Paralogue 5

Shy

Axel and Natalie have been tasked to go to Kamengrad's carpenter and request a new ladder for the Irian Guild.

That part is easy. The harder part is what comes after.

"Hmm…" An aging Pangoro looked at the sheet of paper before him which had a series of measurements written on it. "So you're lookin' for a ladder o' this size, eh?"

"Yeah," Axel confirmed. "The old one's rotted, and most of the Guild are still down there, unable to get out."

"That don't sound good," murmured the panda. "I'll get t' it. Gimme a few hours, and I'll 'ave what I need for ya."

"Thanks very much." Axel dug into his coin purse and doled out the correct amount to the carpenter.

"No prob, merc. Keep doin' what you're doin'. Oh, and ya too, lassie." The Pangoro directed his attention to the Ledian behind Axel. She jumped when she heard his words.

"Oh! Er…yeah. Yeah." Natalie nodded hurriedly. "Thanks fer that…" With that, she began to make her way to the door. "C-C'mon, Axel. Let's go…"

"...Sure." Axel couldn't help but be surprised at her behaviour, though. Is something up with her? "We'll go, sir. A few hours, you said?"

"Yup. I'm a quick worker. Be done before ya know it!"

"Right. Thanks again." Axel grabbed the door handle with one of his pincers and closed the door behind him.

The two were on the streets of Kamengrad once again. Like most days, the town was quiet with not much activity. Apart from a few passersby and a Tropius Carrier above circling to make their landing, there wasn't any notable activity going on in the town itself. The weather, too, was unremarkable, with bright sunshine and a number of wispy clouds dotting the sky. Another usual day, with nothing out of the ordinary.

"...So, uh…" Axel turned to his partner for the day. "What do you want to do, Natalie?"

"...Mmm…" The Ledian was silent for a while. "Nothin' much."

"So you wanna just…hang around town, maybe?"

"...I guess." Natalie shrugged.

She doesn't say much, does she? She really is a wallflower, Axel thought to himself. First time we've been alone, too…Now that I think about it, she's nearly always with Serafina, isn't she?

Thinking back, the Gligar found this to be true; the Ledian rarely strayed from her more talkative partner's side.

"How about we find a bench and just chill for a while?" he suggested. "We have a load of time to kill."

"...Sure," the Ledian murmured. "If it's what ya want…"

Axel knew a place to go. An area in the eastern part of town, on the road that led to Scree Canyon and his parents' shop. There was a bench there they could sit down at, and look at the view of the karst landscape and the dominating Empyrean Mountains above. It was a beautiful lookout, something even Natalie couldn't deny.

"Wow," she remarked. "That's a mighty fine view."

"Really nice," Axel agreed. He flapped his wings and landed on the bench, sitting down on it. Natalie followed suit and sat down next to him.

They sat for a while. But one problem quickly became apparent.

An awkward silence developed between them. Both the Gligar and Ledian were unsure of where to bring the conversation. Already, it had stalled, and both wanted the other to start it up again.

"Er…nice weather today, right?" It was Axel who broke the silence.

"...Mmm. Sure is." Natalie looked up at the bright blue sky. "Not much rain, though…We kinda need some."

"...Yeah." The Gligar never liked the rain, especially the frequency with which it usually fell in Selenia's more temperate climate. But he realised what the Ledian was getting at; the drought earlier in the summer was still lingering in parts of the country.

The awkward silence returned again. Axel found himself fidgeting. Come on, Ax. You can do better than this, he self-admonished. It's just talking to Natalie. It's not like you're facing off against a nasty feral. She's nice! She's just shy! That's all.

"Umm…" The Gligar racked his brains. "So, uh…how's things with you and Serafina?"

"...Fine," Natalie said. "Just peachy. We weren't fine after that whole mess in Iria, though…"

"Oh yeah..." That had been the topic of dinner a few days ago, once Teams Elpis and Anima arrived back from their escapade in Iria. The terrifying encounter with Mitrofan and his marshals, coupled with the prospect of a potential breakthrough in their struggle against the Aggron's regime, had the Guild talking about nothing else in the days after.

Axel was about to go further with that, but Melchior's warning rang in his head: Do not talk about this outside of the Guild. Therefore, with reluctance, he kept his mouth shut.

"Okay, um…" The Gligar tried to think of something else to talk about. Something…hmm…

"You, uh…" Where they come from…? Actually, hang on, that might be something. "You and Serafina, you're from…Karelia, right?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah, we are," Natalie answered.

"What's it like?"

"...Don't ya go there for missions?"

"Oh, uh, no. Not really," Axel confessed. "Ish and Lill and I…we don't really go down to that part of Selenia that often. Kinda prefer to stick around the north and east."

"...'Kay. Well, it's…very quiet. Nothin' much goes on down there. I work on a farm, with Ma n' Pa n' the rest of mah family…Just a normal life. Ain't nothin' special."

"Is it hard work?"

"Yeah. Sure ain't easy. Ya gotta work to get a good harvest. Harder th'n most jobs, I'd think. Gotta be a load easier sellin' the stuff we grow."

"Well, being a merchant isn't easy either. Lill's parents are merchants, and when me, Ish, and Lill lived with them for a while, we could see that it's actually pretty hard. You have to really try with hawking your stuff. That's why most merchants have slogans and yell across the street at you to buy what they're selling. Because if they don't, then they won't get as many customers, and they'll go hungry some nights."

That had been a tougher time in Team Sandstream's life, long before they'd gone down the path they were on. Since leaving Oiriall behind, adapting to the mercantile life in Selenia hadn't been lenient in the least. Axel had already been able to tell that he hadn't the makings of a merchant in him. Therefore, when Diarmuid and Gráinne proposed setting up an apothecary's shop, he immediately went with them, leaving Ishmael and Lillian to continue with Caitríona and Conall at being merchants.

He had felt a bit guilty about leaving them behind then, but if their approach of him six years ago to join the Irian Guild and form a mercenary team was any indication, they bore him no grudge. That, the Gligar was grateful for.

"...That don't sound nice," Natalie murmured. "That sure ain't the life for me…"

"Yeah…me neither." Axel could hardly imagine the Ledian hawking wares in the rowdy manner merchants did that.

And with that, the awkward silence returned once again.

This isn't hard, Ax, he inwardly berated. Come on. Think of something to ask.

"Uh…" He thought of what to say to the Ledian. "...Um…H-How's your family now? Are they…" He realised that this topic might be delicate, given the general repression that had gone on in Selenia under Mitrofan. Was her family the same?

"They're fine." Axel blinked slightly at the ladybug's answer. "Mah folks are good. 'Least we're still able to farm. If we couldn't do that…We'd be in a right ol' mess."

"When was the last time you saw them?"

"Er…a few weeks? Yeah. Saw 'em when we were doin' a mission down those parts. They're alright. All healthy, all happy. Ya'd almost think nothin' was wrong with this country…"

"You could say the same about here," Axel observed. "Rural, peaceful…Is Kamengrad like Karelia?"

"Naw. Too stony. Plus, ya can't grow a darned thing here," Natalie replied. "Our land ain't good back home, but even berries'll grow easy there."

"They sure can grow in a lot of places, huh?" Even back home in the dry lands of Oiriall, they grew.

"They sure can."

And just like that, the return of the accursed silence. Once again, Axel found himself wishing he had something to say, to further the conversation. Parts of his past, he wanted to talk with her about, but he didn't want to unload that stuff on her.

Would she even be interested? he wondered. A farmgirl from rural Selenia, hearing stories about how we were brought up in Alba? Our countries are so different. I don't know if she could relate to that…

Plus…I'd rather not get too personal with her.

The image of a Cacturne sneering at him while planting his prickly foot onto his face came to him. He tried as quickly as he could to shake it off.

He didn't make eye contact with Natalie. He didn't want her to see his face, in case it gave something away.

But that's not fair, is it? Here she is, telling me about her family and where she's from, and I haven't told her a single thing about Ardmacha. Come on, Axel. Be brave for once!

However, he couldn't find the words to say, nor could he think of a good opening to bring it up.

To his surprise, though…

"Axel?" Natalie spoke next.

"H-Hm?" The Gligar was slightly startled. He didn't expect the Ledian to speak up next. "What is it, Natalie?"

"...S-Sorry if I'm makin' this weird…" she apologised. "I ain't good at talkin'..."

"No no, it's fine!" insisted Axel. "That's alright. I'm not the best at conversations either. Ish and Lill are usually way better than me at it."

"But yer way better 'n me at it." Natalie looked down glumly. "I wanna be good at talkin', but…"

"But…?"

"...Folks don't get me, 'cause of mah darned accent…" She sounded almost frustrated to say this.

"Your accent?" Is that what this is about? But that's… "Your accent's fine, Natalie! I like it!"

"Y-Ya do?" Natalie was surprised at this. "Please don't jus' be sayin' that…"

"I do! I like your accent! Really!"

"...Really?"

"Yeah! I mean, I don't find it hard to understand. At least compared with Ishmael, anyway."

"Oh yeah…he's got a funny one alright, don't he?"

"You bet your ass he does. That's not even going into all the weird slang he uses. Boy, can he be out there sometimes…"

"Like what?" Natalie sounded curious. Axel brightened up slightly.

"Well. Wanna guess what a 'china' is?" he said

"A china?" The Ledian titled her head. "He done called Sera n' me that 'fore…He sayin' we're friends?"

"Sort of. It's really 'china plate', which rhymes with 'mate'. It's rhyming slang," Axel explained. "So yeah, he is calling you a friend when he says that."

"...What?" Natalie looked baffled. "But why's he do that? That don't make sense. Yer just sayin' more words, ain't ya?"

"That's just how Ish works. Lill and I have kinda worked him out by this stage," the Gligar said. "Though every now and again, he throws us a curveball. He is one wacky crocodile, let me tell you…"

"But yer good friends with him, ain'tcha? It's kinda…part of the fun, ain't it?" Natalie said.

"You got that right." Axel smiled. "Ishmael can be gruff and pull pranks and can have a sewer of a mouth at times. But he's my best bud. I'd go with him on whatever crazy thing he wants to do. If he said tomorrow we were going to kick Mitrofan out of Selenia, I'd follow him. And I bet Lill would to."

"Wow…Ya sure are tight-knit."

"I know. And I wouldn't want it any other way."

Axel was about to continue, but at that moment, his stomach interrupted him with a growl.

"...Ya hungry?"

"Y-Yeah…" The Gligar felt embarrassed. "Didn't have anything to eat this morning, now that I think about it…But I'll go get something!" he immediately declared, getting up from the bench. "Do you want something too, Natalie?"

"Yeah, I guess…" the Ledian said. "Get whatever. I ain't fussy."

"Right." The Gligar then made his way to the square where the merchants were. He returned a short while later with six berries of different varieties.

"Three each," he offered, as he sat back on the bench.

"Thank ya." Natalie took a pecha berry and bit into it. "Mmm…Nice."

"Just in today, the Kecleon were saying," Axel said, before biting into his own berry - an aspear. "Wow, this is tasty. I love aspears, but these are really nice!" He took another bite out of the berry, and soon scarfed it down.

Natalie watched him as he reached for another and began eating that too. It was fairly mundane what they were doing. And it wasn't the first time she'd seen him eat - she and Serafina had had many breakfasts with Team Sandstream.

But this was the first time the two of them were alone eating together. And there was something about it that the Ledian couldn't quite place. But it was nicer, somehow? Sharing a snack with someone she knew that wasn't Serafina. And someone she felt wasn't too pushy or open with feelings.

I like him a bit more than Ishmael. That ol' croc's a bit loud fer me. Somethin' 'bout Axel's…just right, really.

Natalie allowed herself a small smile as she took a bite out of an oran berry. She noticed the Gligar had already finished his second, and was moving onto his last.

"What's your favourite berry, Natalie?" he wondered.

"Well…" The Ledian considered her answer. "S'pose it might be weird, but…pomeg berries."

"Pomeg berries?" Axel was surprised to hear that. "You don't come across those every day, do you?"

"Naw. Usually just for the noble folk. I had some when Sera invited me to dinner with her folks. It was this big dish that had pomeg berries in it, and they were really nice." She smiled at the memory.

"That sounds cool. We didn't have anything like that back home," Axel replied.

"Back home? Ya ain't Selenian, are ya?" Natalie queried.

"No." Axel shook his head. "Alban. So are Ish and Lill."

"Alba…Ain't been up there. It's a big desert, ain't it?"

"Pretty much. Though it's not so bad you can't live there. And stuff grows there, too, depending on where you live. Berries are pretty hardy things."

"They sure are."

The conversation stopped for a while. But the silence didn't quite feel as awkward this time. It was at least better than the silences that had come before.

"S-Sorry if I ain't much of a talker," apologised Natalie, trying to break the silence.

"Natalie, it's fine!" Axel said. "I'm not really good at talking either. I'm usually better in group conversations. Usually when Ish or Lill are around. But on my own?" He shrugged sheepishly. "I'm hopeless."

"Better 'n me…"

"Don't feel bad about it! H-Hey, how about this?" the Gligar suggested. "Let's not worry about talking. Let's just sit here, be quiet and enjoy the day. Because the weather really is nice today."

"Mmm…it is." Natalie had to agree. Even if the weather had been rather dry, it wasn't unbearably hot. It was pleasant, in fact.

And so the two remained sitting on that bench for some more time, basking in the sun in silence as suggested by Axel. This was better for them; there was no need to worry about trying to find a conversation starter or to keep that conversation going. Sometimes, the quietness between the two spoke more words than they ever could.

It was pleasant enough, and warm enough, that soon the Gligar found his eyes begin to droop. He laid his head back against the bench, and closed his eyes…

"...xel? Axel?"

A voice began to drag him out of consciousness. Also, he could feel himself being shaken lightly, as if he was being told to wake up. Five more minutes, Mom… he found himself lazily thinking.

But the shaking persisted, and with reluctance, the bat began to open his bleary eyes. He blinked as he began to open his eyes, and quickly became adjusted to the bright sunlight.

"A-Axel…"

That voice…Natalie? Axel turned to face her…only to realise something.

He was a lot closer to her than he had been. In fact, he'd been leaning on her shoulder while he slept.

"N-Natalie!" he cried out, moving off her as quickly as he could. "I-I swear, I didn't mean to!" His face was rapidly reddening. "D-Did I fall asleep on you?"

"Y-Ya kinda did, yeah…"

"I'm sorry!" he apologised. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I won't do it again!" He was frantic, fearing he'd upset his partner for the morning.

"H-Hey, Axel!" The Ledian actually raised her voice for once. "It's fine! Yer alright!"

"...S-Sorry. I didn't mean to do that..." Apology was written all over Axel's face.

"Y-Ya ain't done nothin' wrong." Natalie tried to sound calm, but the embarrassment in her voice and her blush gave her true feelings away. "I dozed too."

"You did?"

"Mmhm. Didn't mean ta, but I did. Didn't even notice ya were sleepin' too 'til I got up. It was a bit 'fore ya did."

"So we both fell asleep, then…" Axel rubbed some sleep from his eye. "Guess it's just that sort of day, huh?"

"Mus' be," murmured Natalie.

"...What time is it, anyway? How long were we out for?" The Gligar looked up at the sky. It looked to be afternoon, based on the sun's position.

"Dunno. 'Bout an hour, I reckon." The Ledian followed his gaze.

"That carpenter might be done with the ladder," Axel said. "Should we go check?"

"...Might as well." Natalie began to get up. Axel did the same.

"Oh, um…Natalie," he said. "Let's, um…Can we pretend that didn't happen?" Lill and Ish would never let me hear the end of it…

"Y-Yeah." The bug was quick to agree. "It don't mean nothin'. Better pretendin' it didn't happen."

"Good. Thanks, Natalie," Axel said gratefully.

"Yer welcome, I guess…"

Thankfully, the carpenter was as good as his word on his speed, presenting the duo with a brand new ladder. It was sturdier than the old one, and Axel and Natalie carried it back to the Guild. From there, they helped to get it in the right place, with the help of Ishmael and Lex below. It was soon in place, and missions could now be done again.

They soon went down into the Guild, and the two of them reunited with their respective teams.

"I was thinking of doing more missions, Natalie," Serafina said to her. "After this morning's delay, we should make haste towards helping others in need."

"Gotcha, Sera," Natalie replied.

"And Axel." The mention of his name drew the Gligar's attention. "I thank you for accompanying Natalie today. I presume it went well?"

"Oh, er…Y-Yeah! Yeah, it did," Axel quickly replied. "N-Nothing to report." He immediately regretted his stumbling of words.

"Yeah, e-everythin' went smoothly," Natalie said. "A-Ain't nothin' gone wrong. Y-Ya were very nice, Axel."

"Oh?" She's complimenting me? "Th-Thank you," the bat blurted, not sure what to say next.

"Anyway. Let's get goin'. Sun ain't gonna be up forever." Natalie turned heel and went over towards the mission desk with Serafina.

Axel watched her go. The compliment the Ledian had given him had given him a strange feeling inside his heart. Not a bad feeling by any means; quite the opposite. A smile came over him as he looked over at Natalie sifting through the missions.

She's really nice. I wouldn't mind another day like that. Just her and me together…

"Oi, Ax." Ishmael's voice drew him away from gazing at the Ledian. When he turned around, though, he caught the teasing grins on both his and Lillian's faces, and his smile turned upside down. Oh no…what are they gonna say?

"So how was the day with your new girlfriend?" Lillian went right for the jugular.

"L-Lill!" Axel protested, his face hot. "Sh-She's not - "

"'Swot they all say, mate," Ishmael interrupted. "Go on, jus' say it!"

"She's not my girlfriend!"

But they wouldn't hear it. And so the banter would continue on into the night, and the next day too.

However, though he protested otherwise, Axel couldn't deny feeling a soft spot for that shy farmgirl from Karelia. That morning with her, though shaky and awkward, was the first time they'd interacted on their lonesome, with no one else to interfere and ruin everything between them.

Maybe that was all that was needed for seeds of something greater to be sown.

Notes

This takes place during the present day part of Special Episode 1. Decided to give a fluffy episode to the awkward-on-his-own bat and the shy ladybug.