Now that I’m not alone, I sit up properly and throw the blankets off of my torso, revealing my topless body to the Dwarf. “It’s true. I had some just a bit ago. You’ll never find it, though. I’ve gotten better at hiding the bottle.”

Gwin chuckles a few times before blushing and eying my body without much subtlety. “Ya look like some sorta topless, alcoholic vampire,”

“Well, I certainly feel like a topless, alcoholic vampire. Lot on my mind.”

“Ye, well... um... nice pecs, tho’.” The brash Dwarf girl gives me an awkward pair of thumbs up, coupled with an increasingly red blush. “Ah saw yer note. Was comin’ on up ta fix th’ latest casualty of th’ Grekkan’s ongoin’ war with yer Guild’s structural integrity. Ya wan’ ah should come on back later?”

“You can stick around if you want. I just can’t promise to be that engaging of a host right now. Hop on the bed for all I care. You helped build it.” I only notice how awkward that sounded after I said it, but if the invitation into my bed bothered the Dwarf, she doesn’t let it show.

Instead, Gwin closes the door behind her and unbuckles her toolbelt, and takes off her gloves, tossing them on a desk cluttered with Sam and Zutiria’s clothing. Rather than joining me outright, Gwin hops up on the edge of the massive bed and tilts her head to look at me. I’m treated with a stunning sight I’ve never before seen- the glowing eyes of a Dwarf in darkness. Gwin’s eyes practically burn in the absence of light, glowing and shimmering like a pair of green garnets. If I remember right, this helps her species see better in the mountains and caves of their Homerealm, Hal Moldirh.

If I were feeling a bit more like myself, I’d surely tell Gwin how beautiful they make her look, but I’m far from on my a-game right now.

“Ya wanna fuck? Cave ain’t been mined before.” She asks after looking away, presumably to hide her embarrassment.

“Not really. I don’t want you to waste your first time trying to cheer me up when I’m just having an off day. You deserve more than that, Gwin.”

“S’fine...” The fiery Dwarf sighs, perhaps out of relief or perhaps out of disappointment. I’m not sure. I can’t see her face. “Jus’ thought ah’d offer. Wouldn’ mind n’ all that... y’know... if it were you...”

I start thinking things I shouldn’t, which is fine by itself. But since I’m slightly drunk, I soon find myself saying them, which is far from advisable. “What makes me so special? We’ve known each other for what... eight days? Nine?”

This seems to draw out the anger of this Dwarven woman, and she hops fully onto the bed to look down at me. Her face is embarrassed yet annoyed at the same time as she says, “Yer special cause ah think yer cute, ya make me laugh, an ya happen ta be th’ only decent man in this whole town who ain’t a member mah own kin. Fuck’s it matter to ya, Lad? Ya don’ seem th’ type ta pass up free cunt when it stares ya in th’ face.”

“It doesn’t matter, it’s just... seeing how fast things are moving makes me wonder how high our compatibility is... what number are you?” I make the mistake of continuing my drunken contemplation, which unintentionally has the effect of setting Gwin off.

“An ain’t a fuckin’ number... fuckin’ hells, Lad. Dunno shite abou’ what yer arse is on abou’, and I get yer goin’ thru some fuck all with a Goddess or summin’, but come th’ the fuck off it for I slap ya.” She holds back tiny, angry tears, and seeing Gwin respond so angrily makes me hang my head in response.

“Gods, I’m sorry, Gwin. I promise I’m typically a much classier drunk than this... I was just thinking to myself.”

Gwin makes a long, drawn-out ‘pfft’ sound as she rolls her shimmering green eyes. “No ya weren’, ya were thinkin’ at me. Ah was there an’ ah heard it. Stop that shite.”

“Stop thinking to myself...?”

“No, stop thinkin’ in gen’ral. Yer clearly doin’ too much’ve the damn thing. S’great in small doses, but too much an it’ll kill a man.”

I find myself laughing at this simple yet powerful advice. “You know, Gwin, you’re probably right.”

“Nah, ah AM righ’.” She crosses her arms and turns around as if to leave. “Ah can still go if ya wan’ that, tho’.”

I reach out to her and grab her wrist before she can get away, and I give her an apologetic smile. “I changed my mind. I’d prefer if you stayed, Gwin.”

“Figures,” She sighs and plops her ass down on the bed. “Ya darn menfolk and yer complicated emotions. Always sayin’ one thing an’ meanin’ somethin’ else...”

That one earns a small laugh from me as I reach out and reach for my sleeping mask. “If I put on my blindfold, will you lay with me, Gwin? You’re always working so hard, I reckon a Dwarf like you could use a nap right about now.”

Gwin stares at me like I just asked something unthinkable, and she breaks off eye contact to look around the room sheepishly. “Ah... if, er, that’s what yer into, ah guess?” Her cheeks redden. “Fuck, ya down’ know how to start slow now do ya, Lad...? Not that ah’m much’ve a romantic m’self by any stretch o’ th’ word, but... y’know...”

“No, oh... no, I didn’t mean it to sound like that...” I laugh and cradle my forehead in my palm. “I meant this sleeping mask. It helps me rest without accidentally opening my eyes and hurting myself.”

“Oh. Righ'.” She awkwardly scratches the back of her head before giving me a playful punch in the arm while laughing a deep, Dwarven laugh. “Fuckin’ dumbarse, thought ya were askin’ for some kinky shite! So what, ya wan’ ah should jus’... um... fuck do ya Humans call it again?”

“We call it cuddling,”

“Mmm, that’s it. Ah believe in Dwarvish we call it ‘bein’ a fuckin’ pussy,’ but hey, that’s yet prerogative Lad. C’mon, scoot on over an lemme under th’ blanket, ah s’pose...” Gwin blushes, and despite her words, she’s seemingly all too happy to join me in ‘being a fucking pussy’.

I put on my sleep mask and lift up the covers. The embarrassed Dwarf crawls under them and follows my lead, pushing her body up against my side so I can wrap my arms around her as her newly dedicated big spoon. While I can’t see the girl, I’m entirely convinced that Gwin must be blushing harder than ever before.

“Everyone still training?” I ask her as I rest my chin on top of her short, spiky hair.

“W-Why’re ya askin’, Lad? Am ah not good enough for ya? Ya wan’ me ta go an get’m so they can cheer ya up instead?” An aggressively nervous tone cracks her familiar, confident tomboyish voice, her nervousness overtaking her.

“That’s not what I said, Gwin. Relax.”

“Sorry, sorry...” The young Dwarf sighs, grumbling incoherently as her posture becomes stiff as stone. “Yer feelin’ shite enough on yer own, ya don’ need me an’ ma shite righ’ now. Ah’m jus’ gonna go an- AH!”

Her embarrassment only increases as I take this chance to hug the busty Dwarven lass tighter. Gwin makes a cute grunt, but other than that, she shows no signs of displeasure at the increased connection between our bodies.

“Yer sendin’ me some mixed signals, Lad. Are ya sure you don’ wanna, uh... mess around?” Gwin shifts around in place, which might be a sign of her arousal growing, but I shrink back just a bit.

“No, not today... cuddling is nice, though, isn’t it?”

“Ah mean, ah guess so...” She mumbles, clearly wanting more. I feel bad that I can’t give the Dwarf what she wants right now, but my heart just wouldn’t be in it, and she deserves my full attention whenever we make that jump. “Do y’wanna maybe tell me ‘bout what happened with yer Goddess?”

“Soon. I’m probably going to gather everyone up for a team meeting, so to speak, and even if you don’t live here or anything, you’re still a part of the team in my book. I have a lot to tell everyone.”

“Righ’, well... jus’ lemme know when it’s time...”

“Assuming I feel better, it might be tonight. We have plans to visit the Breeding Tribe soon, and I want to devote the day so tomorrow wouldn’t work.”

“Tonigh’ would be best, mah family jus’ got a big new order in an’ ah’ll be pretty busy fer a while after.”

“Sounds good...” I close my eyes and lean into the blushing Dwarf, only for my thoughts to carry me away soon after. There’s a quietness that grows between us. Soon, the only sound in the room is the beating of our hearts and our breathing.

Gwin senses that this doesn’t bode well, and she offers me a prompt warning. “Didn’ ah tell ya t’knock that shite off? Gonna have t’pull out mah ultimate weapon here if ya don’ go listenin’ to mah advice, Lad. Last warnin’.”

Determined to escape whatever punishment the Dwarven lass has in store for me, I attempt to weasel out of it with humor. “Your ultimate weapon, huh? Gwin, I didn’t know you were holding out on me. Would you mind letting me borrow it? The Guild could certainly use more powerful weapons in our arsenal.”

This does its job in drawing out a deep, bellowing laugh from the red-headed Dwarf. “Ain’t that kinda weapon, ah’m talkin’ ‘bout mah women’s intuition.”

“Is that so? Why don’t you lay it on me, and I’ll be the judge of whether we can use it to slay monsters or not.”