Zarra

The conversation continued as Mira patiently taught Lance about the various herbs and plants in her basket. He tried to keep up, but the sheer variety of flora and their uses left him more confused than he was at the beginning, it was like reading an entire curriculum before the day of exam again.

"You're really good at this," Lance said after a while, watching as Mira deftly prepared a poultice using moonshade leaves and a bit of water.

Mira's cheeks flushed faintly at the compliment. "I've been doing it since I was small. Healing is… important to me. It's how I take care of our people."

"I'm sure they all appreciate it."

"I try."

As they discussed further, Lance spoke about how he thought Mira would perform healings using magic.

Mira then offered to show Lance her healing magic.

"I can't do much," she admitted, holding out her hands. "Just small wounds and sprains. But it helps."

She gestured for Lance to give her his hand, and he hesitated before offering it. Mira's fingers were warm and gentle as she turned his hand palm-up.

"Hold still," she said softly.

Lance watched in fascination as a faint green glow enveloped her hands. The warmth spread to his palm, soothing and tingling at the same time. The small scrape he hadn't even realized was there disappeared in seconds, leaving his skin smooth and unbroken.

"That's… incredible," Lance breathed, flexing his fingers.

Mira smiled shyly, the glow fading as she withdrew her hands. "It's not much. I've always wished I could do more."

"Don't sell yourself short," Lance said, his voice firm. "What you're doing is already amazing, and I'm sure, in due time, you'll improve and become even more amazing"

Her gaze flickered to his, and for a moment, the air between them seemed to shift. The soft sounds of the forest faded into the background, leaving only the two of them sitting by the brook.

"Thank you," Mira said, a faint smile showing on her face. She felt Lance was only being nice, but the gesture warmed her heart.

Lance quickly looked away, focusing on the bubbling water. "So, uh… what's next?"

Mira laughed softly, the moment breaking. "Next, we head back before it gets dark. You can carry the basket."

"Of course I can," Lance said, rolling his eyes. "Why wouldn't I carry the basket?"

Mira handed it to him with a playful smile. "Because you're my assistant today. And assistants do the heavy lifting."

Lance chuckled, hefting the basket onto his arm. "You're lucky I don't charge for this."

"Oh?" Mira said, her tone teasing. "And what would you charge?"

He smirked. "Lemons…"

"Lemons?"

"You miss heard, I said lessons. You're going to have to keep teaching me if I'm going to keep up with you."

Mira's laughter rang out as they began their walk back to the camp, the warmth of her presence lingering long after the forest grew quiet.

'This place really isn't for a healthy young man.'

…

The sun had already dipped below the horizon when they got back. As they neared their camp, Lance was shocked to see someone drop from the tree ahead of them, upside down no less.

The sudden appearance almost gave him a jump scare, and it sure did Mira, good thing Lance was the one holding the basket.

"Zarra! How many times do I have to tell you to stop doing that?! You'll care me to death one day!" Mira shot at her in a rather light tone as she stabilized her breath and brought herself to her feet.

"Sorry, my bad. I couldn't resist it this time, wanted to see how our chief would react. He's quite brave it would appear!"

"Zarra… I haven't seen you for some days." Lance said as his posture relaxed a bit and his heart a bit calm.

"I heard you spent the entire day with Rynne yesterday, and today Mira. Come on, you'll spend tomorrow with me, right? I'll even show you a thing or two about being a scout! Come on, I need to see how good my chief is out there!" Zarra proposed energetically.

"Well, you'll have to discuss with Rynne first, we are supposed to spend tomorrow training, so…"

"Oh, Rynne? No problem! I'll talk to her, she won't have a problem at all, after all, tomorrow will also be like training, just not in combat."

"Ok then, if she agrees." At this point, Lance couldn't help but think if Rynne was that easy to convince.

That night, Lance ate the most after his appearance in this world, mostly because there was enough meat to go around in ample quantity. The goblins didn't seem to have much variety either, so that had been the only 'food' he had been eating since he came to this new world, something he had to fix.

He wasn't sure about goblin anatomy, but there was no way it could be good for a human to live solely off meat all their lives. Then again, Lance could remember quite a number of articles and videos he watched that proved it was possible. In the end, it was more the need for variety than anything else.

…

Just as the day before, Rynne had agreed without any issue, and Lance was set to spend the day with Zarra. He didn't mind much for it either, since he could kill two birds with one stone, getting to know the elders, while fulfilling their requests. It was a bit difficult for an unexperienced young man to say no to such beautiful women… goblins.

"Alright, let's set out, just the two of us!"

… 

Lance crouched low in the underbrush, his knees screaming in protest as he tried, and failed, to find a comfortable position. Ahead of him, Zarra moved with the grace of a shadow, her smaller frame weaving silently between the trees. She was the youngest of the elders, with a rather lithe structure than the rest Lance had seen.

Zarra paused briefly to glance back at him, her sharp yellow eyes glittering with amusement.

"You make more noise than a wounded boar," she said, her lips curling into a mischievous smirk.

"I'm not stomping," Lance hissed, trying to keep his voice low. "I'm… relocating my weight strategically."

Zarra laughed softly, "Relocating your weight straight onto every branch and twig in the forest, you mean."

Lance sighed, pushing a stray branch out of his way as he tried to keep up. Zarra, in contrast, seemed to glide through the dense forest effortlessly, her lean body perfectly adapted to the terrain. Her wiry agility was impressive, her movements precise and deliberate.

"Slow down," Lance called quietly. "Not all of us are built for… whatever this is."

"This," Zarra said, perching gracefully on a fallen log, "is how you survive in the forest effectively, forget Rynne's method, not many are built the same as her. A good scout sees without being seen, hears without being heard. And right now, you're about as subtle as a boulder rolling downhill."

"Oh, why don't you describe me as a passing storm while at it?" Lance said, drawing a light laugh from Zarra who seemed amused.

Zarra had insisted on showing Lance the intricacies of the goblins' scout network. She'd led him deep into the forest, far from the camp, to the intricate system of hidden trails, lookouts, and signaling devices that kept the tribe one step ahead of their enemies.

"This way," she said, motioning for him to follow as she ducked under a low-hanging branch.

Lance groaned, doing his best to mimic her movements without getting tangled in the foliage. "You know, for someone who's supposed to be teaching me, you're not exactly making this easy."

Zarra paused to glance back at him, her smirk widening. "If it were easy, anyone could do it. And where's the fun in that?"

"Fun isn't exactly the word I'd use," Lance muttered.

Zarra watched him for a bit with a bright smile on her face as Lance made it through some tangled foliage.

"Well, it isn't always fun, is it?"