KnightessCiela

Ciela chuckled at Wulfrin, "Solaris didn't take very long to warm up to me. Actually, I'm pretty sure the first quest he tagged along for, he was more keen to be close to me than he was to you." Ciela smiled and pet Solaris, then gave pets to Perlita so she wouldn't feel left out." As Wulfrin explained his shop to Siraius, Ciela piped up. "I also have a shop. It's not anything fancy just a little bakery on floor 22 not far from Wulfrin's forge."

"We need to get him started on the first lessons," Ciela looked up at Wulfrin. She remembered the first time they'd met and Wulfrin keeping tabs on where the mayor spawned, "So where do you think Dorian will be this time?" Ciela got them on the path to Tolbana. As they walked along the path, Ciela would stop for a moment and look for materials. She was determined to find something on this trip since previous attempts at foraging have all been a struggle. This trip was starting to seem the same way.

* * *

Ciela, still groggy snapped herself awake when she heard her real name spoken by a familiar voice. "Khyrion? What are you doing here?" She looked back and forth at both Wulfrin and her old friend Khyrion confusedly, her mind must have still been half asleep. Then it clicks, "WAIT A DAMN SECOND! You two know each other??? Cause I know you didn't message me." She checked her messages just to be safe but there was nothing there.

Ciela let go of Wulfrin and walked over to Khyrion, giving him a tight hug. "I didn't think I'd ever see you in here. At least I hoped I wouldn't." She let go of her old friend. "Also its KnightessCiela in here. But some people call me Knight, Knightess, or Ciela to make a long name shorter." She smiled at him and returned to Wulfrin, and held his hand. 

Ciela looked back at Khyrion and her little sea otter Perlita strayed from Ciela and Wulfrin. Perlita was now running circles around Khyrion. Ciela laughed, "Well Perlita definitely likes you."

Ciela grumbled. Before she could even get her gear on, she was dragged away to the teleport gate. They were back in the town of beginnings once more. When they finally had a moment, she swapped out of her pajamas and into her actual clothes. Then she donned her armor. "Hey Mr. Speedy Man, what the heck? I didn't even get to change out of my clothes before leaving the house!" She scowled at Wulfrin. "You're lucky I like you." Ciela elbowed him in the arm gently.

"So who are we meeting up with? Freyd? I can't imagine he'd need help on the lower floors. Maybe Morningstar? Even then he's pretty powerful right?" She looked at him puzzledly. "I guess I can't complain about foraging experience. I really need to rank up." She let out an exasperated sigh. Perlita was running around the two, excited to be in a new place, with all new people. 

Ciela giggled, she enjoyed the energy of all her companions. "I will never understand how and of you have this much energy this early in the morning." She leans up against Wulfrin sleepily, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Ciela was happy that Wulfrin was enjoying her food. She began eating as well. As Wulfrin asked her, "Would you consider us an item at this point?" She choked on her sandwich, she coughed and cleared her throat. "Wh- Well- Uh... I mean yeah. I'd definitely consider us an item. I definitely felt the chemistry as well. I just didn't wanna say anything in case you weren't feeling it too." She looked down. "I've been very happy these past few weeks. I didn't know if saying something would ruin it.." 

She finished her food and cleared her and Wulfrin's plates once they were both done eating. "So we're definitely a thing right? Those kisses we shared definitely had a spark right? I'm not imagining that?" She asked softly but frantically. She seemed to be a little bit panicked, due to the situation. She began to wash their plates and attempted to take a deep breath.

As Solaris glowed and Wulfrin triumphed very loudly, Ciela smiled and clapped for the pair. "I told you that you could do it. Maybe my little pep talk finally knocked some sense into Solaris' stubborn little head." Ciela looked to Wulfrin. "So... Are you ready for lunch?" 

Ciela went back into Wulfrin's house and put an apron on over her clothes. She was still in her sleep clothes since they were staying at home. She was wearing a pink shirt that hung off of her shoulder, the black workout shorts she was wearing were at about her upper thigh and she was wearing little ankle socks. As she slid around the kitchen it looked like a mad scientists laboratory. She finished cooking and placed two sandwiches on the table. She walked to where Solaris and Perlita usually ate and set them each a plate of carrots and a little fish sandwich.

The sandwiches that Ciela made for her and Wulfrin were beautifully stacked. From top to bottom it had a bun, cheese, shredded roast beef, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and a top bun. It had a little toothpick in the top to hold it all together. As a side Ciela had made them french fries. In the middle of the table Ciela had laid out a platter of carrots and homemade restaurant style ranch. So far this was the prettiest thing she's cooked. 

She looked to Wulfrin, who had followed her in from outside. She was flustered as she'd never really been watched while she was cooking before. "Well? What do you think? Feel free to dig in and give me your thoughts afterwards."

* * *

Ciela had just awoken for the day, due to a very rude little fire chicken. "What Solaris? Why aren't you with Wulfrin at the forge??" Ciela begins falling back asleep on the couch. As Solaris pulls at her loose sleep shirt in protest, she grumbles. "Fine. Fine. I'm up. I'm up. Perlita, it's time to get up for the day." 

Ciela's hair was all kinds of wonky, you would think she stuck a fork in a socket and got electrocuted. She was wearing a shirt that hung off her shoulder and a pair of upper-thigh length workout shorts. "What do you need Solaris? Do you need me to go down to the forge this early in the morning and this urgently?" Solaris screeches in protest flying back through the front door. "God, this bird will be the death of me." Ciela pulls up the menu to see what time it is. "Why the hell did he wake me at 8 am. Solaris and Wulfrin should both know I like to sleep in till at least 10 am."

Ciela grumbles once more and picks up Perlita, who is also half asleep and starts to head out the door.

* * *

"Well, after lunch I'm not really sure. Is there anything you'd like to do? I'm up for anything." Ciela watches Wulfrin get up and sits where he was sitting. She smiles at Wulfrin, "You got this baby." She looks over to Solaris and begins to scold him like he's a child, "Solaris, stop being stubborn alright? This is really important and you being stubborn isn't doing what you think it's doing." 

Ciela pretended to know what was going on in the bird's brain as she scolded him. She figured she should probably attempt to look for materials. She began searching through random tufts of grass, hoping the menu would tell her she found something so she could start baking in her shop. She really wanted to get started on making food for the shop.

Perlita was back in the pond just swimming away. After a moment, Perlita just floats and seems to take a little nap. "Poor dear is tired from all the excitement today." Ciela looks to Wulfrin, watching him and Solaris train. 

* * *

"Welcome to Fondante's Inferno!" Ciela said right before peeking out from the back. "Oh hi Morningstar!" She smiled at him, remembering him from when she made the trip to his shop. "You wanna place an order??? You're actually my first customer!" She was very excited and it showed in her voice and on her face. She got out her notepad, "What would you like?" Ciela wrote down exactly what he wanted on her little notepad.

"Give me a few moments! Please sit a spell and enjoy the view. We also have coffee or tea to sip on while you wait!" Ciela smiles at him and then disappears into the back.

After a few moments she returns to the counter with a pink metal tin with the symbol for Fondante's Inferno painted onto the lid. The symbol was an emblazoned heart with an FI in the middle. "Here you go! One wagon wheel ripe for snacking!" She smiled and handed the tin to Morningstar.

* * *

Item ready for pickup:

Wagon Wheel | T1 Perfect Snack | ID: 221131
Loot Die III
[desc.] Two biscuits with a marshmallow filling and a chocolate coating. A kid might trade his whole lunch for a crumb of this delicious snack. On the top of one of the biscuits is the signet of Fondante's Inferno, which is a emblazoned heart with an FI in the middle.

New Item Crafts:

Wagon Wheel | T1 Perfect Snack | ID: 221131
Loot Die III
[desc.] Two biscuits with a marshmallow filling and a chocolate coating. A kid might trade his whole lunch for a crumb of this delicious snack. On the top of one of the biscuits is the signet of Fondante's Inferno, which is a emblazoned heart with an FI in the middle.

Materials paid during crafting process.

"So it's probably gonna be on you then." Ciela smirked and walked back up to the boulder. She reeled back once more, and put all her force into this punch. It felt like it was even less effective than last time. This whole motion was becoming routine at this point. She waited a moment for the crack in the boulder to widen. Once it finally expanded, she started to step back toward Wulfrin.

"When you get the last hit, where are you gonna take me Mr. Knight?" She smirked as she got next to Wulfrin, and waited for him to walk up to the boulder and take his next shot.

"You haven't missed yet an attack yet have you? Lucky duck. I wish I could be consistent like that. I guess I at least have MIT going for me and I can't get hit as easily." She smiled at him. "I guess that's better than nothing. I figure now that I'm in Tier 2 I can start actually tanking things and maybe go on actual quests with you, like couples do."

As she realized what she stated, she blushed slightly. She figured she would let him determine what she meant, knowing if she would attempt to explain herself that she would probably struggle to talk.

* * *

Ciela and Perlita prepped for their next training session. "Perlita, we're gonna attempt your hops again. This time a bit higher though alright?" Ciela holds the fish about a foot or two away from her little otter on the bench. "Hop at the fish and hold tight until I let go." Ciela stated as she gestured to the fish. 

Perlita takes a small step back, almost as if she's afraid but then sees the smile of Ciela and runs and hops off of the bench. Perlita latches onto the fish right in the middle. "Good job Perlita! Now hold onto it." After a moment Ciela gently sets Perlita and the fish down on the ground and pets Perlita's head. "You earned that Perlita." 

Perlita finishes her fish and Ciela watches as Perlita sparkles and flashes for a moment. "Huh, that was-" Ciela was cut off by the menu popping up in front of her face. Ciela takes a moment to read the menu and closes it. "Well I guess we're done."

Ciela looks to Wulfrin, and places a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You'll get it. I promise. It's definitely not easy. I wish I could give you some tips and tricks..." She tilted her head and scratched her neck, "But- and I'm reluctant to admit this, the only training I've done with birds was teaching them curse words. Cause it's funny to hear a parrot curse at people." 

Ciela scoots up closer to Wulfrin, "I know something that will make you feel better." Ciela places her hand on his cheek and leans down to kiss him very softly. She pulls away from the kiss and whispers, "You've got this, alright? I believe in you."

* * *

Ciela picked up Perlita and held her close to her chest. "We're definitely getting it down too. I think it's a rhythm thing. No, that can't be right. Synergy? No, I don't think that's right either. Synchronous? Maybe? Anyway- We become more used to the way they work, and they get used to the way we work. It's forming a relationship 101. I've also trained puppies before so this has been a snap so far."

"Sea otters are basically just ocean puppies, they're cute, cuddly, and love attention and food. So it's pretty similar. I figure once we've gotten our little buddies trained, I'll make us some lunch! As I stated earlier I've got something really tasty planned." She smiled and booped Wulfrin's nose gently.

"Back to training I suppose! We're almost there Perlita, I can feel it!" Ciela picked up Perlita and placed her on the bench outside Wulfrin's house, preparing for their next training session.

* * *

Ciela scoffed and walked up to the boulder. "All right Boulder, take this!" She performed her same routine, she reeled back and her fist collided with the rock once more. Ciela watched as the crack in the boulder spread a little wider. 

As she returned to Wulfrin once more, she noticed his face was reddened. She decided she was going to tease him. She got up really close to his ear and whispered softly and very sultry, "If you want me to make you dinner, you just have to ask nicely and I'll do it." She smirked as she gestured for him to move forward. As Wulfrin moved forward she was sure that his face was almost redder than his coat. She smiled to herself.

She crossed her arms confidently. She thought to herself that they would be done in no time just like Wulfrin stated earlier. She stood back and watched as Wulfrin took his crack at the boulder.

* * *

Wulfrin and Ciela both seemed to be having a lot of luck when training their familiars. "I hope you and Solaris do well during this next little training moment." Ciela smiled at Wulfrin, "Do you mind if I use the pond for a moment?" 

After a moment, Ciela pets Perlita. "Alright Perlita, it's your time to shine. Go catch your own fishies this time." The pair approach the pond and Perlita performs a little hop and goes into the water. As Perlita zooms and zips through the pond, Ciela sat on the little stones directly in front of the pond.

After a few minutes Perlita pops her little head out of the water and she's got two fish vertically in her mouth. "Great job Perlita! You may enjoy your fishies!" 

After Perlita finishes her treat, the pair return to Wulfrin and Solaris. "How's y'all's training going? I hope it's going as good as ours is."

* * *

Wulfrin's encouraging words were well, encouraging. She reeled back once more and her fist collided with the rock. She looked closely as the crack expanded but only by a little bit. 

Ciela was excited and hugged Wulfrin to celebrate. She decided to be cheeky and gently placed her hands on Wulfrin's cheeks and placed a soft and gentle kiss on his lips. After a moment she pulled away and gestured at the boulder. "Your turn."

Ciela had trumpets sounding in her head because she hit the boulder. It was only 1 DMG but it was a hit nonetheless. Before the system had registered this attack as a hit, she honestly thought that she was never going to actually hit this boulder. And she was grateful for Wulfrin being there because if he wasn't this would take ages. "Thank you for coming along once more, if you wouldn't have I'd probably be the same age as Master Yunxiang by the time the boulder would even begin to crack."

* * *

Ciela looked at Wulfrin, "Well- I.. uhm.. yes it did. Am I still slightly frustrated that I can't seem to actually hurt the dang rock? Yes. But I'm not so mad anymore." She took a deep breath in and focused on her punch. She reeled back and then let loose her fist, colliding with the rock. She took a deep breath and waited a moment to see if it would crack... nothing.

Taking a step back she gestured toward the boulder, "Take another crack at it, pun intended." She tried to keep a smile on her face for Wulfrin's sake but inside she was definitely kicking herself. The game up to this point had been pretty easy for her, and now she was beginning to struggle. For some reason the system just has a vendetta against her for the moment, at least that's what she's thinking.

She perks up, if not for keeping up with appearances and cheers Wulfrin on, "Punch that rock good honey! Get revenge on it's boulderiness!" She facepalmed at the last word, she couldn't believe she even said it. But alas, she moved on and continued to cheer Wulfrin on, hoping the next punch she let loose would actually land.

* * *

She was seething, when all of a sudden she felt a hand on her shoulder. Wulfrin had placed his hand on her shoulder and spun her around to face him. She blushed as their eyes met. "I kn-," Ciela began speaking but was quickly cut off by Wulfrin placing a quick but gentle kiss upon her lips. Once again she was redder than a tomato fresh off the vine. She brushed her fingers gently across her lips as she thought about the kiss that was just placed upon her lips.

Wulfrin then donned his armor and pretended that nothing happened, she began protesting. "HEY- WHA- You can't just- What the HELL?" She stammered through her words, she breathed deeply and formulated a sentence carefully before she let it leave her lips. She calmly stated, "Warn a girl next time."

She then focused her attention to the boulder. She reeled back and put all of her force into the punch. Boy did she regret that. As her fist connected with the rock, she immediately felt a sharp pain on her fist. "I know it doesn't hurt as bad because of the pain absorbers but it still hurts." She let out a soft sniffle as she rubbed her fist.

* * *

"Protection is probably the one I'll go for." Ciela materialized another fish for Perlita and pointed to the tree, "See the bullseye Perlita, go and hit it." Ciela watched as Perlita hopped up and booped the middle of the target with her nose.

Ciela was so excited, she hopped up and down while clapping until Perlita returned to her. "Perlita! That was so good! I'm so proud." Ciela handed Perlita the fish and let her eat. All you could hear in between all the sounds of the floor was Perlita's loud happy squeaks as she chomped on the fish.

Ciela continued to pet Perlita and looked over at Wulfrin and Solaris, who had also both just had success while training. "Good job you two, that's my boys." Ciela flashed Wulfrin a smile and continued to pet Perlita. 

She decided to take a moment and just enjoy the ambiance of the floor, she laid back in the grass and Perlita climbed onto her stomach and snuggled up to her, making little whining sounds. "Do you want more pets Perlita?" Perlita lets out a loud squeak as she nudges Ciela's hand. Ciela then began to pet Perlita once more, she didn't mind the fact that Perlita loved attention as she enjoyed the company of not only Perlita but also Wulfrin and Solaris.

* * *

Ciela feeling defeated after that whole show that happened, forced herself to perk up. "I bet it's fine! You're just exaggerating." Ciela swapped to her swimsuit, after seeing Wulfrin swap to his beach attire. She waded over to where the waterfall and sat beneath the waterfall just as Master Yunxiang stated. 

She struggled to stay upward under the intense strength of the waterfall, for some reason she just felt powerless. As she kept getting knocked down by the sheer power of the water, the fire and anger in her eyes grew bigger. 

After a few minutes under the waterfall, she dove into the small pond surrounding the waterfall. Whilst underwater she led out a loud blood curdling anger filled scream, then popped up out of the water like nothing happened. 

"Well Master, what next?" Ciela said, seething with anger. Master Yunxiang calmly responded, "Now you must take on the boulder using only your fists!"

Ciela blinked and reluctantly walked over to where the monk had pointed. She walked in front of the boulder, and took a deep breath. "I have to fight a literal freaking boulder!?" She could've erupted at that moment, but she breathed deeply and attempted to calm herself.

* * *

Ciela took a moment, making sure Perlita was comforted. "You'll get it next time, I promise." Ciela could see sadness in the otter's eyes. 

"I figured it might take a while, we can always take a break for lunch later. I have something tasty planned!" Ciela smiled and watched Solaris and Wulfrin attempt training, he wasn't having any better luck than she and Perlita were.

Ciela went over to a tree and cut a bullseye into it, setting up for her next training challenge. She decided to look in a nearby bush and see if she could find any materials. No luck.

"You're welcome to use this target for training if you'd like darling." She then looks over to Solaris, "If you leave the tree intact and don't burn it, I'll give you a treat." Ciela then walks closer to the pair, kissing Wulfrin on the cheek. "I'm sure you'll get it next time."

* * *

Ciela continued up the path that Wulfrin led her down. As he called her baby, she became flustered. "Of course, babe!" Then continued up the path. As the pair continued, they finally reached the dojo. As they did an old monk emerges from what seems like nowhere and greets them, "What do you seek here?" 

Ciela blinks as the monk came out of nowhere and says, "I'd like to be able to use my hands to fight things! I wanna learn from a real master!" The old monk responds, "I will only train those who can prove their readiness. I am Master Yunxiang. You must succeed my trials three." Master Yunxiang leads the duo into the dojo, "You must hone your body if you want it to be a weapon. You must train it to be ready."

Ciela nods at Master Yunxiang, "Yes, master!" She begins to punch one of the nearby practice dummies, attempting to put her full force into the punches. After a moment she becomes tired. She takes a second to catch her breath.

After catching her breath she decides maybe kicking it will work better. She performs a full roundhouse kick almost flawlessly, but then falls and lands on her butt. "Well that didn't go as planned."

Master Yunxiang leads them outside states, "Now child, you must hone your mind." Ciela follows him, knowing that the waterfall thing is next.

* * *

Ciela was baffled, "I didn't even hear you leave this morning? How early did you get up?" She finished cleaning up and gestured for him to eat. "I'll sit down shortly. I like for my kitchen to be clean before I eat." She dried off her hands and sat down next to him at the table. 

The two familiars were eating in a small nook of the kitchen away from the pair. Everyone enjoyed their food in silence. Ciela ate her food happily as she exchanged glances with Wulfrin. She saw that he was happily eating her cooking, which made her even happier.

"So I've been thinking about either protector, or healer. I really don't have much of a clue. But I would love to train our familiars together! It'll be like a Rocky training montage!" She giggled and washed their plates quickly and put them away. 

Wulfrin had made Ciela a little carved fishing rod, and although it held no benefit it allowed her to snuggle up to him while he was fishing. She planned to use it for the training. She had put a fish at the end of it and dangled it in front of Perlita. "Perlita dear, we're gonna test out your hops." She dangled the fish right above Perlita's head and said, "Hop for the fishy Perlita." 

Perlita began hopping, but her hops were falling just short. Ciela watched as Perlita would get mere centimeters away from the fish and bite down, then lose her momentum and land back on the ground. After a moment of this, Ciela gave Perlita the fish and petted her head. "You did great! I'm so proud of you." Ciela petted Perlita and watched as Wulfrin trained Solaris, hoping he was having better luck training his fire chicken.

* * *

* * *