What the hell did I just do?

As August's gloved finger tickled my chin, I once more questioned my life choices that led me to this moment. I was playing a very dangerous game here. On the one hand, she was offering me something I'd long sought but never had time for-a genuine, stable relationship. On the other, she'd all but admitted it was a trap, meant to bait me into some sort of eternal servitude as her familiar.

But I couldn't shake my gut feeling that there was something more to it than that. She seemed to revel in my resistance, my pushbacks. At least, for the most part. And I was very rapidly coming to the conclusion that the only way I could figure out her game was to start playing it with her.

All this woolgathering must have taken longer than I thought as I found myself staring into August's questioning eyes. "You're awfully quiet…" she observed with a huff. "Have you given up already? Obedience does not amuse me."

I did my best to put on a brave face and push back. "Hardly," I replied, giving her one of her own smug grins. "Just wondering what your next move is going to be."

An eyebrow arched as she gave me a curious, amused grin. "Oh? It's my move now, is it?"

"You're the one who wants me to break, to crumble, as you just said, so that puts it on you," I countered.

"And what will you be doing in the meantime, hmm?" she purred.

"Planning my counterattack."

If my resistance had pleased her before, at this point she was overjoyed. Her eyes shone brightly and her smile was practically from ear to ear. "Glorious!" she softly exclaimed. "I knew you were the one when I found you. I look forward to seeing what you have in store. In the meantime, this little romantic contest cannot be done on an empty stomach." She grabbed my hand and began to lead me down the corridor. "Come, breakfast awaits."

To her surprise, I didn't immediately go along but stood my ground. She stopped, glanced down at my hand, then up to me. "First thing's first," I said with a sheepish grin. "I was wondering if we could grab a cane to replace these crutches? It'll make getting around a lot easier."

Her confusion melted into an empathetic smile. "Of course," she nodded, "I will have Z24 bring you one while we're eating."

My demands met, I let her guide me down the halls of her castle. They were growing a bit familiar now, and I recognized a few places as I limped along. I also noticed I was having a much easier time keeping up with her now that I wasn't entirely unable to keep my weight off my leg. Again, I wondered if she was truly a witch, and if she was, what else she was truly capable of. After giving it a moment's thought, I decided to just ask. "So, aside from brewing potions, what other sort of things can you do? As an unhulde, I mean."

Her eyes darted over to me, and she got a slight, but unmistakably victorious smile on her face. "Finally acknowledging what I am, are we?"

I sighed but nodded slowly. "Seeing is believing," I admitted. "Or feeling, rather."

"And the crack widens," she smirked, drawing an aggrieved sigh from me.

"Does that mean you're not going to tell me?" I grumbled.

"I didn't say that," she giggled, "I just want to savor the moments where your resistance is chipped away."

"Swell."

She grinned over at me again before she finally answered my question. "I specialize in hexes, mostly. Using my magicks to find an opponent's weak point…and shatter it."

This was beginning to sound like a very similar tactic, and I said as much. "Gee, that's familiar," I snarked.

"Fear not," she reassured, "As I have told you, I have not, nor will I employ any hex, potion, or other supernatural power in my bid for your heart and soul. Forcing you to bend to my will brings me no pleasure. It would be no better nor any more satisfying than making a puppet tell me it loves me." She glanced over at me with a playful smirk and a wink. "That having been said, I do have an unfair advantage in that you confessed your desires to me."

I suddenly felt self-conscious as my mind pictured her pressed up against me to help warm me up. As life saving measures go, I can't think of many better ways. Almost makes me sad I was unconscious for the whole thing. "Yeah," I sheepishly muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. "Keep forgetting about that part. So, why didn't you use your unhulde abilities to heal me back then?"

"Hexes don't work that way," she shook her head, "and as you saw, a potion can take time to brew properly. If we didn't warm you up immediately, you would have died. As such, we had to use the tried and true methods of hypothermia recovery."

"For which I am once again grateful," I bowed my head. "I'm not ready to see what lies on the other side just yet."

"I know," August smugly smirked, "You told me that as well."

"Is there anything I didn't tell you?!" I exclaimed, exasperated.

August pretended to think it over, tapping her gloved finger against her chin. "No, I believe you confessed everything to me. Your sins, your desires, your fears. Everything I need."

"And I start from nothing," I grumbled. "Fantastic. Maybe we could have you get hypothermia and warm you up to see what secrets come out?"

"Commander," she admonished with a giggle, "If you wish to press yourself against me in bed, you don't have to go to such extreme lengths." She leaned down until her lips barely brushed against my ear and whispered, "All you need to do is ask."

Once more, her soft words sent a shiver down my spine for a number of reasons, and I tried to suppress the shudder that ran through me. "I, ah, I'll keep that in mind," I mumbled, trying to avoid eye contact.

Ever the predator, August sensed my hesitation and moved in. "I'm sure you will," she murmured in my ear, and this time, I couldn't hide the shiver. A soft gasp of excitement left her lips, and then, "Does this…excite you?"

Damn her. "N-no," I unconvincingly lied.

"Mmm?" she quietly hummed as she lightly ran her hand up and down my spine. "Not even if I do this?"

I was in hell. Relaxing, comforting hell. "Excite i-isn't the right word for this," I sighed. "More like…calming…and…tingly in my mind. I-if that makes any sense…"

"It does," she admitted as she pulled away, her eyes alight once more. "I didn't think you would be quite as…receptive to it, though."

For a moment, anger flashed through me, burning away the calm, relaxed feeling. "I thought you said you weren't going to use your magic on me," I growled, suddenly feeling betrayed.

"And I haven't," August shot back. "Have you never heard of ASMR?"

"Never," I emphatically shook my head.

"Curious," she mused. "For one who responds so well to it, I am somewhat surprised that you haven't done any research on it."

"I don't even know what it is," I shrugged. "I just know that sometimes I get these little…tingles down my spine and at the back of my head and I feel at peace. I really never had the time or the inclination to research what they are."

"Perhaps now you can look into it now that you've got some time off," she suggested.

Oddly enough, the idea didn't quite sit right with me, and I couldn't figure out why. "Perhaps," I deferred before swiftly changing the subject, "but for now, let's focus on breakfast. I'm starving."

August, to her credit, simply smiled and led us down the few short steps where the kitchen awaited. Inside was a much smaller spread than last night's dinner, but no less impressive. Pastries and bread and breakfast meats adorned the table, along with eggs cooked several different ways. "Amazing," I marveled as I waited for August to take her seat. "And how do you make all this?"

"I conjure it," she answered as she took her place at the table and patted the seat next to her.

I set the crutches against the wall as I carefully hopped over to the bench. "Do you guys keep any actual food stocked in the castle, then?"

"We do," she nodded as she plucked an apple strudel from the pile and set it on her plate. "I cannot be bothered to summon every single person's meal every day."

"Just me, huh?" I asked with a playful smirk.

"You are a different case," she smiled. "Besides, I would be a poor host if I made you cook your own meals so soon."

"Ah, so you're gonna cut me loose at some point, huh?" I teased. "Even if I asked you to do this every day?"

Something flashed behind her eyes, that look of absolute joy that I'd seen when I'd pushed back against her, only to have it vanish just as quickly. I felt as if I was hitting on something, but exactly what, I couldn't say. "Perhaps, if you so wished, something could be arranged…" she offered as she poured herself some coffee. "Would you care for some? It's the only thing here not conjured."

"Interesting," I said as I held out my mug. "And why is that? Hard to conjure up a perfect cup of coffee?"

"Yes, actually," she confirmed as she poured the beautiful black liquid. "I get a blend from Mainz that is absolute perfection, and I've never been able to magically replicate it, much to my dismay. Milk or sugar?"

"Just black, thank you," I shook my head before I inhaled the rich aroma and took a sip. She was right. This was absolute perfection. "My god," I sighed before I took another sip. "This may be the best damn cup of coffee I've ever had."

August set the pot of coffee aside as she basked in my reaction. "Nothing like what you've had back in the Eagle Union, I take it?"

"Nothing this good," I agreed. "Don't get me wrong, Washington can make a damn fine cup of coffee, but it doesn't come close to this. And I've had a lot of coffee over the years."

"Nobody understands how to brew the perfect cup of coffee quite like Mainz. Sadly," she sighed, "she has yet to divulge her techniques with anyone."

I took another sip and shrugged. Damn, that was good. "Smart on her part, but tragic for everyone else. In any case, give her my compliments."

"I will pass that along," she smiled before she took a bite of her strudel. "So, what are your plans for the day?"

"Once I get my cane, I was thinking about exploring the castle, getting the lay of the land, so to speak. Also, getting outside and getting some fresh air for a bit. After that, probably going back to studying that book on the BF-110 you let me borrow."

"And how is that book, by the way?" she smiled, leaning against the table as she studied me.

"Very interesting," I answered honestly. "Although it seems like it's a bit heavy for carrier aircraft. How does something that large get enough speed to take off the flight deck?"

"Catapults," August smiled. "I can get both 110 squadrons launched in a little over a minute. The 109s have to take off the old-fashioned way, however."

While I wasn't an engineer by any stretch of the imagination, I still had a decent grasp of the basic principles, and after running some numbers I came to a number that didn't add up. "How powerful are those catapults, and what do you use to power them, steam?"

She shook her head. "Compressed air. They can launch an aircraft with a maximum weight of seven thousand kilograms, and it will take me about half an hour to refill the reservoirs. Given the advantage in getting twenty-four BF-110s airborne, I think it's a decent trade off."

"Yeah, not a bad trade at all," I agreed with a nod of my head. "One more thing, though, it's classified as a…fighter destroyer, it seems you employ it in an attack role?"

"Correct," she confirmed. "It was originally designed as a fighter, but it can carry bombs or a torpedo. They aren't as maneuverable as a single-engine fighter, but they can still evade incoming fire better than most other attack craft. And they're quite effective at savaging enemy strike formations as well."

That was a bold claim to make. "Even against Siren bombers?"

She nodded, a confident smile on her lips. "Indeed. I've done it quite a few times, actually."

Now, this I had to see. And while I was sure I was going to get turned down, I still had to ask. "Any chance of getting my hands on that combat data for research while I'm here?"

She threw her head back and laughed before she shook her head. At first, I thought it was at my brazen request, but her reply left me somewhat surprised. "Tell me, Commander, do you always throw yourself into your work like this? You almost died two days ago, your leg is broken, and you are cut off from your fleet for a month. Why do you so eagerly desire to take the bitter medicine of hard work?"

At this point, I was beginning to feel rather uncomfortable with how consistently she'd been nailing me down. And honestly, it was something I wasn't exactly sure of, myself. "For starters, there's a war on…"

August wasn't having any of that. "Which you are currently out of for a month," she interjected. "Do you want to know what I think?"

I quickly held up a hand to stop her. "Wait a second. Is this because I muttered something in my sleep?"

She giggled and shook her head, "Not this time. Just an observation from our time together and the things you've said."

I slowly lowered my hand and took another sip of coffee. "Go on…"

"I think you're afraid of relaxing," she declared.

I almost spit out the coffee. "I'm what?"

"Afraid of relaxing," she repeated nonchalantly as if I just hadn't heard her the first time. "You are afraid that if you give in to the sweet sap of sloth, you'll never be able to escape it. And perhaps you're right. You do know yourself better than I do in this regard, for now. Is that something you think yourself susceptible to?"

I took another swig of coffee as I thought it over. Was I truly afraid that if I stopped, I'd never be able to start again? I tried picturing myself on a beach with nothing to do and I found the idea to be maddening. But…why? "I think…I'm not afraid of not being to escape sloth, I think I'm afraid of being stuck someplace where I can't…find an outlet for my brain."

August peered at me for several long seconds, her violet eyes absent of any hunger, judgment, or superiority. Just a genuine curiosity about what I was describing. "Fascinating," she said as she leaned in closer. "Perhaps I could find a way to help with that. Or should I say, I've found a way."

I stared at her as I tried to figure out what she was talking about. "...found?" I repeated, then it clicked. "You mean the azzmur stuff?"

My butchering of the initialism drew a giggle out of my companion, who shook her head as she repeated the letters. "A.S.M.R.," she corrected, much to my chagrin. "It stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response."

"That sounds like a whole lot of fancy words that doesn't really explain things," I quipped.

"True," she agreed with another giggle. "And to be honest, I've never really done much research into it beyond what it was and what can trigger it in people. From what I've heard, people find it very relaxing, perhaps it would be enough to quiet your mind, at least for a little while."

In the end, I decided it probably wouldn't hurt, and I believed August's word that she wasn't going to use any magic or witchcraft to force me to submit to her. I felt that she did want me to break and give in to her of my own volition. "Alright," I nodded slowly. "Alright, I'm in. When are we going to have this little 'ASMR' session?"

"I think tonight would be appropriate," August answered after she thought it over for a moment. "I know you are eager to explore the castle, and of course, catch up on your reading."

I smiled and nodded. "I'll be looking forward to it."

A/N-Not dead, I swear! Just busy. Speaking of, from now on, updates will be going up on Mondays, Eastern Standard Time. Until next time, fair winds and following seas!