I Never Let Her Die! (Aerith x Male Gamer Reader)

Disk 01: Chapter 02: The Road Goes Ever On and On

After passing out from injuries sustained in my crash landing, I was unconscious for some time. Around five hours, according to Aerith. When I finally woke up, it was night. Stars filled the darkened sky, as a half-moon was near the western horizon. I was, actually, surprised to find that we were still in the same place I had landed. No one had made any effort to move on further. With a slight groan, I risked movement again and this time found that I was able to do so without further pain. I looked around and saw a small campfire, and a pair of sleeping bags with figures in them.

Right next to the flames was a third bag. Red sat on top of it, vigilantly watching the surrounding plains. "It's my watch." He explained when he saw I was awake. "But I'll wake Aerith up to take hers in about thirty minutes. How do you feel?"

"Much better. What did you do anyway?"

"I did nothing." Red answered. "It was the Cetra. She did something most impressive. 'Healing Wind' I believe she called it."

"Whatever it was, it worked."

"I am glad." Red replied. Then he said "Now, before my watch ends, you and I need to speak in private. I would very much like to know who you really are."

"There's really nothing special to tell."

"No? You appear out of nowhere, in the middle of nowhere, directly over the head of one of the only people in the entire region. You then proceed to come within inches of calling this person by name when you've never met her..."

"Beyond human-level intelligence." I reminded myself. "Got to be careful with this guy."

Meanwhile as I thought this Red continued "And then you meet a creature you cannot have met the likes of before, and are unsurprised by said creature speaking to you. None of this adds up."

"Fair enough." I said. "Though... Look, I'm not asking you to trust me. You can, I swear I'm on the right side of things, but I also understand that trust is earned. All I ask from you is the fair chance to earn yours."

Red offered a forepaw and it took me a moment to realize he wanted to shake on what I had just said. I did so as he said "Sensible. You know, I'm not actively suspicious of you even now. The Cetra isn't the only one with special senses, and mine are telling me that you are not an enemy. Nevertheless, I cannot be too careful."

I nodded in understanding. We sat side-by-side for some time in silence, then I had a thought about something he had said when I first woke up. I asked "Why did you make a point of telling me Aerith was the one taking the next watch?"

Red made a soft chuffling sound which I suspected was his equivalent of laughter. "Well, after what you said when you were in the process of passing out, I thought you'd want to know."

"What I said? All I remember is something about not letting someone down..."

"Oh-ho... That was the first part of it, yes. As I recall, you full statement was 'I won't let you down this time... I love you.'"

I was mortified. "Thanks a lot Ganthet." I thought. "First minutes here and I blow it just because you decided to make 'dropping' me in literal."

"Before you get too out of sorts, I should tell you she seemed more touched than embarrassed or shocked. Then again, she did say this has happened to her twice before, perhaps she's used to it by now." Red rose to all fours and shook, then said "Well, it's time for me to wake her. We can talk more in the morning if you would like."

I thought that maybe I should give some space, given what I had apparently said. So, as Red slowly ambled off towards where Aerith was sleeping, I took advantage of the opportunity to return to the blanket they had laid me in, fold it up, and move a bit further away from the encampment. There I sat, facing away and looking up at the stars. I saw no familiar constellations, further proof that I was no longer on my own world. It was perhaps ten minutes later that I heard the sound of soft footsteps on the prairie grasses behind my back.