She woke up once again startled. This time, it was a knocking sound from upstairs. Looking beside her, she’d seen that Nori had laid her down on the mattress but still had his arms wrapped around her. To her surprise he was still asleep despite the knocking. Gently reaching out, she places a hand on his chest to wake him up. 

“Did you need something?” he asks with a sleepy voice as he holds her hand to his chest.

“Someone’s knocking.” Kora says just before they’d heard another knock. 

Immediately jumping up, he says, “Stay here just a minute. I’ll check to make sure everything is okay.” Before he walked away, he leaned down and dropped a kiss on her forehead. 

As he reached the top of the stairs, Kora could hear the sound of the door unlocking and immediately recognized the voice of Jolfri. Despite straining to hear, she was unable to distinguish any of what they said. It didn’t take long before Nori returned downstairs and picked her up to carry her upstairs. 

As they make it upstairs, Kora looks around at the rest of the house and sighs in relief that the house wasn’t damaged. Looking around, she was surprised when she didn’t see Jafri anywhere. “Where’s Jolfri? I heard his voice earlier.”

“He just came to give me an update on how everything went last night. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but several people were injured. Elder Maize wants to see us after we’ve eaten and gotten dressed for the day.” he said as he looked her up and down before saying, “Why are you interested in Jolfri anyway? Did you want him to see you in your pajamas?”

Blushing, she looked down at her short nightdress and said, “No, I forgot that I was wearing this.” Without looking at him, she immediately walks to her room to change. 

After getting changed, they eat the food Jolfir brought and make their way to the Elder’s tent. On the way, they couldn’t help but see the devastation brought about from the monsters yesterday. Entire houses were destroyed and people were busy picking through the ruins and fixing what they could. Seeing the state of the village, the two of them couldn’t help but to walk to Elder Maize’s in silence. 

“You can’t split us up! She can’t protect herself yet.”

“I told you, she won’t be alone but you are needed elsewhere. If we can take out the monsters on the outskirts of the village, we can ensure the safety of more people.” Elder Maize reiterated to Nori for the umpteenth time. 

Although she had no desire to leave his side, she knew that this would be best for everyone’s safety. As one of the most skilled warriors, he was a vital part of the village and his contribution would save numerous lives. It was just bittersweet considering that they had just begun to make some progress in their relationship. “I’ll be fine. You should really go. They need you.” Kora says as she places a hand on his arm. 

Pulling her tightly to him, he says, “But I promised to protect you. I can’t do that if I’m not by your side.”

“You will be protecting me. You’ll just be stopping any threats before they have a chance to get close to me.”

“Are you really sure that you want me to go?”

“Yes, you need to go.”

“Good. Jolfri is waiting outside to give you an update on the situation and you will be departing tomorrow to your post. As for you Kora, I’d like to begin your first lesson.”

Reluctantly separating, Nori bends down to grace Kora’s forehead with a light kiss before he ducked out of the tent promising to pick her up later. 

They spent the lesson focusing on properly and efficiently accessing her essence and they finished the lesson learning how to levitate objects. She was only able to lift 2 books at a time by the end of the lesson but Elder Maize praised her saying that she was learning quicker than anyone she’d ever seen. 

However what she hadn’t expected was the exhaustion that comes with the use of her essence. Until she is able to properly control and exercise, Elder Maize told her she would continue to suffer physical effects. 

By the time Nori arrived to take her home, she was already fast asleep on the cushions. Picking her up gently, he holds her tight to his body as he carries her home. Despite being as careful as possible, she woke up as he was opening the front door. 

“Hey, sorry I fell asleep.”

“Don’t apologize, you look cute when you’re sleeping.”

A smile makes its way to her face before it is rapidly replaced with a frown. “You have to leave tomorrow, right?”

With a similar expression making itself home on his face as well, he replies, “Yeah, they want us to leave first thing in the morning.”

“Can I sleep with you tonight then?”

Surprise filling his face, he can only say, “What?!” The expression on his face betrays the true nature of his thoughts. 

“I mean, just sleeping, in the same bed. I just want to be near you before you have to leave.”

“Of course. They’ve advised us to sleep in our basements for now anyway, until the monsters are subdued.” 

Without another word, Nori didn’t hesitate to scoop her up into his arms and they made their way down to the basement. Although they both had many things to say, neither of them were willing to interrupt their last fragment of time together before they were separated for an indefinite amount of time. Clinging to each other and the fragile beginnings of their relationship they finally managed to fall asleep in the early hours of the morning.