And I'm back. It's out first chapter with the beastlings (what I like to call the kitsunes/werewolves). I'm actually a bit unfamiliar with their personalities a bit, so this should be an interesting challenge for me. –ArcanaHermit

Chapter 18: Treasure (Corrin x Velouria)

Corrin was walking down the hallway, done with his sword training before he suddenly found himself tackle hugged by his wife.

"V-velouria."

"I missed you so much, Corrin."

Corrin smiled at the surprise. It's true that they hadn't spent much time together recently; being the commander of an army in the middle of a war would do that, so he knew why she was acting so jumpy. Well, there was also another reason…

"Can we go treasure hunting today? You promise we'd go today."

"Yeah, sure thing…"

Truth be told, he'd rather go back to his quarters and get a change of clothes. What he was wearing wasn't exactly appropriate for going to the forest, but he knew how his wife was when it comes to collecting her "treasures". Hand in hand, they walked towards the forest near the camp. It wasn't long before she knelt down near a tree.

"Found another treasure, dear?"

Velouria turned around and showed Corrin a stick with dead leaves on it. Corrin accepted it gratefully. Despite not exactly having the same idea of what a treasure is, Corrin knew that she gave it with love, regardless of what it is. The only thing he'd decline was dead animals, which was something he refused to touch.

Looking around, he found another stick similar to the one Velouria handed him. Picking it up with two fingers, he noticed that there were bugs crawling on it. In the past, he would have simply thrown it away, but now he didn't find it as disgusting as before. He mused about how much his wife influenced him.

"Hey Velouria, I have something for you."

The young wolfskin went to Corrin, who handed her the stick. She accepted it, her face smiling widely. She gave Corrin a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you for the treasure, it looks amazing."

"Heh, I think I'm starting to get better at finding more treasures for you."

"Mhm, the dust bunny you gave me yesterday was amazing."

They wandered deeper into the forest, which surprised Corrin a little. She usually likes to stick to one place when finding treasure, so moving so soon was slightly off-putting for him. They walked for a while before she stopped and started scanning the area.

Corrin leaned on a tree, wondering what she is up to. She wasn't picking up sticks or bugs, but was instead just walking around, looking intently at the ground. She would occasionally dig up with her hands before sighing and moving on to the next spot.

After a while, Corrin noticed something peculiar with her hand. It wasn't so much what was there, but what wasn't there that bothered Corrin. Then it suddenly clicked for him: her unusual behavior, the eagerness to go treasure hunting, the missing thing on her hand. It all points to one conclusion.

"Velouria, where's your wedding ring?" Corrin asked, though he already knew the answer.

The reaction was a short "Eeep" sound from the wolfskin, which he had to admit, was pretty cute despite the situation. Still, now's not the time for jokes.

"You lost it here didn't you? That's why you came out here, to find it?" He continued.

"Y-yes" Velouria said sadly, her ears moving down as she did so. "I'm so sorry. I was out treasure hunting here, and the ring must have slipped off."

Corrin moved towards Velouria, who turned away. He knelt down beside her and placed a comforting arm on her.

"It's alright, I'm not mad at you."

"Y-you're not?"

Corrin nodded with a smile, and begin digging the ground below him.

"Let's find your ring."

Velouria looked at her husband for a moment and nodded with determination, and together they started scouring the nearby area for the ring.

After several hours, with the surrounding area thoroughly explored, tears began to form on Velouria's eyes. Corrin heard her sniffle and went to hug her.

"I-I'm sorry. It's my fault that I lost the r-ring you gave me."

"I-it's alright, really." Corrin tried to reassure her. "We can always buy a new ring."

"I don't want a new ring!" Velouria exclaimed frustratingly. "Other rings are a piece of junks, but the one you gave me was special. I don't want to replace it."

She put her head in her hands, continuing to sob. Just as Corrin was about to comfort her, the corner of his eyes spotted something shiny on the ground just next to a large tree. Walking towards it, he knelt down and smiled. It was a bit dulled and dirtied, but it wasn't something a little cleaning wouldn't fix.

He walked back to her and gently held her hand before sliding the newfound ring onto it. Velouria's eyes widened upon sight on her ring.

"W-wha…"

"I found your ring. Please try not to lose it again, Velouria."

Tears were forming on her eyes, though those were tears of happiness. She tackled Corrin unto the floor. The young lord wasn't eager to have more dirt on his clothes, but he really didn't care at that point. She was happy, and that's all that mattered.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. I swear I won't lose this again. I'll always keep it in sight."

They stayed like that for a while with Velouria hugging him, and Corrin not bothering to stop it. He knew how long her hugs tended to last. After a while though, they stood up and walked back to camp. Corrin made a mental note to clean his clothes as soon as possible, but was too busy smiling at his wife, her eyes never taking off the ring on her finger.

"You know, it's on your finger, you don't really have to look at it that hard."

"Nope, I'm not taking my eyes off it."

Corrin couldn't help but chuckle. He wondered if all wolfskins were this quirky.

"You know, when I first proposed to you, you said it was a piece of junk."

"Yeah, I thought it really was just a shiny piece of junk. Then you told me what it meant, and I suddenly couldn't find myself to just throw it away. It's become the second most valuable treasure for me."

"Second?"

Velouria blushed and turned to look at Corrin, her face lighting up in an affectionate smile, the same one she showed when Corrin proposed to her.

"Well, my most precious treasure is…you, of course. Other things just entertain me for a while, but you make me feel all warm inside when I'm with you. You're the best treasure ever, and I love you more than anything I can possibly have."

Now it was his turn to blush, warmed by her words. He put a hand on her head and brushed her hair, causing her grin to widen.

"I love you too. You're the best wife I could ever ask for."

Just as they were about to reach camp, Velouria looked to the side and saw a single dead spider. She turned to Corrin, her eyes pleading. Corrin merely chuckled.

"Go ahead."

Velouria immediately went to the dead spider to play with her newfound treasure. Corrin stood a short distance away, watching her enthusiasm. The sun was about to fully set, but the young lord didn't mind.

Watcher her happiness was always worth it.

Urgh, doing characters I'm not familiar with is so annoying. It's like stepping on a minefield, and I think I might have tripped more than one mine. Regardless, I hope you guys enjoy my writing; next up is the other beastling left, so let's hope I don't mess it up. Until next time -ArcanaHermit