“Well you did a good job of protecting us before. You and Rumble did well versus that snake.” Mia told me enthusiastically.
“No, Rumble protected us. I just got thrown through a wall, heck I don’t even remember being hit by it! I’ve spent my whole time in this place being protected by others, I think I need to start doing it myself. And Mia, I’ve been thinking about it for a while now after having received an offer to do so… Next season I will be going on a dungeon crawl in order to level up some.”
“A dungeon crawl!? That is really dangerous, especially for a stone tier! And why would you want to do that when you are plenty strong already? Your familiar is pretty much the strongest creature on your property ninety nine percent of the time.” Mia argued.
“Because when push came to shove, I definitely lost out when it mattered most. I got knocked out while Rumble did all the heavy lifting by himself. And to make matters worse, even though I have a legendary combat class, I had to be rescued by an unarmed tradesman! Do you know how bad it made me feel? I couldn’t do anything but run and hide the entire night.” finishing my speech slightly too loud and with a bit too much emotion.
“Wait what!? I think you are selling yourself short.” Mia tried calming me down.
With a shake in my voice, “Mia, you are the first friend I made here and one of the few that I’ve ever had. Growing up I was completely separated from my parents and grew up in the orphan program without any access outside of school and extra required courses to fill my time. So the fact that I couldn’t even defend you was devastating…” Having said my fill with a cracking voice, the emotions finally overtook me. Emotions that had been a burden on my mind since waking up and hearing the story of what happened.
With a long pause for thought and more than a bit of confusion on her face, Mia figured it out. “Brad, you are an idiot.” she said with a slight chuckle before approaching me for an embracing hug. “Brad, you did protect me. The snake lunged at me and you literally took the full blow by jumping in front of it. You did get thrown through the wall, but it was because you took the hit meant for me. Without you, I would have died. You only survived because you are a combat class with extra hit points.” She said soothingly and thoughtfully, fully aware of my confusion hearing her words.
“You mean… I got hit while saving you?” a bit of hope flavoring my words.
“Yes, yes I do. Rumble had already been thrown off and I was the easiest target. The snake would’ve killed me outright, game over for me. No more partnership.” Mia said, ending in almost a whisper with a tear starting to glisten in her eye.
Having pulled away slightly to look me in the eyes while speaking, she now was wiping her eyes on the clean portions of her collar. Having tried and failed to hold her emotions, Mia turned towards the field and called over her shoulder with a cracking voice, “We had better get a move on the work, there is still a bit to do in the field before tackling our other tasks.”
Still somewhat stunned in silence, I stood there for a good few moments before the entirety of what she said hit me like a warm bowl of chili in the winter. With many of the thoughts that had been plaguing me now gone, I felt a cheer spread through my psyche. So after another small pause and feeling my view of the past change, I set off after Mia in order to start back on the farm.
It was a good bit of time that had passed while working in the fields pulling weeds and watering the plants, before either Mia or I spoke again. And when we did, it was mostly to talk about work on the farm. It was obvious that both of us were still going through the ramifications of what was said. I was focused on weighing my potential reward from going to the dungeon versus the rewards from staying. I hadn’t told Melissa anything about going yet, so I could still decide not to go, which admittedly was a lot more attractive now knowing that I did in fact manage to save my friend. So with these thoughts blasting through my mind, I was caught off guard when Mia finally broke the conversational drought.
“Brad, if you want to go to the dungeon, obviously I can’t stop you. But we are doing well enough here on the farm that I do not believe that you need to. You have grown plenty strong and once we hit copper tier life will get even easier. They say it only takes a season or two to do it! And who knows, we may hit it even soon with how fast Rumble is killing monsters and how much loot there is for me to haggle over.” Mia said, having started slow and quiet, but gradually getting louder and faster in her speech.
“Mia, I know”
“We will both get another spell when we rank up, and we may even be able to buy a new skill crystal to help round out our abilities!” Mia was now once again tearing up.
“Woah Mia, woah. What’s wrong? I know this can’t just be about me.”
“It is and it is not. Brad, you are probably my only actual friend in this world right now. I know people, but I’m mostly that odd girl that stepped in poop and then came to town all ugly and burned. It is not a great reputation to have. If you leave, I am stuck. We have never talked about it before, but since you told me your past here is mine. I started out as part of a rich family, but once … “ Mia paused as her body was wracked with sadness. A sadness that must’ve had deep roots.
Having approached Mia to talk more casually, I was able to quickly grab her and guide her towards a stone seat to use while she steeled her emotions.
“I was 6 when it happened.” Mia said as a few final shudders wracked her spine. “I was with my family waving my father goodbye for the day when suddenly they were all gone. Flames all around me, watching and not understanding what happened as my list of family members got shorter and shorter. I was the only child there that day, so I was the only one to survive. Like you, I was an orphan. I was put through extra training, and I was emotionally dampened for a long time. So I am sorry, when you said that you might leave, it hit me a bit more than most. I am still getting used to unrestricted emotions surging through my mind.”
Not know what more to say, I just gave Mia a hug while crouching down in front of her. After a few moments passed I felt her hands wrap around me to return the embrace. We held it for a good few minutes before her grip loosened and I pulled away.
“Mia don’t worry, I won’t leave. I will stay and tend the business with you. Honestly, it sounds like we both have a lot of work to do getting over our problems. There is no need to introduce anything else now knowing what we know.”
With a whisper barely heard Mia shakily said, “Thanks Brad, it really means a lot to hear that.” And with her last few words said, Mia stood up and started walking towards the shack. “I will get to sorting monster loot, if you can finish up in the field before lunch.
And so that is how we left the conversation. Her going back to the shack, arms full of loot, and myself going to water plants, both full of thoughts and revelations.
