Well, been a minute since I wrote something for this. Figure it's time to get it going again, eh?

If I'm gonna be real here, I've been having a rough time drudging up some motivation to type this, so I'm gonna work at it a little at a time. Should help me along.

Still have a Discord, to anybody interested. Feel free to hit it up if you wanna talk to me directly! discord. gg/ wm38mnTqrj

Reviews!

Subject ZeroOne: Conflicting opinions and constant yelling are the signs of a true friendship, of course! (That's a lie, no they aren't, but it will constitute a fair amount of this one.) I do have to say that I let a bit of my science geek out on ya there, and I felt the need to apologize for it in the end. Glad to see that a numbers fan like me is reading!

Mrkodeo: Thanks for the vote of confidence! Just means I'm doing something right here. Also, sorry it took a month an a half, been struggling with motivation.

Guest: Thank you!

Aight, onst we go with the tale!

INSERT DISCLAIMER HERE

Chapter 5: Baby Steps

"Riddle me this," I begin, glancing over to Gwain from my position of resting against a pillar in her throne room, fiddling with my phone once again as I study a rudimentary alphabet that I've managed to piece together through my interactions with castle staff and Gwain herself as they read things. As a side note, a surprising number of people mutter to themselves as they read in this world. Not sure if that's just an odd quirk or if it means something. "You're Queen, as we've already established. My question here is why you let Luna run rampant all the time. I mean, yeah, she's got you wrapped around her finger with the health of your daughter at stake here, but I fail to understand why that was the deal rather than you just commissioning her to find a cure rather than literally begging for it and doing anything that she said to do at the time."

Gwain looks up from her own entertainment for the moment, being a book she's reading (can't quite read the name yet), and stares at me for a moment before facepalming. "Damn it." she grunts, her tone one of defeat as she realizes that she has no logical reason for it.

"Can't really knock you for it, so don't think that's what I'm doing here." I state, attempting to translate some text that I had taken a picture of and huffing in irritation to myself when I realize that I must be missing some characters. "Emotions speak far louder than logic in a situation where you realize your kid is dying. That being said, I think that there are some moves you could take now in order to reduce the influence that Luna has over time, since I'm not seeing an immediate fix." I continue, missing Gwain's irritated glance in my direction.

"Look, I'm not gonna ask you for advice. You're not royalty, so you don't understand the processes needed to handle something like this in order to phase Luna out of power." Gwain states waspishly, clearly offended at my implied attack on her capabilities as queen.

I merely shrug. "Dial it back there, queenie." I say flippantly, raising my hand and spinning it in a dismissive fashion. "I'm simply trying to give you ideas from an outsider's point of view. An old saying I heard once was 'the best solution to a problem is usually the easiest one'. Good advice if you disregard the sentence that came immediately afterward, so I choose to omit it. I thought that maybe my view as an outsider who has zero experience as a leader may be able to provide some insight of the populous themselves, something that royalty such as yourself may not always get the opportunity to see, which is merely a consequence of how one is raised rather than being your fault." I explain, and then glance up to see Gwain looking at me with a contemplative look, but still slightly aggressive posture.

Gwain sighs, and looks back down at her book, but I can see her eyes aren't really moving along the lines, which means she's just averted her gaze and is thinking more than anything else. The big eyes of this dimension have that benefit at least.

"Aside from that, why am I even here?" I ask, slipping my phone into my pants pocket and standing up. "Last I checked, I needed a place of residence that isn't the dungeon, and is a bit out of the way so that people don't really know I'm around. Following that, your castle is a bit far from the stipulation set on that, don't you think?"

Gwain sighs and marks her spot in the book she's reading before standing. "Yes, and I was waiting for Ami and Geo to show up before moving along with that, but they seem to be taking their time, so I'll just show you the place I've been thinking of myself. Follow along, please." She replies to me, before she starts walking out of the throne room.

I shrug and follow her, walking to her left and behind her very slightly so I can follow her as she makes any turns.

"So, Gwain," I start as I raise my arms and place my hands on the back of my head in a relaxed walking posture, "where are we heading?"

"The port." Gwain states simply, and I glance at her before chuckling.

"Let me guess, the lighthouse?" I ask, and seeing her simply nod, I shake my head with a smile. "Really treating me well, I see. Free electricity, freedom to basically do whatever the hell I want so long as I don't disrupt normal operations, and one hell of a view every day I wake up. That's a good place in my book. And so what if it's a little dusty or something like that? I can clean just fine." I ramble, more to myself.

Gwain glances at me quizzically. "Do you actually mean all of what you just said, or are you joking with me?"

I look her in the eye with a small smile. "Yeah, I do. I'm well aware that anywhere you can give me without raising much question in the general populace has to be at least slightly out of the way, and there isn't much more out of the way that you can get than the living quarters in a lighthouse, especially if said lighthouse hasn't had anybody living in it for years because it went automatic. All I need to do is not raise a huge racket and nobody will suspect a thing."

Gwain smiles lightly and shakes her head. "You're too observant if you ask me." She states, and her tone hints she's joking. I merely roll my eyes.

"I've been able to see things a lot more clearly recently than I was able to when I was still at home. I've been freaking myself out more than I've been freaking you out with how little of an outgoing person I've been lately, since I used to be impulsive and extroverted. Must be whatever changed me when I came here." I contemplate.

Gwain glances at me oddly. "You mean that you weren't always like this?" She asks.

I shake my head. "Nope. I used to be a lot more... explosive than I am now. That would be a good way to put it. I often did things without much thought, and I never really was a huge thinker, unlike what I am now. Also, my hair was never white, it was actually a dirty blonde, much like a cross between an Earth and Lightning elemental around here. Also, I was never a strong individual, nor was I that fast. For me, it was more so that I was about as physically strong as Ami seems to be, and just about as fast as well. Now I'm on par with Geo, if a bit less so because I haven't done anything physical in this world yet. It's taken a bit of getting used to." I explain, and Gwain's eyes widen more and more as I continue.

"So, the human that was a genocidal maniac..." she starts, and I nod and finish for her.

"They were likely an Average Joe or Jane that went power mad and had their sanity broken from something in their lives."

Gwain stops completely, before looking down. "To think that my life today would likely be so much different if that individual hadn't gone mad."

I hesitate, before I lift my arm and place my hand on her shoulder. Gwain stiffens violently, and moves her hand to grab my arm. Before she does, I speak. "It's no good to look on the past, Gwain. The only thing that one can do is look forward to the future, and do the best they can." I state, before giving her shoulder two pats and then removing my hand.

Gwain starts to turn and look at me, before I smirk. "Well, that or invent time travel. And I don't think either of us are versed enough in theory and sciences to do that one yet."

Gwain snorts humorously, before shaking her head and turning away. "And to think I was about to give you some praise for managing to open my eyes even further than you already have."

I snort in amusement myself. "Bah, I wouldn't have accepted your praise anyway. Too humble for my own good, and an inferiority complex like a motherfucker. Has not been a single person to this day that got me to accept any for of praise without me pointing out someone better at it than me."

Gwain quirks an eyebrow, before smirking. "And if I had told you that you were the only human to open my eyes at all?"

I spin my hand, dismissing her. "Then I would have told you that Geo could probably have done the same thing if you had just spoken with him a bit. The guy's got a good heart, just a head denser than concrete. Your daughter could likely throw herself at him wearing nothing but lingerie and her headband and he still wouldn't get that she's madly in love with him."

Gwain freezes dead in her tracks, before slowly looking me in the eyes with an angry vein in her forehead. "Excuse me, did you just say my daughter is in love with that affront of a being?"

I scoff. "Oh please, Gwain. Just off the first interaction that I saw between the two alone I could tell that she's got some serious feelings for him. Along with that, I doubt heavily that she would have stuck up for him as strongly as she would have had to in order to get you to not kill him outright based on your hostility toward me when this whole thing started."

Gwain blows a breath of air out of her nose as she reels her temper back. "Fair enough. I will still be having words with the two of them when I next see them."

"Nah, no need to get overtly upset at them. Just tease the living hell out of them with making sure that they're aware of your feelings on the matter. Just be aware that your daughter is in her late teens; she's gonna have a little bit of a rebellious streak in her, no matter how suppressed it may be." I state, a light lilt of chuckling in my voice as i imagine the scenario.

Gwain shakes her head with a sad smile on her face. "That's what I fear the most." she confides.

"Oh, absolutely." I agree, nodding my affirmation. "A rebellious teenager is bound to get themselves into some trouble, but... well, how else do they learn? My only hope is that if Geo is the one she decides to be committed to and spend the rest of her days with, then she knows the implications behind having a human as a husband after what history has done to the image." I finish.

"We agree on that at least. Now, we're here." Gwain states, looking at the lighthouse that I only just noticed we made it to.

I pause in shock, before looking back and realizing that the castle is only a short walk away from here. I can't help but laugh. "Well, with me being this close to you, I suppose that now you'll really not be able to stop thinking of me, huh?" I state, joking about with her as I gently nudge her upper arm with my elbow.

I only realize when I find myself almost a quarter of the way through to brick of the building next to the lighthouse (which I really hope is abandoned as well right now), accompanied by a huge amount of cracks splitting many of the bricks and nearly toppling the wall I just bodily interjected into, that I may have pushed it a little bit too far with that last one. "All right, no joking about you being interested in me romantically anymore, got it." I speak out, being heavily muzzled by the large amount of brick around my head.

Gwain vents a heavy gale of air from her lungs as she lowers her arm, moving from a flawless throwing stance to a relaxed standing position smoothly. Not that I can see that. Too much brick around my head.

"Well, Chris, I would have welcomed you to your new home and given you a tour, but it seems that you're getting a bit too bold, so to speak. Go have a look around yourself, and think about what you did." Gwain states, holding a perfect deadpan expression as she states such.

"Oh, I know fully what I did." I state, before ripping myself free from the brick restrictions I found myself roughly introduced to. "I suggested that you may hold interest in me as more than just an aquaintance. Look, just because I want to know what you like as a woman doesn't mean I'm going to do it any time soon. Just when you admit to wanting me-"

I can't finish my sentence before I find myself winded and slammed into the ground, my head being buried within a dirt prison. "-as more than an acquaintance." I finish, speaking into the dirt around my head. "Right, shutting up now." I grunt, before bracing myself and pulling my head out of the ground. "You know, violence shouldn't be your go-to for fixing issues, at least not as a Queen." I state sarcastically.

"I'm not Queen right now, though. With just you around, I am merely Gwain." Gwain states with a savage grin, seemingly pleased that I'm not looking to give her a thrashing, even after she nailed me twice.

Doesn't mean I can't embarrass the hell out of her, though. "Oh? Well, if you're just Gwain, and not the Queen, then I hold zero reservations in stating that you are quite possibly one of the most attractive women I've had the personal pleasure of meeting, and when your eyes glow from using magic, it's super hot to me." I state aloud with a grin.

Gwain physically locks up, her face steadily changing to a rosy coloration. "E-Excuse me?!" she stutters.

I go in for the kill. "Indeed. And let me tell you, those pants you're wearing, along with that top? It's taking everything I have to not grab one of your legs again just to know how it feels, or grab the back of your shirt and pull it back to tighten the front and see just what contours your torso has..." I state quietly, looking her in the eyes with a gentle smile.

Gwain's face goes atomic red, and she stutters horrifically before burying her face into one of her hands, and uses the other to grab me and literally throw me into the nearby waterfront.

It's there I learn that I can no longer swim with my increased weight, and I panic slightly. "Shit!" I shout aloud, but as I am underwater, all I did was waste precious air.

Okay, think. How can I get out of this? I mentally flail for a moment before smacking my head. Oh, no shit. Increased weight? My lungs don't burn after a hard run? I just need to keep my cool, save my air, and walk along the bottom back to shore. Easy.

I wait until I hit the bottom, use my feet to determine which way is shallower, and walk that way.

That is, until I almost run out of air. I panic slightly again, but this time, I act immediately with the smartest move, and jump.

I fly out of the water and land on the shore, displacing quite the startling amount of sand and topsoil as i landed right on the barrier between the two. I glance around and see Gwain standing next to the lighthouse still, looking down and holding her hands to her sides. She seems quite pissed.

"You know," I call to her as I walk in her direction, "Those were nothing but compliments I sent your way. I will not take any of what I said back, as that would make me quite the dishonest man, but I will dial it back if you do the same for me on the violence front. Deal?" I ask, holding my hand out for a handshake.

Gwain glowers at me for a moment, her face still bright red, before sighing and reaching forward to shake my hand. "Deal." she accepts.

"All right. Now, let's get this show on the road, yeah?" I ask, before stepping to the door of the lighthouse. While not very large in diameter, this place would certainly be a healthily sized abode with the use of multiple levels. I may have to do that myself, now that I think on it.

I open the door and step inside to see the main entry leads to an open-concept floor, having a kitchenette, living quarters, and a narrow stairway up, leading to either the floors above for living quarters, or merely going up all the way to the lantern housing, depending on when this light house was built. I find a light switch and flick it, and am pleased as a light comes on in the middle of the room, filling it with a warm glow. The interior of the building seems slightly dated, but still perfectly functioning, and made for the electronic era. Perfect.

"So, Gwain, How much work will I have to do on this place? I can tell just by looking around that I won't need to absolutely do much updating, but I'd like to know now if there's any kind of work that I need to do to make this space more habitable, like building new rooms, new facilities, that sorta stuff." I inquire.

"Not much of the sort." Gwain replies, stepping inside and standing next to me as she looks around. "I had an evaluator come in and confirm that everything is sound and up to code; the only thing you'll need to do is whatever you feel necessary for your own comfort."

"Excellent." I state, before turning to Gwain. "Now that this is all settled and I'm absolutely soaked thanks to you, shall we head back to the castle? I'd much prefer to get myself out of these saltwater-soaked bits of clothing."

Gwain looks at me and smirks. "You only have yourself to blame for that."

"Just because you're right doesn't mean I have to be happy about it!" I exclaim, before opening the door and holding it for the queen to go first. "And while I said those things to embarrass you at the time, I meant every single word!"

Gwain blushes a pleasant shade of pink as she steps out of the building with me right behind her.

"Oh, Miss Gwain!"

Myself and Gwain both turn our heads to look at the owner of the voice that shouted our way, and I'm surprised to be met with the two kids that Ami and myself ran into a couple days prior on the way to MoonTech.

"Oh, it's you two." Gwain states, her face losing its blush immediately and her posture becoming slightly more strict as the two approach.

"We could say the same!" the blue one replies, before looking to me. "Oh, it's you! Dude, it was so cool the way you blew through that gate back at MoonTech! You must be super strong!"

"Yeah, man." the red one states in a total "surfer bro" voice. "How'd you even do that?"

"Ah..." I intone, raising my right hand to rub the back of my head and laughing sheepishly as Gwain glares at me sidelong for letting these kids see something I could do. "I'm really not sure. Maybe I just happened to hit a bad spot in the gate?" I guess, trying to play off how hard I actually hit that gate.

"Huh. Maybe." the red one replies. "By the way, my name's Agni, and my cousin here is Deva. Good to actually meet you without some kind of important thing making you hurry."

"Good to meet you." I reply, nodding politely to the two. "Out of curiosity, what are you guys doing here? Kinda out of the way."

"Oh, I'm out here to practice my water magic more." Deva replies with a light smile. "Agni just decided to come along with me because he's got nothing else to do."

"Too true." Agni replies.

"By the way..." Deva continues, looking somewhat concerned at me. It's only then that I realize I'm still soaking wet, and that's almost certain to be the question in her mind.

"You're probably wondering why I'm completely doused in water right now. The easy explanation is that Gwain and I had a small disagreement and it ended up with me being sent into the ocean through means that were definitely not my fault, I swear." I quickly explain, both to lightly jab at Gwain, who rolls her eyes, and due to not wanting any more questions to be had. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to get moving along. I'm starting to get kinda cold." I finish stating, before walking forward and passing Agni and Deva. "Good to meet you, maybe the next time we meet, I won't have some kind of pressing matter to deal with at the moment!"

"Sounds good, see ya 'round!" Agni calls as I continue walking. Gwain quickly catches up, quirking an eyebrow at my quick dismissal.

"Why were you so intent on getting away from them?" She asked quietly to not be heard by the two teens that are continuing on their way to the waterfront.

"I have no way of concealing that I'm human to them. If they get curious about me having white hair all the time and not being physically exhausted, there will be questions." I reply back, and Gwain nods.

"Well, let's get back to the castle and get you a change of clothes. The faster the better." Gwain states while looking back forward.

"Agreed." I state. "... You know that I absolutely meant it when I said that you're hot as hell, right?"

"Wha-?!" Gwain starts, rounding on me with all the force of a hurricane. Her face is aflame once again, extraordinarily so. Do Teorans just have a lot brighter blood than humans? "Why are you bringing this back up?!" She squeaks, and I can't help but laugh aloud.

"What, is this the first time that you've been so brazenly complimented?" I ponder with a light laugh, but stop when Gwain, in a highly out of character moment for her, lowers her head and pokes her fingers together.

"... Yes..." she quietly states, and my jaw drops.

"Wait, seriously?" I ask, completely baffled.

"Yes!" Gwain snaps, before quieting down and looking forward again, refusing to meet my gaze. "It is, in fact, the first time that anyone has had the audacity to come forward so blatantly and give me compliments on my appearance. Are you happy to know this now?"

"To be honest, no." I state with a small frown, and Gwain looks at me again, puzzled this time. "I think it's a fucking atrocity any time that a woman doesn't know how great a person they are, and fails to receive any compliments on the matter, especially when they do all they can to look great without going overboard like you. I mean, shit, your hair is perfectly straight, which I know is a nightmare for someone with as long hair as yours and I love long hair, you obviously aren't wearing any makeup and still look great, and you carry yourself with enough poise to make dancers jealous. Frankly, it's a crying shame that you haven't had someone hit on you before, but that's most likely your personality when you're actually on duty as Queen that does it."

"... Then why do you do so rather than conform to the masses when it comes to me?" Gwain asks quietly.

"Because, to be blunt, I'd rather know and associate with the actual Gwain, rather than the mask that the you have to wear to maintain appearance as Queen." I reply with as much seriousness as I can muster in my entire physical being. "I want to know you as you yourself are, not how the world expects you to present yourself as. I want to now you by your true name, rather than just Queen Gwain. I want to be your friend." I emphasize, before falling quiet.

"... Gwain Le'Viand." Gwain finally gets out, obviously shaken by my honesty and forwardness with her. "That is my name. Gwain Le'Viand."

"Very well then. My birth-given name is Christopher Malakai Curtis. It's good to finally meet the real you, Gwain." I happily declare.

Gwain remains silent, but the gentle smile on her face that has yet to leave, and tells a tale all its own.

"... Can we hurry back now?" I ask, shivering lightly as the wind kicks up a bit and rakes across my still soaked self. "It's actually getting cold out here."

The laugh that escapes Gwain will be etched in my brain for hours to come, I'm certain.

A/N: And that'll do it, my friends! I actually made an attempt to make this guy a bit longer, so I hope that it'll tide us over a bit better until I manage to finally get my head out of my ass again and type up the next chapter. The sooner the better is true, but I'm just not sure at the moment.

Now that the package that contains just about as much fluff as I can physically cram into it has been opened and spilled its contents everywhere, we may see things take a bit more serious of a light in the coming chapters. Well, that or I just keep pouring on the fluff. Who knows? :P

'Till I see you all again!

-Sonix