Moon Glaive

Chapter 5: Indu

"You can turn around now."

He turned, and his eyes widened instantly.

"Wow...I didn't realize you were this small." He bluntly commented. It was rude, but Indu overlooked it because of the harsh truth. She was grateful she even had clothes to wear after the troll fiasco.

"At least you won't be cold as much." As if noticing Indu's displeasure, Axer added something else. And he wasn't wrong. Indu felt much warmer while wearing his robes and hugging the blanket to her chest.

"Ah, this blanket..."

"Keep it. I was supposed to give it to someone, but I'll procure another one. It's already dirty anyway."

"I can keep such a heavenly textile?" Indu felt bad for the one supposed to own this wonderful blanket. She rubbed her blushing cheek against its soft, wooly surface and sighed.

"I think heavenly might be pushing it...."

Indu ignored him and continued snuggling her face in it.

"Didn't you say you needed to go?"

"Ah!" She withdrew her face from the captivating surface. A blush crept up her face as she turned to face Axer. "L-Let's go now, then."

While she and the blanket had an intimate time together, Axer had packed everything. He put out the warming fire and packed everything into a small, brown sack. Streaks of ashes covered where the fire had once been, and the half-burned chunks of wood were left untouched.

Indu took the lead. A soothingly chill breeze brushed past her face as a vast valley blanketed by the beautiful night sky greeted her. The orange moon hovering in the sky provided just the right amount of light to give the land an ethereal presence as if blessed by a deity. The cave's entrance was about ten feet from the edge, so Indu could see the lush green plants and trees covering the valley below.

She walked towards the edge. About a hundred feet or so down was the path she had originally been on when the troll had attacked. A faint but noticeable red splatter was the only evidence of the troll's existence. However, looking at it made Indu queasy, and she turned away.

"To think he jumped all the way from here and crushed the troll like that."

The topic had briefly entered her mind but was swept away after she fainted. Only now, when she saw the distance of the jump and the size of the splatter, did Indu realize how monstrous Axer was.

"Forget about his strength; his body must be incredibly sturdy to have survived a fall of that magnitude." She turned around to glance at Axer, only to find him only a hair's distance away.

"Aggh!" Indu screamed and fell backward, but a strong hand grabbed her waist and held her straight.

"T-Thank you."

"That was dangerous, you know? One wrong move and you would've ended up like the troll over there." Axer pointed in a direction Indu assumed to be the blood splatter but didn't look at it again as she wanted to keep her food in her stomach.

"You scared me!" Indu pouted and lightly punched his chest.

"Ah. I'm sorry then, my lady." Axer playfully kissed the hand clutching his shoulder, and Indu realized their position only then. His hand wrapped around her waist while her hand held his shoulder as if performing a noble's dance.

She hurriedly broke away and turned around, desperately trying to hide the blush growing on her cheek. It was futile, however, as her cheek, neck, and even parts of her collarbone were dyed red. Her physical condition perfectly captured her acute embarrassment.