The walk from Altair was never as arduous as it was today. The temperature was scorching, even in the beginning of spring like it was now. Firion and Maria had dressed for a long walk north through the forest, but it may have been a better idea if they had chosen to wear summer wear. Firion wore brown pants that made him sweat greatly, but at least he wore a thin red sleeveless shirt. He was at least thankful for wearing that. Maria wore tight dark violet pants made of some form of leather, and while Firion would not ask her aloud, he could tell that she wasn't looking too comfortable in them. She also wore a sleeveless blouse of the same violet color that was loose on her frame, which allowed air to go through and cool her body somewhat.

It has been nearly a month after the fall of the Empire of Palamecia, and with the fighting all but over between the nations the time had come to start anew for those who were hit directly by the Emperor's lust for conquest. Having lost their homes and family, it wasn't an easy task to pull off, especially for a certain group within the ranks of the Rebellion.

The former rebel named Firion was now free to do what he wanted in Fynn, thanks in large part to his contribution to the Rebellion. Even after being given a nice new house in the town, Firion actually had more of a knack for going and camping out in the wilderness near Fynn. That became something of a hobby after he had done it so much in the Rebellion. Back then it was more of a necessity than a hobby, since he had done it to avoid getting the attention of Imperial Guards.

Only now, he wasn't in his own tent, he was sharing one now.

A fellow rebel, and one would call the closest he had to family; Maria was walking behind him as he stopped to see the amount of trees start to lessen. They were close to the edge of the forest now.

"So, Firion, how much more until we reach the lake?"

Firion looked up at the sky, taking note that the sun would be setting in a couple hours, "Not too much farther, then we'll stop for the night."

Glad to hear that, Maria walked on past him, close enough to where he felt loose strands of her violet hair brush his bare shoulder.

Firion watched her as she stepped over some of the large tree roots sticking out of the ground before picking up the pace but staying within arms reach behind Maria. She went awhile without tripping, which surprised Firion considering that his companion was wearing three inch heeled boots. Not exactly proper hiking equipment, but that was what she had wanted to wear and Firion was not going to tell her other wise.

Coming up to a ledge that was so tall that Firion couldn't stretch his arms out to reach the top, Maria put her short bow over her shoulder and tried to climb up it. She got a few feet off the ground until she heard a snap. "Whoa!" Maria stepped on what she thought was a thick branch but it turned out to be a rotten tree limb. The energy she had used to hoist herself up the ledge worked against her and she fell backwards.

"I got you!" Luckily for her, Firion was right at attention, and was able to catch her. The sudden force of her falling into his arms caused the warrior to fall to one knee, but he didn't let his friend touch the ground.

Maria opened her eyes, and blinked once before she looked Firion in the eyes with a smile, "Thank you, Firion." Her smile in gratitude reminded him of how beautiful she really was.

Blushing a little, Firion found it hard to reply, only able to give a nod. It wasn't often that he was this close with a woman, even if the woman was Maria.

"Um, Firion, you can let me go now."

It took him a few seconds after she said that to make Firion realize that he was still holding onto Maria, and he let her go. It didn't take them long to get over the natural obstacle, and it didn't take much longer for them to reach their destination.

And what a breathtaking sight that lay before them. A large body of water stretching for what seemed like forever to the left and right, with Castle Fynn seen in the far off horizon at a small size. To make the view even better, the various colors of the sun setting in the west.

Maria was overtaken by the spectacle, "It's beautiful…"

Firion came from her right, pointing back towards the direction that he had come from, "I found a place where can camp out. It's just off the beach, I'll show you."

Maria nodded once, then took another glance out towards Fynn before she went took off after Firion.

Firion had gotten a fire ready in no time while Maria had gotten the tent up. As soon as he got a fire going strong, Firion went and sat down on the beach, looking out at the castle across the water. Staring out there with a mind that was as calm as the water, Firion couldn't believe that things had changed as drastically as they had in the past month. Just a little less than a month ago he had been living in the same house as Maria and her brother Leon and their parents. Then the Empire came and destroyed all of that, making Firion and his friends flee to Altair. After what felt like endless amounts of battles, death, and misery, and even a descent into Pandemonium, the group had defeated the Emperor and brought peace to the land.

Soon after the celebrations, however, Firion had himself a smaller problem…

"You alright?"

Maria's voice brought Firion out of his thoughts and as she sat down next to him, Firion tried to keep his eyes on the water. "Sure."

"I like this view, don't you?"

Firion turned his head and saw that Maria was now close enough to where her left shoulder touched his right shoulder, and that made his cheeks flush light red. Then, she proceeded to lay her head softly on his shoulder and wrap her arm around his.

"Uh…yeah, I like it." Taking a deep breath, Firion silently began to try and whisper words of encouragement to himself, it's all right, this is natural for the relationship we have now. We've been together for nearly a month for crying out loud and you've yet to show you care! Of course, he ended up berating himself in the end.

That's right, the warrior Firion has trouble with women. It wasn't something that popped up all of a sudden; he's always had this since as long as he could remember. But now he was in a relationship with Maria. How in the world did that happen?

Maria's brother Leon was about to leave Fynn for parts unknown, and she tried to stop him. Firion himself stopped her, saying that Leon was more than welcome to return when he felt he was ready. Soon after, Maria had slowly attached herself to Firion, more than likely out of loneliness and sadness at her brother leaving. Firion didn't think too highly of it, he even understood it to a degree. Maria began to sleep in the same room with him at first, and that eventually changed to her sleeping in his bed with him. For a whole week, Firion didn't pay this any mind at all.

Week two came about and it almost seemed natural to Firion to the point that he expected to find Maria in his bed every night from then on, and still he didn't ponder at all what others thought of the situation.

And then Guy asked if the two had 'done anything serious' yet.

That's when a line was drawn for Firion. From what he had recalled, he was only helping Maria cope with her brother's absence, but everyone else seemed to have gotten the impression that he and Maria were an item. Firion tried talking it over with Maria, and while she said that she didn't think they were together, why fight it if everyone thought other wise?

So there you have it. Firion found himself with his first girlfriend. That was almost a month ago, and while Maria seemed to have settled into her role of being his girlfriend, it has taken Firion quite a bit to get used to this new role himself.

"Firion?"

The man turned his head down at Maria, who was still sitting with her head on his shoulder, "Hmm?"

"You seem tense. Something troubling you?"

Firion sighed, "No, its just that all that has happened between us so far, I'm hoping we're not moving too fast."

Maria pulled away, looking at Firion. Her expression wasn't one of hurt but of confusion, "You mean our relationship? I think we're moving at an even pace. Why would you say that?"

Shrugging his shoulders, "Guess its my usual insecurity. But, I do worry that I won't treat you right. I could be protective, caring, or kind, but what's to say that it won't go down hill from there? We may start out decent enough, but what if—"

Maria put her left hand on Firion's before raising her right hand to touch his left cheek, "A first time relationship is always shaky at the beginning. Just tread carefully and you'll do fine." Her words slightly soothed Firion's nerves, and Maria bringing her hand to lightly touch his cheek made it feel even better, "And most of all, be yourself."

Firion managed a small smirk, though he didn't know how he managed it. He also gave a silent sigh of relief to know that Maria was trying to help him out in this situation. "Your advice is heeded, thank you."

This time Maria smirked, "I'll warn you now though, I can be quite a handful, but I'll still try to teach you how to handle me."

Firion's smirk faded, "A lecture is it now?"

Maria shook her head, "Not exactly. You see, the first lesson you need to know about a girlfriend is they have ways they liked to be held. As a freebie, I'll show you how it is with me." She moved Firion's right arm and maneuvered it to where it went around her lower back and his hand rested on her right hip. Firion's surprise went to his hand, and he pulled her closer to him. "See?"

Firion nodded once and he was about to ask Maria more on what she intended to teach him but he heard her start to speak again and kept silent.

"Now, there's a certain phrase I want you to tell me. If you can guess what it is, I'll give you a reward."

Great…pop quiz time…, Firion thought, looking away from Maria and having no clue to what it could be that she wanted him to tell her. "I'm not liking the idea of an educated guess…could I have some sort of a clue?"

"I suppose so." Maria placed her right hand in the sand and started to draw light circles with her fingers, "Here's the clue: it's a phrase most men have trouble saying in front of their girl, especially in front of others, mainly because they are a bit bashful when it comes to showing affection. And its also hard for a man like you to say to your first girlfriend, since you've never said it before. And…some men manage to say it…albeit half-heartedly, rarely do they mean it with a passion."

That certainly leveled the playing field, but still not wanting to take a guess, Firion thought long and hard about it. Something he had never said before, and a phrase that men would have trouble saying with truth behind the words…

Firion noted two key words that Maria had said: showing affection. When a man shows his soft side, most take it as losing their manliness, but there are some who don't worry about because they never think they will have to show it and hence forget about it.

Then it hit him. Firion took a deep breath, turned to Maria, who was looking him in the eyes, waiting for his reply, which he promptly gave in the most sincerest tone he had, "I love you."

While his cheeks went a deep red and he was obviously flustered, Firion had not stumbled on his words. He delivered them perfectly and he meant what he said.

A smile of appreciation returned to the young woman's lips, "When you say, Firion, say it only when you mean it. Show me that you mean what you say. Okay?"

Firion's face was a light red, but he nodded, his wanting to learn starting to get the better of his anxiety and boost his confidence, "Don't worry, Maria, I won't let you down—"

Maria leaned in towards Firion, and before he could react, her lips had planted a light kiss on his right cheek. If she kept that up a few seconds longer, she'd no doubt have felt the heat rise to his face. "There's your reward."

Even as his lover giggled because of his lack of a response for his first kiss at first, Firion managed to smile back. He started to believe that there was nothing to worry about now.