Don't actually think I have any yapping to do today! *My chapter setup literally says "Beginning yapping" and "Ending yapping" lol. Enjoy!

This time it was Connor's turn to wake up to Irelia's face hovering over him, Her eyes shone in the dimly lit room like diamonds. "You're fucking stupid, you know that?" She frowned as he slowly sat up.

"I've suffered much worse injuries. And Ajihad would have died if not for me."

"You could have died!" She looked pissed. "Also, why did you not tell me about your previous injuries!?" She said the last word with venom. "Angela said you had a BONE sticking out of your body. In no way is that a minor injury!"

She is right, you know!

"Okay, okay, I may have downplayed the injuries a little bit, but I heal fast and I'm already feeling better." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and slowly stood up.

"Take off your shirt." She crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry?"

"Armor off, shirt off. Now please." He couldn't tell if she was being serious or not, but he complied, taking off his armor. She looked at him exasperated, "Nobody is going to come in here, it's warded and locked. I simply want to inspect the job of healing you did to yourself."

Not daring to oppose her, Connor reached down and slowly took off his shirt. His whole chest was covered in dozens of large scars. He was lean, but still fit, and lacked any hair on his chest at all. Confused, Irelia just stared at his bare chest, "Do you remove the hair from your chest?"

"That's what you focus on?" He started laughing, harder and harder. He doubled over laughing, she started to giggle. He was laughing so hard he had to sit back down on the bed, Irelia eventually sitting down beside him laughing, bright pink.

Eventually, his laughter subsided. He stood back up, turning to face Irelia, still sitting down on the bed. "Yes, I do remove my chest hair with a spell, it looks quite horrible with all the scars that prevent hair growth." She nodded in understanding, still a bright pink and smiling. "So? Is my healing satisfactory?"

She reached out with her hand, stopping an inch before his bare chest, and slowly moving to touch his skin around his ribs. He flinched when she touched him, something she'd never seen before. She looked closely at the scar that was made by his own ribs. After a minute of inspection, her hand started to trail away and slowly started tracing a different scar.

"Irelia?" He looked down at her, blushing. She immediately turned red and pulled her hand back.

"Y-yeah, y-you're healed." Stammering and turning an even deeper shade of red, "You can put your shirt back on. I-if you want." He tilted his head and stared at her.

"Are you okay Irelia?" He asked her in the ancient language.

"Can you ask me that in english?" She looked away. He stepped closer to her, they were just inches apart from each other.

"I almost lost you already Connor. I've barely known you properly for a week, but I feel more connected to you than I have anyone else." She looked back up to him, staring straight into his eyes.

"Well, you are kind of my first real friend, I don't really think I can consider anyone else in the Varden as a proper friend. They're not vile towards me, unlike everyone in the kingdom." He smiled at her.

Suddenly, she closed the gap between them, hugging him tightly, her blades flowing around the both of them. Because he stood a few inches taller than her, she fit snugly against his bare chest. Connor was dumbfounded. After a few seconds of Irelia holding onto him, his arms eventually came up and awkwardly held her around the waist.

"Uh… Irelia, I-I don't really do emotions." He looked down at the top of her head to see her diamond eyes staring up at his, her eyes were deeper than any he'd ever seen, and they were glistening. An emotion came over him that he himself didn't even understand. "How can I help you Irelia?"

"Shut up," she shushed him and held him tighter, "Just tell me that you're okay, tell me that I'm okay."

"What if that's a lie though?"

"Lie to me."

"I'm sorry, but I won't lie to you, even if it's to make you feel better. I think the best I can do Irelia, is just being here for you." He raised his arms up her back to cradle her head. It was at this moment that Connor promised himself that he would do all he could to keep Irelia safe and happy, even if he had to sacrifice himself for her.

After a while of both of them standing there, embraced in each other's arms, Irelia eventually spoke up, "We're going to leave in a couple days for Du Weldenvarden. It'll be me and Murtagh with Thorn, I want you to come with us." She looked up at him, pulling slightly away from his body, his body immediately chilling. Connor just stared into her eyes.

"I-Irelia, thank you. For the.. Hug, I can't tell you the last time I was hugged. But what if I don't want to come with you to the forest?"

She gently pulled away from him, also feeling the immediate chill to her body, "Why wouldn't you want to come with us?" She was confused.

You're being an idiot.

"I don't want to lie to them about who I am, Irelia. The elves will capture me, imprison me, and probably eventually kill me. Rightfully so too, I have done some horrible things, things that benefited nobody, not even the king." He looked off into the distance, a distant memory in his mind, a memory that he was finally considering telling to someone. He whispered, so quiet that none could hear, "I've killed so many…"

"You're coming with me, Connor." She said firmly. "Also, Murtagh can get annoying, and I just don't want to separate with you yet." She started to blush again, stepping back closer to Connor. She put her hand on his chest, her fingers hovering around his most previous scar, the puncture scar from his own rib. "I won't let them hurt you, I promise." Deep down, he still doubted that she could protect him, but she was the one and only person he could trust.

"Irelia?" He held his arms up tentatively, she moved into his arms, hugging him tight again. Looking down at her, she was beautiful. He let out his breath that he didn't even know he was holding. He took a deep breath, breathing in her scent of fresh pine. "Okay, I'll go."

After they pulled away from the hug, Connor bent down to pick up his dropped shirt, Irelia stared at him for just a little too long. As soon as he stood up, she embraced him again. Maybe I could get used to this, he thought to himself as he pulled her closer.

Another shorter chapter, but still interesting I thought. Any thoughts on the plot so far? Next chapter will be the departure from Farthen Dur, and I think the whole journey might be a single chapter, not sure just yet. Thanks for reading though! 3 PS: Those random messages are not from Connor or Irelia, it will be revealed who is sending those messages and how.