Chapter 2: Keeping Warm

Dear Rex,

We have decided to make efforts in colonizing areas of Elysium. One such area is on a mountain that some of the mercs found. We would like you to lead an expedition and find an area that would be ideal for a village. Feel free to bring whichever blades you would like. Please report back to us when you are done. I have attached the coordinates to the back of the sheet with a map.

Sincerely,

Yew

Rex sighed as he put down the letter. Apparently, Yew and Zuo still didn't understand that Rex was the boss of the merc group. But the salvager was excited to get back on the field. Obviously, he'd bring Pyra and Crossette as the fire blades of the village, and because he wanted to spend time with the former. Perun and Godfrey, the former still believing him to be a fire blade, would also come along. He also wanted to bring Mythra and Kora.

"Sure!" answered Pyra before she was asked.

"Ahhh!" yelled a startled Rex.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" apologized Pyra.

"No, no, its fine" assured Rex "I was just surprised to see you behind me."

"I'm guessing you also want Crossette, Perun, Godfrey, Mythra, and Kora as well" assumed the girl.

Rex was astonished at how well Pyra understood him. She knew which of his blades he trusted most, and who he'd want to come along. Kora and Crossette were enthusiastic, Perun and Godfrey were dedicated, and Mythra could not and should not be trusted alone. She could work pretty hard when in competition with Kora. Crossette would just go because of Pyra going, now they just had to get the others on board.

"Oooooooooo!" squealed the girl power heavy blade. "I love going on trips. Don't worry I won't talk you're ear off, we've got work to do!."

"All right then" said Rex. "Pack up your stuff and meet us by the village gate."

"Can't wait!" exclaimed Kora. "Will Mythra be tagging along as well?"

"If we can get her too…" apathetically answered Rex.

"I'm sure we can" declared Pyra. "Make sure to get some warmer clothes though."

Similarly to Kora, Perun and Godfrey were eager to go. As ice blades, they did not have to worry about the cold. Kora and Pyra ventured into Mythra's room ready for the worst.

"Awwwwww!" cooed Kora. "She looks so adorable when she's sleeping"

"Shhhhhhhhhh!" shushed Pyra.

"Who said that" an alarmed and barely awake Mythra yelled in a "I just woke up from a hangover last night" type of voice.

"It's okay, Mythra," soothed Pyra. "Its just me and Kora."

Convincing Mythra to go on the mission would be a mighty feat, but Pyra had a trick up her sleeve. Normally she stuck to cooking healthy foods, but she had to make a promise that would get Mythra to join up. While in Garfront, Pyra had learned a few new recipes from Gorg.

"An all dessert meal?" asked the blonde Aegis.

"Yes." answered the girl.

"Fine, I'll go" apathetically expressed the blonde aegis.

"Oooooooooo!" squealed Kora. "We can have a second girl power off!"

"Pyra, would you like to judge?" asked Mythra, hoping for an opportunity to tease her little sis.

"Um, sure, I guess." responded Pyra. Well that's going to suck. "I'm looking forward to it!" No, no you're not.

The new merc team gathered outside the gate, as Rex realized that he did not scheduled boat.

"The village does have a boat, right" asked Pyra.

"Well, yes. But it's for official business." responded the Boy, frustrated with himself.

"Isn't this official business?" asked Mythra.

"I guess" said Rex.

"And you can drive a boat, right?" inquired Pyra.

"Yes" said Rex. "But that might not be.."

"Just don't run us into any artifices" joked the ruby haired aegis.

"Hey!" said Rex, unable to come up with a comeback.

The Party boarded the ship, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Rex took the lead at the small bridge of the small ship. The boat slowly began to move out of Ysheva harbor. Mythra and Kora were preparing for their girl power off while Perun and Godfrey talked on and on about justice. Pyra and Crossette were in the kitchen preparing food for the voyage with supplies as limited as Tora's when the brunette salvager first met him.

"Crossette," said the red-haired girl. "Can you take over the cooking for me? I want to go and see Rex."

"I don't know if I'm as good as you yet" responded Crossette. "But I'll try my hardest!"

"Thank You Crossette," said the girl. "You'll do great, I'm sure!".

The fiery blade headed to where the Boy driving the boat, sneaking up to him, but not enough to scare him again. This time there were real risks.

"You know," started Pyra. "You do look kind of cute driving the boat"

"Th-thanks" said the salvager as he began to blush.

"And so far, no Ophion" she added.

"Haha, let's hope we don't run into him again" expressed the Brunette.

Rex wanted to wrap an arm around her, but wanted to maintain safety on the boat. Instead he raised his head and kissed her on the cheek. Pyra was going to lean her head on his shoulder, but their height difference presented an interesting challenge. She instead opted for resting her head on his.

"I've missed this" declared the red head. "I miss spending time with you"

"I've missed this too" responded Rex. "Everything has been so chaotic over the last month, and we've hardly gotten any time to spend together."

"Maybe once all of this chaos about rebuilding the world dies down, we can spend more time together" hoped Pyra aloud.

"Of course we can!" insisted the optimistic boy. "And I can't wait!"

"Hehe," giggled the girl. "Neither can I!"

Her driver had managed to put a smile on her face as usual. His optimism was quite contagious. Whenever they were apart, the pair always looked forward to the next time they would be with each other. The blade placed a gentle kiss on her driver's cheek, and they stayed near each other for the remainder of the ride. The boat had docked, or rather, standing still, as there was minimal development in the new land. Everyone was on the lower deck sleeping, except for Perun and Godfrey, who were standing watch voluntarily. Rex and Pyra were in their own bed. Rex had his arm around Pyra, as she was nuzzled in closely to him appearing quite happy where she was. She felt a sense of security when in his embrace, despite his stature.

"Well, look how cute that is!" said Kora as loud as she could, so she could wake up the couple.

"I know right!" said Mythra. "Don't you just want to watch them all day?"

"Huh?!"

The Brunette and consequently the red-haired Aegis awoke, quite embarrassed.

"Oh good, you're up" said Mythra.

"We're starving!" added Kora.

"All right" said a sleepy Pyra. "I'll make us some breakfast".

Perun was on guard duty to keep Mythra out of the kitchen. Kora snuck into the kitchen, not drawn by the smell of the food, but by curiosity.

"So Pyra," said Kora.

"Yes?" asked Pyra. "What is it, Kora?"

"Well, you're a going to a cold place" said Kora. "And so is Rex."

Pyra didn't understand what she was getting at.

"Rex will get cold" she continued. "And you're a fire blade."

"You're saying that I should.. keep him warm?" inquired the confused girl.

"Obviously" said Kora. "He would really like it!"

The girl was weary. Rex and Pyra were still a bit uncomfortable with PDAs, unless they forgot they were in public.

"I, erm… uh…" she responded. "Maybe. I just don't want to weird him out"

"You gotta be more confident with Rex" said her bigger sister.

"Lady Pyra, she escaped" informed Perun.

"It's fine" responded the girl.

"Make a move" said Mythra. "Father knows he won't."

"He does!" defended the fiery Aegis. "Just not in front of other people".

Mythra was right. She did need to do something. But this whole relationship thing was new to her and Rex. Neither of them knew what was too far or not enough. Maybe it just takes getting used to. After about twenty minutes, Pyra and Crossette finished up with breakfast. The red haired girl tried following Mythra's advice and scooted close to Rex and they ate. The boy did not object, though he blushed a bit. After breakfast was over, the team headed ashore.

"Our goal is to find a developable piece of land on the mountain" said Rex.

"Who the hell would want to live on a mountain?" asked Mythra. "Everyone would just be cold."

The resident fire blades just looked at her.

"Pyra and Crossette aren't your personal heaters, so don't hang on them for warmth" the boy added ignoring his blade's remarks.

Pyra was saddened about this. She secretly did want Rex to hold onto her for warmth, but he thought she wouldn't like it. Not only would it be adorable, but it would be comfortable for Pyra. She felt somewhat relieved when Kora winked at her, but still wished that she knew Rex would want to use her for warmth.

Rex trotted on ahead as the navigator of team, though he hoped Pyra would come with him.

"Don't worry, Pyra!" reassured the excitable and enthusiastic electric blade. "You just gotta make it clear what you want."

"Uh, I'll try" said Pyra.

"Good. Just get really close to him. We'll be torturing you about it until you do it." tortured her older sister

"Plus, I already told Perun that Rex wants to be trained for cold resistance, so now he is extra cold" Kora lied.

"Kora!" said Pyra. "That's not ok!"

"Hehe" giggled Kora. "Just looking out for you, girl!"

At least there was good intention, but now Rex would be extra cold, coupled with the fact that he didn't have very warm clothes for the conditions. And even if Pyra made it as obvious as possible, Rex was still a bit too dense to realize anything. Mythra and Kora trotted on ahead, leaving Pyra and Rex to think about herself. As the crew reached the mountain, Pyra sneaked up closer and her driver. He always looked kind of cute to her when he took the lead, then again, he always looked cute to her.

"Hey Rex!" greeted the Blade with a kiss on the cheek, instantly filling her lover with warmth.

"Hey, Pyra!" greeted her driver in response with a little blush on his face. "You kind of scared me again."

"Sorry about that" she said as she moved close to the boy, making him warmer.

I don't know. I'm feeling pretty cold and she's so warm. But I don't want to treat her like a personal heater as Nia did. Maybe this is enough for me. It feels nice.

The two stayed like that for a lot of time, making Kora, Mythra, and Pyra herself anxious in anticipation. Pyra didn't feel that she was getting her message across. And brushed up against him, causing the brunette to feel even more warmth.

Is that good enough? I'm about to just wrap my arms around him and carry him.

More time persisted yet again. Pyra continually brushed up against him and trying to make sure he got the message. Rex secretly loved these little brush ups, and while he contemplated just jumping into the literally warm girl's arms, he thought it would be embarrassing for both parties.

"For the love of the Architect!" exclaimed Mythra. "What the hell are they doing? They suck at initiative."

"Just give 'em time!" advised Kora. "They will come around to it eventually."

"That's what we've been doing!" yelled a quite perturbed Mythra, risking an avalanche.

The galling lack of initiative even started to get under Crossette, Godfrey, and Perun's skin, all of whom had no part in Mythra and Kora's meddling and no interest in having one either. Pyra wasn't pleased either.

I don't care anymore! He's not doing anything!

The read head took the brunettes hand which warmed him even more. The boy had a hard time not going all out and embracing her for complete warmth. The security he had felt from holding her hand. Why had he not just done this? Everyone knew Pyra and Rex loved each other and wouldn't object to them showing their affection. And they held hands all the time with no one sided longing for warmth. It's not that clingy and weird, unlike grabbing onto her arm. Everyone was tired of waiting. Perun was never one to involve herself in the personal business of others. And she certainly did not care about their relationships. But she knew that she had one advantage: The power of ice. Very quickly she snuck up on her driver and touched his exposed neck and trotted back regretting what she had done.

"Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" shivered a nearly frozen Rex.

I need her warmth. She so close, and so warm. She minded it for Nia, but maybe she wouldn't mind if I did. We're together after all.

The boy no longer cared about making a fool of himself or his girlfriend. He simply put all hesitation aside and quite literally jumped into her arms and wrapped his around her. The red-haired aegis was taken by surprise and a smile instantly appeared on her face Rex tried to speak but he simply couldn't. Maybe out of coldness or warmth or being content where he was. Pyra understood that her lover was not capable of leading at this moment and took charge.

"I think we should set up camp here" she said. "Rex seems like he needs some rest."

"Nice, Perun!" congratulated Mythra.

"I didn't even have to ask" stated Kora.

"I did what I had to do" said Perun. "As his blade, I have to not only defend, but aid him too."

The crew set up camp, with each getting their own tent, with the exception of Pyra and Rex who shared one. Rex was already cuddling into Pyra for warmth, and Pyra did not object. She was happy with it.

"Rex," said Pyra. "Were you worried about embarrassing me?"

"Well, erm…" stumbled Rex. "I-I was."

"You don't have to worry about that!" assured the girl. "My relationship with you is something I'm proud of! I love you, and I don't care who knows!"

"I love you too!" said Rex.

The two starred into each other's eyes for what seemed like hours. They leaned in closer to each other and prepared to seal their lips in a kiss. But just as they were about to touch their lips…

"Hey Pyra!" hollered Mythra. "Get your ass out here, you're supposed to be judging us!"

Rex and Pyra looked at each other, and she gave him a look that indicated that she didn't want to go anywhere.

"Sorry, but I'm busy" declared Pyra.

"B-but" said Mythra.

"Come on Mythra" said Kora. "We should let them have their couple time. Plus, you need to practice anyway."

"Hey!" said Mythra.

Pyra and Rex resumed their kiss where they left off. Pyra put her arm around Rex and pulled him in closer, and he nuzzled in closer for extra warmth. The two smiled, quite content with how they were, and remained exactly the same way until morning came.