For a change Finn was the first to wake, his eyes opening groggily before he decides to remove his hand from Huntress's waist to rub the remaining sleep out of his eyes. A quick look around reveals that the place wasn't currently burning down or being raided, so with a smile he puts his head back down and his arm around Huntress, simply enjoying the feeling of her being next to him. He hasn't really focused on it to much in his time with her, partially because he didn't have a chance and partially because it was creepy, but she smelled of a mix of fresh cut grass, a flower in spring, and mud and sweat that she collected through out the day. He doesn't mind too much and continues to hug her with a small smile.
A minute later, she stirs to the new day as well, alerting Finn with a rising as she looks herself over for mushrooms out of habit, Finn startling her, "Morning." She looks down behind her at Finn who was smiling gently at her.
"Morning." She replies, still waking up making her reply just a copy of Finn's. She turns around in the bed, now facing Finn, allowing him to see her in all her cute, mask-less glory, despite how dark the room is that it was nearly pitch black. "We should get up." Finn removes his arm from her and moves away. "... in a minute." Finn smiles and moves back to hugging her to his form, their foreheads touching as they feel each others breath. Huntress smiles, but a thought of softness shoots through her head what she quickly shuts down, not wanting this to end.
A minute later she forces them, however, her moving away from Finn to get ready for the day causing him to do the same. They start putting their gear and clothes on, Huntress being much quicker with her being able to just magic her clothes on and experience with putting her quiver on. She steps out the room and into their main/entrance. Just like their bedroom it was almost pitch black due to her sealing up the window and the smoke hole encase Gumball made another move. Moving to the tightly packed vine door, she peeks outside, finding conformation that it was day, and that the burnt black remains of the robot had not moved at all during the night causing her o nod in approval before retreating back indoors.
Just in time to see Finn hit his foot on something. She watches with a smile as he hops around holding his injured foot while releasing air through his bit bottom lip in muffled expression of pain, causing her to shake her head and plant a hand on the wood walls of their home and focuses some magic into it. Finn quickly forgets his pain as right before his eyes glowing mushrooms started popping out of the wall, that quickly lit up the a few metres from the wall but not the centre of the room. Huntress quickly rectifies this by removing her hand from the wall then leaning down to gently place her hand on the soft dirt floor. A moment later mushrooms start sprouting in a circle in the centre of the room, a second circumference around the campfire. Pulling herself back up she watches as Finn slowly lowers his leg.
He looks around the room, the mushroom's soft orange glow making the house seem like it is in a eternal sun set. He looks back at Huntress, "Why did you not do that sooner?" He asks with a smile pointing at his foot. She shrugs,
"Decided that the holes like the smoke hole and window would be enough to light the place, but since I closed them up did I decided to grow these guys. After all there was no point wasting magic if I didn't need to." She says pointing at one on the wall. "And I like to see you suffer." Finn gives a short laugh at her joke, making her smile. Finn walks to a table, grabbing his bow from where he left it resting last night, then looks at Huntress,
"Want to go hunting?" He asks, causing Huntress to smile and grab her mask, then starts to move towards the door while still looking at him.
"You like it don't you?" Finn quickly moves to join her with a small smile on his face.
"Well yeah! I get to spend time with you doing something you enjoy." The answer makes her smile, glad he is enjoying the same customs and way of life, decidedly making her answer to levitate a arrow.
"Shall we then?" Finn nods, before putting his bear hat on, somehow tucking all his golden hair away instantly 'Some things are better left unanswered...' Huntress thinks before walking out the door, Finn following close behind her. She hands him a arrow, "Remember what I told you yesterday?"
"Yep." He answers, shifting his walk and form to match Huntress's tips as they enter the trees. Her smile gets even larger, making Finn just stare at it for a second as a feeling of happiness surges through him, before focusing back onto the hunt and Huntress starts to sneak as well. She has many years of experience at the matter, while Finn only has a hour top. So she forces herself to slow down to his pace, not that she minds. It was kind of like taking a slow, calm walk on a nice day to enjoy the nature, except ro her the good view was not the nature, but off Finn slowly learning her world. She smiles seeing him slowly speed up and despite the shoes that she forgot to replace with new hunting ones, making less noise with almost every step.
She eventually forces her eyes off Finn and onto the prey around her. Her hunting eyes quickly counting up everything with a heartbeat, 'Ten birds, two boars that are having sex, a snake, and a rabbit... haven't had rabbit for a bit' She turns to Finn and quickly points at the rabbit, pulling her form as low as possible to blend in with the foliage as cover. Finn lowers himself as well, peeking at where she pointed.
He quickly spots the small white form of the rabbit, then looks at Huntress. He points a finger at her, raises a eyebrow, then points at himself. She points at her chest and starts to move forward into the bushes silently, causing Finn to peek through the bush to watch her in action.
Huntress slowly prowls forward, eyes locked on her prey, the arrows in her quiver gently rattle as if shaking with anticipation. She pulls one of the four out with her hand, waiting for the moment the rabbit looks away to focus on some other lesser threat. And it does so, locking its sight on some bird that flew from its nest to go for it own hunt.
A sudden crash of stumbling and the snaps of branches startles everyone. A woman in heavy armour comes fumbling through the bushes and trees, swearing worse than a sailor. The rabbit immediately scrambles to run away, kicking up dust with a thump of its leg. Huntress snaps her head to it, and her arrow pierces through its skull, pinning its twitching corpse to the floor 'no prey can escape me'. Prey now dead, she looks to the warrior. "What the Glob were you thinking?" She asks coldly, not liking her hunt being nearly ruined, especially when Finn was watching.
Finn quickly appears by her side, sword at the ready encase things go sour what they always do with him. "What are you doing in a forest off the beaten path?" He asks, much calmer than Huntress due to him not minding, especially if it was someone in danger in need of help. The female warrior looks up at the duo standing side by side. She instantly gains the looks of recognition in her eyes when she locks onto Huntress, but takes a second of squinting for Finn. She suddenly pulls a sword off her back and lashes it out into a offensive stance at Finn and Huntress, making the duo pull their own respective weapon out.
"You're Finn and Huntress Wizard, correct?!" Finn sighs mentally, 'I was right, things did go sour with me around...'
"Yes, what's it to you?" Huntress asks with a scowl as her arrow moves to hovers above her head, Finn standing defensively with his sword, ready to counter whatever the mad woman does.
"I'm here for the tournament, and even though we're not there yet, I'm going to take you down for my Prince for a great reward before we even get there!" She shouts, before holding her sword high and charging, targeting Finn, who lowers his sword and relaxes his form. Huntress sighs and takes a step back 'We can't kill a royal knight...'
The knight screams as she swings diagonally downwards. Finn crouches, then jumps into the air, the basic iron blade sweeping under him. The knight startled by the move, looks up to track Finn. To see him springing his leg out again. Both his feet slam into her face full force. Immediately her head freeze in its track, however, her lower half continues with it momentum. Her sword flies out of her hand, flying somewhere into the bushes, her body going into the air. Finn rides her body half-way down to the ground, before launching off again, slamming her head into the ground while he lands somewhere behind her. He quickly turns around to look at her as she lays on the floor motionless, as despite the iron helm she wore Finn's attacks were more than enough to knock her out, though they were not severe as he did not wish to inflict actual harm on her. A few seconds later she grumbles back into waking, and slowly raises, then turns to face Finn. "I'll beat you!"
Finn sighs, not taking a stance. The warrior becomes confused, then starts trying to analyse him for some hidden tri- Suddenly she was thrown, no wait, pulled onto a tree. She wiggle and screams in fear as wooden vines or serpents or something wraps around her, compressing her against the tree. She quickly looses all movement, then slowly her air supply as well as it starts to crush her. Only then does it stop, a annoyed Huntress coming from behind her vision. Her hand leaves the tree as she stands before her, Finn joining her with a worried expression. "Don't you think you've done those a bit tight?" He asks with trepidation.
"She'll be fine, I've done tighter." Huntress asks, turning towards the rabbit she killed. Finn takes a second to look at the bound warrior, before moving along side Huntress as she reaches down. "Besides, I'll let her back down when we get back."
"Right... Sure you can't put a timer on it? Just encase?" Huntress stops her arm from grabbing the rabbit, then looks up at Finn, then rolls her eyes. She walks to the bound warrior who starts to scream again loudly, causing Finn and Huntress to wince. She puts a hand firmly on the wood, her eyes glowing a bit, nothing major just a slight glow that was noticeably in the shade she was in as the sun rises behind her. She then pulls her hand away to look at Finn, "She's on a timer, three hours, then the spell will fall." She then snaps back around to put the tip of her finger on the warriors lips, making her whimper, "You better not follow us, home or to the tournament." Her stern voice warns, stating a repercussion not necessary to scare the poor trapped girl into abiding. Finn frowns behind her,
"Alright Huntress, I think she gets the idea so that will do." Huntress hears the disappointment in his order, making her realise what she was acting like,
"Sorry, I lost my cool there. Guess I was still in aggressive hunter mode." She says standing straight. Finn nods and puts his sword back on his back and locking it alongside his bow.
"Alright, lets get this rabbit home. Then after that I guess we can go to the river, then head off to the tournament?" He suggests as a early morning plan. Huntress simply reaches down and grabs the rabbit, before walking side by side with Finn towards their home as the cool crisp of the morning air starts to warm up.
The walk back with the sun rising behind them was only a few minutes, but it was enough for the couple to gain a satisfied smile as they simply enjoy the calmness with the ones they love. They reach their home, Huntress leading the way inside with rabbit in hand. They spend the next few minutes preparing the rabbit and cooking it, making silly little jokes and stories of their past as they did so before they eventually set out to clean themselves. They may get dirty again in the next few hours, but there was no excuse for poor hygiene, especially if they forgot the last few days with the chaos going on around them.
They stroll a short distance to the cool river that they preferred to wash themselves in. It was one Huntress pointed out, she had cleaned there a few times in OOO and in all her times she was never walked in on. The water was slow flowing yet semi-deep, just being able to submerge them if they were to wander into the deepest parts but they should be fine if they stuck near the edge. It was surrounded by bushes so no-one could spy from afar, and the tepid water was good for hot days and cooling off after a long one, but also still had a effect in removing dirt.
Finn and Huntress strip themselves naked, then enter the water. A slight shiver goes up Finn's spine, the still rising sun had yet to warm the waters, making its remaining night chill catch him by surprise. He looks to his left as Huntress's face as she enters, but she doesn't even flinch or cringe, unbothered by the coldness 'She certainly isn't soft' Huntress looks at him with a developing blush, making Finn snap his gaze away. "Sorry."
"Nah it's fine." She calmly replies, her voice lacking signs of embarrassment or annoyance, putting some of Finn's worries to rest what he expresses with a sigh. That over and done with, he immediately sets himself on the task on cleaning any dirt off. It may be cold in the Ice Kingdom when he was captured, but fighting the Ice Queen for a few hours would make anyone sweat.
Huntress was also purging herself of a few days worth of built up sweat, dirt, and grime. But she was doing that on autopilot, her main thought was on Finn, 'Did he just check me out? No, this is Finn. It was most probably a misunderstanding' She stops cleaning, and turns to Finn as slowly and quietly as possible, looking over her shoulder at Finn. They were both in the water hip-deep, so Finn's ass is semi hidden under the water, the waves and ripples of the water acting like a natural pixelator to censor him from her prying eyes. But his back was open to view as Finn brings his hair to in front of him as he cleans and removes knots, and reveal to her the faded scars he has collected from all the injuries he has endured in protecting the world from harm, and the muscles he uses to do so. Finn may seem to be squishy, but anyone who has seen him fight knows that he has some serious strength in him. His body does a masterful job in hiding it all, allowing him to carry all the muscles needed to slay great beasts, yet still seem so approachable in the sense that won't be seen as a big, scary thing himself.
Finn feels... off. His six sense is tingling, the feeling of that someone is watching him. He turns around confused to look at Huntress, to find her totally focused on cleaning herself as she brings her left leg out of the water to rub it clean. He turns away embarrassed and hoping to avoid another incident, 'If she wasn't looking at me, then who was peeking on us wash?' He then starts to scan the trees for whoever was watching him. This goes on for a minute, before he eventually gives up, taking note that he no longer felt as if he was being watched but still making sure to keep his eye out.
Time passes, and they leave the river, Finn now shaking off his earlier discomfort of being watched from his mind as he turns to Huntress, "So I guess we better get going if we are to reach this fight in time." Finn states, putting his iconic hat on first. Huntress ties the string to her mask, pinning it to her face and covering her identity.
"Yeah, but I prefer to get there early, gives me a time to scope out the competition." She states, quickly slapping leaves onto herself that she transmogrifies into her clothes. "Besides it gives us some time to find a grindstone for this guy." She states pulling the damaged knife from its holder that she attaches to her hip. Finn hurriedly puts the rest of his hunting clothes on at her words,
"Then we better hurry." Huntress grabs his clothes, turns them into leaves then slaps them onto Finn, then reverts them back into his clothes. Finn stares down in puzzlement, before looking back up at her.
"I had a suspicion when I saw you do that with your clothes and when you said 'I got them from the same place I got mine', but you made these yourself, didn't you?" She gains a slight blush, hidden by her mask but she does not look away.
"Yes... I made them." She answers a bit embarrassed. Finn quickly gives his looks his clothes a quick but thorough look over again and notices the high quality it was made of, how it matches his body shape, and how in general how much effort she put into it. She may be able to make it instantly, but he can tell she cared when making it.
"These are super good, thanks again Huntress." He says, making her blush more.
"No problem Finn, it meant that you could join me in hunting." She then looks at the sky, "Also don't worry Finn we'll have time to spare by the time we get there."
"You sure?"
"Yep." She grins, then sticks two fingers in her mouth and let out a loud, high-pitched whistle. They stand still, Huntress with her hands on her hips and Finn's hanging limply by his side as they look around, Finn quickly working out that she was waiting for something. Then the leaves on the bush behind him violently shake, and two grey wolves leap out of them. They slide in front of the couple, panting from their obvious quick dash to arrive as quickly as possible. "This is how." She gestures to the wolfs who look around.
"Ohh! Right." Finn smiles and moves to the closest wolf that remains standing by. He stretches his left leg over its body before sitting on it completely. The wolfs may be larger and stronger than those before the war, but Finn's legs still touched the ground bent. Huntress smiles and pretty much jumps on her one,
"Here, let me show you how." She quickly shifts her form, wrapping her arms around the wolfs neck, laying her belly on its back, her head resting on top of its, and her legs bent to be parallel with her and the wolfs body, resting against its side.
"Oh." Finn quickly shuffles around, matching Huntress posture before looking at her with a smile. She returns it, giving her next advice,
"To get them going, tap their sides, to stop, lean back fully until you're almost sitting. And Finn for a heads up... hold on tight." She yells, tapping her wolf's side with her feet, and it immediately thrust itself onwards, crashing through the vegetation that made the forest.
"How bad can it b- Whoooa!" Finn screams as it taps his wolf, and just like Huntress it to leaps into action, bounding after the her. Finn grits his teeth in a bit of surprise and fear, before overcoming it a few seconds later. They quickly approaches Huntress, and before long he was side by side with her as they dart between the trees. "I know this is a bit of a bad time to ask, but how do I... guide this?" He asks making Huntress laugh,
"No one can control nature Finn." The wolves leap away from each other as a tree splits them, before quickly moving back together. "... But to answer just lean. Though don't worry the wolves will make minor changes to their course to dodge things, so only do it if you want to lead them somewhere."
"Right, thanks." Then they focus on riding as they weave between trees and bound over fallen logs and holes.
Despite the extra speed bestowed to them by the helpful wolves, the travel still took a two hours to arrive, causing them to have to take breaks several times to give the wolves time to recover and Finn a toilet break. But when they finally arrived at the warrior kingdom, what is in the deserts of the Badlands before its destruction in OOO, they dismount the wolves and slowly walk down the dull sandstone yellow homes and buildings that clashed with the silver and shiny metal of weapons and fortifications. The folk that called the kingdom home stood around as if waiting for some call to arms, with armour and weapons equipped, all of which were made of extremely high quality. Finn stares at a sword resting against the wall as its owner sleeps yet still remains standing with arms crossed 'Maybe I can score one for Huntress...' He and Huntress suddenly halt in their tracks as kids with swords run by, talks of slaying some great beast, causing him to smile as memories of his childhood flash through his mind.
They push further into the town towards centre, where a massive gladiators pit rests with white seats and white walls surrounding it, that stand high despite age and damages, and were designed to hold hundreds of raving warriors seeking blood. It is what brings in tourists and foreigners, it is the entertainment for the people, it is the right of passage for the young, it is the heart of the kingdom.
They quickly approach the pit's arched doorway that serve as the main gates, that stood well over twelve feet tall to allow even the tallest of warriors access. The duo scan the area, examining the warriors in the area. There were only a few, but it doesn't take a genius to spot the natives from the foreign fighters, who stood in groups wearing the same icons and symbols on their pauldrons, and usually a royal in the middle who seem to be threatened or at least nervous at all the scary looking people around them. Finn turns to Huntress, "If you want, you can stay here and search for what weapons they have or overhear their plans or whatever people do when they 'scope out the competition' because I have no idea, and I..." He reaches and pulls out the blunt skinning knife, "... And I'll see if we can get this guy sharpened." He say pointing at it. Huntress shrugs,
"Sure, just be back quick, something seems... off. Someone is up to something already." She warns as she searches the few groups scattered around, all of which were shifting, unable to stand still, talking in hushed voices, and all were looking at them. Not the other competitors, just them. Finn sighs,
"Drats... You want to come with? I'm not sure I like the idea of us splitting up if something is going down." Finn asks, giving a scarred warrior a look. Huntress looks a royal knight in the eye, making them look away, before she turns back to Finn,
"Yeah, that's just asking for trouble, and I rather not have to save you again. Lets go." Finn looks at her with exaggerated heart pain, clutching his chest in fake pain.
"Hey! I was taken asleep by an immortal being that can probably freeze the world. Give a break. Besides I'm awake this time, so I'm not so easy to Finn-nap this time." He says, ending it with a smile and punching his palm, making Huntress roll her eyes with a smile of her own.
"You know you just jinxed yourself, right?" Finn doesn't react for a second, before his arms swings limply to his sides and his head drops,
"Drats... Well get ready to save me again Huntress." He turns his gaze up to Huntress, flashing another smile as his happy mood returns, feeling safe knowing that if something was to happen to him, then Huntress would have his back with a rescue operation.
"So is this what the 'damsel in distress' is like? You should know after saving Bubblegum from the Ice King so many times." She teases, though Finn leans in close,
"Kind of, just you're meant to kiss the Princess when you save them." Her imagination goes rampant as thoughts of kissing Finn rule her thoughts, them making out as he returns his gratitude, before they progress further on a bed... 'Am I moving too fast?... I mean, I'm more of nature, where a creature just finds a suitable mate then fuck, not society's where you court for a few months, even years to do so. Though I doubt Finn knows what he's doing either' Huntress thinks with a smile
"If I'm meant to get some kisses when I save you, then I think I'm owed some." She says in a attempt to embarrass Finn.
"Really? Name them so I clean my debt, after all my dad taught me to never have any." However he turns it around on her instead though with a smirk, pretty much asking the stoic woman: 'How many kisses do you want?'
"Well..." She freezes up on the spot 'I'm not good at this!' "Erm... When we were doing the flute spell, remember when I stopped that poisonous snake from attacking you in your sleep?" Finn flashes back, remembering him scrambling awake as Huntress violently wrestles a large snake away from his neck before throwing it into a river. You could imagine surprise on his face when he saw her in his temporary camp by the river, especially since she was apparently meant to return to her home a few hours ago, what after she looks him in the eyes, she promptly jumps in to the trees to do so.
"Yeah, I remember. I also remember you telling me you were going home a hour or so before, so what were you doing around my camp still, especially watching over me?" Huntress blushes once more embarrassed, her blush just peeking out below her mask as if it too is embarrassed to show itself.
"You... were important to my goal, so I needed you alive."
"You sur-"
"Hey look a grindstone." She immediately moves towards it, cutting the conversation over. Finn smiles and follows, stopping his teasing before he accidentally annoys her. It was a simple, expected grindstone, sitting next to both a doorway and a forge 'This is where they make weapons then. Maybe I can find a sword for Huntress...' They walk up to it, before looking around for its owner. There's no need however, as from the dark doorway a seven foot tall green skinned man donning a black apron steps out, looking the duo over,
"I heard the lass say 'grindstone' and I immediately knew you were talkin' 'bout my one. If you want to use it, it'll cost you." Finn drops his bag, and Huntress steps up to the giant of a man.
"And how much to hire you? We don't know how to use one, and we prefer a professional to do it than us breaking either the grindstone or... this skinning knife." She pauses to pull the blunt blade out, and presents it to the smith. He grunts and takes the knife between his large two fingers, spinning it in his hand as he gives it a quick look over.
"A gift?" He abruptly says, "Or sentimental? Easy to fix, but you can find higher quality elsewhere, and it might be easier to do so. They'll certainly last longer than if I fix this up."
"A gift, but it does have a bit of sentimental value."
"Freaking softy..." He mutters under his voice, and Finn's eyes widen. He looks at Huntress, her fist were clenched and her arrows rattle. Before she can do anything he gets up and stands next to her. She looks at him and his slightly worried face, then sighs, calming down, though still very annoyed. "It shall not take but a second." He walks past them and sits down at the grindstone, "It'll cost ya five gold, you got that?" He turns to them for a answer, Finn nods. Immediately sparks fly as the smith gets to work.
As they wait, Finn looks around, then takes a few steps away from the smith, Huntress following. "Sorry for nearly losing it Finn. Though I wonder why you just stood there next to me instead of grabbing me?" He shrugs,
"If I grabbed your shoulder to hold you back, it would look like I was emotionally supporting you when you just got angry for being called soft for sentimental feelings. I value my health." He grins at her, the sight of which makes her sigh again, signalling the release of any lingering anger.
"Are you sure? I mean with your job?" Finn laughs, but before he can reply a whistle fills the air that catches both their attention. The smith was done, now holding the now shiny, sharp silver knife in his hand.
"I'm done. And I overheard your conversation, the grinder may be loud but I've learnt to block it out. I called you a softy..." He reaches deep within a pocket, then pulls out a old, silver, rusting locket out his pocket, "... But we all have a soft side. I only need one look at ya to tell that you've seen some action." He passes the knife to Huntress. She grabs it and looks it over, before nodding in approval. She goes into Finn's bag and pulls out ten coins, handing them over to the smith, then walking out. "... I'm on her bad side, ain't I?"
"She hates the idea of being soft. Yeah you're on her bad side." Finn replies, before zipping his bag up, shouldering it and chasing after Huntress before the smith could reply, who simply shrugs and goes back in doors and out of the desert sun.
It was only a few seconds difference between their departures and she was only walking, so he only had to jog a few steps to find himself side by side with her once more. He was about to talk, when a he hears a female whisper,
"Finn! Finn! Finn!" Surprised, the both of them turn to its origin in a dark alley. They were about to do a nope and just continue walking when they see a shape form in the shadows, revealing a nervous Ice Queen.
"Sarah, you actually came!" Finn greets, the both of them going to meet her. She actually steps back deeper into her cover of buildings,
"Of course I would come, I made a promise and I'm not a fool, I know it would be better to tell them all at once. Also I hope you don't mind if I stay here a bit, I would rather reveal myself when I want to, not because someone spotted me talking to you." Finn nods, looks around, deciding it was clear of anyone who would investigate him disappearing into a alley, then does exactly that. The cool air due to the shadows projected from the buildings were a welcome change, until he realise that it was actually coming from Ice Queen herself, making the embraced chill turn sour in fear.
"You alright?" He asks, noticing her fidget in fear.
"Yes-" She sees the look of concern he was giving her, then caves in, speaking to herself in her thoughts to motivate herself, 'Knights are suppose to help their Queens, they can't do that if they don't know what's wrong...' "I saw a few Princes on my way here..." She fidgets some more, "And the crown immediately made me want to lunge at them. I... don't think I can handle a swarm of them my knight, not without going crazy." Finn looks down in worry.
"... Right..." He looks at Huntress who simply shrugs. Finn paces nervously, lost in thought. Huntress just stands there watching Finn, then looks at Ice Queen who was doing the same. Then a idea hits her. She bites her lip, unsure if she should suggest this 'It would help Finn and Ice Queen, but that might make me...' She sighs, 'I am a tough, hard meat. I can handle this'
"Ice Queen... try... imaging they're Finn."
"What!?"/"What!?" They both exclaim at the same time, both in disbelief at the suggestion.
"Well if you can keep your cool while looking at Finn, then try imagining they are Finn. This will just be until we can get Simone out of the tiara. I would suggest just keeping eye contact on Finn, but he won't be around you forever... That and I don't like the idea of you looking at Finn." The girls sigh, one at the confession of jealousy and the other at what she is about to do.
"I'll try, no idea how successful it will be, but I'll try."
"That's the best we can hope for, n-" Whatever Finn was about to say was immediately cut off by a giant bell ringing loudly, its interrupting quick, frantic burst of noise echoing briefly in the air, before going quiet again.
"That was most probably the bell to signal everyone to meet up." Huntress suggests, making Ice Queen whimper. Finn pokes his head out of the alley, looking down the street at the gathering of people.
"... We'll hang at the back, stand behind us to address everyone, I'll protect you if things go south." Finn orders, before nodding at Huntress and taking off out the alley. Huntress looks down at Ice Queen, who looks at her afraid.
"... Don't worry, you can do this." Is all she says before taking off after Finn.
The duo as promised stay at the edge of the crowd, not attempting to push their way deeper. From their spot they could see little, only a sea of heads, most of which wore shiny metal helmets that all delightfully shined the sun directly into their eyes. A moment or two later, the sounds of trumpet's tunes play, and a bunch of banana guards came out to the front of the horde, carrying a small wooden stage the size of the four banana guards carrying it, two more carrying small speakers, one a power supply, and another a mic. They quickly set up, seemingly being more competent than their OOO counterparts. They quickly disperse, and four more guards arrive carrying spears, protectively surrounding the Prince of the Candy Kingdom: Gumball. He quickly steps up onto the wooden platform, muttering something about not wanting a splinter as a explanation for why he lifted his legs half his height onto the platform, instead of simply lifting himself up.
Once on the stage and holding the mic, he quickly scans the gathering, and just as quickly finds what he is looking for: Finn and Huntress Wizard. He smiles 'Time for the plan to begin...' "Welcome everyone to the FFAA or, Free For All AAA. Here are the rules: In the next hour you will enter this massive arena-" He shifts his body to gestures to the arena with his right arm, only to freeze up as the air usually boiled by hot desert sun turns cold, a dominating chill rules the atmosphere.
It was coming from behind the crowd, or more importantly behind Finn. They all turn, looking in terror as the Queen of Ice walks down the street, her smiling face twitching as she barely holds herself back. She slowly approaches them, no one moving a muscle, preferring not to move than to make the wrong one. She walks directly behind Huntress and Finn, her towering form standing a foot above Finn in a regal pose that matches one of her stature, but not her confidence.
"Hello e-everyone..." She looks at the gathering before here with a calm, almost creepy smile, but inside her head, a war is being waged between holding herself back, and just lunging onto the nearest Prince and taking him back to her castle. 'Just think that they are Finn, just think they are Finn...' She forces a mental projection of Finn's face on all of them, and the cravings of the tiara immediately calm down though her thoughts remain unfocused 'Shoot! I can't focus both on a speech and holding the crown back!' "I-" A head splitting roar of noise comes from the Princes and knights in front of her. Weapons are unsheathed and many charge at her while others at the back unleash a volley of arrows, unanimously deciding that they would rather fight for their freedom than be a forced to spend time with the Ice Queen.
The ice royal is faster however, and before any could even lay a hand on her or her knight and friend, she pulls them close to her and creates a massive, thick bubble of ice around them all. She lets go, the protective sphere having just enough room for them all to stand worriedly. "Sorry guys, I can't hold the tiara back and talk at the same time, I need to go." She says as a tidal wave of people start pounding on the ice as they completely surround it. Finn looks up in worry before looking at Ice Queen,
"That's no longer a option Sarah, we've got to calm them down or make the back away if you are to do that." Huntress meanwhile was looking at the ice, or more importantly its integrity. Cracks are forming. And each time a royal brings some weapon down upon it only gets worse, the cracks made from the other attackers reaching out for each other and combining them into a massive web of combined cracks covering the bubble.
"... And we better figure out how fast!" She warns, "Ice Queen, can you freeze them?" Ice Queen peeks a eye open and looks at the Princes.
"No, the tiara is preventing me from 'hurting someone I love'." Before anyone could reply with a new plan a massive boom is heard by all, the ground shaking as if they were in a earthquake. Looking at the ice they see a massive crack, and a massive furry black fist of a pissed Marshall Lee being the cause.
Marshall was breathing heavily, the others immediately making way for him out of fear. He pulls his fist back again and smashes it back down, the ice cracking more and was even pushed into the ground. 'Every time I see that woman, what Simone was forced to become, what she died to... That Tiara! I will destroy that damn Tiara!' His fist slams into it again, 'For Simone! She did not deserve that fate!' He punches it again, and it was about to break, just one more would do it.
Ice Queen had her eyes closed once more out of fear inside the bubble, while Finn and Huntress stand with weapons ready to defend themselves. 'Why can't I!... what? Get us out? Get Finn? Save my friends? Control the tiara?' She grits her teeth as she hears everyone cheering at Marshall, ordering him to smash the ice so they could finally get rid off the horrid Ice Queen that has plagued them for generations.
Then, even though her eyes were shut tight, it became even darker for her. Not a bit of light drips into her vision. Until it comes in a flood, like a dam had broke, and blinds the poor woman. She instinctively raises her hands to protect her eyes, and eventually the light dimmers down until in becomes normal, the same level as a nice summer day. She opens her eyes. And stares at her arms, for they were made of water. Confused, she takes a step back, yet it doesn't feel normal, yet still familiar. She looks down to see that her entire body was made of water. She was back as Sarah, or back into her body at least.
She looks around, scared yet determined. She was only like this when she was in the tiara. What meant she was at the centre of her power, and the cause of her to lust for the Princes: Simone. She turns around completely, and spots another familiar sight. The maze. It was meant to represent their madness of something, she couldn't remember, she couldn't care, it was irrelevant. What she needed was a certain woman. "Simone!" She shouts from the top of her lungs. She taps her watery foot with impatience, a frown on her face.
"Over here!" She hears a friendly reply echoing from afar, and immediately she heads towards it with a sprint 'Advantage of not having a giant dress on' She skids around a corner, finding the human sitting on a step, stroking a bird 'Gunthess' " So Sarah what can I help-"
"Shut up. Gunthess leave." She shoots it a look of barley held in rage, and she immediately runs from the gaze, taking flight and flying over the maze. Simone looks at the water nymph with fear, raising her hands to protect herself.
"You got, or had, a boyfriend?" The question makes her lower them a bit in confusion.
"What?!... Yes I did! His name is Eddie! Is he here?! Can I speak to him?!" She grabs onto the wrist of the angry water girl, who pushes her off.
"No he's not, but you constantly called him 'Prince', didn't you?" Simone immediately blushes at the question, shuffling her feet in embarrassment as she struggles to keep eye contact as her privacy gets assailed.
"Y-yeah, why? How did you know?" She asks, and the response was instant, anger giving the current Ice Queen a short temper,
"Doesn't matter how, what matters is why. Whenever I've seen a Prince for the last few hundred years, the entire time since I've worn the tiara, the word and sight of a Prince has. Sent. Me. CRAZY!" She shouts in the woman's face, making her fall to the ground.
"W-what?"
"Your... Lusting! Lusting for your boyfriend is affecting me, and has caused me hundreds of years suffering!" Sarah reaches down and grabs the girl by her shirt, "Snap out of it, he's dead. Get over him, so you can stop tormenting me." Simone just looks up at her, tears form in her eyes before she looks off to the side. Sarah hated to say that, but she desperately needed this to stop so she can save Finn and Huntress. She needed the poor girl to accept the facts and move on with her life.
"I won't 'get over him', but I will try to... control my emotions for him? I didn't think that they could even affect you in the real world..." She says, slightly strained.
Suddenly Sarah's vision goes black. And a deafening roar of cheers fills her ear. Looking up she see Finn willing to sacrifice himself for her, and Huntress standing by his side, willing to be with him to the end, all of which is happening inside the ice bubble she had made to protect them. She looks up to her right to see a massive black blurry form disfigured by cracked ice, but she could tell it was moving 'its about to smash the ice...' She looks around, noticing that time had seemingly slowed down to a almost relaxing pace, creating a pseudo sense of calmness. She looks at the Prince's faces. Almost all were a mix of happiness and fury. And then she noticed.
She didn't care about them.
The crown was no longer forcing her to go under phoney feelings of love for them. She smiles. 'She did it, she's keeping her emotions in check...'
Marshall Lee thrusts his fist forward once more, fuelled with the emotions of retribution for Simone against that blasted Tiara. The current wearer was collateral that he wishes he could avoid, after all she was most probably another person like Simone, who most probably had someone who loved her and wanted to save her. But he and Simone... tried everything, nothing can be done to save someone once ensnared by the tiara. His only hope is to destroy it before it could take someone else. And that's when the temperature harshly dropped. He was undead, already stone cold, yet even he could barely resist a shiver as pin and needles covered his body. It was then that he realised that the ice globe in front of him was glowing light blue.
A massive, blinding white light dominates their vision, to the point where they couldn't even see anything but their silhouette that became pitch black in contrast to the light. And then their was the moment their ears tried to kill them. If they were a deafening roar, then the noise they were suffering from was a murderous screech. Then their skin felt solid, yet they were also under the excruciating pain as if a thousand pins and needles were boosted to the bites of bullet ants and a the stings of thousands of wasps. They go to collapse to the floor, then they realise they couldn't move at all, as if they were stuck in time- No, frozen in time was a better description.
Then it was over in a instant.
With barely any energy at all, Gumball opens his eyes from the stage he remained on. He didn't go to the Ice Queen, he wasn't a fighter! He feels the familiar feeling of Ice Queen's ice, something he knew all to well about. But looking upon the scene in front of him made him freeze up tighter than anything the Ice Queen could do to him. He was frozen in ice. The other Princes were frozen in ice. The buildings were frozen in ice. The kingdom was frozen in ice. What he did not know was that if someone were to look at AAA from space, then they would find that ninety percent of the Badlands were now white, covered in thick ice and tightly packed snow.
All around the warriors home town were large mountains and canyons of ice, literal ice bergs on land. Gumball looks down at the panting Ice Queen with shock, who then stands up straight. Where the defensive bubble once stood was now gone, and in its place is a circle clear of ice or snow, where a awestruck duo stood, mouths agape and eyes in shock. Ice Queen brushes off some sand that had gotten on her dress a few minutes ago, then looks at Gumball in the eye. "Now Princes and their company..." The frozen royals all draw their gaze to the Queen of Ice who just proved why she is worthy of the title. They were all frozen in ice prisons, so tough that even Marshall Lee's strength could not pull himself free, yet their heads all remained free. "Will you be quiet enough for me to speak now?"
No Prince responds, all frozen silent from fear, only the whisper of the wind was present to reply to her question. Ice Queen nods in approval, "Thank you for your attention. The reason why I'm here today is simple: I want to change-" She notices that everyone is staring at her with glass eyes. She frowns, and looks at a random Prince who happened to be Breakfast Prince, then points at him, "Repeat what I said." She orders. Life returns to the royal, who panics and looks around for help, hoping someone else heard and could whisper it to him. No one else seems to have heard, but he does notice them all looking at him, as senses return after defeating their fear.
"Um..."
"Doesn't matter, I can repeat my self. I said the reason why I'm here is to announce to you that I want to change." She smiles as the royals were all staring at her, and their faces shift to converse their emotions 'Good, if they're reacting, then they're listening' She looks at Finn and Huntress, who just look at her, also wanting to hear what she had to say, 'Your crush is listening, no pressure...' Her knight shoots her smile, and that gives her the confidence she needs to push on.
"For the last few hundred years that I have lived, I was feared, I was avoided, and I was lonely. Abandoned, and forced into solitude. It was partly the reason why I kidnapped you. It was partly the fault of the tiara and the madness it wrought onto me, but I also did it so I wouldn't be so alone anymore. Then one day, I met someone kind. A hero." She shoots a look at Fionna, who was also frozen. "A true one, one that helps everyone he can. He has agreed to help me overcome the madness, so I will tell you all this now on the name of my tiara and on the trust I gave to my saviour: I won't kidnap anymore of you." She stands proud, happy that she has now officially set herself on the path of recovery. "Gumball."
"What?" He asks afraid of whatever she wants with him as she turns her dull attention on him, and Fionna is currently unable to save him!
"I want to compete." She says, before flying up into the air and over the other Princes and warriors. She lands in front of the candy royal, ignoring the struggling grunts of Fionna a few feet away as she attempts to free herself from the ice. She stands before him with a small pleading smile.
"E-excuse me?" He asks, resisting to cringe as she leans in closer.
"This large arena competition thing, I want to participate." She looks around at the frozen princes, the land that was turned white, the slightly shivering Finn and Huntress as the temperature starts to get to them. She turns her gaze back to Gumball, her face conveying her slight regret at what she did 'I went a bit overkill... their fault for attacking me I guess' "Well... not me personally... the, er, other competitors... need a chance at winning. I'll summon something to represent for me." She says leaning down to the ground before placing both hands on the white surface, "Give me a sec..." The ice, all of it, immediately snaps and cracks before hissing slightly. It suddenly evaporates all at once, the ice cages that previously imprisoned the royals as well, and they all promptly fall to the floor in a collection of grunts, oofs, metals colliding, and rising sand that got whipped up in the commotion.
The evaporating snow and ice collects together above their heads and forms a massive looming cloud, then Ice Queen grunts in effort and focuses her power, she brings her arms close in on herself like she was making chicken wings and starts to float up. Gumball watches in shocked awe as she slowly approaches the clouds above, then she halts just below them, just sitting there. Before springing her arms straight out in front of her as she releases a scream of effort, her hands glowing light blue with the tiara's magic. The clouds start to shift.
The wind grows violently, what sends her white hair in front of her and whip like crazy, her dress promptly following suit as the massive cloud of winter surges forward, deeper into AAA. The rush of air threatens to cause a sandstorm for the observers below, as they all raise their limbs to protect their eyes, before the cloud swiftly storm away, relieving them of the sand barrage. They all observe as it slows to a halt somewhere in the distance.
Ice Queen slouches in the air, releasing a sigh all the while. She slowly falls back down, the air completely still creating a eerie atmosphere as she does so, smiling and locking eyes with Finn. She eventually lands gracefully before her knight with a mix between a slightly smug smile, and a look of exhaustion. Then she turns to look at the now Candy royal over the head of other royals 'I just realised I'm actually taller than a lot of the Princes' "... So Gumball, as I said I want to repent, I want for you to be able to call me a friend, and I want to prove it to you starting today. So... Can I compete in this competition?" Gumball fidgets nervously, unsure on how to respond. Especially after that show of power 'How can I tell her no without ending up as a popsicle?'
"Well..." He notices a light blue glow appearing in her hands yet she doesn't seem to smile or frown, making it a most probably a subconscious action her tiara was doing. "... Sure." The other royals look at him flabbergasted. Ice Queen meanwhile beamed in happiness, ignoring them as they now mutter to one another.
"How about we take a break for a few minutes, then continue the competition?" She suggests, however does not wait for a reply as she simply turns around, "Finn, Huntress, can we talk for a bit?" Finn nods but does not immediately follow, deciding to instead analyse the crowd. They were a mix of mad, angry, annoyed, and scared. He frowns and was about to turn and leave when he spots Fionna. She was staring at him with unsureness, he nods at her, but for some reason she quickly looks away from him. Confused, Finn shakes his head and leaves to follow the Ice Queen, Huntress following close behind.
They follow the Queen of the Ice Kingdom as she leads them back to the alley. They all just stare at each other, before Ice Queen decides she should speak up first. "That... could of gone better." She admits sombrely, causing Finn to look to the side.
"Yeah, no kidding."
"But at least they now know I want to change, and I got the chance to show them that in this tournament." She looks past them with a smile, not focusing on anything but the feeling of joy that her days of madness and solitude might finally be over. Finn and Huntress just stand there sheepishly, not wanting to interrupt one of her moment of happiness but at the same time they need to get talking about what they were going to do now. Eventually Ice Queen snaps back to reality,
"Sorry-"
"Don't sweat it Sarah, but we do need to focus." Huntress cuts her apology off as they already accepted it before she could even announce it. Ice Queen nods,
"They most probably won't give me a chance, I... the tiara... it scares them. Glob! Why did I use it? It would of been better to just simply fly up and out of harms way!" Finn nods in agreement,
"Yeah, I saw their faces. Fionna's as well, she's not impressed either. But I'm sure it can be undone somehow, so don't worry." Huntress simply sighs,
"This is just going to take a while Finn, and that's all we need to happen right now, let time progress." She stares directly into Ice Queen's eyes, slightly to the royals discomfort, "You whish to prove yourself, so the universe is currently testing you. The only way to succeed in a test is to use your mind, go with what feels right, and to never waver. So Ice Queen, just let time past and if you never surrender, then they'll probably come to liking you eventually... hopefully."
"Right..." She struggles to process what she was just told, then gives up and just notes it down as the cliché 'Do not give up' "So... now what?" She asks, deciding that they no longer needed to discuss her... friendship problems... And that they needed to focus on something important.
"Don't you have a representative to summon?" Huntress asks, making Ice Queen blink in response before her eyes widen as she remembers, "Oh right! Sorry, the last few minutes were kind of a haze as I wasn't properly thinking, forgot I even said that." She lifts her hands up and they start to glow, then without hesitation she directs her hand and summoning magic out of the alley and back onto the street. A single Ice beam flies forth and hits the ground and just like the bosses a vortex of ice forms before spinning in on itself and imploding, and a large winters howl forms. The sudden appearance of a skeleton in a dress natural catches everyone's eyes, the whole crowd stopping what they were doing to stare at the wraith, who is staring at the Ice Queen, who was staring at the ground.
"Wait... I thought you need a summoning stone or two to make that guy... girl?" He asks, but then ends up looking at the skeleton in a dress with confusion, wondering what to call it, "Girl, right?" It nods. Finn looks back at the worn out royal, "Yeah, so how were you able to bypass the stones for the her?"
"The reason why that vortex is formed Finn is because it is a great gathering of magic. That is why the summoning stones were bypassed, because I supplanted them with my own raw magic. It is why I can only summon one boss per day, because it's not using the tiara's infinite magic, it's using my personal, very limited magic. It comes in handy when you've got no summoning stones and if you want them to be able to leave a area, but its cost is great." She explains, before collapsing onto Finn, who panics while Huntress shoots the royal a look of disdain, what doesn't go unnoticed. "Sorry Huntress, but after freezing everything instantly, then moving it all as a cloud to make some kids day, then summoning her-" She jeers her thumb at the Winter wraith weakly, "- it has left me a tad drained."
Huntress sighs and looks away embarrassed, "No its fine... I'm just getting defensive or jealous over nothing." She looks back, "But with the Winter wraith fighting, you can team up with us."
"Isn't it a free for all?" Ice Queen ask as she raises a eye brow, "They just gave me a chance, even though it was made of fear, and I rather not loose it or fail because I was cheating." Finn immediately jumps in with his reply,
"No it's not cheating, we checked with Gumball yesterday and he says that there is nothing against it. Just that there can only be one winner." His explanation makes her nod, and she finally stops leaning on him to stand on her own two feet. After making sure she won't just flop over again the Ice Queen finally replies, "Sure, I'll tell WW to fight for you until you're the last two standing."
As the group discuss team ups and biggest threats, Fionna, Cake, Marshall Lee and Gumball were all discussing off to the side of the royal mob. Marshall was out of his bat form and back to normal, and he wore the same expression as everyone else: worry, anger, and a dash of fear. "This is bad." Gumball states plainly,
"Ya think you Gumwad?!" Marshall snaps back, before going back to fuming to himself.
"Man, didn't realise Ice Queen was that... powerful... What are we going to do?" Cake ask, directing it the candy monarch.
"This changes everything. If Ice Queen has decided to become so open in her involvement, then she is confident-"
"Of course she is when she has that much power!..." Fionna cuts him off, still trying to wrap her head around what she saw along with her sister, 'Was... She going easy on Cake and I? Did she not take the kidnappings seriously? Why haven't we seen that much power before?...' And her thoughts spiral downwards, into what would happen if Ice Queen attacks Gumball or any of the royals again, because there's no way she could fight back against her if she truly went all out on her.
"... As I was saying, she must be confident in her plans. That or Finn somehow found out about our plans, and called her in to... to... Completely and utterly ruin it!" He shouts while covering his face with both hands in frustration.
The sudden arrival of the Ice Queen has got them all startled, rearing in shock, and whatever coordination they had has now halted, then fallen into disrepair. Many were unnerved by her presence, and were tempted to leave just to avoid the chance that she was lying, that this was all some trick by her so she could wrap her disgusting clawed hands on them all. Meanwhile, the cloud of snow and ice she sent away was now slowly and calmly falling to the ground, and the orphans of the candy kingdom were now running outside to make snow angels.
And that's another chapter done, and with another vote at the bottom. I also want to explain three decisions I made.
First, the more important one, Ice Queen's power. When Gunter/Gunthess made the crown, it was so that the wearer would be more like the ice elemental, and we all saw in the elements series what they can do. I thought if Patience st. Prim could turn quarter of OOO into ice, then the tiara what was meant to be a copy of that power should be able to freeze part of a desert. I know in elements they were magically boosted, but here Ice Queen was emotionally boosted, and we all know that strong emotions means strong magic.
I think Ice King would be this powerful as well, but it is countered by his madness and inability to focus. Also don't worry, Ice Queen won't be a Mary Sue, she'll have weaknesses and her own problems.
Second thing, making Gunthess a bird. Just thought it would make more sense for Ice Queen to call a penguin Gunthess if the original was also a type of bird.
Third thing, Betty = Eddie? You think that's good genderbend name?
That aside, I found a new problem. The chapters are going over 11k words, and it seems doc manager/fanfiction starts bugging out when they get that big. XD
Review reply:
Lunix, on AO3, chapter 13:
That has got to be one of the nicest things I've heard anyone say/type. I'm actually struggling to find the words to respond without repeating 'Thank you!'.
I'm so glad you're enjoying it! To be honest I wasn't expecting my work to get much praise, let alone hook someone who doesn't usually read. Your kind words of praise have seriously made my week and has inspired me to carry on writing. People like you are my inspiration.
I put up to four hours a day to make sure I get these out to the quality I set myself, so I'm so happy to hear it was worth it, ESPECIALLY when I get reviews like this. This is such high praise and I'll do everything I can to meet up with your expectations so you can continue to damn well enjoy Incrementum! (P.S. Love the French word.)
Guest, on FF, chapter 14:
I know you are always commenting and I am very thankful, I recognise your style. You should try giving yourself a name for me to call you so I can try and guess which review is yours. Besides I hate to keep calling someone so supportive 'Guest', it makes me feel like I ain't acknowledging you. And I must say, the support you keep giving me... AWESOME.
I'm glad you are enjoying both the arc intro and my pacing. To be honest with Ice Queen, I thought I made it clear that they were just going to be friends, but crushes don't just disappear, and with the reviews I got I might have to do something with her and Finn. But don't worry, Fintress is for the win, and Ice Queen won't be a romantic partner in any sorts. Thank you for the kind words, and I'll see you in the next review.
Guest, on FF, chapter 14:
Yeah they make good friends, but indeed, what if a opportunity appears or circumstances change, what will IQ do and how will their friendship be tested?...
I know I did a unfair tease with the massage... and I have no regrets! XD When I was thinking of the robot, I was deciding if it should do anything. It took me two seconds of thought for me decide Huntress to just obliterate it, glad that you loved that as I too had a smile while writing it.
Sir Relentless, on FF, chapter 14:
Thanks for the praise man! I'm torn between re-doing chapter one so people see what the quality will be, or leaving it as it is as a reminder of my improvements, for it's really something when you see how much you improve. Lewd when? A few more chapters most probably, Huntress said a month but I guess I can cut it down to a few weeks. Now I officially need to start doing some 'research'... and create a file for said 'research'... I want it to be 'enjoyable' after all.
But I think that this is the Adventure time tiers:
1 Hugging
2 kissing
3 Deep kissing
4 Love bites or hickies
5 bring her home
6 sleeping clothed
7 sleeping in underwear
8 touching privates in clothes
9 touching privates naked
10 sexual stuff (hand jobs, oral ect.) Little, short first time nervous
11 sexual stuff (start of actual sexual stuff.) Medium, getting use to it
12 sexual stuff (Sex) Long duration, confident. Though long, they won't do it too often
13 sex on the regular, very confident
14 kinky sex (Like a threesome? I wonder who would jump at the opportunity to be with Finn in the bed yet not make it a relationship?...)
15 Sex with no protection (pregs)
I know I kinda skipped a few steps, and some can't he done (like bringing her home) but from what I've looked at, then thought about myself, I think this might be all the steps.
Cloudpanda961, on FR, chapter 13:
We went a messaging spree that would be too long to post, so to summarise:
VOTE
Should I cut down on the description?
Keep it as it is?
Turn it down?
I said I would ask, and I'm a man of my word. Basically: are you finding it a chore to read?
This will not mean I will add more to the chapters to make up for the lost of words, the chapter's contents will still be the same amount, so the only change will be the chapter word count will decrease. I personally like the way it is right now, but I want to hear your opinions. This will only be once chapter long, meaning next chapter I will reveal the results of this vote.
Current vote:
Keep: 1
Lower: 1