Endless adventure

chapter 39

It was almost sunrise when the two defeated the last of the beasts. They didn't think it would've taken that long, but where both proven wrong. When they stepped into their hotel room Erza quickly equipped into some pajamas and all but jumped into the soft mattress that awaited her. She was tired and had all kinds of aches. Her lids felt heavy with sleep as she struggled to keep her eyes open now that she was in bed. The room was quiet safe for the shuffling and rustling of Archer ridding herself of her clothes. She was still filthy after getting buried in the earth earlier. She wasn't a fan of the dirt she was covered in. Erza shifted, pulling the blanket into her arms and hugging it tightly as she watched Archer quickly undress. She left a trail of clothes in her wake as she made a beeline for the bathroom. She didn't seem tired at all. Did she even need sleep? Erza noticed that Archer could spend an entire night awake and still be full of energy the next day.

There was a click as the door to the bathroom closed. Soon there was the sound of rushing water as the shower was turned on. Erza wiggled slightly when she felt Silver trying to get between her and the blankets she was clinging to.

"There are many other places you can sleep, you know" Erza informed once Silver popped her head out the blanket. Her ears twitched quickly as she eyed her. She said nothing to the redhead and soon looked away. Erza watched as she climbed out of the blankets and higher up her body. She came to stop at her stomach and slowly forced herself into Erza's arms.

There was a comfortable silence between the two as they both listened to the sound of the shower. It was really calming and enough to almost lull them both to sleep. Erza could feel her eyes closing when the door to the bathroom opened again. Archer came walking out with a towel on her head and fully dressed. Her hair was very long. When in the usual pony tail it already reached past her waist. When let down it was reaching her knees. She never asked why she let her hair grow out like that.

"Why's your hair so long?"

Archer hummed to the question as she worked on drying said long hair.

"Because I let it grow out of course" she replied with a chuckle, knowing that was not what Erza wanted to hear. She turned around just in time to find Erza looking at her with a blank face. She snickered at that, but still did not reveal the truth. She turned back to the mirror she was facing and continued the task of drying her hair. The towel was infused with warmth which helped achieve the goal she was going towards. With her hair acceptably dry she took a moment to consider. What should she do with it? It was always a nightly question. Her hair was long and that was sometimes troublesome. She didn't know why she always wasted time wondering what she'll do with her hair when she always just pulls it into her trademark pony tail and goes to sleep.

"I can braid your hair for you" Erza suggested having slowly come to realize why Archer lingered in front of the mirror.

"Aren't you in desperate need of sleep?" Archer quirked a brow in question even as she dutifully approached the bed. She understood that Erza would insist on doing her hair no matter what she said.

"I'll survive" Erza sat up and moved to the edge of the bed as Archer sat herself on the floor.

Archer replied with another hum as she toyed with a single strand of hair. She watched the way the light seemed to bounce off it curiously.

"Are you going to answer my question?" Erza wondered, slowly running her fingers through soft silver locks. At her side Silver rested her head in her lap before promptly going back to sleep. She had a long night and would need to recover her loss of sleep as soon as possible.

"My hair is a representation of who I am" Archer found herself saying, remembering the words of her father. "Or so my father said anyway" she admitted.