Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Vahn spent about twenty minutes bathing with the three girls. After Tiona voluntarily washed his back, she remarked about how warm his body was in the cold water and stuck close to him afterward. Curious about the claim, Tione put her palm on Vahn's chest and was surprised to find that he was like a furnace even in the chilled environment. She was almost tempted to replace Tiona, but seeing the glint in her sister's eye made her feel a little intimidated.

Afterward, everyone got dressed and made their way back to the campsite. Halfway along the path, they came across Lefiya standing next to a tree that looked like it had been used for martial arts training. Vahn thought it was a bit strange, and then he noticed the abrasions on Lefiya's tiny fists. Frowning, Vahn grabbed her hands and started healing them, much to the girl's surprise and apparent frustration. After telling her to be more careful with her training, Vahn continued along the trail, leaving behind a stunned and befuddled Lefiya who was teased by Tione.

It was still early back at camp, but many people had awoken by now. The site was alive with the hustle-and-bustle of people going about their business and performing their various duties. After saying a short goodbye, everyone split into two separate groups to tend to their respective tasks. Tione, Ais, and Lefiya left to seek out Rivera and await orders from Finn, while Tiona followed Vahn to the Hephaestus Familia tents.

Similar to the previous day, Tiona stuck very close to Vahn, but this time she didn't seem like she was trying to prevent him from running away. Instead, she stood very near to him and, as they walked, they would periodically come into contact with each other while making small talk. Vahn had been curious about the village of the Amazons, Telskyura, and inquired about what kind of place it was.

Tiona seemed to think for a moment with a strange melancholy present in her still smiling face. To Vahn, he felt her eyes showed an uncharacteristic sadness, which made him feel uncomfortable. While she was still thinking, Vahn reached out his hand to pat her head. From his experience, most of the girls he interacted with seemed to enjoy when he did so and they would appear more at ease.

Tiona didn't seem to be the exception to his, as she nuzzled her hair against his palm with the melancholy in her eyes vanishing in an instant.

"It is kind of a sad and harsh place, but it wasn't all bad. As you'd expect, everyone there are Amazons and are led by the Goddess Kali. Men aren't allowed in the village, but there is a small settlement of would-be suitors not far. Some men think they have a chance of courting an Amazon if they are 'conveniently' nearby, but it rarely happens." Tiona laughed at the last part of her soliloquy.

Vahn was curious, so he asked, "Why does it only happen rarely?" In response to his question, Tiona leaned against him and reached her arms around the back of his neck. Pressing her body to his chest, she looked into Vahn's eyes with a 'predatory' expression as she slowly enunciated. "It is the instinct of Amazons to desire strong men. Men that think they can take a shortcut to try and win the heart of an Amazon are usually weak-willed and even weaker in strength."

As Tiona slowly closed the distance between their faces, Vahn could feel his heartbeat begin to accelerate and a cloudy haze filled his mind. Staring into the eyes of the approaching Tiona, Vahn remarked, "But, I'm not that strong. There are many people stronger than me." Even as Vahn spoke the words, he felt like there was something strange in them, almost as if he was making an excuse.

Tiona hummed slightly, it was like she found his words very amusing. With their noses practically touching, she spoke once more. "You are strong Vahn...and I can tell you will become even stronger in the future. That is why 'my' instincts are telling me." As she finished her words, she leaned forward and gently kissed Vahn's lips.

Vahn's mind completely blanked the moment their lips touched and he spread out his hands almost like he was afraid to touch anything in his absent state-of-mind. Tiona, as if unaware of his distress, continued kissing Vahn and even pulled his head more firmly toward her own. After a few seconds, she finally released him and stared toward Vahn's face with a mild blush covering her healthy browned skin.

"You know, I don't mind being the one to kiss others...But, I'd be happier to be on the receiving end some day." After she spoke the words, Tiona spun around with her hands behind her back and walked away while humming a happy tune. Vahn followed her figure in a daze and for the first time began looking at her slightly differently. His eyes wandered from her head, down the line of her uncovered back, past the cloth wrapping her waist, and all the way down to her bare feet. He just stood there in stunned silence until she had long disappeared through the assortment of tents.

Reaching his hand to his lips, Vahn couldn't help but mumble, "That was my first kiss..." For some reason, the thought brought a blush to his face and Vahn felt an uncomfortable yet pleasant feeling build up in his body when he began recollecting the event. Her lips were very soft, and he could remember the heat from her body pressing itself against his own. Vahn became increasingly fl.u.s.tered the longer he thought about the scene and felt a strong urge to run off into the woods and destroy something.

In all of Vahn's interactions with women, he had never considered the greater implications behind his, or their, actions. He knew he enjoyed being around them, but he never experienced such conflicting emotions before and didn't know how to deal with them. Now that Tiona had kissed him, he began to worry that all of his previous experiences were actually more intimate that he had realized. He began replaying all of his memories and looking at them through a 'new perspective', and Vahn couldn't help but feel the frustration in his body build to a critical point.

Finally, unable to deal with the emotions anymore, in a manner very reminiscent of Lefiya's scene from earlier, Vahn ran off into the forest. For nearly an hour after that, people within the campsite could hear the sounds of destruction in the distance. It was the sound of trees falling and boulders being shattered. Those with better hearing could even pick up the anguished cry of a young boy who sounded like an aggrieved spirit.

---

Within a large tent in the center of the camp, Tiona was sitting on a table while dangling her legs about. A large smile was plastered on her face as she hummed a tune with her eyes closed. When asked why she was so happy by the other girls, she acted like a bashful maiden and laughed in a silly manner while holding her cheeks. "I had my first kiss with Vahn~" Hearing her response, her sister Tione seemed to suffer a massive mental blow, as she ran out of the tent screaming, "Captaaaain~!"

The group watched Tione depart into the distance, almost as if she had some kind of beacon showing her the way to Finn. Ais seemed to furrow her brows a bit as she looked at Tiona's beaming face. "He kissed you?" Hearing Ais's question, Lefiya began to frown from the side while Tiona just answered directly, "Not yet. I had to kiss him, but I think it was his first kiss too, so I'm very happy~"

Ais's expression relaxed a bit, while Lefiya's seemed to only get worse. Remembering everything she had experienced with Vahn, Lefiya had a lot of conflicting emotions. But, the one she was sure about was, she didn't like seeing Ais pay so much attention to him. Even though she knew Ais was actually a lot kinder than people thought, Lefiya felt a bit jealous seeing Ais concerned about a boy. Especially a handsome boy that was similar in age...Suddenly, Lefiya's thoughts wandered a bit and she had to cover her fiercely blushing face.

Riveria was watching the strange scene with a mildly shocked expression. She couldn't imagine what Vahn had done to impact all the young women in the group so severely in such a short period of time. Riveria was also interested in Vahn, primarily due to his strange ability to manipulate the elements, but she didn't think his act of killing the Goliath was enough to affect the hearts of Level 5 adventurers. She began to grow more interested in the boy and wondered if he harbored any more secrets she was unaware of.

---

Finn was heading back from Riviria, the settlement near the large tree, and he had a grim expression on his face. Gareth too walked with a solemn countenance and kept silent for the duration of their trip. He was in the area when Finn received the order, and he knew things were going to be troublesome in the coming days.

They had been assigned the task of subjugating the Juggernaut on the 13th floor, primarily due to the fact that it had killed a number of adventurers already. The people of the City wanted answers, and it fell to the Loki Familia to find out the reasons behind its appearance; the Guild felt that waiting too long would make the future investigation too difficult so they issued an emergency mission which was approved by their goddess Loki.

Finn was busy thinking about the best way to distribute manpower and determine the most appropriate course of action to take. They definitely had the numbers to take on the beast, but it wouldn't be an easy fight no matter how cautious he chose to be. The biggest problem he faced was dealing with the Hephaestus Familia and making sure they understood the necessity of the current task.

This expedition they were on had been at the request of the Hephaestus Familia so they would be able to safely gather materials between the 25th and 30th floors. Some materials needed to be carefully harvested and weren't suitable to be retrieved by adventurers. The Loki had accepted the task of being their escorts, and the commission fee was already paid in full. Finn didn't want to abandon the mission, as it could harm the reputation of the Loki Familia, but he couldn't ignore the emergency mission either. Hopefully, things would work out and they would be able to complete both without any major problems...

While Finn was lost in his own thoughts, a slight rumbling could be felt through the ground. Thinking it was some beast that had ascended from the lower floors, Finn and Gareth got into combat stances and stressed their senses to detect the incoming threat. In his state of heightened awareness, Finn could hear the sound of a woman screaming in a frantic manner. He even thought, though he couldn't understand why, the girl seemed to be shouting his name...

A few moments later, the yell became clear in the ears of both Gareth and Finn and they quickly ran toward the direction it came from. The voice belonged to one of their companions, Tione, and she sounded like she was in a state of duress. Something urgent must have happened at the campsite to force her to seek Finn out. With the worst in mind, they increased their pace and doubled their efforts to meet Tione as quickly as possible to discover what the matter was.

After a short period of time, the three made visual contact with each other and Finn's mind entered an emergency state. He could see that Tione seemed visibly fl.u.s.tered, almost like her life was on the line as she waved toward his direction. Thoughts of what could have occurred to make a Level 5 act in such dire straights began to pass through his mind as they quickly closed the gap. When they were a few meters apart, just as Finn was about to have Tione explain the situation, she suddenly launched herself toward him.

"Caaaaptain!! Quick, give me a kiss!" Tione shot at Finn like a bullet, and even though he was in a dazed state of mind, he quickly evaded the human missile. Gareth looked at Finn with a humorous expression and began to laugh while hoisting his axe onto his shoulder. "Good luck, Finn." With those parting words, Gareth began walking toward the campsite while issuing an amused and explosive laugh from time to time.

Finn could feel the veins in his temples twitching furiously as he looked toward Tione who seemed devasted that he dodged her 'attack'. "What is this about Tione..." With an aggrieved expression, Tione turned toward him while rubbing her nose. "Its not fair Captain. Tiona shouldn't be able to get the march on me, the older sister. I want a kiss too!" With crocodile tears, Tione tried acting pitiable before once again launching herself toward Finn.

Dodging her second 'attack', Finn sighed deeply before walking toward the campsite. "Let's go Tione, there are important matters to discuss." After he spoke, Finn didn't bother to entertain her anymore. Tione vaulted from the ground after hearing his words and shouted, "Yes, Captain!" before following him obediently. Though, she wasn't too obedient as, during the rest of the trip, she would occasionally sneak glances at Finn's lips with an expression of desire plastered on her face.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Finn is 40, Tione is 14','Tiona gets ahead','Vahn's brain gets broken','Deforestation')