There weren't too many lazy days in the life of a soldier. Each one was cherished, treasured, held close to the heart because there was always the uncertainty of never having one again. For Karria, a lazy day meant a time to wash up, let her hair down from the severe bun she wore for battle, set down her staff for more than 20 minutes and not worry.
The day was sunny, unusually warm for this time of year, not that Karria minded. Her Stoneforged armor was warm, but only in the places it covered, which to be truthful was not much. Whoever designed these robes deserves to wear them. A common complaint among female Elementalists, glaring enviously at their male counterpart's covering robes and pants.
She was just wandering down the river, lost in thought about a repair that needed to be done to her staff at the nearest outpost, a result of an injured warrior crashing into the short woman in the heat of a recent battle. Some of the spikes along the top of it had broken off, making it much less useful in close combat. It needed to really be remedied as quickly as possible. Karria chewed on a hangnail, worried about the cost of such a repair. Much of her money was stored with an Agent, merely passing through an outpost wouldn't give her enough to time get money and repair her staff.
"At least the scenery is pretty." The grass here was longer, healthier, greener than anywhere she could think of near Ascalon. There was no damage from a Searing. The woman almost felt guilty for walking through the plant life, as if her steps would leave some kind of horrible mar in the earth. It was in the middle of this musing when Karria tripped.
"My, my, if you wanted to get on top of me, you could have asked. I can never say no to a pretty face." It was with a high pitched squeak that Karria jumped back, pale skin flaring with the telltale sign of blush.
"C-captain! I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going and I...well..." The shirtless man chuckled at her nervousness, sitting up to watch the shorter Elementalist. His laugh was deep and rich, not doing anything for the color on Karria's cheeks except deepen it.
"Well, now that you're here, why not keep a lonely man company for a spell? I promise to be a good boy." Red smiled, stretching muscled arms above his head before settling back into the grass, amused when Karria made a clumsy attempt to sit gracefully, unable to settle down completely thanks to her garb.
The blush had yet to have faded from Karria's cheeks, and she realized she was just unable to look at the man without it intensifying tenfold. This is ridiculous! He is my captain, and I will never see him as anything but my captain. She jerked back into reality when she realized that Red was speaking to her, trying her best to conceal the bit of surprise that surfaced.
"Well, have you been able to master Meteor yet? It is difficult to learn, and harder to control. It can really drain you out, too." Karria jerked slightly in shock, wondering how the man switched from hitting on her to checking up on how her studies with fire magic were going. She hadn't even realized he knew she had begun to study the skill.
"Um." She chewed lightly at the edge of a long nail, a habit she just couldn't be bothered to break. "It.. it is more difficult than I assumed it would be. I just don't think I'm strong enough yet to channel that sort of power."
Red tutted at her, wagging a finger in her face. "Never doubt, Karria. As soon as you doubt, you no longer can." A slow, lazy smirk crossed the handsome man's face. "And that's why I never doubt the fact you're gonna kiss me someday."
It was the second loud squeak out of the tiny woman, cheeks diving past pink and turning the same color as her captain's name as she tried to find a response. Red laughed again, quieter than the first time, sounding entirely too sincere. "Ah, Karria, if you could see your face."
She turned away from the man, pushing stands of her pale hair away from her face, feeling the heat of her face sear her fingertips. A hesitant touch at her shoulders made her jump yet again, and the warm hands drew back. "S-sorry." Red's voice caught just a little, enough to make Karria regret the instinctive flinch. "I must have really caught you off guard…" He reached out again, and this time Karria didn't pull back, through some sort of miracle. Red wrapped his arms around the girl carefully, unwilling to upset her.
"Remember when we were both just enlistees?" Red mumbled, masking the grin that threatened to appear when Karria leaned into his warmth. The woman smiled, wistful, unaware of the bundle of happiness that was currently Red.
"You mean, when I set your hair on fire for groping me?"
"It was not a grope, I tripped on a loose paving stone. You just happened to be in front of me. Facing me. Within range." Karria laughed quietly, a sound not heard often enough after the Searing, that fateful day being the one reason Karria was even in the army. She leaned back further into the warmth behind her, not really caring anymore that he was her captain, just remembering the crimson haired man as her friend all those years ago.
"Whatever you say Red, really." The pair lapsed into comfortable silence, watching the river float by on its lazy way, water so clear the stones on the bottom glittered in the afternoon sun. Red was the one to break the silence, shifting his arms around the woman's waist.
"What I said about not doubting… it's true, you know?" Karria made a noise to show she had heard him, eyes closed now, half dozing but still paying attention. "Karria, remember what I said when we got sent off to separate commanders?"
The woman cracked an eye open at this, pausing to frown in thought. "As long as we don't doubt, we'll get to fight together again?" Red smiled at the fact the small woman had remembered. Foolishly optimistic words they had been, even those who didn't doubt could become victims by chance. Even Karria realized how worthless that promise had been, yet through some bizarre chance, here they were, Red only promoted above her due to a fluke, his own captain had died at the hands of Charr, yet Red had brought his comrades together and led a successful raid.
Red's arms tightened slightly around the woman's body. She snuggled yet closer, head tucked under his chin, listening to the beat of the soldier's heart, slow and steady, like her own. Silence fell again between the two, heavy with a promise of… something. Both were content, felt the most at peace than since before the Searing, comforted by the presence of an old friend.
Once again, it was Red who broke the silence, lips quirking upwards. "So, Karria, about that kiss I mentioned…"
None of the other troops understood why Karria was so angry at dinner that night, jabbing angrily at the fire, cursing underneath her breath and keeping the flames so hot food burned before it had a chance to properly cook. None understood why their Captain had shown up an hour after the other Elementalist either, soaking wet and saying something about it just being a joke. The sun had fallen on another lazy day. Tomorrow would be yet another day of battle.