Arrows extended flight

Chapter 1

"Wasn't I with Sara last night... "

Shooting up from my resting position, I frantically shifted my torso in search, looking to my sides for any signs of my companion. Only to be met with cold. I was left? Again? Why!

We had fun, didn't we? We bought some weapons, window-shopped at a couple of stores, made conversation about our trip at the bar and went our separate ways....

Oh

OH!

"Hah... Hah... Hah" Breathing deeply, the onset of yesterday's memories makes me realise that nothing even happened last night!

That's right! After looking like she remembered something Sara left me with a kiss on the cheek, seductively breathed into my ear that she'd see me tomorrow and returned to where she and the rest of her party were staying! We went on one date of course we didn't have sex!

"hahaha! hahaha!" Whether it was humour at my own wasted panic, relief that I wasn't abandoned yet or a mix of other factors I wasn't conscious of, I continued to laugh "hahaha-OW! "

Rubbing the back of my head I found that it banged against the side of my bed as I tossed and turned in laughter. It turns out that In my fearful state, the fact that my body somehow rolled over and was now lying on the floor didn't even cross my mind.

"Divine power is rich and nourishing. It offers the strength to rise again to those who have lost their strength. Healing." Was I using magic to cure a minor head bump? Yes, I was! Cranial damage was serious business.

It was time to start my morning routine and go out to train, rising to my feet and getting a better feel for my clothes raised my awareness of the fact that I had already worked up a bit of a sweat in my panic. Come to think of it, the fact that I was wearing clothes in the first place should've been an indicator that nothing happened last night.

God, I was pathetic

I remember hearing about how trauma could be stored in the body but getting so physically and mentally affected because I got dumped a year ago was agonising..At least if something did happen last night then I could've used the experience to force myself to move on.

But that wouldn't be right, would it? In retrospect, forcing myself to move on like that would've been an insult to the efforts she'd taken to forge a relationship as well as make me dishonest with myself because the truth was that I didn't know if I trusted her enough to sleep with her. Sex became more sacred to me after my time with Eris, It was an expression of the love I one-sidedly thought was nurtured over the six years I'd known her and I didn't think I was in love with Sara.

I had half-assed my relationship with her and the rest of Counter Arrow by refusing to open up to them despite going on a lot of missions together for the past year and It wasn't until a couple of months ago when I saved her from Trier forest, that I stopped half-assing everything and slowly started to try and open up to them.

"Good job Tindalos.....Baskerville..." Finishing my running I head back to my room after receiving odd looks from the innkeeper to continue my routine whilst pondering my feelings.

My romance-related depression means my feelings aren't particularly strong but I still feel 'something' towards her.

If I had to coin a term for what that 'something' felt towards her then it was ' a blossoming affection', when she smiled at me in gratitude for saving her I wished I could see that captivating expression forever. I felt saved, like everything I had done up until then had been forgiven. When we talked about our shopping trip yesterday I had fun, I realised she wasn't just someone I could project aspects of Eris onto and that she had her own unique skills and interests.