Author's Note: So, I (finally) got around to picking up Octopath Traveler recently, and I may or may not be a little obsessed with it. My playthrough's going pretty well, but there were a couple of cases with sub-jobs where I just kind of tossed a character into a certain class because I was running out of options and couldn't think of anything better. Tressa as a Hunter was one of those choices, plus I wanted to try and get a handle on her and H'aanit's interactions. Hence, this fic spawned.

Rolling Thunder

It had been a couple of weeks now since the party had visited the Shrine of the Huntress. Tressa had accepted Draefendi's blessing, and she was happy to admit that she was coming along quite nicely with her newfound skills. Well…for the most part, anyway. Tressa had picked up the bow skills with ease, and it had been surprisingly easy to learn how to handle an axe.

The problem was that Tressa still wasn't used to the lightning spell.

Sure, lightning on its own wasn't too bad; the sparks of energy were kind of pretty, to be honest. It became an issue if she got too excited in battle and cast it too strongly. Sometimes, if Tressa used too much force, the aftereffects of the spell would create a light rumble of thunder, and the dull echo always made her freeze up for a few seconds.

Honestly, it was kind of embarrassing. Tressa had grown up in a coastal town, after all; she was no stranger to storms. She should've been used to the sound of thunder by now. And yet, here she was, getting startled by the effects of her own spell casting.

Of course, she didn't have to use it. Tressa knew that. She could always just focus on using her weapons, or cast her wind spells when the situation called for it. But it still bothered her. It was frustrating that Tressa had this skill that she couldn't use.

She almost considered asking Cyrus for advice. He was the best spell caster in their ragtag group of adventurers, after all. Surely he was used to the occasional thunder created by lightning spells; he probably didn't even notice it.

But…well…as much as she liked Cyrus, he did have a tendency of rambling when he really got into something. On the one hand, internally repeating his lectures might help Tressa distract herself. But on the other, she thought something more direct would be helpful here.

It was with that in mind that she decided to ask H'aanit for help. The party had just settled down at Goldshore's inn for the night, and the two women ended up sharing a room. Tressa had gone out for a quick walk—there was something relaxing about the small beach on the south side of town—and she came back to find H'aanit sitting cross-legged on her bed.

The huntress was in the process of restringing her bow, but she was almost finished. She idly ran a finger down the string, plucking at it to test her work. Linde was curled up on the floor like a giant housecat (which Tressa found oddly adorable), and her ears twitched idly at the light sounds of her master's bowstring.

Tressa sat down on her bed, removing her hat and bag and setting them on her bedside table. She glanced over at H'aanit, absently biting her lip and trying to figure out how to ask her question. Eventually, H'aanit glanced up and set her bow aside, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Dost thou need something, Tressa?"

"Is it that obvious?" Tressa laughed; she'd never been the best at keeping her emotions off her face. "I guess I was just wondering, um…do you ever get nervous when you cast Thunderbird?"

H'aanit shrugged. "No. Why dost thou ask?"

Well, H'aanit was always so composed—even in the heat of battle—that Tressa figured it was a silly question. Despite relying on her bow and even her axe far more often than she did on magic, Tressa assumed she was simply used to the side effects of lightning spells by now. (Like Tressa should've been. But, no, that was why she was asking—so she could get used to it.)

Tressa fidgeted; H'aanit didn't strike her as the type to tease, but she needed a few seconds to mull over her phrasing. "It's just…well…I always get a little jumpy when I make it strong enough to cause thunder, you know? I've never been good with the noise."

"Ah." H'aanit nodded in understanding. "I have seen many children in my village who fearen the sound of thunder."

Tressa puffed out her cheeks, prepared to come up with some retort about how she wasn't a little kid. (Okay, she was pretty sure she was the youngest person here, but still!) She shook the feeling away quickly enough, however. H'aanit seemed sympathetic, after all, and she spoke up again before Tressa had the chance.

"It is not so rare a fear, but if thou art bothered, there art tricks thou can usest to adjust."

Tressa brightened. "Really? What would you do, H'aanit?"

H'aanit idly rubbed her chin. "Begin small. Only usest the magic on nearby foes. It will not allow for such noise afterwards. Perhaps focus on the sparks in thy hand—thou canst use it to accent other attacks if thou must."

"Oh, that's pretty clever! I don't know why I didn't think of that, really, I—well, you know, I always thought spells were for, like…" Tressa paused, gesturing with her hands far apart to help indicate her point. "…big stuff, you know? Does that make sense? So of course I thought it was 'normal' for them to have…well…big effects."

H'aanit smiled, idly reaching down to scratch Linde behind an ear. "Thou dost not need to get so excited about everything, Tressa. It can be sweet to watch, but thou needest to slow down when it will help thee."

Tressa blinked, flushing lightly. "…Sweet?"

She'd never heard anyone describe it that way. Tressa was just like that; going about everything with boundless energy and eagerness came naturally to her. H'aanit observed her confusion with an odd amount of amusement on her face.

"Indeed. If thou still needest help, I would not mind practicing with thee tomorrow."

"I think I'd like that. Thanks, H'aanit."

"It is no problem. Shall we getten some rest, then?"

Tressa nodded, kicking off her shoes as she leaned over to blow out the lamp. "Yes, let's! Good night, H'aanit."

It was a little impressive how quickly H'aanit fell asleep. Tressa barely heard her mumble out a "Good night" of her own before H'aanit's breathing began to slow and deepen. Linde's low purring filled the room as Tressa laid down and snuggled into her blankets. The sound was rather soothing, and she started to drift off as well.

And yet, she was looking forward to tomorrow, too. H'aanit could be surprisingly gentle, despite her serious nature. Tressa was sure the older woman would be a good teacher.

It was with that in mind that she finally fell asleep, a small smile tugging at her lips.