Weak To Fire

29

Unfortunately the next mission arrived much sooner than Mereoleona had hoped. It couldn't have been more than a week or two that she had had with Y/N in the forest before she got another message from Marx. Apparently Fueggy needed to take it slower than he thought with his injuries and he needed some help and support. And since Mereoleona had been doing the job for a while when he was out cold, she was the logical choice to fill that spot for him.

Still, she felt like she barely had any time with Y/N. It wasn't like they were doing much in the first place, since there wasn't all that much to do in the forest, but it was such a nice change of pace. Of course, Mereo had still kept her training up (with plenty of breaks that were mandated by Y/N) and they had to go and find some food for Mereo and cook, but other than that there wasn't that much to do. They mostly just spent time relaxing by the fire or in the lake, or stargazing in the evenings.

Mereoleona wondered whether it would make sense to build a small little cabin by the clearing - a nice little house by the lake, in case the weather would turn nasty. It would maybe be a good idea for the future. That was, if that was something that Y/N would like. She seemed to enjoy staying in her lake as much as she could at the moment, but maybe that was just because she had missed it while they had been away in the capital. When Mereoleona had come here first, Y/N didn't spend that much time in the water, so maybe that would change again.

She had brought up the idea to Y/N a while ago and she seemed thrilled about it, but not in any hurry to get started. Which was fine, considering that she had all the time in the world to do things, but Mereoleona was already 32 and while she had never felt like she was getting too old too fast, she was starting to see how time was running away from her now. And she didn't want to rush Y/N, but she also didn't want to waste any valuable time. Especially since her own time might be cut short with the way things were going for the kingdom of Clover at the moment.

But before she could have that conversation, she had gotten the message from Marx that she was needed back in the capital and should make her way back at her earliest convenience. So here she was, packing up her things while Y/N was still in her lake, recharging or marinating or whatever it was she was doing there. She had explained it to her many times, but there was just a point where human words didn't really work anymore and it meant that Mereo wouldn't ever be able to fully comprehend what life as an elemental spirit was like.

Not that she was mad about it. It sounded terribly complicated and it seemed like not even Y/N understood 100% what it was all about, but she also had millions of years to figure it all out. So she wasn't in any rush to decipher the secrets of her existence. And Mereoleona was busy enough without having to figure out complicated stuff like that, so she was glad that Y/N just told her what was going on when she knew what was going on and left it at that. It was the easiest way for them to understand each other, it seemed. But by far the biggest issue they had was their difference in understanding how time worked for the other one. It was messy.

Mereoleona was always in a rush and needed to get things done quickly, while Y/N seemed to take all the time in the world to do whatever she needed to do. It could be infuriating when Mereo really needed to get something done or be somewhere and Y/N just didn't show up on time, because she had no concept of how five or ten minutes could make a huge difference for Mereo. But it was just something they'd have to work on somehow. They were improving and that was all that Mereo knew for now. Still, it was the one thing they ever really argued over.

"What are you doing?" Mereo suddenly heard Y/N's voice behind her. She jumped a little. Y/N still managed to sneak up on her with such ease that it managed to scare Mereoleona, even if just a little. She was glad that Y/N had never tried that while they were in the capital, in front of other people. That would have been embarrassing - Mereoleona Vermillion, the undefeated uncrowned lioness getting scared because a tiny water spirit girl was sneaking up on her.

"Packing up my things. I'm afraid I just got a message that I need to head back to the capital for a while." Mereo told her. Y/N frowned and sat down in the grass beside her. She didn't look happy.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she wanted to know, pouting a little as she said it. Mereo smiled and gave her a quick peck on the forehead.

"Because I only got the message myself about half an hour ago and you were in your lake, so I couldn't tell you." she answered. Y/N raised her eyebrows, looking confused now and Mereoleona knew that this was going to be one of those timeline conversations again. She sighed internally.

"They only give you that little time to get ready and leave? That sounds awful." she said. Mereo shrugged.

"Half an hour is plenty of time, considering it'll take me a while to get there, too. They did say I should get there at my earliest convenience, so I figured while you were still in your lake, I could pack and then we could probably get a little more time together, before I really have to get going." she suggested with a smile. Y/N seemed to relax when she heard that. Mereo felt a little sorry for her, because she had to leave on such short notice so frequently, but then again that was her job and there wasn't really a way around it, so that was just what they had to work with.

"When did you tell them you would be there?" Y/N asked.

"Some time this evening. I said that I couldn't really be sure and they didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry to get me back. It's just that they need my help in the capital, because Fueggy can't work as much as he used to yet. That's all there is to it." Mereo replied, as she finished packing up the last few things that she had around the place. She sighed and leaned back against one of the tree stumps, before glancing back at Y/N who was trying hard not to look too sad.

"Okay. Do you know how long they're going to need you?" Y/N wanted to know next. It was really easy to figure out what she was thinking about when she was upset about something. Right now, she was trying to figure out whether she should come with Mereo to the capital or stay here. It was almost as if Mereo could see all the calculations going on in her cute little head.

"They didn't say, but I can't imagine that I'll be extremely busy for more than two or three weeks. And then I'll come back here for a weekend, anyway. We can plan more then, if you want to come to the capital with me. How does that sound?" Mereo said. Y/N nodded slowly and then smiled. Good, it seemed like she was happy enough with that. If she was honest, Mereo wanted her to stay here for a bit. She seemed much more lively in her own lake, than when she had been back in the capital. Mereo was sure that the natural water was much better for her.

"Sounds good, I suppose. If you're not back in three weeks, I'll make my way over to the capital and hunt you down, I guess." she replied with a grin on her face. Mereoleona chuckled.

"That sounds fair."

Y/N glanced back at her, a smile slowly forming on her face, as she turned around to Mereoleona. She was up to something and Mereo was pretty sure that she knew exactly what that was.

"So... you said we could have some time together, before you have to go?" Y/N asked. Mereo nodded, before pulling her closer.

"I did say that, didn't I?"