The Long Road [1]

The following morning had been belied by silence. Since returning to the house the day prior Noah had seen Liora but once when she was making the dinner for that evening. A simple stew with meat and vegetables, nothing particularly complex or extravagant but wholly loved as it wasn't a sad noodle dish.

There was a palpable tension between them. Noah chewed on his lip, head down in much a similar manner to Liora. Sometimes she'd lifted her head but seconds later when words wouldn't escape her, she darted away like a startled deer.

Didn't halt the obvious flush that would only warm further each time she did.

Come the morning, this morning, Noah had seen her once more after the terse parting of the day prior. It had been in passing when she was on the way to the bathroom while he was returning from it.

They paused, met eyes, mouths opened as if to speak only to dart away and for Liora to hasten past practically steaming from how red she was.

Caina had left early that morning clad with her satchel and a bundle of buckles on a trek to the village to get a carriage and some essentials for the travel to Tallmire. Hopefully even a more accepting mercenary to fend off any monster attacks that could happen.

She would have gone yesterday but as she was at that point dead drunk—almost literally from how unmoving she was—she was unable to properly even stumble in a straightish line.

Given it had been now two or so hours she was expected back at any moment.

Until then it was just Noah and Liora stuck in the awkwardest day since his arrival.

They'd found themselves now within the lukewarm confines of the kitchen, the only place in the building with half decent seating considering its emptiness. It was only now that Noah was truly coming to realize just how 'hollow' this place was. It lacked for lack of a better word, life. The artifacts of furniture paintings and the like were gone, sold leaving only the barest of essentials as if Liora was awaiting the day she'd take the trip down to Charon and left as little nuisance for future owners of the house to clean up.

Glancing to his side Noah spotted a basket of the day-old cherries, they still looked good, plump, round, red. Barely looked affected by the day and night that had just past.

Rapping his fingers atop the table, so too did Noah's leg bounce nervously. Though not impatient by any means, having survived an hour of waiting for his delayed train to arrive with little frustration back on earth, the current situation had proven grating since his so-named insemination of Serris and subsequent discovery of a wettened axe handle.

"So…" Noah tried to speak but it came out as a whistle of a leaking balloon. "Have you ever been to Tallmire before?" he asked but quickly regretted it. He'd wanted to speak about yesterday, clear things up and yet he panicked.

Liora shivered a jolt, head dashing up then quickly away. "A few times," she whimpered and scrunched tighter on her seat as if to hide away from him. "Harv usually went to sell our hay and flour. I usually stayed home to take care of Eleonora and the house." Beneath the table clutching the knees of her dress tightly while her legs ground uncomfortably together.

"Oh… uh, makes sense."

'Perfectly done Noah. You sound like an idiot.' He though half tempted to take the very axe of the day prion and have an 'unfortunate wood chopping accident' with it.

Silence once again stole the atmosphere between the two.

Liora's eyes darted back to Noah but this time lingered as she saw him frowning like a punished child. He'd really become quite handsome since she started feeding him, though he still needed some cleaning up with his shaggy brown hair, the straggly beard having disappeared after a treacherous journey with a shaving knife Liora had scrounged out of somewhere.

'Miracle I didn't cut myself,' he thought stroking the faint stubble already rising from his pores.

Liora sighed weakly, clutched her dress tighter then loosened her whitening grasp.

"You're… you said you're from another world?" she asked.

Noah jolted surprised at her speaking, "yeah, yes. I mean, partially? I know about another world but I don't look like I did there. I think I took this guys body when I got here." He explained scratching his cheek.

Liora hummed letting him know she heard him, "how… what is that other world like? Are there monsters?"

"Not really. Nothing like here, we don't have dryads or Kanyon wolves, we just have normal wolves that walk on four legs and look like dogs. Though, we do have mythologies with dryads and the like. None of them actually exist though."

"It sounds… safe." The conversation straining to even continue.

"Mostly, I guess. A bunch of countries can be considered 'safe.' We do still have crime, criminals, murders and famines happing in a bunch of the less developed countries but otherwise theres nothing to really worry about."

"I see… Noah," she perked up, rising high only to squeak and for her breath to hiss out, "Noah… about yesterday. I'm sorry for forcing you to do… that. I shouldn't have been so forceful."

Noah hastily shook his head, "no, no, don't be. You were trying to keep me safe. I can't blame you for that."

"Still," whining her head fell, "it was rude of me, I didn't give you a chance to say no or decide when to do… it… her… the dryad. Gods above I still can't believe that tree's a dryad." She hunched over face burying into her palms.

Noah snorted, he couldn't believe many of the things that had happened to him. Monsters shaped like women who lived off of semen was just a concept thought of as fantasy, something exclusive to a few mythological monsters like succubi.

They went silent, Liora squirming uncomfortably but looking ready to say anything.

Thinking to the day prior, and the days prior to that, Noah focused his thoughts to Liora. Her soft expressions, the way she seemed to tend for him so tenderly like a mother… no, there was something else blended in there. Something he'd been avoiding seeing. Something forelorn. Though there were lacking in intimacy they certainly spoke familiarly. Most their conversations hung on laughter and amusement, filling near each and every day just hours upon hours of unending talking hearing stories from their pasts or chatting of concepts neither could comprehend. For as little as they knew each other, it felt like they knew everything about the other.

'I'd be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to her,' his vision fell from her hanging head, trailing down her pristine white skin freckled lightly and halted at the window to the crevice of her abundant breasts. Noah gulped and pulled away as quickly as he could before his mind could fantasize about their softness and how they would feel wrapping certain area's.

Her body, full and rich with maturity was right in the strike zone of one of his more favoured preferences. While he didn't have concrete favourites, mature women like her were possibly one of his most beloved concepts.

How could he not? While not as taught as the younger girls they were fuller, richer in experience and could 'ara' him into oblivion.

'And my minds wandering. God I am going to hell…. Why doesn't that sound like a bad idea…' he could just imagine this worlds 'hell' being filled with sex addicted demonesses. Or maybe even slaanesh like monsters with crab hands and three breasts… which also didn't sound completely awful so long as they kept their more threatening actions behind. Which was doubtful, they were slaanesh after all.

Leaning over, Noah rubbed his face and noiselessly groaned.

Sucking in her lips at seeing this, Liora felt her heart squeeze tightly. It was clear he was struggling with his thoughts and while her religion told her to keep away, she couldn't. Not once since his arrival had she sensed anything as sinister as Artemia's teachings portrayed. He was no beast, a man seeking wanton pleasure ready to slaughter masses to create a harem of unwilling slaves… no, he was naïve, confused, kind, innocent… he cared for her, even for Caina, so much so did he care that his health was of less importance to him than hers.

No man would just rescue a woman who slashed her wrist in drunken consumption, nor would a man of low morals bolt before a flying tankard to save her from injury.

"Noah I-" words hitching as their heads rose and eyes interlocked. She was half tempted to bolt away but that instinct was stilled, she just couldn't pry herself away. "Thank you. I, I haven't been saying it enough but thank you."

Noah was enthralled, her expression so beautiful and soft as her ruby lips curled into soft ascensions at each end.

"Not just for saving me—twice—but this, the dryad, the cherries, I just. I don't even know if its going to work, if we're even going to get to Tallmire but I… just, thank you, so much." Bowing her head more to hide her flaring flush than anything.

"You don't need to thank me!" he argued, "it's nothing special. If anything I should be thanking you. I'd have been lost without you. If I'd awaken anywhere else I'd be lost, I'd be food for the monsters or worse."

She steamed heavier, "that's a mean thing to say Noah." Raising her hands to her chest she clutched them into balls and felt her heart beating out of her chest.

"Wait what? Really?" Noah panicked, ready to apologize wholeheartedly.

In the background a clopping noise of and creaking noise of wood slowly approaching rung in through the window alerting them both to Caina's enclosing arrival.

Lifting her head her expression was indescribable, she smiled softly like girl stuck lost in 'love' her flush of rosy proportions extravagant and heart twistingly attractive for a woman of her maturity. Even her hair, as red as roses framed her face like a masterpiece.

"No, not really Noah. You are the kindest man I know." She went quiet, the clopping grew louder, "I… I was planning to push you and Caina together, but I don't think I can do that anymore." Without response she pushed out, her seat scratching against the floor and soon she was skirting around the table, dress trailing like a curtain behind her as she faded around the corner. Noah left dumbfounded and mind creaking like a ramshackle building on the verge of standing proudly or collapsing into a heap of trash.

His gaze travelled, following after Liora to gap in the direction of her parting, where the house turned a shade darker due to lack of windows.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Was all his malfunctioning brain could compute.