An Encounter in the Abyss: Tartaglia/Ajax X Reader

Chapter 4: The Mysterious Cloaked Figure

***Your POV***

I slowly roll over, expecting to reach the end of my bed only to remember where I am, on a pile of leaves.

I slowly open my eyes; Ajax is keeping the fire lit. As soon as he saw me move, he turned around and smiled "Morning Y/N".

"Morning Ajax" I replied as I rubbed the sleepy heads out of my eyes. "You seem in a good mood", I add.

"Yeah, thanks to you, I was able to get a proper night's sleep, the last few nights, I was worried about monsters so that I couldn't sleep." He said as he got some more hilichurl meat ready for breakfast, then he went quiet before saying, "I overheard you talking in your sleep Y/N... about not trusting me? I just want you to know I would never betray you. Ever, I'm not that kinda guy".
I blushed; did I really talk in my sleep. I didn't know how to respond; I think I do trust him. It's just; I'm not sure.

Ajax sighs, "Alright, there's only one thing for it then! I pinkie promise that I will never betray you and will always look out for you. Just like you did for me yesterday".

I wasn't 100% sure what to make of this, but I had nothing to lose, so I lifted my pinkie finger to his; he wrapped his little finger around mine and chanted:
"You make a pinkie promise; you keep it all your life.
You break a pinkie promise, I throw you on the ice.
The cold will kill the pinkie that once betrayed your friend, the frost will freeze your tongue off, so you never lie again.".

"Well, even though I said it, I guess it applies to me as I'm making the pinkie promise to you" He blushed as he rubbed the side of his head.

What kind of pinkie promise is that I remember thinking to myself if I promised anyone that I would get nightmares. But he seems sincere enough, so I say, "Thank you, Ajax, it means a lot!". A considerable weight felt like it had been lifted off my chest; even though it was just words, he felt reliable and loyal, not that I was any judge of character.

"So, what's the plan for today?" I ask; he had been here longer than me, so I hope he would have a plan.

"Well, we a lot of our food yesterday...." He sat there in thought before his eyes lit up, and he eagerly asked, "Hey, I have been thinking, that fight yesterday, you looked really cool, do you think you could teach me some of those moves?".

I think back before replying. "I love to tell you that I know how to fight, but honestly, I was just angry; there was no talent behind them. I wish there were; I never had many talents for killing monsters," I muttered, "so I don't think there's much I could teach you".

Ajax looked a bit disheartened. "Ohh... I felt this buzz in me when we were fighting together. I never felt that way before I thought maybe we could try to recreate that...".

I think before saying, "Well there's safety in numbers, how about we try to fight some more together, we need to learn how to survive if we are going to make it down here. Learning and gaining experience in a fight will definitely help unless you know how to get back?".

"I don't know..." He ponders; you could see he was thinking about his home.

I stand up and brush myself off "come on then, let's go get some monsters", I smile before adding, "together!".

***3rd Person POV****

They left the cave and walked for a bit until they saw a monster camp in the distance, there was 4 Hilichurl, 1 Mitachurl and 1 Abyss Mage. The two hide behind a nearby rock discussing a strategy.

Y/N would sneak off the left and Ajax to the right. Y/N would then chuck rocks at the Mitachurl, getting it to face her whilst Ajax ran at it with both of their daggers, one in each hand, dealing a massive amount of damage based on their abilities. The hilichurl should be easy after that; Y/N would take on 3/4, while Ajax took on the rightest one and would then focus on the Mage. The Shield would be tough to break but possible if enough brute force was caused.