A Learning Experience - Etrian Odyssey IV (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 23

AN: Thanks so much Ame_Tasogare and SakuraiYoake for commenting! This might be considered to be a bit of a filler (again…) but I really, really wanted to write a chapter where the guild are interacting with each other outside the labyrinth. Also, I wanted to write a little something from Bryce’s POV, which was fun. A bit of swearing involved with him, as you can probably imagine.

-

Chapter 23:

As much fun as it was lounging at the Dancing Peacock or bumming around at the inn, Bryce preferred the residence of Tharsis top three researchers. It just felt more comfortable and comforting. It was probably due to the fact that they could have lost their two youngest members that made Bryce and the other seeking out a place of reassurance, but there was just something about this researchers’ clinic (as it was dubbed by the locals) that was heartening and warm.

There were probably a lot of reasons contributing to that. The fact that if anything bad should happened (like getting poisoned or suffering from paralysis, for example) they knew where to go, who to turn to.

It also probably helped that they didn’t have eyes watching them all the time. Being the guild to take out not only the Berserker King and the Hollow Queen, but they had also opened the way to the Scarlett Pillars and help discover the mysterious Vessels.

Everyone seemed to be waiting and watching for their next trick. Bryce was no fucking show pony. He didn’t like anyone expecting him to do shit. Expectations from others meant unwanted pressure, and pressure meant unnecessary stress, which ultimately led to making potentially costly mistakes.

But being at the Researchers’ Clinic gave them privacy and a time to think to themselves. There was no pressure here. Just a bunch of guys trying to learn new and exciting things in their own time.

It was also fun trying to get a rise out of the distant and too-serious Varuna. Underneath his bleak clothing and aloofness, he was rather feisty and passionate about his work as a researcher. He could also be so unbelievably cute that Bryce didn’t know what to think.

Slinging his arm over the back of the couch where he sat, Bryce lounged casually as he looked over his guild-mates. Fletcher had recovered by his poisoning, but was still being watched over by his older brother with a protective gaze. Not much of a surprise, Bryce was still watching his own little brother from the corner of his eye, even though he had recovered fully from his own uncomfortable medical condition.

With having so much happening so quickly, Roxbury decided that the entire guild needed a few days off in order to prepare themselves for the next mysterious land.

Watching as Blayden, Fletcher and Zoran gathered around Roxbury and asking him questions about the various maps, Bryce was pulled from his surveillance when Nitish, Varuna’s brother, approached him from the side, clutching a bag of something against his chest and looking rather apprehensive.

Somewhat startled, Bryce turned to look over to him. He hadn’t really had the chance to speak with Nitish – except for that ‘chat’ they had when he got Nitish to reveal the true extent of his abilities to the guild. It wasn’t entirely planned, but he knew that the blond-haired runemaster was hiding something, and hiding in Bryce’s mind meant excuses and white-lies, which was something they couldn’t afford while dealing with the dangerous of the labyrinth and that grottos that littered the lands.

He had always slightly wondered if the blond found him to be intimidating or something. Intrusive was probably a better word. And, honestly, their conversation could have gone a hell of a lot better. Bryce wasn’t subtle in the slightest. He knew he wasn’t.