Firm

Hearing Vahn's words, Tiona felt a bit of anxiety begin to build inside her. "But, Vahn, all Amazons have to be born back at the village. It is our law, our tradition. Every Amazon only gives birth to other Amazons, and if they aren't raised properly, the entire clan would be up in arms." Tiona could see that Vahn had a very serious expression, and she wanted him to understand she wasn't doing it just to be selfish.

Vahn frowned heavily after hearing her words. His brows were low, and he had an angry expression as he spoke, "I refuse. There is no way I can let a group of people I've never met raise my kid for me. I may not be ready to be a father, but if I let that kind of thing slide, I wouldn't be WORTHY of being a father." Even Vahn didn't know why he was so angry; seeing the somewhat scared and sad expression of Tiona, he wanted to hold back his words, but something inside of him made him unable to do so.

Tiona was very concerned about this sudden change, but she also understood where Vahn was coming from. His desire to be a good father wasn't wrong, but it wasn't such an easy matter to deal with since it concerned the differences in their species. Though she didn't mind trying to protect the child with Vahn, she knew there was no way she would be able to keep the child safe from all the Amazons that would come after them. She would be labeled a traitor to her people and a failure as an Amazon.

Vahn could see fear and anxiety in Tiona's face, and just like all the previous times, he thought it didn't suit her normally cheerful self. Reaching forward, he pulled Tiona's arm and then embraced her. Though she was a bit surprised, Tiona didn't resist and just allowed herself to be held by Vahn. Even though he was smaller than she was, Tiona still felt a bit of security in his embrace. Looking into his eyes, Tiona believed that, if Vahn made the effort, he would be able to protect their child...

Staring into her eyes, Vahn could see that Tiona had calmed down a lot. Though she wasn't smiling, he could see a hint of expectation had replaced the anxiety that previously clouded her eyes. Vahn mulled over his words before speaking, "If we have kids...I will move to the village you mentioned previously. Even if I can't be there in person, I will always be nearby if you need me. If I have to, I'll become strong enough to break those traditions that separate families."

Vahn hugged Tiona against his body, almost as if he was trying to affirm the promise and make her remember it. Seeing Tiona nod her head, Vahn continued, "But, for now, I want to focus on increasing my strength here, so I don't think I can have children yet. There are a lot of things I want to do...no, things I HAVE to do." Using the same forceful tone as before, Vahn spoke each word with force and conviction.

Tiona looked into his eyes and saw his resolve, and it made her feel more secure about the future. As Vahn said, she wasn't really that old, and she also liked fighting alongside everyone in the Loki Familia. She didn't have to rush things, as there was plenty of time for the both of them to mature and become stronger. One day, they may even be able to walk into Telkyura and force Kali to concede and allow them to raise their child away from the village.

Gripping him tightly, Tiona smiled before passionately kissing Vahn. Unlike the tame kisses from before, Tiona put strength into her arms and forcibly kissed Vahn's lips. The thought of becoming strong enough to break away from the village made her instincts act up. She became overly excited and, since the person she liked was in front of her, she was unable to control herself.

Vahn, who had been focused and serious previously, was now flustered and panicking. The moment Tiona grabbed him, it felt like he had been captured in a vice. As she started kissing him, it wasn't long before she broke through his defenses and began invading the inside of his mouth with her tongue. Vahn was frantic, but he couldn't stop the invasion and was helplessly pushed to the ground with Tiona's body on top of his.

Tiona had pinned him to the ground with her body, and she continued passionately kissing Vahn. From his perspective, Vahn could see her skin had become flushed and she had a dazed, but hungry, look in her eyes as she continued putting more strength into her grasp. Vahn felt like Tiona was trying to merge her body into his, and his instincts began triggering his danger sense. It felt like, if Vahn couldn't stop her, she would devour his body until there was nothing left.

Suddenly, a flash of gold passed through his vision as Tiona was pulled from his body. Since she had been gripping him so fiercely, Vahn's body was also pulled forward and he nearly fell to the ground after the fact. Looking upward, Vahn was able to see Ais and Tione holding back the rampaging Tiona. She was flailing about and had a fierce look in her eyes as she stared towards Vahn. Failing to free herself from the combined grasp of two Level 5 adventurers, Tiona cried out. "Ais, I don't care if you want him to, but don't stop me when it's my moment!!!"

Ais frowned and responded without letting loose her grip on Tiona, "Muu, Riveria said in private." Ais's words seemed to have impacted Tiona somewhat as she began looking at her surroundings. There were several adventurers from the Loki and Hephaestus Familia looking at the site with various types of expressions. Some of them had amused looks, while others seemed annoyed at the events that had taken place.

Tiona realized that, because of the words Vahn had spoken to her, she had gotten too excited and attacked him in the middle of the camp. There were more than twenty people in the area that had watched her attack and pin his body to the ground in the middle of the path...This realization made Tiona's mind calm down a lot, and now she started blushing for an entirely different reason.

Seeing that Tiona has regained her senses, Ais and Tione released her, but Ais still took up a defensive position to block Tiona if she tried to 'attack' Vahn again. Tiona stared toward Ais with a bit of frustration but seeing Vahn kneeling on the ground like he was struggling for air, the most powerful emotion she was feeling was shame. Since she was still much stronger than Vahn, he wasn't able to resist her advances even if he wanted to. If someone hadn't stopped her, she might have ended up forcibly taking Vahn's first time, and he might even hate her for it.

Bowing her head low, Tiona looked toward Vahn with a sad expression. "I'm sorry Vahn...you were just so manly that I couldn't stop myself." Even now, Tiona felt the urge to try and attack Vahn, but she was restrained by the atmosphere and the environment. She was both grateful and vexed at the situation, but she was still concerned with Vahn's reaction to everything that had happened.

Vahn, seeing her sad look yet again, frowned a bit before mustering up a laugh. He tried acting like he wasn't bothered by what she did as he said, "Haha, it looks like I need to get stronger. It feels a bit awkward to be on the receiving end of someone's affection." Though Vahn had done his best to brush over the matter, Tiona could see that he was still shaken by everything that happened. So as not to deny his efforts, Tiona gave a fake smile of her own as she said, "Become stronger quickly. Next time, I want you to push me down, okay?" After her words, Tiona allowed her sister to take her away from the area. As a fellow Amazon, Tione knew it would take a bit of time for Tiona to calm down.

Watching their two retreating figures, Vahn felt like his desire to grow stronger had increased a bit. The previous scene was one of the few times he had actually felt fear in his new life, and all the others were incidents where he had nearly died. Ais, who had been standing in front of him to protect him from Tiona, looked toward him and helped him stand. After thinking for a bit, she said, "Tiona is a good girl. Don't hate her." Ais had known Tiona for a long time, and she was able to understand that her current state was abnormal.

Vahn sighed, but afterward, he showed a real smile. "I don't think I can hate her, even if I wanted to. Seeing someone have so much affection toward me, I would feel guilty if I pushed her away. I just need to get stronger and become more reliable..." Ais nodded at his statement before saying herself, "Nnn, you will become strong. It is strange." Ais seemed very sure of what she said, but even she couldn't understand why she believed her own words.

"What's strange?" Vahn asked because, he too, wasn't sure what she was trying to convey. Ais seemed to seriously contemplate her next words, as Vahn was able to see a genuine expression on her face. She seemed to be very concerned with what she would say next and had a big frown plastered on her face. "You never give up. Even when bad things happen, you always try hard. In the duel, against the Goliath, and now. You always keep trying."

After her words finished, Ais looked into Vahn's eyes and paused a moment before continuing. "I think you can become stronger than anyone. I want to see it." Vahn could see a hidden passion in Ais's eyes as she continued her words. The small spark made Vahn feel like she had placed some of her hopes in him, and it made him feel courageous, almost like he could accomplish anything.

Smiling towards her, Vahn felt full of conviction and positive feelings about the future. Placing his right hand over the 'eternal flame' in his heart, Vahn spoke, putting that conviction into words. "I will become the strongest. No matter what, I will never give up!" As he nearly shouted the last words, Ais's eyes opened slightly as applause began sounding from the surroundings.

Hearing the applause, Vahn felt incredibly embarrassed as he looked toward the adventurers that were 'cheering' him on. "You can do it kiddo~!", "That's right, keep fighting, hahahaha!". Several people in the surroundings had been paying attention to the scene since earlier. They were amazed after seeing the passionate Vahn make his declaration, and they couldn't help but tease him a bit.

Ais saw the crowd and the embarrassed Vahn, so she took his hand before dragging him away from the area. Seeing her actions, the crowd starting cheering even louder as the two disappeared from the central area of the campsite. Ais continued dragging Vahn until they were on the periphery of the camp and away from everyone's line of sight. Once they were 'safe', Ais let go of Vahn's hand and stared at him.

Vahn, who was still feeling embarrassed, looked towards Ais and thanked her. He could see that she was also blushing slightly as she nodded to accept his thanks. Afterward, they both stood in silence for a while until they had begun to calm down. Vahn released a sigh and plopped down on the ground; it felt like he had been through a lot in the last few hours, and it felt like both his stamina and mental energy had been severely drained.

While he was sitting down, Ais seemed to be lost in her thoughts and would periodically look towards Vahn. Though he wanted to ask, considering that Ais was the type to mull things over before speaking, Vahn decided to wait for her. Unfortunately, his patience ended up being a mistake, as the words she finally decided upon nearly drained what little energy he had left.

"I want to try it. Sex."

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Oh shit','Vahn is in danger, quick, sound the alarm!','Hephaestus's instincts doing acrobatics in her mind')