Hello,
I have just a few quick things to get out of the way before I begin this story, this is the first story that I have written on Danmachi actually. I have written several stories on Overlord, GATE and Goblin Slayer before but nothing for Danmachi yet so I would appreciate any and all criticism that people may have to offer me.
Now this story would have been nowhere near the quality that it is without the assistance of multiple Beta-Readers and friends, one of these individuals are Wild Dog, a friend of mine on discord how has helped me work out some of the key problems that my story will create with Bell never joining the Hestia Familia. So a massive thank you to him.
Now all credit for Danmachi goes to its Author and not me, I have no ownership of Danmachi in any way shape or form this is merely a fan made creation.
Now without further a due, the first chapter of my first Danmachi fic!
A young boy, impatiently tapping his foot against the damp ground from the previous night's downpour stood in the long waiting line shuffling forward every few minutes when a few people ahead of him had finished with their entrance papers. He noted that the dark heavy clouds that blocked out most of the sun miles above him likely signalled that it would rain again for the second day in a row quite heavily. He tapped his index finger against his bicep to pass the time while he awaited his eventual turn, if he did not reach the front of the line and get through into the city before the sun went down then he would have to wait all night until the next morning to get inside the towering walls. He had traveled so far to reach his destination, and now he was so close, yet so far at the same time.
He thought that the journey to Orario was going to be the hardest part of his journey, it took him thirteen days since the day he set out from his small mountain village to reach the Labyrinth City of legend. When he had first seen the Tower of Babel poking out from above the horizon, he sprinted until he reached the crest of a hill and was able to take in the full sight of the city with his own eyes for the very first time.
It was just like his grandfather had explained, the Tower of Babel was the largest singular structure that he had ever seen, far bigger than the wind and water mills that surrounded the outer edges of the village he had grown up in since his youth. The walls that surrounded the city were impressive as well, he could not begin to imagine how many hours of labour went into its construction.
When he finally reached the city, he wanted to bolt past the gates and start to experience the local sights and sounds, his grandfather's information had not led him astray so far and he still had his grandfather's journal with names of locations that he could visit.
But just trying to run into the city without going through due process would land him in either the guardhouse or expelled from Orario, and with how far he had come, there was no turning back at this point. He would seek out and accomplish his goals, to explore the dungeon and become an adventurer, and if he tried hard enough he could achieve his real dream of becoming a true hero.
But not what the villagers back home would call a hero, like when he scored a lucky hit when he threw a rock that knocked over a goblin that was chasing a young girl from the village, way back when he was younger. Instead he would become the living image of what people really thought when they thought of a hero, someone that vanquished horrifying and disgusting monsters in the dungeon, and maybe, if he was lucky, saving some damsel in distress at the same time and earning her affection.
Becoming a hero really was his own personal dream. His grandfather could ramble on about all the different types of women that he had met and tangled with when he was in Orario. To his grandfather, it was all about the women, and becoming a renowned adventurer just made it easier to pick up women on the streets or in one of the numerous bars or inns scattered around Orario.
The young boy noticed the line shambling forward again, and he took several steps forward before coming to another stop, he leaned his body over to the right and counted less than a dozen people in line ahead of him. While considering that when he had started he could not even see the front of the line he was quite content with the pace that the line was moving at for now.
To pass the time he reached his left hand into his light brown, hip-length coat that had a small black patch stitched above his chest on his right shoulder, and pulled out the small journal that was one of the few items that he had taken with him when he left the village. The journal had belonged to his grandfather and was supposed to be a gift for him once he got a little older and made his first trip to Orario on his own, but with the tragic and untimely death of his grandfather while he was out fetching food for supper in the village, he got it a little earlier.
The journal contained a wealth of information that his grandfather must have thought would be valuable, the front half of the journal had pages with places he could go to do shopping, eating and drinking and numerous other services that he may need while living in Orario. The journal also contained dozens of pages with descriptions and stats on different monsters he could find in the dungeon, the pages were done in order of floor starting at the first floor and only going down to the ninth. Meaning, either his grandfather had never gone deeper than that, which sounded unlikely based on all of the stories that the boy had heard from his pervert of an old man. Or the second, and more likely option, is that he simply never finished the journal before he died, there were a few dozen empty pages that backed up his assumption that it was left unfinished.
The second half of the journal was what really had interested the young man, it had an unknown number of chapters, as he had only read 'CHAPTER ONE', but based on what he had read in the chapter it was a series of helpful steps that would get him used to living in the city. The first chapter was proudly titled in big bold letters 'CHAPTER ONE, NEW BEGINNINGS', he used his right hand index finger to flip from the title page while he held the book with his left hand.
'Heya Boyo! If you are reading this then that means one of two things, either you finally grew up enough to head out on your own and I gave you the boot so I can have those sweet barmaids in town over every night and be as loud as I want without having to worry about waking you up! Orrrrr I am six feet under and currently worm food.' He always hated that last line, he hated the whole paragraph and the lack of decency his grandfather had even in writing, but the last line always felt like a knife reopening an old healing wound.
'So, you actually made it too Orario, huh? That's great, got the boring part out of the way at least! If you manage to get past those fucking long ass lines that is…' The young boy could not help but break a small smirk, he was the one person that knew better than anyone how little patience his grandfather had with certain things, waiting in lines for things was one of the worst for him when he was still alive.
'But once you get past those lines and into Orario, first thing you have to do is find yourself a Familia. Like a sweet Goddess! Or go for a God if you swing that way, I never knew for sure which gender you prefered with how you always tried to get away from the girls in town!' He only ever ran away because all of the girls his age in town called him 'Bunny Boy' for his white hair and they all liked to play a game called 'Catch the Rabbit', which was just them chasing him around and trying to tackle him into the dirt.
'Once you get yourself into a Famila then it should be easy sailing from there boyo, and once you get yourself into a Familia then feel free to check out the next chapter. Or don't, what am I going to do? Come back to life and force you to read the whole thing? Anyway, take your time to get accustomed to the city and enjoy yourself. No need to rush things after all, my boy, have some fun, get yourself into some trouble and get laid for once in your life!' The young boy could not help but smirk slightly as he finished the last sentence and closed the journal. He had not read onto the next chapter and did not plan to until he was actually in a Familia, if his grandfather was there with him he would probably say something along the lines of 'Are you really going to let a silly piece of paper tell you what to do?' or something somehow more sarcastic or crude. But for now he was content with the knowledge that the journal had gifted him.
"Next!'' the young boy heard a voice call outloud and it jolted him slightly back to the present. He closed the book and tucked it safely back into his jacket as he looked behind him for a moment and saw that he was indeed at the front of the line that stretched on for seemingly miles behind him. He took a step forward and was greeted face to face with a guard that he assumed worked for the city of Orario. He was sitting down on a wooden chair with his helmet off and resting on a rectangular wooden table in front of him, along with the helmet there was a large stack of papers on the right side of the table, and another, even larger stack of papers to the left side.
The guard pulled a singular sheet of paper from the right and dipped his feather pen into a small glass jar of ink several times before looking up at the young boy, and started speaking in a monotone voice. ''Name?'' he simply asked as he placed the tip of the pen at the top of the page in a header box.
"Uh, Bell Cranel...I can spell it for you if you-''
"It's fine, I got it kid. Male… I am assuming?'' The guard asked his second question as he filled in the header box with the young boy's first and last name.
"Y-yeah, male.'' Bell responded meekly as he reached his right hand up and scratched at the back of his head with a small weary smile.
The guard filled in another box that was slightly lower than the previous two, and looked up for a second before his gaze was shifted back down to the piece of paper. Bell had prepared himself for another question but the only words that he heard from the guard were mumbles under his breath. ''White hair….red eyes...human….slender build..''
After several more minutes of quiet mumbling and grumbling, the guard looked up again with his feathered pen now at the bottom of the page hovering just above the final box ''Business in Orario and duration of your stay?''.
"I am going to join a Familia, become an adventurer and enter the dungeon!'' Bell proudly stated as the small confident smirk returned to his face.
''Uhuh...you and thirteen other people this morning, kid. So I assume permanent stay in Orario then?'' The guard asked, leaning forward and resting his right arm's elbow on the wooden table. It creaked loudly, and for a moment Bell thought that the table was going to break, before the squeak ceased.
"That's right, I need to pay a fee for that, right?'' Bell asked as he reached his right hand around to the left side of his hip and untied the small coin pouch that he had attached to his belt. He had traded and sold some items that he did not need or could carry with him before he left the village, and sold all the firewood that he had stocked up for the winter as he wouldn't be there to use it, along with all food that was stored in the house he had shared with his grandfather. Earning him a decent chunk of coin to add to the small savings that his grandfather had left him and a generous gift that the villagers had put together for him before he left, totalling to just over twenty thousand Valis overall.
"Yeah, if you are just visiting the fee depends on how long you are staying, for but if you want permanent residence then that is going to cost you twelve thousand Valis.''
"Twelve thousand! T-that can't be right, no that has to be wrong...'' He reached in and pulled out the small journal from his pocket and flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for and turned the journal around and showed it to the guard. "See, my grandfather said that it should only cost around one thousand two hundred Valis, not twelve thousand!'' Bell said as he tapped his finger against the line.
The guard leaned forward and skimmed the page over, before he sat back and shrugged "Sorry kid, maybe that was the price a long time ago, but ever since I have worked here it has been twelve thousand Valis flat. If you can't pay the full amount then you can enter now but you will have to pay the fee within a few weeks or you will be kicked out. You could just pay for a visit for now, or the last option, you can fuck off for now and get enough money to stay in Orario later.''
Bell had wanted to try and argue with the guard, but the few people behind him started to sound like they were getting impatient with him. Feeling the building pressure from both the line and the guard, he caved. He reached into his pouch and counted out the correct amount of Valis and set them on the table, the guard pulled it across the table, and a second guard walked over with a small locked chest. The guard that was sitting down pulled out a key from around his neck and unlocked the small chest, adding the coins to it before closing the chest, locking it again and storing the key back into his shirt.
"Welcome to Orario. Good luck, kid.'' The guard said and as Bell opened his mouth to give his thanks the guard called out ''Next!'' loudly and a man bumped into his shoulder and pushed past him to stand in front of the table he had just finished having his information taken down. Bell started to walk away as he saw the guard add his piece of paper to the completed stack before pulling out another empty sheet for the next person in the neverending line.
Bell walked for a short while as he smiled to himself ''I did it, grandfather… I finally made it to Orario!'' He shouted loud enough for even his grandfather to hear in the heavens. A number of stall workers and citizens that were passing by gave him a few weird looks, but nothing more than a momentary glance before reassessing their daily activities.
"I guess the first thing I should do is go looking for a Familia to join… maybe look for something to eat too along the way.'' Bell said to himself under his breath as he reached into his jacket and pulled out his grandfather's journal again. On the very first page was a map of Orario. Though Bell assumed that the map could possibly be out of date, he hoped that a majority of the city and its important buildings that were listed on the second page were the same. He started to look over the map as he walked in a straight line down the street towards the center of Orario.
"So many Familias to choose from… and this is not even all of them I bet… guess I should start at the top and work my way down. So, Goddess Freya...Goddess Loki...Goddess Ishtar…..Goddess Ishtar's name has 'fun for a one night stand' written beside it...'' Bell did not want to waste any brain power trying to think what his grandfather had exactly meant by the writing so he just told himself that it was his old man's poor attempt at humour. There was another Goddesses name listed below them but it was crossed out several times and he could only make out that her name started with the letter 'H', but the remaining letters that made up the name were illegible. Bell would never claim to know every God and Goddess, there were dozens that had descended down from the heavens throughout the years. But the only Goddess he knew that started with the letter 'H' was the Goddess of marriage and family Hera, but she had been banished from Orario along with the God Zeus decades prior.
Pushing the list of Goddess to the back of his mind he looked at the second half of the list and the few Gods that were listed at the top, "God Ganesha...God Apollo….and God Hermes….'' Bell again questioned the meaning behind his grandfather's scribblings as 'Great drinking buddy!' was listed in brackets beside God Hermes. Bell just shook his head and pretended to not even notice his granddad's written ramblings.
He stopped dead in his tracks and peaked over the edge of his journal as the scent of fresh food snaked its way into his nose and made his stomach grumble. He had been surviving off of stale bread and berries for a majority of his journey to Orario, besides the occasional squirrel that he had caught with a snare while he slept and made a stew out of in the morning, so he was looking forward to a proper meal. He looked around and spotted a small stand with a bearded man standing behind it with his hands placed on his hips and every few seconds he would call out ''Monster Meat Kebabs! Get your piping hot Monster Meat Kebabs here!''
Bell hurried over to the stand, stopping in front of the man and looked at the table where multiple sticks with chunks of meat and vegetables skewered on them were being roasted over fire on a metal grate. ''Hey...can I get one of those please? They look and smell just amazing..'' Bell said to the man as his hands instinctively started to reach towards his coin pouch.
"Sure thing kid, that will be three hundred Valis, or you can get two for five hundred instead.'' The man started to prepare a kebab for him while he waited for payment and a response from the white haired boy.
As much as Bell wanted to buy himself two, he forced himself to bite his tongue and just settle for one. He had already spent more than half of his savings just to enter Orario, and if he was not careful he would have nothing left before he knew it . He did have his emergency savings which was three thousand Valis stored inside his pair of brown boots. The coins did make walking uncomfortable at times, and they had given him several blisters and cuts over his journey. But it was better to endure some pain than getting his coin pouch stolen and then having no Valis to his name.
He pulled out three hundred from his pouch and handed it to the man with his right hand as he grabbed a kebab with his left, he didn't bother waiting before he took a bite and chewed on the juicy meat and peppers for as long as he could to savour the taste before swallowing. He thanked the man before continuing on his way deeper into Orario. He checked his map again and set his sights towards the nearest Familia of note before stashing his journal away again, and started walking with a spring to his step.
Bell had known that it would be difficult to get onto a Familia, how he may get turned down a handful of times before he found the right Familia for him. But it was leagues harder then he had thought it would be, he had first traveled to the biggest Familias to apply. But most would not even take his application form and the few that did slipped his form to the bottom of the pile each time in the stack of other people that had applied.
But he held out hope that he would find a Familia that would give him a chance and take him in, but all he found was more disappointment and rejections. Certain Familias like the Hephaestus Familia required any new recruit to have at least a basic knowledge or skill in blacksmithing which was something that Bell possessed none, he had seen a man in his village forge a few blades and axes before but he was only able to craft rudimentary weaponry and tools and had no formal training. But even then Bell had not actively tried to learn anything from the man, he had just enjoyed watching the sparks fly up into the sky before fizzling out when he was a little kid.
After his eleventh or twelveth rejection it only got worse, it started to rain heavily and turned the suddenly lonely stone streets of Orario into small rivers as water flowed down the roads and down the drains into the sewers every few blocks. He pulled out a black overcoat that he kept in his small black backpack and pulled it over himself, in an attempt to stay dry but it soon became drenched and made little difference. His jacket was waterproof to a degree, so he could at least take comfort in the fact that the journal his old man had left him was safe.
That was the little comfort he received as he slowly walked around the city and visited smaller and smaller Familias, the rejections became only worse with each one. While the larger familias like Freya, Loki and Ganesha had turned him down kindly saying things in the likes of "Yeah, maybe we have a spot for you. If you do make it in we will seek you out, until then good luck elsewhere.'' which Bell figured was just a kind way of saying 'Yeah we don't want you so go away.'
But as the Familias he visited got smaller the rejections got worse, they stopped saying that they would even come and find him if they let him actually join. Some insulted him for his looks or low skill, some just told him to go bother someone else and others just slammed the doors in his face or turned their backs to him.
''Well… that was the last one for today, I think….'' Bell looked up as the sun was just setting out of eyesight over the walls of Orario and began getting dark out, he pulled the journal out from under his coat and kept it sheltered inside his cloak as he checked the map in search of the nearest Inn. He found one only a few blocks away and made his way towards the 'Inn of the Midnight Black Cats'. He arrived at the Inn several minutes later with a sign dangling from a crescent moon with a black cat and yellow eyes sitting in the crevice of the moon.
He entered the Inn and stopped at the check in counter, he asked about getting a room and almost had a small stroke as the Innkeeper said that it would cost him over three thousand Valis for a room and that was not including meals as all the cheaper rooms had been bought up and they were nearly full. He asked the Innkeep if there were any other Inns around that would have room, and the man just shook his head and wished him the best of luck at finding a room for the small pocket change he was willing to cough up.
He walked back into the rain as he flipped his hood back up and visited several more Inns that were close to the first, all giving him the same story and as he exited the seventh Inn that he had tried in the previous last hour. In a build up of rage he picked up a small stone that was laying in the street and whipped it into the nearest brick wall as he took a few deep breaths. He did not know what time it was as the thick rain clouds that showed no signs of stopping blocked out the stars and most of the moon's glow.
Giving up, Bell found himself a pleasant spot in the nearest alley that was somewhat dry thanks to a canvas overhang above. He sat down with a soft wet squish and shivered slightly as raindrops dripped down onto him from above in an agitating inconsistent rhythm. He pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them as he buried his face into his knees, several small tears started leaking from the corners of his eyes as he sat in the cold dark alley by himself.
'I-it wasn't s-supposed to be this h-hard… it was supposed t-to be e-easy for me to find a F-familia to join… w-with g-g-grandfather g-gone… a-all… all I wanted was… a family…' Bell thought to himself as he drifted off to an uncomfortable restless slumber.
He did not sleep for very long, as he was awoken by a soft voice and someone kicking his foot gently, he jerked his head up suddenly as his eyes flashed open. He had remembered one thing from his grandfather that he had told him one time about Orario when he was a little boy and asked him what it was like, 'What is Orario like?' 'Well it is grand! But, you'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy around than Orario.'
Bell expected to see some cloaked figure looming over him brandishing a knife to rob him, or even a small gaggle of men that would have weapons at the ready to end his adventuring career before he even made it down into the dungeon.
He was pleasantly surprised when his eyes adjusted to the dark and instead he saw a young girl with hair that was a shiny steel grey and matching eyes that looked down on him from her slightly crouched position. She had a green uniform on with a lighter green cloak over her to protect her from the still falling rain. In her hands she held a paper bag that held several ingredients and a small assortment of food, she used her body to shelter the groceries as she stared at him with a curious expression.
She had flinched and jumped back slightly as Bell had suddenly jerked his head up and as he let his shoulders relax she too seemed to relax slightly before she softly spoke to him in the most gentle manor that anyone had used with him since he entered Orario. "E-excuse me mister...b-but are y-you alright…?''.
Bell was slightly taken aback by the sudden question, the only other person that had spoken to him even slightly as kindly as the young woman now in front of him, was the man that had sold him the kebab from earlier. And even then, he could have just been acting that way to get the three hundred Valis from him and try to earn another customer to his stall.
He had wanted to say that he was fine, that he was just a little tight on Valis, but the repressed combination of sadness and anger that had been building up throughout the day bubbled up and he shook his head slightly. He couldn't even look the young woman in the eyes as he shifted his gaze back down to their feet. A few stray tears leaked from the corners of his eyes again as he let out several small whimpers instead of verbal words, though if he needed to, he could just deny the fact that he was crying and just blame it on the rain. For the first time in hours he was actually thankful for the rain.
''W-well….i-if you want...y-you could...come with me, I work at a Pub not too far from here….the owner is really nice….I-I am sure that she would take you in for a night….especially in weather like this….'' She softly offered him as he saw her feet inch slightly closer to his.
Bell had wanted to politely turn her down so that he did not trouble her with himself, but at the same time he could not stand to sit outside in the cold and under the rain any longer. He cleared his throat and tilted his head back to look up at the young woman and as he nodded he spoke the simple two words, "Y-yes please…''.
The young woman smiled brightly as she extended her hand out towards him and gestured for him to stand up with her, he placed his hands on the stone ground and pushed himself up off of the ground as he used the wall to support himself. The woman reached out and gently held onto his shoulder as his knees wobbled for a second, he gave her a small nod before she hesitantly retracted her hand once he pushed himself off of the wall and took a few crooked steps like he was under the influence of some kind of substance.
She quickly followed beside him and the two started to walk down the empty street in the rain, after a minute of silence Bell broke the silence with a proper introduction to the first person that had treated him like a real person in the last several hours. "M-my name is Bell Cranel...what is your name..? Sorry, I should have asked sooner…''
''Oh! Sorry, I didn't even give you my name yet, I am Syr Flover! It is very nice to meet you mister Cranel.'' The young grey haired woman said with a bright smile on her face as she leaned forward slightly while walking and tilting her head to the left to look at his face.
Bell blushed slightly as he averted his gaze from her stoney eyes and directed them back down to his feet as he softly mumbled his words out under his breath ''Y-yeah, it is nice to meet you too...and you can just call me Bell, no need to bother with all that mister crap...you are making me feel older than I really am…''
"Okay, but then you have to just call me Syr then, deal?'' The girl asked him as she leaned over to the left more and peaked back into the corner of his vision as he blushed a deeper shade of red as she giggled softly.
"S-sure, I th-think I can do that...I suppose'' Bell stammered out as he tried to focus on the pace of his feet against the wet stones that made up the road, instead of the young woman that was not leaning her left arm up against his right side and humming to herself as they walked along. He hoped that it would not be much farther to the pub, as his feet were starting to hurt, the water had soaked through his boots and made the emergency coin that he kept in them only more painful on the bottom of his feet.
Luckily, for the first time that day, his prayers to the Gods and Goddesses were answered as the girl next to him suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and excitedly said ''This is it!'' as she gestured towards the only building on the street that had a candle light still lit in the window. The building looked to be two stories with an additional attic on top, and Bell guessed that by the size of the building it likely had a basement too. Above the doorway hung two signs, on the right side of the double doors was a carving of a crossed fork and knife with an overflowing mug behind them, and on the opposite side hung a larger rectangular shaped sign that read 'Hostess of Fertility' with a smaller line below it reading 'Best Pub In Orario'.
By the time Bell had snapped out of his sense of amazement at the beautiful building and decorative engravings around the widows and doorway, Syr walked up the few steps her shoes making wet squishy sounds with each step as she stopped and opened the door and gestured for him to come inside.
Bell walked up the steps and stopped once he was inside the building and pulled the hood of his brown overcoat down and shook his wet hair out, Syr entered the building and did the same as he did and removed her hood before locking the door behind her.
Bell scanned the room, seeing that the large room was filled with tables with chairs stacked on top of them, and a large bar at the opposite side of the room, a large bulky woman standing behind it with her arms crossed and an unamused look on her face. "Syr!'' Her voice echoed through the empty room, bouncing off the wooden walls and making a glass mug behind her fall off of its shelf and smash on the ground, but the woman did not seem to care as she stared at the now shaking grey haired woman.
''Y-yes Ma-mama Mia…?'' She meekly whispered out as she shivered.
''I thought that I told you to pick up a few ingredients that we were low on for the special tomorrow...not pick up a new friend...'' She said sternly as she continued to stare at the girl as she stuttered and tried to come out with some reasonable answer before Bell jumped in defence of the young woman.
"It wasn't her fault! I-"
"You what? Made her bring you here, threatened her?'' The woman accused him as she shifted her gaze from Syr to him instead, making him flinch slightly.
"N-no! Mama Mia please, I got the ingredients just like you asked me too and as I was on my way back he was sleeping on the street in the rain...can't he sleep here for just the night?'' Syr quickly asked before anything got out of hand and Mama Mia came to a conclusion about him before she even gave him a chance.
"Fine. A single night, no more. You caught me in a good mood.'' The woman said as her shoulders sagged slightly and she let out a small sigh. If this was what she was like when she was in a good mood, then Bell did not want to find out what the goliath of a woman was like when she was in a bad mood.
Bell opened his mouth to speak and thank the woman before she started to speak again and prevented him from doing so "You can sleep in the attic upstairs, once morning comes I want you gone.'' The woman said bluntly as she jerked her head to the left towards a staircase in the very corner of the room directly diagonally across from the entrance.
Bell did not need to hear more as he quickly made his way across the room towards the staircase, saying a quick 'thank you' to the woman as he passed and gave her a quick wave, before he started to climb the stairs with Syr following close behind him as the two left a small water trail with their boots and shoes across the floor.
''Not you Syr.'' Mama Mia said just as the young woman had placed her right foot on the first step, preventing her from going any farther. She paused at the bottom of the stairs and planted her right foot back on the wooden floor boards. She hung her head and looked at her feet and the floor as she waited to be spoken to further.
"Syr…'' Mama Mia said, in a calmer voice than how she had previously addressed the young woman, but Syr just assumed that it was the calm before the storm as she kept her lips firmly pressed against each other only preparing to speak when spoken to, to not further anger the woman. "... I am not mad at you… I want to make that clear, for one.. secondly I am actually proud of you, you did a good thing. The other servers here can all take care of themselves so I am not concerned about that boy sleeping here for one night, Gods know that if he even tries anything he will be dead before sunrise. But if you aren't careful, people can take advantage of that kindness and abuse it, just… be more selective and careful with what you do… okay?''
"Y-yes Mama Mia, it won't happen again… I promise!'' Syr said happily as the small frown that stained her complexion faded and grew into a slight smile.
''Good, now you should hurry and get going...'' Mama Mia looked through the open windows of the front of the pub and saw the heavy downpour that was taking place outside with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. With a small sigh Mama Mia set down the mug she had been cleaning with a damp white rag and leaned against the counter "You may as well stay for the night Syr, the orphanage will have to hunker down for a night without you. Just sleep in one of the spare beds upstairs for the night, as apprectionation for going out to do that last minute shopping for me.''
"T-thank you Mama Mia! I will see you tomorrow morning! Good night!'' The young woman said as quickly as possible as she dropped the bag of groceries off at the bar counter and quickly scampered up the stairs before the pubs owner could come up with anything else to lecture her about for the night.
Syr quickly made her way up the stairs to the second floor and very lightly knocked on the door to Ryuu Lions bedroom, waiting a moment and receiving no response she opened the door a crack and poked her head inside the room. She saw that the Elf was already asleep so she quietly slipped inside of the room and removed her soaked boots placing them on a mat next to the door and pulled her light green cloak over her head and hung it on a hook to dry. She made her way to the edge of Ryuu Lions bed and one of the floorboards creaked under her weight, the Elf shot upwards and spun around to face Syr, realizing that it was just her and not a real threat. Ryuu sighed heavily and laid back down.
''Syr...do you need something..?'' Ryuu asked her coworker in a soft tone.
''I-I am sorry to wake you Ryuu...I just got back from picking up some groceries and was wondering if you had any extra bed sheets…? A nightgown would be nice too if you have another one...''
Ryuu looked slightly puzzled for a moment before she pointed towards the trunk at the food of her bed frame ''I have an extra set of sheets in that chest and you can grab one of my nightgowns from the dresser, but why do you need them? Are you sleeping here tonight?''
''Yes, just for tonight...the weather outside is terrible and I got back from shopping later than I had planned...so walking all the way to the orphanage this late would probably not be very safe…'' Syr said as she opened the chest and pulled out the spare set of sheets and blankets. At the bottom of the chest there was a pair of short katanas laying next to a wooden sword and a neatly folded pile of adventuring clothes, Syr was not completely oblivious to Ryuu's history but she had seen the small collection of items only a handful of times herself. Shaking her head slightly after noticing the glare that Ryuu was sending her way, she closed the chest. She quickly went over to the dresser and opened the top drawer and removed a single nightgown, she turned around and blushed slightly as she removed the rest of her clothes and slipped the nightgown on, she turned back around and did a small bow to Ryuu. "Thank you Ryuu, I will make sure that I wash these before I return them to you!'' Syr said as she turned around after giving the Elf a small regal wave and went to exit the room.
"Goodnight Syr, rest well..'' Ryuu said softly as she returned the small wave and rolled over and pulled the covers back over the top of her slim body and tried to go back to sleep for the night with only a few hours until sunrise.
Syr carefully closed the door and made her way up the steep stairs to the attic to make sure that Bell had found his place to sleep. As she slowly climbed her way up the stairs she poked her head just over the edge and saw a motionless figure laying in the single bed. On the floor next to the bed was a wet pile of his clothes and next to those laid his small backpack. She made her way up the last few stairs into the attic and started to pick up his clothes one at a time and hung them up on various pieces of wooden furniture that had been dumped into the attic for storage to dry. She grabbed his bag and propped it up against the small nightstand where she noticed a small journal laying there, she reached out to pick up the book before she stopped herself and decided against touching the clearly private item.
She stared at the boy for a long minute as she watched him shivering in the bed making it creak softly, the thin blanket that he had used to cover himself must have barely been keeping him warm. With how soaked he had become from the rain he could catch a cold by morning in the attic that had little in terms of insulation. She would have lit him a fire but there was no fireplace in the attic, the smokestack that came from the kitchen to dispel smoke from the equipment in the kitchen that they used to cook with could possibly heat up the room but Mama Mia would be beyond pissed if she started up the fires downstairs just to heat the attic for a stranger.
Syr took the sheets that she had brought with her and draped them over the sleeping young boy and within only a matter of moments he had stopped shivering, she did have another bed on the second floor in the guest room that she could sleep in but something about the boy prevented her from walking away. She smiled to herself in the dark as she sat down on the edge of the bed and started to gently stroke his snowy white hair while convincing herself that she would leave him alone in a few minutes after she finished making sure that he was sleeping soundly. His milky hair was still slightly damp from the rain and had clumped together in a mangled mess, she used her fingers like a comb to try and untangle his messy hair for several minutes as she hummed a soft song to herself that she could not recall the name of in the moment.
The boy eventually rolled over and his right foot dangled just off of the thin mattress and poked out from the white bedsheets that were several shades darker than his own bleached white hair. She went to move his foot back onto the bed and under the sheets for him when she noticed that a small crimson patch had begun to stain the sheets, for a moment she was confused and moved around to the foot of the bed to get a better look at what exactly was causing the stain. The underside of the young boy's foot had several blisters and shallow cuts leaking dribbles of blood that smeared onto the sheets.
She went to check the young boys boots to see if they were in a poor condition and as she picked them up she found them heavier than she expected, inside the boots she heard a soft sound of metal against metal and dug her right hand inside the left boot. She pulled out a large handful of Valis, some of the coins had sharp edges and small stains of dried blood. "Emergency funds…?'' Syr was familiar with adventurers stashing Valis away for a rainy day, she remembered several accounts in the pub where adventurers would pull out Valis from their armour or clothes in secret compartments they had stitched or added to their equipment to store valuables. She emptied the Valis out of the pair of boots and tossed the set of worn and torn footwear into the far corner of the room as she placed the currency in the top drawer of the nightstand next to the bed. She got up from the bed and grabbed a few spare rags and began to rip them into small strips. She wrapped the torn strips around the white haired boys feet and tied them off once she was satisfied with her work, she was not the most skilled individual in terms of medical treatment but she was confident in her ability to treat minor wounds.
She sat in silence on the edge of the bed for several minutes as she just gazed at the boy's sleeping face, the moon's glow poked through one of the circular windows of the attic and illuminated him slightly in a soft heavenly light.
Eventually she admitted to herself that she had overstayed her welcome, while she wanted nothing more than to climb up on top of the young white haired boy and spend the entire night alone with him she restrained herself from taking him as hers right there and then. She pulled her hand away from his head and went to stand up, only to find that she was unable to as the boy had rolled over and had reached with his right arm out from under the sheets and was very lightly yet desperately wrapped around her waist. She went to remove his hand and slip away from him as he heard him softly mutter under his breath in his sleep 'G-grandf...father..d-don't g-go just y-yet…'.
Finding herself unable to move for a long time after hearing those few soft words whispered out loud she accepted her position and lifted her feet off of the floor and laid down on the bed next to the boy. She slipped herself under the sheets to join the white haired boy and gently gripped onto his left arms wrist and pulled his arm straight out to the side. She laid her head down on his bicep, using his left arm like a soft, warm makeshift pillow. His warm breath tickled her exposed neck as she softly reached her hand upward and lightly poked his cheek with a soft giggle. "Just for tonight I will be your granddad, it sounds like you miss him very much...wherever he is…'' she softly whispered to no one in particular as she wrapped her left arm around him and his right arm that was still wrapped around her pulled her slightly closer so that the twos front sides were touching each other. She closed her eyes and within minutes she fell asleep and joined Bell in the land of slumber.
The next morning bright and early just as the birds started to chirp and people began their daily routines, Bell groaned softly and started to stir, his eyes fluttering open for a moment as he saw the sleeping expression of Syr only centimeters away from his own face. He shrugged slightly as he closed his eyes to try and return to his pleasant dream of his grandfather reading him a story about a foolish boy that wanted to be an adventurer and went on a quest to save a princess from a Minotaur. He had only closed his eyes for a brief moment before his mind that was still just starting to function processed what he had seen and his eyes flashed back open as he could feel his cheeks start to heat up and he began to stutter softly.
"Wha-what...w-when..d-did sh-she...wh...why would s-she…'' Bell was trying to stay as quiet as he could and keep himself from waking the sleeping young woman that was pressed up against him. He wanted nothing more than to run away and hide somewhere but his arm was trapped under her head as she was using it like one would a pillow, additionally she had her left arm wrapped around his torso under his own arm.
Accepting the situation that he found himself stuck in he closed his eyes and tried desperately to relax, however after several minutes he shook his head and found himself incapable of being calm in the bed. Deciding that he needed to slip away he slowly started to pull his arm out from under her head, he only had managed to slip a few inches away before she hugged him tighter and nuzzled her cheek against his bare bicep. He paused again for a moment and waited for the young woman to stop stirring in her sleep before he tried to get away again only for her grip on him to tighten even more and she let a small mewl escape her lips.
With a deep sigh Bell turned his head to see the circular shaped window, there was a mix of red, yellow and orange shades signalling that morning had arrived and that it was time for the citizens of Orario to get up and start their days. Bell himself needed to get up, he remembered how persistent that the pubs owner had been about staying in the Hostess of Fertility for only a single night and that she only allowed it because she was in a good mood at the time. He did not want to have to spend the Valis that he had leftover in an inn that would bleed him dry in only a couple of days with their ridiculous prices. He needed a Familia, one that could support him for the first little bit until he was able to stand on his own two feet.
'My feet….?' Bell had realized after a brief pause that something was on his feet, he had been very tired when he arrived at the pub and the second he saw the single bed he stripped down to his undergarments and jumped under the covers. But even while he had been in a hurry to climb into the bed he was certain that he had removed his socks, kicking the covers out of the way so he could look towards his feet while still in the grasp of the grey haired woman he saw his feet bandaged. He turned his head back towards the sleeping woman with a mixed expression of surprise and confusion. 'Did..did she do that for me…? I should wake her up and thank her before I leave...but...I suppose I can let her sleep for a while longer...there is no harm in letting her rest just a few more minutes…' Bell reasoned with himself in his head, promising to wake up the young girl in five minutes. Those five minutes however soon stretched to instead ten minutes, then twenty, then forty and before he even knew it over an hour had passed where he did nothing but lay in the bed gazing at the sleeping beauty curled up beside him. His arm felt like it was being stabbed with thousands of little needles but he dared not move in fear of waking up the young woman that had done so much for him in the short time that they had met.
Eventually the young woman yawned and her smokey grey eyes fluttered open and gazed into his crimson orbs ''Good morning Bell….d-did you sleep well..?'' Syr softly asked him as her body was still waking up and she stretched her legs, her feet touching his, making her visibly blush slightly and remind Bell of what he had meant to question her about.
"I-I did Syr….d-did y-you sleep well..? A-and….why did you sl-sleep with m-me…? W-was th-there not another b-bed...I-I di-didn't take the only spare one….d-did I….?'' Bell hesitantly asked the young woman in a quiet voice for her as she was clearly still waking up, he hated being woken up by loud sounds and assumed that she would not appreciate being jolted awake.
''Oh, no B-bell...it's just I came to check on you before I went to bed and you were shivering...so I just thought that….maybe I should join you in bed...It would have been rather lonely by myself anyway in the spare bedroom….so...it was good for both of us...no?'' Syr softly spoke as she pulled her left arm back and placed her hand on his chest and rubbed it around in small circles making the white haired boy blush a shade darker than his own eyes.
While Bell searched for some way to disagree with the young woman's logic he could not find anything to say in defence of his beliefs, he admitted to himself that since his grandfather had passed he had felt rather lonely. There were people in the village that tried to comfort him, get closer to him and console with him about what had happened to try and help him cope with the death of his old man. But it just was not the same, so he left towards the only other place other than the small village that he was knowledgeable about, Orario. The journey itself had been lonely, he slept little as he wanted to make it to the dungeon city as quickly as possible. He had seen the occasional traveling trader along the road to Orario, he would wave to them and they would wave back as they passed each other but they would do little more. When he arrived in Orario he found it even less friendly and after an entire day of being tossed and kicked around by Familias he had hoped to be accepted into with open arms, the only person that was really there for him and treated him like a human being was Syr. She had shown him more kindness than he deserved or had any right to receive from someone that he barely knew. So he had to admit to himself that she was good for him, sleeping in the same bed as him may have been a slight stretch but she did a lot for him so if that's what he could do to return her kindness, then sharing a bed was the least that he could do.
"I-I g-guess….b-but I-''
''Y-you want to get up now, right?'' Syr softly asked him with a curious look covering her blushing face as she tilted her head to the side, lifting it slightly off of his arm which sent a tingling numb feeling shooting through his entire arm.
''I-I really should….I need to keep looking for a Familia to join...I can't be wasting any time..''
''Oh, I see how it is….l-laying here with a c-cutie like me is somehow 'wasting time'...ev-even after I brought you here for a n-nice re-rest….and even climbed into b-bed with y-y-you.'' Syr said softly under her warm breath as she gave Bell a small cute pout.
"H-hey, wait a second! I-I didn't say that, you are making it sound like I am somehow the bad guy here!'' Bell quickly said in his defence as he sat up slightly and Syr pushed him back down with the hand on his chest and laid her head back down on his numb arm.
''Th-then y-you...won't mind staying with m-me for just a few more m-minutes...w-will you? Pl-please..B-bell..'' Syr softly asked him with watery puppy dog eyes.
''I-I…..alright...I guess that I can stay in bed for a while longer...its not like the Familias won't still be there for me in a little bit…'' Bell said as calmly as possible admitting defeat to the young woman as her grey eyes that looked like they were on the verge of tears moments prior were now sparkling.
"Oh, Bell! Th-thank you...just for a short while...p-promise..'' Syr softly spoke as she closed her eyes again to rest for a few more minutes.
Bell decided to join her and closed his eyes, promising himself that he would get up in a few short minutes. When he opened his eyes an unknown amount of time later he found the space next to him empty, Syr was gone and he was left alone. Weirdly it felt like something was wrong, that something was missing from him as Bell sat up and rolled his shoulders to get his arms ready for the range of motions they would soon be performing. He found his clothes folded neatly at the end of the bed in a small pile, he turned himself around and planted his feet on the floor. He winced slightly at the stinging pain in his feet and went to dress himself as quickly as he could, once he had finished dressing himself he looked around for his normal pair of boots and found them missing. In their place was a pair of black boots with small metal plates over the toes of the boots for added protection, Bell picked up the boots with his right hand as he gathered up the rest of his items and quickly made the bed back so that it was the same as when he had arrived to make it look like he was never even there.
Before walking down the stairs he did a double check counting the Valis that he had left in his pouch and backpack. As well as patting down his jacket and feeling his old man's journal right where it belonged inside the inner pocket of his brown coat. With all of his possessions together he started to walk down the stairs, the hardwood against his bandaged feet strung slightly but it was nothing that was going to kill him so he just ignored the painful sensation. At that moment he remembered what his grandfather had always said to him whenever he scraped his knee or cut himself with whatever he could get his hands on, 'It's far from the heart boy, it ain't gonna kill yah...most likely..'. Bell smiled slightly at the found memory right as he reached the bottom of the staircase and stepped onto the ground floor, all of the chairs that had been stacked on the tables had been pulled down and set up around the tables and bar. Several women in green uniforms like Syr had been wearing the night before when she picked him up in the back alley walked around the room doing separate chores.
''Nyah~ Are you that boy that silly boy Syr dragged here~nyah?" a young woman with short brown hair suddenly asked him as she stood to his right. Bell had jumped slightly as she seemed to appear out of seemingly nowhere and after taking a second to compose himself he noticed the twitching brown cat ears atop her head and the skinny cat tail swaying gently from side to side behind her of the same colour.
"W-whoa..you surprised me a little there…'' Bell said as calmly as possible as he scratched the back of his head with his free hand and took a step back from the woman as she leaned closer towards him with a curious expression on her face. ''Y-yeah...I am the person that Syr brought here last night...my name's Bell...it's nice to meet you, you must be one of her coworkers here, right?'' he asked as he extended his right hand to shake her hand.
''Yes I am~nyah! My name is Nyahnya Fromel!'' she said happily in an overjoyed tone as she shook his hand with her own two paws.
"Are...those real….?'' Bell curiously reached his free hand up and grasped her right ear that twitched around for a few seconds as she let out a soft purr and nuzzled her head against his palm. In the corner of his eye he could see another catgirl with black ears and a tail instead of Fromel's brown glaring at him and it was the first sign that he was doing something wrong.
The second sign was the voice that called out to him ''Please refrain from touching the girls.'' a stern third voice said as another female approached him at a quickened pace with a serious expression plastered across her face.
"S-sorry! I shouldn't have done that...I-I just had never seen a cat person before...and I got ahead of myself..'' Bell apologized as he quickly freed her ear and retraced his hand and dropped his arm to his side and changed his gaze towards the floorboards in shame.
''It is fine, if she really did not like you petting her she would have dislocated one of your fingers…'' the new woman said in a slightly softer tone as she stood only a few feet away from him. ''Her name is Anya Fromel...forgive her poor speech and manners...she is a curious cat…'' the woman added which made the catgirl squirm and pout slightly as she made a tactical retreat away back into the kitchen where she had jumped out from.
''No forgive me...I-'' Bell lost his train of thought as he looked up to view the person that he was apologizing towards and was left stunned for a moment as he saw a woman that looked just similar to what the fairytale books his grandfather had read him would have described a fairy. "You are an Elf….'' he said softly under his breath to no one in particular. Her pointy ears poked out from her short blonde hair as she narrowed her baby blue eyes slightly to glare at him.
''Is there something wrong with that?'' she asked him with the same stern tone that she had spoken to him in moments ago.
''N-no! Gods no, I just..have not seen an Elf before and your looks stunned me for a second…sorry..'' Bell said quickly in his own defensive tone, he did not want to make it appear as though he discriminated against Elves in his first meeting with one of their race.
''O-oh..I-I see...you have not seen many races before have you?'' the woman questioned him as she crossed her arms in front of her modest chest.
"No, not really...I am not from Orario...I just arrived yesterday actually..'' Bell said as he cracked a small nervous smile to try and ease the tension in the air that could be cut with a knife.
''I could have guessed that with how you have been acting and what Syr told me...well, allow me to be the first Elf to welcome you to Orario, then...Mr. Cranel, right?''
"That's exactly right, thank you..um...sorry what was your name...I don't believe that I caught it..'' Bell said with a small nervous chuckle.
''Ryuu Lion, I am friends with Syr…''
''It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Ryuu...umm...is Syr here anywhere by any chance?'' Bell asked as he leaned to the right slightly and looked around the pub, not spotting the grey haired woman anywhere within sight. He hoped that she was in the kitchen and hadn't left already.
''Yes she is, let me go get her for you...excuse me for one moment.'' Ryuu said calmly as she did a slight bow before returning to the kitchen where the catgirl had also returned too, a few moments later she came back out with Syr right behind her.
''Here you go Mr. Cranel...it was a pleasure to meet you but I should be getting back to my tasks for now, have a pleasant day.'' the Elf said as she again did a small bow before walking off to return to her daily chores.
''H-hello Syr…''
''H-hi Bell…''
''Th-thanks for doing my cl-clothes for me…'' Bell said as he stuck his arms out slightly, if she had not hung them up like she did they would have still been soaking wet from the heavy rain.
"N-no pr-problem Bell! I-I was h-happy to help y-you!'' Syr said happily as she smiled widely and leaned forward slightly with her arms behind her back as she giggled softly.
''I was wondering though...did you put my boots somewhere? I found these ones but I did not see mine anywhere..?'' Bell asked as he held up the pair of black boots that he had found in place of his own worn brown footwear.
"Oh, th-those brown boots of yours were so worn down...s-so I thought that maybe you needed a new pair...I-I guess they aren't really new...they used to belong to another server here as their spares but they don't need them anymore… '' Syr said softly as she averted her eyes with a slight blush on her cheeks.
"I-I can't possibly accept these, I have been too much of a hindrance already!'' Bell said as he tried to hand her the boots and she pushed them back towards him and refused to accept them.
''Pl-please B-bell...j-just try them on first...like I said they don't need them anymore...so they may as well not g-go to waste, right?''
Bell buckled for a moment and caved to the girl, he sat down on the staircase and slipped the boots onto his feet one at a time staring with the right and then the left. Syr extended her hand and helped to pull him back up onto his feet as he pushed himself off of the stairs, he clicked his heels together and danced around on his feet for a moment.
"Whoa….these are..actually really comfortable…'' Bell said in a slightly surprised tone, his previous boots were not a perfect fit, they dug into his heel and scrunched up his toes. But the new boots that he wore on his feet were perfect, that added weight of the protective metal plates over the toes and the back of the achilles heel made them feel a little awkward at first but he could get used to the feeling over time.
''Then there is no problem! They are all yours now B-bell!'' Syr said happily as she clasped her hands together, smiling brightly and tilting her head to the side slightly in a cute manner.
"I….I guess it's alright...I would have had to purchase myself some new boots anyway, so at least I don't have to waste any money on a new pair now. T-thanks S-syr….I appreciate it...honest...thank you for everything-'' Bell was interrupted as she suddenly lurched forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and locked him in a hug and whispered softly into his left ear.
''P-please stop….you're making it sound like you won't come back and see me...you will...won't you?'' she softly whimpered, to the young white haired boy it sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
He forced himself to relax into her hug and returned her embrace and lightly patted her upper back as he spoke into her right ear with a gentle tone ''D-don't wo-worry….S-syr...I will come and visit every now and then...once I f-find myself a F-familia...and g-get some more Valis...m-maybe I will come and have a supper here one night...you will be my server, right?''.
"Of course! I-I mean...I-I would be happy t-to B-bell...if y-you want me too….'' Syr said softly as a slight rosy blush creeped its way onto her cheeks.
"I-I would l-love that Syr….I will be back before you even r-relaize that I was gone...promise…''
Syr hugged him a tad tighter as she buried her face into the crook of his neck and hummed to herself softly, she had wanted the moment to last for an eternity. Her peaceful moment however was broken as she started to feel him pulling away from her, giving her a few more pats on her upper back as he spoke to her as calmly as he could ''S-syr...c-could you let me go now...t-the other wa-waitresses are s-staring…''.
Syr pulled back and with a quick glance around the room she could see that several people were staring at the two, Ryuu was keeping a very close eye on her but Syr reasoned that she was only watching over her to make sure that she was safe and nothing more. Lunoire was watching from the far adjacent side of the pub where she was unlocking the doors and was getting ready to set out the sign that would list the specials the pub would be serving for the night. Three curious catgirls were also watching, Chloe was glancing towards the two out of the corner of her emerald eyes. Anya was poking her head over the counter of the bar as she was busy trying to stealthy clean several ale mugs that she had 'forgotten' to clean the previous night. Even May, the Head Chef who very rarely left the backroom was poking her head out from the kitchen.
"R-right!'' Syr said in a raised voice which snapped all the other waitresses out of their stupors and made them return to their work. ''S-sorry about th-that…'' she cooed softly as she giggled slightly. She released the young boy from her grasp and reached out and gave him a gentle poke on his nose with her right hands index finger "You come back to me….I-I won't forgive you if you forget about m-me…''.
"I-I wouldn't forget t-the only person that has been nice to me since I came to Orario!'' Bell quickly said in his own defence as she lowered her finger and placed it over his lips silencing him.
She leaned forward with a slight giggled she whispered into his ear ''I know Bell...I was just teasing silly~! Now….you get out there and find yourself a Familia!''. She grabbed onto his wrist with her free hand and pulled her towards her, she stepped to the side as he passed right by her and she gave him a push on the back. He stumbled slightly but he quickly regained his footing as he grew more accustomed to the new boots and ran out of the Hostess of Fertility. Turning around at the door and giving the grey haired waitress a wave goodbye before taking off out the door and down the street towards the nearest Familia.
Syr watched him from the windows located at the front of the pub until he disappeared out of sight, Syr missed the young boy's touch despite him being gone for only a couple of minutes. She wanted to run out of the Hostess and chase after him to have just one more hug, but she had already been plenty greedy for the day and there were going to be many more chances for her to have her fill of the young boy in the near future.
Hi, me again. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter and if you did or even did not please feel free to leave a review and I will respond to all of them in the next chapter!