feral | sting eucliffe

XXXVII | BM

Episode 37: A Bonding Moment!

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"SO, THEY HAVE NO IDEA?" Nikos questioned, patting the scaly back of his snake. Usually, they'd be traveling by animals, but it would be way too obvious to see a sudden swarm of animals arrive from the forest or out of nowhere. So, they decided to rely on Nikos's giant snake. "No, they have no idea." Y/n sheepishly admitted.

Even though she had listed it as a priority earlier, she had failed to contact Stella and give them a heads up on the situation. Another thing that was off was the absence of Chase. He was currently on a mission to visit his grandfather about the coin and its meaning. Since it was found in the same ruins as the key, they figured that it must be connected to the Lock family.

Nikos snorted at her answer, shaking his head. "And I thought you were the responsible one," He chided her, making her roll her eyes and cross her arms. Y/n averted her eyes, looking towards the foliage on her left. She looked over her shoulder to check on the others. Surprisingly, the dragon slayers were holding up pretty well. The train was worse than this, so they dealt with it.

Their motion sickness wasn't as bad, but it was as if there was a constant itch of nausea. That's how Sting described it to her when they talked an hour ago. Y/n planted her feet onto the scales, slowly sliding down its ropy structure. Landing near its middle, she moved her legs to sit next to Sting. He was slightly nauseated, but he seemed to be okay for the most part.

"Hey," She chirped, glancing over at him. Lector was fast asleep in his lap, his hands running through the exceed's fur at a comforting rate. He looked up, blinking at her. "Hey. I thought you were up there with Nikos?" She smiled, tilting her head. The girl teased him, jabbing a thumb backwards towards where she was previously sitting. "Do you want me to—"

He quickly cut her off, shaking his head. "—no. Not at all. Um, it's fine if you sit here." The girl giggled at that, finding his slightly flustered state both amusing and adorable. He smiled back, heat still flushing his cheeks. Suddenly, he blurted. "Your eyes look really pretty in the moonlight." Indeed, they did.

Her eyes glimmered and they looked absolutely stunning to him.

She quickly averted her eyes, turning red at his compliment. Sting's flirtatious and cocky side came out as he smirked, "I don't think I said this earlier, but watching you lead people like that. . . . " He trailed off, as if searching for the right sentence while Y/n looked over at him. "What I mean to say is that it was really fuckin' hot." Sting emphasized with a boyish grin.

The girl perked up instantly, steam practically rushing out of her ears. "I-I'm glad you think so?" She squeaked. Y/n wasn't used to these kinds of interactions and it was obvious that Sting was slowly becoming cocky, now abusing the fact that he had that much power over her. He chuckled at that, pulling his arm around her and bringing her closer.

She relaxed against his grip, showing how tense she really was. He pulled back shortly, staring at her. "Do you trust me?" He suddenly questioned, startling her. Her brows furrowed as she retreated as well, muscles tensing at the odd question. Sting swallowed, "Do you trust me?" He repeated, words wavering. She nodded, "O-Of course I trust you." 

A smile shaped his lips, teeth showing off. "Then, out of pure curiosity, you really don't have to answer—do you trust me with knowing your past?" She blinked at him, staring at him. Pulling her knees to her chest, she glanced down at the ground and it was clear that Sting had slightly overstepped the boundary. He patted her shoulder, "Again, it's fine if you don't want to answer."

Her head tilted up at that, a small smile on her face. He continued, clarifying as to why that question came to. "While we were waiting for you at the guild, it turns out that no one really knows your past, or any of the Kyuuseishu, that is. I just. . . I got curious." He mumbled quietly, feeling embarrassed. Y/n leaned her head on his shoulder, sighing.

"It isn't bad; I don't blame you for being curious, y'know? It's just heavy and I don't really want to reminisce about it," She elaborated, his heart starting to race at the contact. Sting settled down, sharply inhaling as his fingers curled inwards. "Okay," He answered awkwardly, the girl pulling away to look at him with an amused look in her eyes. "Okay?" She smiled.

He nodded quickly, too quickly. Feeling bold, her cheeks turned pink as she beamed at him before pecking his cheek. "Okay." Y/n repeated before scaling back up the snake's frontal area and towards the head. Sting turned red, brushing his hand against the cheek that she'd just kissed. Rogue looked over his shoulder, having seen and heard everything.

He spoke up, "You two are both so obliviously in love that it's sickening," Rogue commented, his red eyes darting to Sting. Sting scoffed, looking to the side and avoiding his best friend's stare. "Oh, shut it," He mumbled under his breath, running his fingers through his exceed's fur. Lector's ears twitched as a content sigh left his mouth, paws curling up.

Feeling at awe of the action of cuteness, he tapped his feline best friend's nose. Lector's nose twitched, the cat threatening to sneeze before he settled down once more. A purple hue surrounded him all of a sudden, small steps tapping against the scales and catching Sting's attention. "If you do plan to go after her," She paused, curling her fingers inward.

"Please treat her right," Akane said, magenta eyes narrowing at him in a slightly threatening yet begging manner. Sting blinked at her briefly, as if taking some time to register her words. "I will," He smiled slightly. "Don't worry."