Loss

Dave

Finally understanding the signs she was sending me, I reciprocated by complying with what she wanted. Touching the grace, motes of lights erupted from it, sparkling the area in its brilliance. It felt… euphoric. Yes… faint memories from a distant past.

Or mere days ago. But hey, who's counting?

As soon as I lowered myself to the ground, a cloud of blue smoke rolled in, as though it was waiting for me. With it, came a woman wearing a black cloak, who stood a few feet away from me. "Greetings, travelers from beyond the fog…"

Instantly, both me and the keeper were on high alert, my Onyx Blade drawn and ready to strike. "Eager to talk, are we? Still, it was stupid of you to simply appear without warning. State your purpose for approaching us, and you might just leave without a single burn scarring your body."

The suspicious figure raised her hands up, motioning for her surrender. "I mean you no harm, Tarnished. For my objective is to merely offer you an accord." Keenly watching her every move, I gave way for her to speak. "My name is Melina, and I offer you a chance at becoming the Elden Lord." She finished, pulling off her hood to reveal a surprisingly pretty face.

"Can we trust her?" Whispering over to my partner, I pulled her closer to me so that our conversation wasn't heard by the mysterious woman. "There isn't much to go off of, though, with words such as those, it's almost like she's offering us godhood."

"I suggest we listen to her first before coming to such rash decisions, lest we anger one of the several Outer Gods watching over these lands." She advised, turning to look towards the woman, who was still holding her arms up.

"Though your claims may be outlandish, I shall lend you my ear." I reluctantly said, eliciting a sigh of relief from the person in question. Pulling my weapon away from her, I sent it back into the ether.

"My thanks, Tarnished." Why does that word sound oddly negative? "Have you heard of the finger maidens? They serve the Two Fingers, offering guidance, and aid, to Graceless Tarnished. But both of you, I'm afraid, are maidenless." Lies! "I can play the role of maiden. Turning rune fragments into strength. To aid you in your search for the Elden Ring. You need only take me with you. To the root of the Erdtree."

"Bonfires… and now my precious Firekeeper? Does this place really have no shame in plagiarizing the concept and ideas of others?" I aired out, pulling the Keeper closer to me.

"Wah!?" She yelled out in surprise, falling into my chest. "Ashen One, restrain thyself, please. Thine actions are embarrassing the both of us in front of our guest."

"I assume you are very protective of her? Perhaps even to the point where you'd sacrifice your life?" Melina prodded, bending the knee to meet us eye-to-eye. In response, I tilted my head ever so slightly. However, this action, minor as it may be, somehow became significant in her eyes. Then again, you don't really see people saying stuff like this every day.

"Worry not, for I can service the two of you, should it come to that at least." Hesitation? "Ahh, another matter. I bequeath to you this ring."

My eyebrows tighten, as I try to call her out, only my words to be suppressed by the gift. With a quick whistle, a horse materialized right out of thin air. "This is Torrent, a spectral steed. Use him to traverse great distances. And please, treat him with respect. He has chosen you for one reason or another, it would be greatly disrespectful to dishonor his wishes."

"Huh. Tha-?"

"We thank thee for thine charity." My beloved interjected. "And, thou were to extend the vine further, then would you be so kind as to ignore the ramblings of my partner? He may be a nuisance at times," *stab* " but these moments are few and far between."

How? How could you betray me like this?

"Poor first impressions aside, you may summon me by grace, when you have sufficient runes at least. Gather enough, and I swear to you- both, will be the first demi-god slayers… in a long while." Melina added, before disappearing into the wind.

For the next few seconds, silence reigned over the air, waiting for either one of us to speak. Until I was able to gather the courage to break it. "So, are we going to talk about your job being taken away? Or do I have to make mass confusion one of my character traits? Because frankly, that would be too annoying to keep up if there aren't enough new experiences for me to compare to."

"I mean… if it's thine desire?" She slowly uttered, coming in to fully lean on me. "No more than six hours have passed since you placed the ashes of the Lords of Cinder. Honestly, I am starting to warm up to your ideas."

"..!.."

"Who are you, and what have you done to my Firekeeper?" I demanded, holding down her shoulders. "Irina? Is that you in there? What did I tell you about taking her place?"

"Pfft-…" She laughed. "Hahaha!" Scratch that, cackled. "Ha~… In all fairness, these circumstances seem to be getting at me. Never had I truly gone to the outside world to fight, or, participate in one. What use do I stand to grasp when my abilities hinge on support? When thine skills already lean toward that field? And now, even my purpose has been stolen from me…"

Healing, enhancing, and firepower. All of them I had in spades. I was a walking armory, as long as I had my ashen estus flasks, nothing would be able to stop me. So, I guess it only made sense for her to feel, for lack of a better term, in sufficient. Hell, with the last of my souls deposited, and her being unable to channel the local runes, even that was taken from her.

In the end, nothing was able to come out of my mouth, as though they were stuck in my throat. No witty remark, or less than funny comeback, but quiet sympathy.

Pulling her into the confines of my frame was the only thing I knew how to do. Gently caressing her hair and whispering sweet honeyed words, that, even she knew were white lies, but still accepted nevertheless.

I didn't know for how long we stayed in that position for, and it didn't matter. We weren't on a time limit, unlike before. The world could very well end, and for that instance at least, none of it would matter. It was just the two of us, isolated in our own bubble.

Her body heat felt like a warm fireplace in the middle of winter, or the "Soothing Flame" pyromancy. It was comfortable to the point where, I never wanted to escape from her grasps.

"Would thou share a moment of thine time?"

"Take as much time as you need."

Shifting her position to face me, she grabbed my face and-. Life piqued at that moment.

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[A/N: Boys, girl. You know the rules, and so do I. We've done this tango many other times. I finally get to write some good shit after so long. Then again, most of my other smut is in limbo so I don't know about that. Anyways, have fun with that~! Copy and paste stuff below.

Anyways, if you find anything wrong in the fic, let me know. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and what I could have done in place of what is present.

Join discord server. I have one.: htt ps://disco rd. gg / eTb2kPab4z

I also have a pat reon at h tt ps:// www.patr eon .com /balls1124. Right now, there's only 1 advanced chapter, but I'll try my best to fit in a few more.

With that being said, have magnificent fucking day.]