Rex was surprised when they stopped for the night. He figured they would have been home by then, but as it turns out, life without portals was a lot harder than he could have imagined. Maybe he would need to talk to Lewis about learning how to make gates home.

Still, when he had offered to pay, he realized the problem. He actually wasn’t carrying much silver on him, only enough to get by in the cities where he frequented. Out in the real world, he barely had enough to cover half of his own expenses for a single meal, let alone the silver it would take to pay for travel or a room. So, when Hazel had the funds to cover, he thanked her and apologized.

“Only one room?” Rex almost yelled. He was more than a little frustrated. What kind of establishment didn’t have rooms? “Fine..I’ll just…” He wasn’t sure what to do. Hazel offered to share the room, though, and that brought a sly smile to his face. “Oh. That’s great then!” They made their way to the room, and Hazel left to go change.

Rex took this time to look around the room. It was a small room with only a full sized bed and side table. It was half the size of his room back at the castle, and lacked pretty much anything else.

“I guess that’s what I should expect from a small village,” Rex said. He turned as the door opened to see Hazel waddling in. He started to laugh, “What…what the hell are you doing?” he said between chuckles.

“I’m changed now. …why are you laughing?” Hazel pouted.

“What’s with that blanket?”

“I don’t want you seeing me in my pajamas,” she replied, as if it were the obvious answer.

Rex crossed his arms. “I bet you look fine. Cute, even…” There he was, unable to resist flirting.

“No,” Hazel replied flatly. “I don’t.” She looked away.

“C’mon…it can’t be that bad,” Rex replied as he sighed.

She really quickly flashed him, covering up instantly. Rex didn’t even get a real chance to see much of anything, let alone what she was wearing. “See. Not cute.” She had even covered her mouth with the blanket.

“Definitely cute,” Rex fibbed. “C’mon Hazel…if you keep going like that, you’re going to-”

Hazel started to waddle towards the bed, and stumbled over the blanket and started to fall. The blanket dropped, but she managed to catch herself. Realizing the futility of it, and that Rex was right, she let out a grumble.


“Fine!” she said, picking up the blanket and throwing it on the bed. “See…not cute,” Hazel said bashfully as she sat on the edge of the bed.

“Definitely cute, Hazel,” Rex replied. “I’d offer to show you mine, but…well, I sleep naked most of the time.” It was meant to be a joke, but Hazel started to turn red.

“Oh gods, please don’t sleep naked,” she said quickly.

“It was only a jo-” Rex started.

“You can even sleep in the bed! Just don’t sleep naked!”

Rex smirked. “Well…you did offer.”

Hazel started to turn an even brighter shade red, realizing what she had done. “B-but you’re sleeping on the other side. And if you even think about touching me, I’m kicking you off the bed.”

“Fine, fine…” Rex had plans, though. He would finally be able to catch a glimpse of Hazel, and maybe even put some moves on her. He climbed onto his side of the bed, and then before he could even think of anything, he passed out almost immediately. The day’s events had, evidently, worn him out completely.

Hazel watched as he climbed into the bed and fell asleep. It was weird she thought he was really going to try something. Soon she climbed into the opposite side of the bed and fell asleep. He didn’t really get a good glimpse of her anyways thanks to how tired he was.

She had a good dream and she even rolled in his direction. He was warm and she wasn’t used to sleeping with others so of course, she got closer to the thing that had heat coming off of it. She was one arm lodged under the pillow to prop her head up and the other at her side as she slept.

Once she was ready to ready to wake up she sat up and stretched. She shivered a bit and closed her eyes as she flung herself back down and got near the warm source again. Once she realized the warm source was breathing her eyes flickered back open and she just stared at Rex.

Rex slept peacefully, and when he woke up, it was because Hazel had moved. She saw up, and stretched, giving Rex a glimpse at almost everything Hazel had to offer, albeit still clothed. The morning was cool and crisp, and Hazel’s body reacted in kind. He could see her nipples harden beneath her shirt, and almost at once, Rex was excited. As she laid back down, he closed his eyes, noting how close she got to him.

Was this it? Was this an opportunity being gifted to him by the gods? He slowly opened his eyes, only to be surprised that Hazel was staring back at him. Her eyes were beautiful, and for a moment Rex was at a loss for words. Even through the sheet, it was obvious that Rex was getting an erection from just the closeness of Hazel, but her eyes were still locked with his.

“Morning,” he said, almost breathlessly. He felt so close to her. He leaned his head forward, wondering…would she kiss him? His entire body wanted her, now more than every. His breathing was a little shallow, almost as if this was his first time again. He was nervous, but excited. “…we should…”

She was borderline unsure of what to do. It was clear that Rex had followed the rules and it was her that violated it. He was still on his side and she got more red by the moment the longer he looked at her. “Rex…” Her voice was soft but the mistake was that she moved her leg and felt something. Then she looked down and back at Rex with the reddest face she could do.

Her legs were fast as she kicked him out of bed. “I… I NEED TO GET DRESSED!” She got up and ran out of the room grabbing her clothes from the other day and a bag of silver. She didn’t come back for many moments before throwing her pajamas on the ground and slamming the door again. It was a few minutes more when she brought up some breakfast.

“This um… porridge is all they had for breakfast.” She put it on the bed and scooted it towards him. “Here… An apology for my um,” she blushed a bit, “violating your space.”

Out of all of the outcomes that could have happened, getting kicked out of the bed was not one that he had thought of, and was shocked when his butt hit the ground hard. When she stormed out of the room, Rex merely rolled to the side, cursing that he was so close.

“SHE WAS RIGHT THERE!,” he said to himself, standing up. “Gods…why are you like this to me!?” He sighed, and went outside. It took almost the entire time she was gone to force himself to calm down. The excitement was something he should have been used to, but normally when he woke up, he could either take care of himself, or have someone else take care of it for him. This morning, neither one was an option, so he merely had to suffer and wait.

When she finally came back for good, she brought breakfast. He thanked her, not meeting her gaze, and took the food. “And where’s yours?” he asked as he took a taste of the porridge. It was lukewarm, and bland. Definitely nothing like Silva’s cooking. He gave her a look, almost expecting her answer.

“Here…eat some of mine. You can’t go the day without something to eat.”

She was almost shocked when he didn’t look at her and thought she did something wrong. Then he questioned her and she clamped her lips almost shut. “Well… I…” She tilted her head. “I’m not hungry Rex.”

Still though he offered up some of his and soon she sat down right by him. The room wasn’t big enough to keep the distance between them. “About this morning…” It could have gone like he wanted but… It didn’t. “I shouldn’t have invaded your space and I shouldn’t have kicked you off the bed. I should have kicked myself off the bed for invading your space… and I’m sorry.”

Finally, she finished up the porridge. “and I’m not going to go the day without eating. I’m going to show you how to hunt your own food.” She pulled him up. “We got a week to go out here in the Rainforest. We’re going to die if you can’t learn how to shoot a bow and arrow.” She summoned them and put it over her shoulder.

“Come on Lover Boy. We’re walking to Mamlak.” Once they were halfway through the day Hazel stopped and got the bow ready she put it in his arms. “Don’t get used to me touching you okay?” She helped him hold the bow and draw back the arrow. “Just like this. Control your breathing.” Her chin was on his shoulder as she watched where he aimed.

“Breathing and aim is key… Patience is a virtue for the mighty hunter. Steady…” She let him go as soon as a deer came out. It was a direct hit. “Just like that. Your father showed me how to shoot and get my own food. You can also fish and trap.”

She led him over to the deer and took out a knife so she could prep it. “We can make a stew with this… and we need to find a good place to set up our tent. I only have one tent so we have to sleep together… Again.”

Rex sighed, “No…I just…you’ve already stated you’re not interested in me, so I shouldn’t be so pushy.” It was never directly said, of course, but in Rex’s mind, the rejection was pretty loud and clear. “I’ll try to respect your boundaries more. And…you’re a virgin,” he said. “Probably don’t want to waste something special on me…”

He didn’t really give her a chance to respond to that, and instead focused on making sure she ate, even though she said she wasn’t hungry. What was surprising, though, was how much she was touching him. She helped him up, and more or less pushed him out the door.

“What…we’re going to learn to hunt?” He was surprised. “I don’t need to-” Rex paused. “Yeah…okay. Please…teach me…how to hunt…” It was as if he were straining himself to ask. About halfway through the day, she stopped, and more or less wrapped herself around him, guiding his hands on the bow.

It was hard to focus on what she was saying. She kept talking about breathing and aiming, but all he could focus on was the fact that her chest was against his back. His mind went back to the morning, at what he had seen.

Focus you moron. He shooed the thoughts away, and did as he was asked, taking aim and loosing the arrow. “Oh…OH I DID IT!” he said excitedly as they approached the felled deer. “What are yo-” he started to ask as she prepped the deer for later. “Oh…” His stomach churned a bit. “That’s….kind of gross…”

The two continued on, and as the sun started to set, they found a nice place to set up a tent. Rex went about starting the fire with the limited amount of magic he knew how to use, and sat back as the flame roared to life.

“Say…” he said as he took a sniff. “We…really reek… I think I remember a waterfall back there,” he pointed. “Maybe we should rinse off, at the very least? I know I’m covered in sweat…”

She blinked a bit in shock at what he said. It was the complete opposite actually. Hazel liked Rex. Like REALLY liked Rex. She didn’t get a chance to correct him and decided that waiting for the right moment she could tell him. Hazel wasn’t sure what she was going to do with this information or even if she should tell him but she felt like she couldn’t let him live with thinking that way.

Once she started to prep the deer she found him disgusted, “Rex, out here we have no one to depend on but ourselves. We have no one to steal from and not one drop of silver will save our lives. If you want to come with me more… You have to learn.” She blushed a bit and looked away.

Hazel had the deer strung up before she started to put the tent up. It was just big enough for two people… and that might be a problem if he didn’t want her in his space. She was getting used to him now and maybe letting him closer wasn’t a bad thing.

“A bath sounds good.” She had towels and soap ready by spell and looked at him. “If you turn your back I’ll get in first… Then you can get in. It’s dark enough you can’t see anything.” She began to walk with him towards the waterfall. She paused though and he hit her.

“Rex?” She looked up at him her silver eyes almost glowing. “You were wrong Rex. I do like you. I like you a lot. Why do you think I kept locking you out of the house whenever you smelled like those girls… I was jealous because… You shouldn’t be around me but you want to be and I don’t know how to process it.”

She continued forward and put the towels by the shore. “Okay turn around.” Once he was she didn’t check to make sure he wasn’t looking. Instead, she stripped and waded into the water. Once she was chest-deep she turned around. “Alright, Rex. Your turn.”

The fact that Hazel was fine with the both of them going to the waterfall at the same time was a bit of a shock to Rex, but he went with it. If things went well, maybe he could get a little more than just a peek. Sure, he had to turn around, but if it was dark enough, she might not notice if he turned a tad bit early.

As they traveled through the forest to the waterfall, though, Hazel suddenly stopped. Rex was not focused, more or less staring at her butt for the most part, and ended up bumping into her. He took a step back, apologizing as she looked at him. When their eyes met, though, something seemed to take his breath away.

Her eyes seemed to glow silver, as she told him how wrong he was, and that she liked him. “I…” He paused. “Why…would you get jealous over something like that…’ He laughed it off, unsure of how to really process the information he was given. Rex looked away, unable to hold her gaze for too long. “You needn’t be jealous of girls like that, Hazel…”

That’s all a fuckup like me really deserves anyway….

“Besides,” he said, looking back up. “You need me around to get stuff done. Izzy can’t always be the one doing all of your errands, right? It gives me something productive to do. You don’t mind the company, right?”

They continued on to the waterfall, and once they arrived, Hazel told him to turn around. He did as he was told, but the moment he heard her start to slip into the water, he took a quick peek.

YE-….aw fuck. It’s too dark… All he could see was her silhouette, and while that was sensual in its own way, it wasn’t quite the prize he had hoped for. He sighed as she called out that it was his turn, and he stripped down. Without a warning, he ran out, yelling as he leapt into the air, crashing into the water.

Rex, to no one’s surprise, had zero shame.

“Because Rex, I like you. They get your attention and I want it but I feel…” She frowned a bit and she shyly looked away. “Never mind.” How could she tell him that she just wanted him but she didn’t want to do that? She had been told it was special and she was scared that after Rex got it that he would leave. Then there was the matter of all of his other girls.

She couldn’t just give him what he wanted because… then she would be no better than the rest who used him.

“I like… you being around and helping me.”

As soon as she was in the water the wave from Rex running hit her and she was laughing. Her hair was flat to her head now compared to how much volume it normally had. “Nice,” Hazel clapped with the soap in her hand.

“Turn around… You have to wash your front though,” Hazel was gentle as she washed his back and she thought about it. “…Rex… What do you like about the other girl?” She was quiet and waited for his response. “And me… what do you like about me…?”