For Larrykitty

 

“And stay down…” Tempest Shadow told the beast, knowing it wouldn’t understand her, much less respond.

 

“Those were some good moves, Master!” Himmel cheered. “I was almost worried for a moment.”

 

“There was no reason to be worried, boy. I’ve faced tougher than this stupid beast,” Tempest reassured him as she started walking away. “Come. We need to inform the village we’ve succeeded.”

 

“Wait. We’re just gonna leave it here like this?” Himmel asked, quickly walking behind her. “You sure it’s dead?”

 

“If it survived, it will know better than to come near here,” Tempest answered. “Even the dumbest of monsters recognize when there’s something stronger than they are.”

 

“If you say so…” Himmel said, glancing back at the beast’s body before quickening his pace to keep up with Tempest.

 

The way back to the village proved to be a greater chore than it was following the beast’s tracks. Because it was attacking people who were traveling between villages, the two of them needed to travel off the beaten path in order to find it. Unfortunately, recent snowfall had covered their own tracks, meaning they couldn’t trace back in order to reach the beaten path.

 

“I think we’re lost…” Himmel said worryingly, looking around and seeing no sign of civilization.

 

“Damn. We were out too long,” Tempest only commented.

 

“What do we do?”

 

“If we can get a higher vantage point, we’ll have a better chance of seeing the village from there,” Tempest advised. “Climbing shouldn’t be too hard for you, I hope? I don’t want to have you on my back the whole time.”

 

“I can climb just fine! I climbed trees all the time back home!” Himmel asserted.

 

“That’s not exactly the same, boy…” Tempest replied in an annoyed tone. “But I’ll take your word for it.”

 

A cliff leading to what seemed to be a higher point happened to be nearby. True to Himmel’s word, he scaled the rocky wall with very little issue. Tempest had to admit to herself she was impressed with the boy’s natural talent for adventure. She would almost think it was a hobby, with how eager he seemed to take down ne’er-do-wells and explore new locales. A thought couldn’t help but to occur to her, that perhaps in some other version of this world, she would be much like him.

 

The two reached the clifftop in short time, climbing onto a more even plateau than they expected. It didn’t matter that they were now at a higher viewpoint, as the snow had gotten worse, blurring their vision. Tempest growled in contempt at how the weather decided to hinder them.

 

“I can’t see a thing!” Himmel complained. “Now, what do we do?”

 

“We’ll have to hold off on our trip back. Find a place to hunker down until the snow dies down,” Tempest answered. It was a good thing she had her protégé carry some supplies just for such an occasion.

 

“Master, look!” Himmel shouted, pointing towards the next cliff wall. There was clearly an entrance to a cave, leading deeper into the mountain. “We can wait in there!”

 

“It’s as good a place as any,” Tempest reasoned. “We’ll need to be careful. Usually, these caves are home to beasts.”

 

“If there are any, we’ll just beat them up like the last one and make them share the space!” Himmel boasted, flexing his fist in bravado.

 

His master briefly showed a moment of earnest shock. When she was his age, she already knew the dangers such beasts posed. She had the scar to prove it, after all. Seeing her protégé be so confident about their chances spoke to not only his bravery, but his faith in his teacher. Thinking on this, she brandished a small but sincere smile.

 

“Right. Let’s get inside before we freeze.”

 

The cave seemed fairly large, at least big enough that Tempest didn’t need to crouch as she walked. Finding a dry enough branch, she let off a small spark in order to light it as a torch. So far, it didn’t seem as though anything was inside the cave.

 

The two of them eventually reached a branch in the cave’s path, with the faintest light reaching through one way. Looking inside, they found a wider part of the cave, with a hole in the ceiling that let in the moonlight. In the center of this cave clearing was a small body of water, unfrozen even in the cold weather.

 

“Look, Master!” Himmel shouted, pointing at the water. “I can see steam coming from the water!”

 

“That makes this a natural hot spring,” Tempest commented. “I’m surprised that the villagers haven’t found this.”

 

“We should let them know about this when we get back! I bet they’d love it!”

 

“Let’s make sure it’s safe first,” Tempest said as she approached the water. Dipping her fingers into the water, it seemed warm enough. “A nice temperature.”

 

“So it’s safe?” Himmel asked.

 

“Seems so. And since we’re here, I feel like I could use a bath myself,” she said, an assured smile on her face, seemingly unaware of the blush across her protégé’s face.

 

“Oh! Well, uh…why don’t I stand guard and make sure no one interrupts you?” Himmel said nervously, turning around and was about to walk away, were it not for his teacher’s hand suddenly gripping his scarf with such force that he couldn’t move. “Eep!”

 

“Not so fast, boy. You’re coming in with me. If I could use a bath, then you absolutely need one,” Tempest insisted.

 

“But…but…you’re a girl!” Himmel tried to reason.

 

“Good to know you have eyes,” Tempest replied sarcastically. “And I’m well aware you’re a boy. Do you really think your teacher’s the kind of woman who’d get nervous seeing a boy naked?”

 

“Notatall!” Himmel blurted out. “But…good boys don’t look at naked girls…”

 

“Hmhmhm…” Tempest gave a small chuckle before pulling Himmel close enough to wrap her arms around his shoulders. “If that’s all you’re worried about, then if I don’t tell anybody, and neither do you, then it would be fine, wouldn’t it? You’d still be a ‘good boy’ in people’s eyes…”

 

“...You promise?” he said after a moment of silent contemplation.

 

“Of course. Consider it a promise from your teacher,” she answered, with a tone that was uncharacteristically, but geniunely, gentle. “Now then…”

 

Before Himmel knew it, his teacher’s hands were at his pants, and were promptly pulled down, revealing his naked waist. Distracted by this, Tempest took the opportunity and pulled off his scarf, followed by grabbing his long-sleeved tunic and pulling that up over his head. The poor boy was dazed from all the movement, but had enough mind to speak.

 

“Master, stop! I can undress myself!” he pleaded.

 

“I need to make sure you get in just in case you chicken out at the last second,” Tempest said in a teasing sort of way. She kneeled down and pushed him gently, making him stumble out of his shoes and pants. Now completely naked, Himmel tripped over his feet and landed face first into the water.

 

“What was that for, Master?” Himmel shouted once he got his head out of the water. The water was high enough where he was up to shoulders sitting down.

 

“I couldn’t just leave you standing stark naked in the cold air,” she answered snarkily. “How’s the water?”

 

“Huh?” Himmel hadn’t noticed it when he first fell in, but the water felt comfortably warm. Already, he could feel his muscles relaxing in the water’s heat. “It feels nice.”

 

“Good,” she replied as she began to remove her armor. Starting with the arms, she simply let them fall where they would. Himmel watched intently, as he had always expressed an interest in her armor.

 

“Where’d you get that armor, Master?” he finally asked.

 

“It’s a gift from Princess Twilight. This set is based on armor I used to wear,” she explained as she removed the breastplate.