A/N: warning, later this chapter will have an almost intimate moment. They get close, but not that far yet. I had a friend help me with the term for this, and he said it can be considered fluff, so fluff warning and also lewd language after they get interrupted courtesy of Phoenix lol. Just looked up something, maybe it's a lime, not fluff. Idfk... it's something, that's all I know. I used to know all these fucking phrases back when I was an avid fanfic writer/reader... 11/12/13/14 years ago.

Chapter 43

The next morning, I woke up at 4:30. I got up and went outside to the hill. I leaned back and put my hands on the ground behind me. I watched the moon. Its phase was a waning gibbous. I learned that with mom. Don't ask me how I remember that phrase, but I did and I surprised even myself just now. I could feel Ianite's presence get closer. I looked over to her as she sat beside me.

"Are you doing ok, Nix?" I nodded a little.

"As good as I can be. Surprisingly I didn't have any nightmares. Probably 'cause I was cuddled in your arms," I said, grinning a silly grin. Ianite gave a small chuckle and leaned against me.

"You may put on a brave face, but it's ok to be vulnerable, remember."

"I remember. Honestly though, I think your presence and us being close helped keep the nightmares away. Maybe even my soul magic helped keep me sane. Wait, speaking of, where did the soul barrier go from Dine at Nite? I could feel it was gone when I was teleported back here."

"I was able to, somehow, disperse it." That surprised the hell out of me. "You're surprised... I was hoping you'd know why I was able to do that." I looked at the moon, thoughtful. I wonder if I could logic it out? I wonder if her being a goddess is it? Something told me that that wasn't right. If not her being a goddess, then what? Is it because we're dating and the souls that made up my barrier trusted her? I felt what I could only describe as a light that flickered through me when I came to that conclusion, telling me that I was right. I relayed that to Ianite. She took on a thoughtful look as well. "I suppose that does make sense. It's still surprising that I was able to do that."

"For real... I wonder how often you'd be able to do that? Something tells me not all that often."

"Fair."

"Could we check on the horses at the Isle of Gathering?" I asked, standing up.

"Of course. Nix, what will we do with those horses?"

"I was thinking we could expand the Isle of Gathering and let the horses stay there. Dec will be able to keep an eye on them. He stays at the building now. Hmm, I wonder if he knows how to ta... oh wait. He's been alive for 200 years. I'm sure he knows how to take care of horses by now."

"Sounds alright to me." Ianite teleported to the Isle and teleported me right after. I went up to the horses and they nickered. I smiled and pet them.

"Hey you two. How are you getting on here?" Starburst nuzzled my arm and Chestnut puffed. I chuckled. "Sounds like you like it here. I'm glad. I'm also glad I got you out of there. I'm sure Darkness would have used you in his war... I really hope he doesn't get any more horses... Ianite? Would you be able to find any brushes, pitchforks, horse care things around?" Ianite smirked and things appeared out of nowhere as she set things up and made a shed to store said things. After she finished,

"Goddess, remember?" I playfully poked my tongue out.

"Yes, yes. You're a goddess. One that I'm so lucky to be the High Priestess for and to be dating." I went over to the shed and grabbed the brush out to brush their coats. They definitely need it after the impromptu bath yesterday when Aianite teleported us here. I brushed them gently, then grabbed the brush for their names and tails. As I took care of the horses, Ianite was beginning to expand the island. As the morning went on, Gandus was teleported to us, Sparky arrived, and Dec appeared from the building. Dec helped Ianite and Sparky and Gandus were interested in the horses.

"I take it they're staying here?" Sparky asked.

"Yeah. I figured here would be best. Dec should know how to take care of them. Ianite put in the shed and supplies before starting to expand the island. Speaking of, I should help too. I am the High Priestess after all. I should also call out to Mianite and Dianite. With all 5 of us, the expansion shouldn't take too long." The two of them appeared after I called out to them for their help. They went up to the horses.

"So, these came from Darkness' land, huh? I respect you for rescuing them, Phoenix," Mianite said. I half shrugged and went to the edge, putting in the command to fly so I could help. Some grass and dirt blocks appeared in my inventory and I got to work. As I had figured earlier, having 5 of us took hardly any time at all. When we finished, it was mid-afternoon. Any blocks I had left over disappeared. I got back onto the island and took off the fly command.

"You did great Nix," Ianite complimented. I smiled and inclined my head, saying a silent 'thank you'. We all sat at the campfire.

"So, where's Orion been?" I asked.

"He's had stuff that came up that he needs to focus on. Hermod also left. He said he needed to get travelling. He didn't like staying in one place too long," Dec explained. I nodded, understanding. As I watched the campfire, the skin on my arms felt like there were ants on me and the flames looked black as my mind went back to yesterday, when I was still in my cell covered in darkness. I rubbed my arms, trying to get rid of the feeling, half whining as well. Everyone looked toward me.

"Nix? What's wrong?" Ianite asked. All I could do is look at her, a little freaked out.

"Are you remembering yesterday?" I gave the slightest nod. She put an arm around me. "You're safe Nix. It's ok. You're with friends." I leaned into her, closing my eyes, focusing on her holding me, hoping her presence will push away the feeling of still being in that cell, entangled by the tendrils of darkness. Slowly, the feeling of being in Ianite's arms began to chase away the memories of yesterday. After a bit,

"I should practice my powers. I should also practice for the Olympics." I rose from my seat and went to a clearing. The others watched me, feeling bad for me. I did some agility, obstacles, archery, and at the end, I practiced my powers. It was close to sunset when I went over to the others. "I hope the Olympics are soon. I really want to get this over with as soon as possible."

"Patience, my love, my Priestess. It'll come soon enough." I sighed. I sat back down next to Ianite. I watched the fire again. It's just normal orange fire. It keeps us warm enough. Soulfire is the more superior fire, in my opinion. Of course I'd think that. As I thought that, the fire turned into soulfire, but only to show me a vision. I could see a man, red hair, red beard with two braids in his beard. Very... strange looking. I could recognize the area he's travelling in. He's coming closer to this island. He looked very grim. That's not good. He could be an enemy, we need to be prepared. I warned the others. He will be here in the morning.

"We'll be prepared. Let's also let Tom and Karl know to meet here in the morning," Dec said. I nodded. I gave the message to Karl through our telepathic communication.

'Ok, I'll be there.'

'Good, see you in the morning.' The rest of us stood and headed back to our bases. We all got everything prepared for tomorrow. "Wait, Gandus, do you have any armor or anything? Any good weapons, tools, etc?" I asked.

"I don't need it. I have my magic, which you know is strong." I was still nervous for her.

"I'd still like you to have good armor. At least." She sighed.

"Alright Nix. I'll take some armor." Ianite came over and handed her some decent armor. "Thanks Ianite." Ianite smiled in return.

"Alright, now we're ready. I take it no gods will come with us?"

"You'd be right. We'll be staying out of it, but always watching over you." I nodded. We bade Gandus a good night and headed to our bed. We'd all already had something to eat. We laid in our bed, Ianite's back against my front, my right arm draped over her side, my hand resting against her stomach, and my left arm in the small gap between her neck and the mattress, that hand resting against her chest, just above her boobs. In case you don't have the hint, our bodies are as close as close can be.

"Good night, my beautiful goddess."

"Good night, my brave Champion." During the night, my dream was a vision of tomorrow.

~Nix's Dream~

"I need your help. My name's Brokkr. There's been a murder in my mine. All my employees are too scared to try to help me, so I've sent them all home. I've heard stories about you all and your adventures. You lot seem like the perfect people to help me. Will you?" I looked at everyone.

"He's telling the truth. His intention here is pure."

~Next Morning~

When Ianite and I woke up, I was half on, half off Ianite. My right leg was over both of Ianite's, the inside of my left leg was against the outside of Ianite's right leg, so definitely intimate closeness. Very intimate. My right arm is over her, but my head is on her left shoulder, my forehead against her cheek. I'm dead sure my breath is tickling her neck.

"N-Nix..." I chuckled. I can feel her embarrassment and I'm 1,000 percent sure she's blushing like mad.

"This is what happens when you share a bed with your lover, love. We're bound to get into some... intimate type of positions." I kissed her neck. Her embarrassment shot up another 1,000 percent, but also I could feel another feeling. That of desire, although she's trying to hide it.

"N-Nix... w-we have a housemate..."

"It's early, she's probably not up yet." I put my right hand on her cheek and propped myself up fully over her. I was right, she is blushing so hard. I leaned closer, catching her lips with mine, giving her the most passionate kiss. My left hand wandered to her boob and she let out a soft moan. Before we could go any further, I heard Gandus rooting around in the kitchen. I ended what was about to be our first time with a sigh. I sat on my side of the bed as Ianite sat up. Ianite is still blushing like mad. I chuckled. "We might need to wait until you can be a normal color again. Your face looks like a tomato." Ianite giggled.

"You started it."

"I was about to finish it too, if it weren't for Gandus being up already. I didn't think she'd be up this soon." I looked at the clock. A little after 6 AM. Maybe she's up already because of her first actual mission with us. I looked over to Ianite. Her face is becoming a more normal color now. I changed into my dress and went over to her as she finished changing. "We got cockblocked and blueballed so hard. Under normal circumstances, we'd have had plenty of time," I stated while whispering, smirking. That made her blush all over again and this time she lightly smacked my arm.

"Nix," she jokingly chastised. I chuckled and we left our room. Gandus looked over to us, eating her breakfast. She noticed Ianite's blush first and my smirk second. She grinned and wolf whistled.

"Get it sis," Gandus said approvingly.

"We couldn't. You'd have heard us. If you'd have given us just 10 more minutes, that would have worked out perfectly."

"Only 10 minutes, eh? You work fast."

"I'm confident that's all it would take for me to work my magic."

"Damn, Nix. Wait, how would you know? You've never done it with anyone." It was my turn to blush.

"No comment." Gandus got a suspicious look and was about to say something, until,

"Ok, enough with this talk. I want to eat..." Ianite interjected. I gave her a grateful look. She just focused on her food with extra concentration. We ate in silence, Ianite and I both blushing. After I did the dishes, the blushes were gone. Ianite teleported to the Isle of Gathering and teleported Gandus and I afterward. Once everyone was there and the gods hidden and hovering above us, I told the others of my dream vision.

"So Brokkr is good. Good to know. So we don't need to be on guard," Dec confirmed. I nodded.

"But it would still be a good idea to keep our gear on and with us, in case we need it," I advised, putting on my own armor. The others put on their armor as well. I could feel Brokkr's presence coming closer and looked out to where he'll be arriving from. I could feel that he is definitely flustered. The others looked out to where I was looking. We could see him arriving on the horizon. As he drew closer, he definitely had a bothered look. When he arrived, he disembarked his boat and came up to us.

"Greetings. My name is Brokkr and I need your help."