[Ria: I just got off the plane. Where are you?]

Waiting with her shoulder against a pillar, Ariana scans the room for her most beloved person. 

Her skin is tingling with anticipation, her breath is labored and out of order in equal parts nervousness and excitement.

Checking her phone every few seconds, her worry starts to grow before something alerts her to a presence from behind.

Her body instinctively moving, honed through eons of alertness, battle, experience. Everything ingrained into her very being, her essence.

Dodging while turning around, a couple of arms swings at the place Ariana was just standing. Only to be faced with a pouting girl of around 18.

Looking up, she recognises the familiar features of her little lover. Although in this current situation, Ariana may be the little one.

The girl gasps as she looks down at Ariana. “You’re so small!”

Rolling her eyes and letting out a sigh, before her face arcs into a smile so big her cheeks are hurting. She launches herself forwards into the embrace of the now-taller girl.

“Miralis. My beautiful, gorgeous, heroic wife.”

Ignoring the glances cast their way by the passerby’s, the two girls stare into each other’s eyes as they lose themselves in their own little world. There are no need for words, although their bodies and appearances may be different, their own little language remains.

Miralis runs a finger across the smaller girls arm, feeling the unfamiliar texture of skin. So used to the metal-esque material her lover has had for, longer than she feels like counting, she takes in the new and unfamiliar sensations.

Ariana pulls at the taller girl’s jacket, and tilts her head to whisper into her ear. “Later sweetie, can we go back to your place first?”

Miralis knows that voice so very, very well. Pulling back she looks into the now royal blue eyes of her wife, seeing the raw passion, lust and hunger for her body dancing behind the eyes as a seductive smile adorns her face.

She gives the smaller girl a smile, before tangling their hands and leading the way out of the airport.

##

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Listening to the rhythmic beat of Miralis’ heart, Ariana closes her eyes as she rests her head on her lover’s sweaty chest.

She can feel the vibrations of the telltale low, husky chuckle her wife does every time she’s pleased.

“Ria, while I did absolutely love every time we had sex. Feeling your actual limbs, seeing you being smaller than me for once. It was amazing, but you should be careful. Maybe I never want to let you grow back to your familiar form. I could get used to being the big spoon in our relationship.”

Ariana let’s out a huff as she ignores her lover’s blasphemous statement. She? The smaller spoon? By the Chaos what has the world come to.

“On another note. Lis, how bad?”

She tilts her head so she can look into the gorgeous emerald green eyes of Miralis. She’s met with a hesitant gaze as the taller girl bites her lower lip.

“100K, 3 months. Life.”

“Same as me then. It should be doable.”

Ariana keeps her gaze lingering, only wanting to watch her wife and feel bliss at their reunion, she catches a glimpse of something.

“Miralis. Out with it.”

The taller girl flinches at the mention of her full name. Ria only calls her that when she’s scolding her. Knowing better than to keep trying to hide something from her lover, she lets out a sigh.

“My system is broken. I haven’t heard from her since that time. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I lost the system.”

Ariana contemplates the severity and the implications of the statement.

“It’s fine. I know of a system stone, but I’ll need to get to the second circle beforehand. I will need you to protect me while I get it though. It should be doable with your current state, I’m assuming you remember everything, experiences, emotions, muscle memory, right?”

Miralis gives her a nod.

“Good. We have 5 years for you to get to tier 10. We need you to be at the pinnacle before other cultivators start popping up, and if I remember correctly at January 1st 2055, the first dungeon opens. We need to ascend as soon as possible, as we might only have a few centuries before the Overseer finds this timeline.”

“This timeline?”

Ariana looks at her lover.

“I’ll tell you in a bit, but first.” Licking her lips she stares into the eyes of her wife. “I’ll make you scream some more.”