Solution to a Parlous Situation
Nah would simply rely on the odds being low for an encounter with a Wyrmslayer, but the fact was that the more they move around and encounter foes, the more likely they were to stumble upon someone with one of those horrid blades, the only thing they needed to be used against were enemy wyverns.
Suddenly some leaves rustled, she thought it was a bunny or something until someone leapt out, a blade drawn. Nah dodged the assailant and started to flee when she noticed a stone. She waited for the attacker to strike again, and jumped over the blade, about to smash their head in with her stone when a hand blacked the face. The two fell as did the hood, revealing Morgan's grinning face. Nah's mouth hung open as she lowed the rock, confusion and anger prominent in her expression, "Wow, you've got some moves!"
"W-what?!" Nah's back stiffened in rage at the simple remark, and threw herself back, only for Morgan to pull her back, "Morgan, what are you doing?!"
"Well, my blade is still in my hand," the tactician explained, "more importantly, though, you totally took me down, if you wanted, I'd have a smashed face!"
"You still could, unless you'd like to explain yourself!"
"Well, first off, you won't undo all that work by getting yourself killed on my blade, see? Blade's down." Nah jumped back and patted the wrinkles out of her clothes, "Second, that was you final test!"
"What...Morgan, we talked about this, it's no use!" Nah said, sad but finally understanding what Morgan meant.
"And I told you I wasn't giving up!" Morgan clasped her shoulder and smiled, "Let's go!"
"Go where?"
Morgan took Nah to a nearby lake, "First thing first, you need to know your weakness, give it a name!"
"Stupid, stubby dragon arms!" Nah yelled.
"Right! Wait, that's not right! Your arms are short, because-" Morgan gestured for her to name the purpose.
"They're stupid!"
"Not quite, they're...come on, you know this!"
"Well, I guess long arms would look stupid...and probably get in the way of my breath attacks—why are you grinning?"
"Because, that's the reason you have short arms, long arms would get in your way or be easily hacked off! Now, you know your weakness and how it is your strength, take advantage of the short arms!" Morgan cheered.
"What...you mean just spit fire at the Wyrmslayer wielding enemies, right? That's what I've been doing...sometimes the manage to avoid me."
"No, no, no, I mean, shoot them down when they strike! Incinerate them as they leap towards you!"
"What...Morgan, I don't think I could time that right without testing and no one would volunteer to training me since it'd be a one time per person test, resulting in certain death."
"I know...ugh, nothing's working!"
"Morgan, why are we at the lake, then, more training?"
"Nah, I just like coming here."
"Wait, I can't be sure...did you say my name, or just give me a negative on our reason for being here...you're just saying that to mess with me, aren't you?"
"Actually, both interpretations are valid, I decided that since we can't test my counter fire method, I could at least share one of my favorite escapes!"
"So, you come here often?"
"I did once, with my dad, then I wound up in another time! Since we're marching so near to the thing though, figured I'd show you up here."Morgan said, smiling and spinning, holding her arms out to emphasize the whole place.
"That's...nice of you...I feel like this is an apology." Nah remarked dully.
"It is." Morgan's smile fell a bit, "I was hoping to come up with something...so I figured the best I could do to combat...a scenario in which someone tries to throw a Wyrmslayer at you...is to just forget it altogether."
"What?! How does that help?! Just so you know, I'd like to fight to the end of this battle, you know, just in case you was wondering!"
"Ha, ha, I know...that's why I'm apologizing...I can't find a way out, the best I can do is spot the enemy first, then deal with them before they hurt you." Morgan smiled sadly and lay on the ground.
"What? Wait...Morgan, I...I didn't mean to upset you-"
"I know, but it's not you, not on purpose anyway...it's not your fault you're a manakete, and that you'll die if those Wyrmslayers have any say in the matter...I'm sorry, I've failed you." Morgan had choked back her tears as best she could, and now they were choking her.
Nah sat with her, trying to think of something she could say, then decided on hugging Morgan instead. Morgan held onto Nah as she tried to laugh her way out of the situation, "You know the funniest part? I thought I could think of something to help you, all that time I thought there was a solution, well, now I know!"
"Morgan, it's alright to show fear." Nah informed, "You're hiding though, trying to act like this doesn't bother you, but if you're scared, then you have to acknowledge that."
"Call me childish, but I don't want to." Morgan squeezed Nah's shoulder for the third or fourth time in as many minutes, "You know...I thought about it like a problem at first...just a puzzle, but then...I don't know, it was...fun, serious, I knew, but fun...but only as long as I was sure I could win...and now...you want to know if I'm scare. I'm so scared, I feel like I'll be sick, I feel like...if one of my greatest fears was realized, I'd probably cry for an hour before I just spontaneously combust. Boom! Bolganone...but of course I'd come out of it alive, just like the awful memories you have to live with."
"You...you know, maybe I'd survive, I mean, you guys get chopped at all the time, it's not like I'd be dead...just probably close enough that I'd look very dead." Nah hadn't noticed her hand gently stroking Morgan's back, but it seemed to be calming her...friend? Nah wondered how long they'd been friends for, she hadn't noticed when it happened.
"Nah...I don't want to risk it, I thought maybe you should just hang around camp unless the battle involves only mages or only fliers, just to minimize the risk. Of course, you won't agree to that, so I decided I'm going to hang out with you...and try to pretend that Wyrmslayers don't exist."
"Oh...Morgan, I didn't know...that's the only reason we're here."
"Pathetic, huh?" Morgan patted her sleeves against her eyes and the pair sat next to each other.
"No...I appreciate it, I guess I owe you one for dragging you through this for zero results." Nah contemplated, still struggling for the right word to apply to them. She cared a great deal for Morgan, and it wasn't just sympathy,she discovered this had been going on for a while...it was that same elusive word that caused her to get bruised multiple times by the one to whom she shared that unnameable bond.
"You don't...I just hope...you find a way to no be serious, just for a little while. My father always said he was the only one to visit this place, that's how it always was, so this whole place is yours right now, no Wyrmslayers, no Risen, if you want, no stupid tacticians either."
"Hmm, no, but thanks." Nah started to rise when Morgan raised her hand and bumped it against Nah's, "What's wrong?"
"Just watch...just...don't focus, that's the key to enjoying a sunset...please." Morgan felt a tear grow in the corner of the eye closest to Nah while the other one had already leaked a few tears, and she didn't want to detract more from this day than she had to for the poor dragon girl.
Morgan counted the seconds as the sun slowly sank, afterwards there would be no practical reason to find Nah again, and that scared her, she didn't want to need a reason to spend time with her, "It's the small things like this we're fighting for, right?"
Morgan turned to Nah and smiled, "Yeah." she was glad she had an excuse to sit with Morgan a while longer.
Nah leaned against Morgan and wrapped her arms around one of Morgan's. The smell had cleared up...melancholy, had it been? It was replaced with something better, but still painful, false hope, perhaps, or the inevitable staved off a while yet, few things smelled so bittersweet. It was like she could smell her own feelings, or maybe she only perceived the smell, either way, Morgan didn't remove her.
"I could probably avoid fighting a group that looks like sword fighters or horse mounted units." Nah heard her words, but hardly believed them, she hated hiding, especially when it was battle, she was a dragon, after all.
"It's alright...I can't ask you to do that." Morgan looked down as Nah's weight shifted, and found the manakete looking up at her, just as she suspected.
"What, didn't you already ask me to, in a way?" as an afterthought, those words stung, but Nah didn't know any other way to ask, somethings were probably left unsaid, "Sorry...that—I don't know any other way to put it."
"Me neither...if I knew you wouldn't agree, I'd ask, but if I thought for a second that you would stay...since there's the chance you might, I can't ask you to stay in camp."
"Why not?"
"You're not safer there than on the field, there's just fewer ways to get killed or captured there."
"Yarne told you?"
"Yes...he was still pretty shaken when he told me. Asking you to stay would be like saying I could...avoid the high tide by standing on some rocks, I don't know...if the water might rise high enough, or if a single wave could knock me down."
"So...if I promise to say I wouldn't, you'd ask me to hide in the camp?" Nah asked, "I still don't understand."
"Because I wouldn't ask...I'd start off begging, and I don't want to pressure you into hiding, I know you hate being treated like you can't fight, and I couldn't ask unless I knew it'd be pointless...but I can't predict what you'd say."
"Well, I think I've found the solution to our problems."
"Huh, really?"
"Uh-huh, I want to avoid Wyrmslayers, and you want to avoid losing me...from what I can tell."
"Nah...now I'm very confuse-" Morgan looked down at her hand. The hand who's arm was closest to Morgan had its fingers interlaced with Morgan's, while Nah's other hand was draped over Morgan's hand, "Um...so, this, then?"
Nah smiled at Morgan's red cheeks, "Not the hand sandwich...the stuff holding it together...us, me and you."
"Nah...I...are you saying what I think you're saying?" Morgan turned to find Nah staring at their hands.
"I think so...I'm not used to the feeling...I don't know...I want to know how you feel about me...in your own words."
"I...right now I feel...kind of scared, to be—why are you holding your nose?"
"I...I can smell feelings, intentions...I don't want to know for a fact your being completely honest or not."
"Well, it's not like you can do that for our whole lives."
"Huh?!" Nah jumped at the remark and focused on Morgan's words.
"I-I just...if, in fact, you'd be interested in that...idea." Morgan said, clearing her throat.
"Morgan—huh?!" Nah leaned back, startled when Morgan pinched her nose, "Morgan, that's wasn't exactly...I love you!"
Morgan smiled, shaking lightly until she feel on her back in a fit of laughter.
"H-hey, take this seriously!"
"I—I'm...the way your voice sounded when you—ah, ha, ha—huh?" Morgan's hand was held down by Nah's as the other girl stared blankly at her. Nah rested on her elbow and loudly cleared her throat, "I'm sorry, I really couldn't help it. Nah...you're not...too angry, I hope...because I love—huh?!"
Nah smirked as she held Morgan's nose, "You were saying?"
"I...I love you? Yow, I mean, really, really love you!" Morgan rubbed her nose that Nah had suddenly clamped and wriggled, "Why'd you do that?"
"Because I wanted to see if it was funny...it really wasn't." Nah stared at the sky, one hand under her back and one on her stomach.
"Sorry to disappoint you." Morgan turned to Nah, smiling as she realized why Nah was disappointed, "You really that to be funny, huh?"
"Yeah...I'm scared sometimes that I don't have a good sense of humor...I like to go on long rampages in the forests."
"Me—wait, rampages, not walks?"
"I thought you knew where I would be walking because you've been following me."
"No, I saw you go to the woods and ran off trail to the trail where you'd have to pass unless you turned back. Nah...if you want, I'll make you laugh."
"Ha, that proposition almost made me laugh." Nah turned and held Morgan's gaze.
"Even if it takes me my whole life...but it won't, because I know you share something in common with other people."
"Oh...Morgan, that's so sweet." Nah lurched out at Morgan and held her close.
"Uh—umm, well, now I'm kind of worried, because I honestly meant I could...I know I can, if this won't work, I don't know what will...but it might be a cheap shot...you don't mind, right?"
"If it fails, will you still try?"
"Nah...if it fails, then I will try, even if it does take me my whole life...no, I'll try not to focus on making you laugh and make you smile, instead...because if nothing I try in the next...ten seconds works," Morgan's lips suddenly contorted into a suppressed smile, "then I—ha, I'm sorry, I'm laughing just thinking about it...Nah, if this doesn't work, I'll be here...I can't guarantee you'll ever laugh, or that you'll even care much for the method, or that I'll ever be able to hold your smile for long, but I can promise you this: I will always love you."
"Oh...Morgan!" Nah giggled, weeping as she held onto Morgan.
"Oh, Nah, you have such a pretty laugh."
"T-thanks...anyways, now for your solution!" Nah followed Morgan's gaze to the sky, and sighed contently as Morgan
"Look at that star, focus on it." Morgan lowered her hand, resting it on Nah's side.
"And now?"
"Just watch it." Morgan waited for a few moments before unveiling her solution.
"Ah, he-hey, ah...ah, ha, ha, ha, Morgan, ha, ha, ha!" Nah found herself in a helpless fit of laughter as Morgan, with just five fingers on her stomach, made her laugh harder than she ever thought possible. As Morgan said, it was a pretty cheap shot.
"I knew you had to be ticklish!"
"Ha...wow, that was a...how did you know?"
"Everyone's ticklish, Nah, ha, even I-" Morgan was interrupted by her own laughter as Nah's hands darted up at her, "He-hey, I wasn't done talking!"
"Fine, continue." Nah relented, sitting up.
Morgan sat next to Nah and held her tightly, "Even I'm ticklish."
"Now that was a cheap escape." Nah critiqued.
"I love you, Nah." Morgan said, pinching her own nose.
Nah grinned and turned to Morgan, leaning close to her closest friend, "I love you too, Morgan. You know, that was pretty funny." Nah pulled Morgan close and kissed her.
"Hey, Nah, back to our problem earlier, what if we were always together, I could protect you from the Wyrmslayers, while also knowing you were okay."
"And I'll be able to keep an eye on you...hmm, that's good smell...contentment?"
"Yep, can you smell regular stuff, though, like food?"
"Of course I can, speaking of which, I'm pretty hungry."
"Oh, right, manaketes need to eat a lot more than us, right?" Morgan picked Nah up bridal style and and started to carry her back to camp.
"Hey, it's fine, you...you don't have to, hmm." Nah dropped the thought altogether and relaxed. The sudden scent of worry was gone as soon as it appeared and was replaced by an overpowering sweetness that could have knocked her down. She never knew contentment could feel or smell so peaceful.
Author's Note: Here's a Nah/Fem!Morgan for me...oh, and you can have it, too! This is their "S Support", since I felt like they needed one. Prompts are always welcome!