I do not own Familia Myth or any of the characters.
Trip Around the World
Ethan smiled as he pulled his freshly-repaired outfit. Ryu had done perfectly repairing it.
"You really are amazing, Ryu," Ethan said.
Ryu smiled and walked over to him, kissing him. "We should go. We're meeting the others on the wall around Orario."
Ethan nodded and they left the mansion, heading to the wall where they were they were meeting the others. As they arrived, they took a moment to inspect the new outfits Hermes had given everyone. Bell now had a silver chestplate with a stylized gold "M" on the front over a green shirt, a grey jacket clasped at the top with white along the seam on both sides, a strip of white cloth up the outsides of his arms and with a raise collar with black straps to hold the cloth on, silver forearm guards, brown gloves, a brown belt with a supply pouch and a gold ring in the front dark grey pants, and brown leather pants, and silver knee guards. Hestia had a new white dress, a bit fancier than her normal one, this one with a cloth around her shoulders, a circular gold clasp to hold the cloth together, and a blue cloth hanging from under the skirt to reach to mid-shin in front on the right side. Lili had a new cloak similar to her last but not ripped around the hood and with brown belts crossing over her abdomen, and a pink half-jacket over it with long sleeves and a hood. Welf had a dark red kimono with yellow flames around the bottom, a black half-cape over his right arm underneath a splinted, silver pauldron with its leather strap diagonally across his chest, a blue handkerchief tied around his neck with the ends extending out to the right, and black, leather forearm guards. The others all seemed to have turned down their new outfits.
"There you are!" Hermes smiled, nodding appreciatively at Ethan's new outfit. "I like the threads. Where'd you get them?"
"Sophie said they're from Ouranos," Ethan said.
"He was a middleman," Anya smiled brightly, walking over to them. "I had them custom ordered and they delivered them to the Guild, since they weren't ready yet."
"Why'd Sophie say they were from Ouranos?" Ethan frowned.
"I didn't want you to know I spent more money on you until after you already got used to having them," Anya beamed. "Otherwise you wouldn't wear them."
Ethan groaned. "I hate how well you know me sometimes."
Anya beamed proudly and Ethan sighed, hugging her.
"Thank you," Ethan smiled.
"You're welcome," Anya smiled, squeezing him, then leaning in to whisper. "Have you asked yet?"
"Waiting for the right time," Ethan whispered back.
Just then, Ganesha let out a near-deafening laugh as he leapt off the back of one of three dragons, landing in front of Hestia, the dragons landing around them all.
"Are we riding these there?" Bell asked.
"That's right," Hermes said. "I've got it all set up. If we travelled by land, it would take us a month, but by dragon, it's only a ten day ride, and the longer I'm gone, the more angry Asfi will be with me."
"Huh?" Lili asked. "What did you-"
One of the dragons blew her over and then began to lick her, making her squeal with laughter as Ganesh assured her it wouldn't hurt her.
"Hey, aren't we short a few dragons?" Welf asked.
"It's all I could do on such short notice!" Ganesha said.
"It sounds like we'll be riding in pairs then," Hermes said.
"Your math is a bit off," Ethan said.
"Oh, no, we can't bring all of you," Hermes said.
Ethan glared at him for a moment before looking around at everyone.
"Aisha, Haruhime, Cassandra, and Daphne, you all will have to go home," Ethan said.
"No fair!" Aisha complained.
"It's alright," Haruhime said. "Let's just go home."
Aisha sighed and nodded.
"I'm fine with this, too," Daphne said. "A month of quiet time with Cassandra sounds perfect."
Cassandra blushed scarlet but smiled, nodding.
"Well, now we're still a few too many," Welf said.
"Yeah, you three can't go either," Hermes said.
"Not a chance," Ethan, Ryu, Bell, and Hestia all said.
"I'm going, which means Ryu is going, and I haven't spent any time with Anya since I was banished from the Apollo Familia, so she's coming, too," Ethan said.
"So, we'll go three to a dragon, then," Welf said.
"Alright, everyone saddle up," Ethan said.
He jumped onto one, pulling Ryu up in front of him and wrapping his arms around her, then helped Anya up behind himself, Anya wrapping her arms around him as well. Artemis all but dragged Bell onto a dragon behind her, so Hestia scrambled onto it behind him. Welf climbed onto a dragon behind Lili and Hermes climbed up behind him. The three dragons took off and flew away from Orario quickly. Ethan smiled, squeezing Ryu and kissing the back of her shoulder before resting his chin on her shoulder.
"You took your medicine, right?" Ethan asked.
"Of course I did," Ryu said, turning her head to kiss him. "I took it as soon as we got home."
"What medicine?" Anya asked. "Is there something wrong?"
"It's to keep me from getting pregnant when we have sex," Ryu said.
"Oh," Anya said in a small voice. "Sorry I asked."
Ryu and Ethan laughed. After a few hours, Hestia began to yell at Artemis for flirting with Bell. Finally, Lili interrupted them by asking Hermes where they were going. Apparently, it was a forested land called the Ruins of Elsus.
As they flew, conversation stayed mostly between the groups on their dragons. Conversation between Ethan, Ryu, and Anya remained light and centered on Anya telling Ryu stories from their childhood. They landed for meals and to sleep at night. Due to not having enough tents, Ryu and Ethan ended up sharing with Anya. They didn't mind, but it was a bit of a tight squeeze, even with Ryu sleeping on top of Ethan. It got boring by the third day. It was a week before anything changed from the routine.
"Take us down!" Artemis shouted suddenly, waking everyone from their half-stupors.
Bell complied instantly, and Ethan grinned and followed. Artemis fired an arrow into one of dozens of scorpions chasing a woman and her daughter, and Bell sent a Firebolt into them, blasting a group. However, as they swung around, Ethan landed his dragon between the monsters and the family, then dropped to the ground, drawing his sword.
"What do you think, Ryu, xiphos?" Ethan asked.
"Not yet," Ryu said, drawing her stick. "And no Lightning Spree yet."
"Oh please," Ethan smirked as his irises turned red. "Why would I spoil our fun yet?"
"What are you doing!?" Artemis shouted as the two of them walked calmly toward the scorpions, Anya following at a distance.
"Stretching our legs," Ethan called back. "Shall we?"
"Let's," Ryu nodded.
They charged instantly, both leaping over the initial stab of the stingers, then carved into the scorpions. They weren't exceptionally strong, but there were a lot. After a few seconds, Ethan drew his xiphos in time to deflect a stinger aimed at Ryu, then took off, tearing into the scorpions at double the pace. After a moment, Artemis joined them, using a dagger to fight the scorpions, who all surged toward her. However, after a moment, she stopped, glancing at her trembling hand. Ethan shot forward, carving his way through a dozen scorpions before skidding to a stop in front of her in time for his xiphos to block a claw aimed at her. Then, Ryu destroyed that scorpion and two more. Ethan spun around her instantly, a Light Blade forming around his sword before he slashed a wide arc of scorpions. As soon as he did, the Light Blade faded and Bell landed in front of him.
"Lady Artemis, are you alright?" Bell asked.
"I'm fine," Artemis said. "Thank you for shielding me, Ethan."
"Not a problem," Ethan said. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, take a few steps back. You're more valuable than we are."
Artemis nodded and backed away as Ryu flashed Ethan a warning look.
"I meant me and Bell," Ethan said. "You know full well where you are on the level of importance in my life."
Ryu nodded and the three of them charged. They tore into the scorpions rapidly for a few seconds before Bell suddenly pulled the spear off his back and hurled it. The hieroglyphs on it lit up as a spell circle formed around the head and it exploded forward, blasting a trail into the ground and kicking up a massive trail of dust. As the dust settled, everyone stared at the spear and the trail of crystals it had left behind, having killed all of the remaining two dozen scorpions in one strike. Ethan stared at it before turning to Bell.
"Props for the awesome weapon, but do I need to explain to you the concept of stretching our legs?" Ethan asked.
"Wait, you were enjoying that?" Bell asked.
"It was a nice break from the monotony of the flight, yes," Ethan said.
"They could have been hurt!" Bell said. "Lady Artemis could have been hurt!"
"Have we met?" Ethan asked. "When was the last time I ever let someone I was fighting to protect be hurt?"
Bell hesitated before sighing.
"Bell, even if I couldn't beat them with my swords, I have Blade Rain, and even if that doesn't work, I have Lightning Spree," Ethan said. "They were never in danger."
"Even so," Bell said, turning to Artemis. "You shouldn't risk your neck like that."
"You don't need to worry about me," Artemis said. "I thank you for worrying, but despite my looks, I'm actually quite a bit stronger than Hermes or Hestia."
"Clearly," Ethan said. "But you're still a Goddess, and you're being escorted by four very capable adventurers. Let us worry about the fighting. There's no need for you to risk being called back to Heaven."
Artemis smiled, sighing. "I'm sorry."
"No reason to apologize, Lady Artemis," Ryu said.
"Are you alright, Artemis?" Hestia asked, running over from where she'd landed Bell's dragon.
"Yes," Artemis nodded. "Thanks to these three."
"That's good," Hestia said. "You really shouldn't risk your neck like that!"
"How funny," Artemis smiled. "Your child here just expressed that very same sentiment, Hestia."
Bell laughed nervously and Ethan and Ryu both grinned, leaving Bell to deal with the glare Hestia was giving him, instead helping Anya gather the rest of the scorpions' crystals. While they were, Lili was showing the girl the dragon and Welf helped her up to sit on it.
"We are in your debt," the mother said, bowing to them. "Please let us repay you."
"That's really not necessary," Bell said.
"Have you ever seen that kind of monster before?" Welf asked, walking over as Ethan, Ryu, and Anya all returned as well.
"No," the mother said. "We heard about them attacking the village nearby and suddenly they were right on top of us."
Ethan glanced at Artemis just as she began to walk away, though she didn't go far. After a few more minutes, they waved goodbye to the family, who Artemis had given almost all of the food to.
"Okay, so saving people people is fine and dandy, but you gave them practically all of our food, Lady Artemis," Lili said as soon as the family was out of earshot.
"All we've got left is bread," Welf said.
"What need do we have for food when I don't require it?" Artemis asked.
Lili wheeled around on her. "You may be fine and dandy but the rest of your party is practically starving to death!"
Artemis's eyes widened and she turned to the rest of them. "That true?"
Everyone but Ethan and Ryu nodded.
Artemis prostrated herself so fast Ethan wouldn't have been surprised if her forehead started to bleed. "Please accept my dearest apologies!"
"Oh, this is ridiculous!" Lili snapped. "What's the deal with this idiot anyways!?"
"Careful now," Welf said, lifting Lili by the hood. "She's still a goddess, Lili."
"It's fine," Ethan said, smiling. "No need to apologize."
"Why?" Lili demanded.
"Because Ethan and I can go and catch some more food," Ryu said simply. "I know how to hunt, and he'll be able to hit animals I spot from a distance with his Blade Rain."
The others all looked at each other before nodding. The two of them left to catch some meat It took them about two hours to catch enough meat for the rest of the trip, and that only because they happened across a deer, and they headed back to the campfire, finding the others eating Marsalanut fruit, a type of fruit known for turning into an impromptu bowl of fruit when heated, since the insides liquified into a thick, robust juice the equivalent of a soup.
"We're back," Ethan said, dropping the deer off to one side as Ryu dropped a couple dozen rabbits beside it.
"We have a couple of fruits for you," Bell said, passing them each one.
"Good find," Ethan said, cutting his open with his xiphos. "Where were they?"
"In a tree directly above us when you left," Bell said.
Ethan and Ryu both grimaced.
"We were a little too focused on meat," Ethan said.
"It's alright," Bell said. "You two did amazingly catching all of that."
"Thanks," Ethan said. "But there's no 'you guys' about it. Ryu did all the work. I was just there for my Blade Rain."
"Even so," Artemis said. "That's a really good haul for one hunting trip of only two hours, I think."
"It's excellent," Hermes nodded.
"So, what'd we miss?" Ryu asked.
"Hermes and Artemis were just telling us about the monster we're going to fight," Welf said.
"It's called Antares," Lili said. "Apparently, it was sealed away at the ruin we're heading to for centuries, but was actually building its strength and finally broke free."
"My Familia and I were originally hired to handle it, but that's when we ran into Artemis and realized we had the same goal," Hermes explained. "We teamed up and ended up returning to Orario to find reinforcements."
"Wait a minute," Ethan frowned. "Reinforcements? Is your Familia there already?"
"No, no," Hermes said. "But the only way to slay Antares is Bell's new spear. And the only one who can wield the spear is Bell."
"I see," Ethan nodded, taking a bite of soup. "Hey Bell, I don't think I ever asked. What'd you choose for your second Development Ability?"
"Abnormal Resistance," Bell said.
"Oh!" Welf said. "That's right! I totally forgot you levelled up after that escort job you two did! What'd you choose?"
"Spirit Healing," Ethan said. "I'll probably end up going with Abnormal Resistance next. I haven't had much trouble with poison."
"How's your Luck stat doing?" Bell asked.
"Not bad," Ethan said. "It increases faster when you do something that requires luck, so me and Ryu play cards every so often to increase it."
"Wait, seriously?" Bell asked.
Ryu nodded.
"So that's why yours is up to G already while Bell's is still at H!" Hestia said.
Ethan shrugged. "I'm sure it's come in very handy recently."
The others nodded and they all finished their meals before Ryu and Ethan quickly cleaned and cut up the meat they had caught before using wax paper to wrap package it for the trip. Then, they went to bed for the night.
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