AN: Ok, an update before I start preparing for my operation! My recovery is to take a couple of months, so I don't know when I'll get the next chapter up. It might be a couple of months or a couple of weeks. It all depends on pain level, I suppose. But since I'll be lounging about, I'll have plenty of time to work on it! I'm glad I started on this, honestly. Gives me something to focus on. Anyway, hope you enjoy reading~

Chapter 2:

Petal Bridge was truly stunning. The beautiful cherry blossoms and stone pathways made the stratum inviting. The isolated warmth from the winter winds outside added to its appeal. But Flavio knew better than anyone not to let the natural beauty lull him into an unguarded state. He had to be the one that remained on high alert.

He was the guild's survivalist, after all.

Flavio lingered at the back of the party, keeping a watchful eye over everyone while keeping the other on their surroundings. Well, he tried at least. It did not take him long to realise that his gaze kept wandering toward Fafnir – and the pretty princess that walked closely next to him.

The sight bothered him. He did not know why or what exactly it was about the two that bothered him. But something bothered him, that much he would admit to himself.

It did not make sense. The sight before him was not an uncommon one. However, lately, it had become far too common. Too common for his liken. The only time for Flavio himself to have some one-on-one time with Fafnir was in the private confines of his room at the inn. Otherwise, Arianna had the miraculous ability to just pop up out of nowhere to talk to Fafnir, inserting herself into the conversation.

He had not a clue how she did it, but he was starting to get frustrated.

He should not have to go to great lengths to spend time with his best friend, you know? She did not own him!

Man, he was being a bit too harsh, huh? Arianna probably thought the same of him. They were just…relieved to have Fafnir back, he supposed, and selfishly wanted him to themselves. It was only natural.

Only natural…

At least Fafnir made the effort to spend time with him, so it was not one-sided. Sneaking into his room at night and the two of them talking into the early morning hours. Just like how they used to do back at Midgard Library.

A soft noise of surprise pulled Flavio from his musings, and he chided himself for being distracted by his own thoughts. He instinctively tightening his grip on his bow as he turned his attention in the direction he estimated the noise originated from.

But the sight before him caused his breath to hitch in his throat.

Arianna was wrapped in Fafnir's arms, leaning against his chest and her head nestled under his chin.

Flavio felt himself stiffen as his stomached clenched. A strange feeling, one he could not quite put his finger on, washed over him.

Wh-what…?

Fafnir suddenly placed his hands on Arianna's shoulders and pushed her back gently, placing her back on her feet. "Careful," he said simply.

With a flush on her cheeks, Arianna smiled shyly. "I apologise. I must have tripped. I am grateful that you caught me before I fell, Sir Fafnir."

O-oh, that was what happened, huh?

Flavio frowned. He could not see anything she could have tripped on. Could she have stumbled over her own feet from being too distracted by her conversation with Fafnir? As least she did not fall and hurt herself, he supposed.

Fafnir simply gave her a small smile before he dropped his hands from her shoulders, turned and continued walking forward. And Arianna soon joined him, matching his pace.

Ignoring the quiet sniggering from Chloe and sigh from Bertrand, Flavio began to walk once more also. He still felt that tight sensation in his stomach, however. And he could not help but feel a sense of utter bitterness as he stared at the backs of Fafnir and Arianna.

He soon realised that bitter feeling he felt was actually jealousy.

Jealousy toward Arianna.

That…that would explain a lot.

Flavio clenched his jaw and drew in a deep breath through his nose when Arianna cutely folded her hands behind her back and turned to face Fafnir. She said something to him, though Flavio could not hear what it was exactly. He attention was focused on Fafnir and his reaction toward the princess. How he regarded her with a small smile.

C-could Fafnir also…?

A movement just behind Fafnir immediately caught Flavio's attention and his gaze snapped toward the dense pink petalled shrubbery. His eyes widened when and a warning passed his lips before he himself registered what was truly happening.

"Fafnir, behind you!"

Fafnir instinctively moved, protecting Arianna from a black and orange blur that burst from the foliage. But he left himself exposed. From the monster. From the attack.

With his arms around Arianna, Fafnir hit the labyrinth floor. The stones were unforgiving as he landed on his shoulder, taking the full force of the fall in order to protect Arianna. But as they came to a rest, his arms around Arianna slackened and he fell limp.

And he did not move.

Arianna pulled herself out of his arms and pushed herself into a sitting position next to him. She immediately placed her hands on his shoulder to roll him over onto his back. "Sir Fafnir? Sir Fafnir, wake up!"

He was knocked unconscious! Or were the monsters responsible?

It did not matter. He was out for the count.

Bertrand immediately raced to the forefront in order to act as their guild's protector once more. Chloe moved to kneel next to Fafnir and she place her hands on his chest, attempting to rouse him as well.

But the monsters, six in total that took on the form of large wasps, were a threat. They were creatures they had not encountered before. Yet one thing remained constant; they were a threat unless they were taken care of.

As the remaining fighter, Flavio had to do something…

Alright. He was the guild's survivalist. The quickest and nimblest out of them all. He should be able to lure the monsters away and give them the slip. Or at the very least keep them busy long enough for the others to compose themselves, ready themselves for battle.

Right. He was ready.

Flavio darted forward, purposely scurrying between Bertrand's shield and the flying wasps. He managed to fire off an arrow toward one of them, successfully (miraculously, he had to admit) taking one of them out.

His appearance and attack got the attention of the rest of the monsters. A little bit too effectively.

Well, too late to back out now!

"H-hey, kid!" Bertrand shouted.

"Wake Fafnir up! I'll keep them busy!"

Flavio ignored the shouts of protest. He focused his attention forward as he ran. No destination in mind, obviously. He just ran with the buzzing sound of wings right behind him.

Ugh, flying monsters. They were always a pain to fight. And they were flying bug monsters at that. Bugs. At least they were not spiders, he supposed. Man, that would be a nightmare!

The path before him suddenly turned to the right, and he almost crashed into the labyrinth floral wall in his attempt to stay on his feet. What greeted him as he skidded around the corner was a tall set of doors.

Perfect!

He pushed himself forward. The urge the throw opened the doors was strong, but instead he parted the doors enough for him to squeeze through. And slammed them shut, hearing the satisfying sound of bugs smacking against something hard and unmoving.

But he also heard the sound of buzzing wings.

Yeah, he did not think it would be so easy to get rid of them.

Flavio turned away from the doors and started running once more. The doors gave him a few precious seconds for him to catch his breath and to compose himself. He positioned himself behind a line of dense shrubbery. His dark clothing obviously clashed with the light pink flowers, but he doubted those wasps tracked him down through sight.

Hitching an arrow into the nook of his bow, Flavio drew in a slow breath. He raised his bow and waited.

And waited.

A wasp soon appeared, flittering from the direction of the door. It appeared agitated, if the flailing of its forearms were any indication. Its agitated movements made it difficult for him to lock-on for an attack. He could not afford to miss.

The second the wasp fell still; Flavio took the shot.

And his aim was true, striking the wasp in the abdomen, and for good measure he managed to pin it to the tree directly behind it.

They appeared weak to piercing or stabbing attacks. Good. Something was going right for him today!

Flavio whipped out another arrow and hitched it into his bow. He pulled back the string and searched the sky for his next target. He need not wait long. Another soon appeared, likely alerted by the first's cries of alarm.

If that was the case…

He better get rid of them before other monsters get involved.

He took out the second wasp and the third soon followed. There were six in total, if he remembered correctly. And he had already taken out four. Only two left? He hoped so. He had not planned on taking out a group of monsters on his own, but if that was what he needed to do, so be it. Anything for Fafnir.

Hitching another arrow into his bow, the sound of buzzing caught his attention. Another creature fluttered into view. Red and black. They look like ladybugs.

What, more monsters?!

Flavio gritted his teeth when the ladybugs began to survey their surroundings, appearing agitated. Just as he had feared. The cries of the wasps drew the attention of other monsters, looking for a quick meal. Or looking to take out a threat.

Worse still, his hiding spot had been discovered. He needed to find another.

Jumping out of his hiding spot, Flavio fired off an arrow, managing to snatch a ladybug out of sky. He did not have time to celebrate his improved aim and hit rate. He needed to focus on running and finding another hiding spot to deal with a fresh new wave of monster attacks.

A hot, sharp jolt of pain suddenly erupted from Flavio's left ankle, and he immediately stumbled. He instinctively grabbed at the nearest object, a low-hanging branch of a tree thankfully, and threw himself into a natural nook in the foliage.

The pain in his ankle remained, however.

Damn! Something attacked his ankle!

That made things a bit more complicated.

Flavio clenched his jaw as he hitched an arrow into his bow. He just needed to ignore the pain. It could be dealt with later. If he did not, he would receive far worse injuries.

"Flavio!"

Fafnir? Ah, he was awake! And he sounded fine to boot!

He needed to get Fafnir's attention. A whistle could do it, but he could not afford to pull back from his weapon. The monsters were too close. He would have to call his name.

"Fafnir, over here!"

That also got the monsters' attention, just as he anticipated. He narrowed in on the closest one, a large ladybug. His arrow struck it dead on, sending it crashing to the ground in a twitching heap. But it was soon replaced with another. No, two more.

Another figure soon joined the congregation, however. One of fearsome black armour.

A single lightning blade was enough to take out the swarm of monstrous bugs and Flavio breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing his posture and releasing his hold on his weapon. It honestly was not a surprise that Fafnir resorted to using his Fafnir Knight form to go in search of him when he regained consciousness.

He did not like it when Fafnir used that form. But he was not surprised.

The singed, twitching husks of insects rained down around Fafnir, the threat imposed by them well and truly gone. And as they tumbled uselessly away, he anxiously inspected his surroundings. Possibly looking for more threats. Or…

"Flavio?"

Or he was looking for him.

Ignoring the throbbing pain in his ankle, Flavio pushed himself to his feet and rested a hand against a tree to balance himself. "I'm here, Fafnir."

Fafnir immediately spun around to face him and only when his gaze fell upon him did he finally relaxed his posture. Despite the dark, imposing armour of his Fafnir Knight form, it was easy to tell that Fafnir breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped over the unmoving husks of his previous enemies.

"What do you think you were doing?" Fafnir asked as he shifted out of his knight form, the tone of his voice both concerned and chiding. "You could have gotten yourself hurt."

Yeah, Flavio figured Fafnir would not be happy with him. Though, his concerns were valid. "I didn't have much choice. I needed to get them away from you. And the others."

He was…mostly worried about Fafnir, he was not going to lie. He was the one that was unconscious, after all. Unable to defend himself.

Speaking of which…

"Are you all right?" Flavio asked as Fafnir reached him and he could not help but reach out himself, slipping his fingers through Fafnir's hair in search for any obvious signs of injuries. "You fell unconscious. Did you hit your head? Was it a monster attack?"

Fafnir uttered a sigh as he suddenly slipped an arm around the small of Flavio's back…and with a sharp tug, pulled Flavio against his chest, earning himself a startled "oof!" from him in the process.

"You're the one that's hurt here," Fafnir stated, exasperated.

With one hand resting against Fafnir's chest, the other by his side and still grasping his weapon, Flavio finally looked down at his left ankle. And he winced. A very obvious tear in the material in his pants and boot, with a red stain smeared along the edges. It did not take a genius to know what that red substance was.

All Flavio could think, however, was that he needed to stitch up his pants and boot before his next outing.

"A monster attack," Flavio admitted. "The only one, though. Could have been worse, right?"

Fafnir did not look happy, regardless. He looked down at Flavio's ankle, his lips pressed together into a thin line. He suddenly curled his arm around Flavio's waist and took a half step back, turning his body slightly. Before Flavio could comprehend what he could be attempting to do, Fafnir had his arm behind the back of his knees.

And had swept him up into his arms.

Flavio fell still as it took him a moment to fully register what had happened. Fafnir had one arm around his back, a hand pressed against his side. The other held his leg, under his knees, allowing his legs to dangle over his forearm.

He…held him so easily. Even with all his armour and adventurer gear.

Flavio felt himself flush. "H-hey, Faf-"

"You can't put any weight on your injured leg," Fafnir said, cutting him off.

"Y-yeah, but this-"

"No buts. Now, hang onto my neck. We need to meet back up with the others."

Flavio knew that he should protest. That was what was expected of him or something, right? But he could not bring himself to. It was not every day that he found himself suddenly swept up into Fafnir's arms.

So, he slipped an arm around Fafnir's neck and shoulders. "Are you sure you're all right?" he asked as Fafnir started walking. "What happened? Did you hit you head?"

"Yeah, I think so," Fafnir replied. "I think it happened when I protected Arianna from that monster ambush."

Flavio frowned. "Should you be carrying me? You might have a concussion."

Fafnir tightened his arms around Flavio. "No protesting. When we join back up with the others, we'll return to town. We both need to recuperate."

"You need to be more careful. I was really worried when you went down and didn't get back up."

"Oh? And I wasn't worried when I awoke and learnt that you had ran off to act as a distraction?"

"Ok, fair."

They were always worrying about each other, weren't they?

"Sir Fafnir? Did you find Sir-oh!"

Flavio felt a blush of embarrassment raged across his cheeks when he recognised the voice. He turned away from Fafnir and looked forward. Where his gaze collided with that of the rest of their party members.

"S-sir Fafnir, what…?" Arianna stuttered, which was uncharacteristic of her.

"He has an injury to his left leg," Fafnir replied coolly.

"But there must have been-"

"This is the easiest and quickest way."

Flavio really could not blame Arianna for reacting the way she was. He probably would have done the same. No one wanted to see their crush carrying someone else so intimately.

Especially when Fafnir was stubborn and would not put him down.

He could not help but wonder what Arianna actually thought. If she felt the same type of jealousy he did when he saw her in Fafnir's arms earlier. He felt a bit foolish, thinking back on it.

"Let's return to town," Fafnir ordered. "Flavio needs his leg attended to."