𝚂𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙰𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠 (𝙰𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚡 𝙾𝙲)

Chapter 9 - Chit Chat

He hadn't found her in time. The fountain was left empty, and so Bayler had no choice but to return home to sleep off the effects of the dandelion wine. All through that afternoon he allowed himself to dream of Amber, for her scent was all over his sheets. It wasn't such a bad thing, being able to feel her presence next to him, but it was strange. He wasn't sure if he liked the idea of starting a relationship.

And so as the hours passed, his rest was fitful with countless recollections and ideas of why he should've denied the idea. Of course, now that he was shooting at Stormterror's Lair, his thoughts were a bit... breezy.

His black trench coat billowed around him, tugging at his body. The purple cross stitch pattern on his undershirt couldn't be seen past the blowing collar. As for his mask and hair, both were far from neat and tidy. The high winds in the grassy slopes were complicated enough already, but he was one step closer to facing the Traveler.

Amber and Lumine were chatting off to the side, Paimon, of course, did all of the talking. Bayler was shooting after Lumine and Julie were facing off, and their round hadn't been called yet. Until that moment came up, they were discussing on their own.

"Can you believe this place is still standing?!" Amber exclaimed with excitement. "It's been so long since we first met!"

Paimon kicked her little legs. "Paimon remembers! We were just getting started on our journey."

Bayler listened in. He had tried speaking earlier on in the conversation, but Amber had quieted down and stared at the two of them the entire time. His previous confidence diminished to about nothing since the day before. While it was still his objective to talk to Amber, he wasn't sure the time was right.

Amber smiled. "I taught you how to use a wind glider!" She suddenly turned toward him and grabbed onto his shoulder. "Perhaps I can teach you someday, right?"

Suddenly very awkward, Bayler felt a slight brush rise to his cheeks. "I'm open to learn whenever you feel I'm ready for it."

"Betcha can't keep up with me!" She bounced back and gave them both a peace sign. "I'll remain the champ for as long as I live!"

Bayler nodded his head slowly. The Traveler looked just as amused as he was. "I'm glad you have some goals to occupy your mind."

Amber smiled. "Oh, I have plenty of goals! Not as ambitious as the Honorary Knight here, but it doesn't mean they are any less important!"

A large doll appeared in Amber's arms. Well, he wouldn't really call it a doll, but Bayler wasn't sure what to call it. It was dressed like Amber and had a cute face almost "sewn" on. Amber snuggled it and threw it into the air for it to suddenly disappear.

"Go, go, Baron Bunny!" Paimon suddenly exclaimed. "Have you made more of those?"

Amber shrugged. "I've been busy with assignments to work on some! I'd like to make their explosions even bigger, and when I shoot at them, they'll explode instead of dance for longer!"

Bayler, surprised, nearly choked on his own spit. "Did you just say explode?"

Paimon turned her plump little body toward him. "Yeah! Baron Bunny is one of Amber's little exploding companions. She's thankfully more tame than Klee-"

"Who's Klee?" he asked.

Amber shuddered. "Klee? She can be a bit cheeky sometimes, but everyone in the Knights of Favonius likes her. Although... I really ought to keep a closer eye on her if I wanna keep her from getting put in confinement by Jean again."

"She's a cute little girl!" Paimon continued. "She's the Spark Knight!"

Bayler was suddenly very afraid that there was a small child running around with bombs worse than... Baron Bunnies? Was that what they were called? He was spacing out quite a bit and this was the only topic that was just now catching his attention. Perhaps bombs like that would've been helpful back in Inazuma. They'd surely keep the crystal flies away from the crops.