected us for a moment before it broke and fell onto my lip and chin. She leaned forward and kissed it up, her eyes far more deep as red crimson covered her perfect cheeks. 

"You.. don't know how long I have wanted to do that.." She muttered, running a hand over my cheek. "We can't tell the others.." I nodded, holding her hand tightly in mine. 

"I thought... that this was a dream. But it's real, isn't it?" The realization made me burn with a deeper desire for her. Yet we were limited here, unable to do much more considering who slept right by us. 

"What do you mean you thought it was a dream? I've been trying to muster up the courage for that for months.." Marcille's ears dropped slightly. She pouted adorably. "Did you really not pick up on it?"

"I mean.. I thought it was just me. I never thought someone as beautiful as you could ever want someone like me.." I allowed my voice to drop slightly. I meant that sincerely. "I mean.. you are so perfect, and wonderful. I am just... me." 

She suddenly wrapped her arms around me again. "Don't you ever say something like that again... You are everything to me, Falin. I promise.. No matter what happens, we will always stay together." Suddenly she giggled a little bit in my ear. "Heh... You tasted like raspberries." 

I laughed too. 

"So did you."