The F Ranked Journey (BL)

Jean POV:

Being hit by that human hurt, but that was also good. It is not like I was a masochist, but the idea that he had in his head was clear. He wanted to find out if the party would back me up, or if I was just a tag along.

It was good to know that Mike not only loved a good fight, but was also ready to stay by my side. A good soulmate should always have his partner's back.

Not that I was ready to tell him something like that. Yes, I was also 15, but nature spirits grew up faster than normal elves or even Halflings. No, in nature spirit years, I was about 150-years old. And not only that, but I felt it in my bones, that I would get to grow older. 

Or maybe it was just the punch I got earlier. Man, that human could punch. 

"Jean, does it hurt when I touch you there?" The healer was incredibly useful. The most healers I knew wouldn't care one bit about someone they barely knew. Or bother to learn how to turn the body of their opponent against them.

Lars was a coward, which was understandable. Yet, he didn't run away. He used his gray matter to get us out of a beating. Maybe the guild master could have fought on, or perhaps not, I didn't know. It would be silly of me to think, that if it were a matter of life and death, we would have been speared.

Still, I was happy that I didn't have any broken ribs. I was hungry, though.

"What can be found in town? What sort of food?" I mostly didn't bother with searching for food in towns. Most of the merchants and vendors wanted money. Those who didn't, wanted back-breaking labor in return. It was simply not worth it, when I could just take what I wanted from a farm.

"Well, pretty much bread and smoked meat," Mike laid a hand on my shoulder, squeezed gently. "Are you sure you are ok? Lars can maybe run you through some stronger healing spells?"

Oh, I doubted that. If Lars could do something like that, then his gaze wouldn't be pointed at my feet.

"I... I can just do the quick heal," it was so pitiful to see Lars like this, after the good showing he had put up earlier, that I just smiled. Not to be mean, but because Lars had lifted his gaze, and he was now looking me in the eyes.

"No worries, I can just turn into a boar," which wasn't something I was proud of. As a human, I just couldn't fight. I had no one to teach me, no money, and the nature itself created me, so no parents either to care for me.

 I took my clothes from farms.

"I say we go back to the villages. There is this garden, where they plant some good cabbages," my lips went up out of their own accord. Yes, these cabbages were a special magical sort, and I could never get tired of eating them.

"Jean... that is stealing," Mike said it so, as if he couldn't believe that the sentence had come from my mouth. Hm, he must not know a lot about nature spirits, then.

"Is it? I bless that village to get a good harvest. They have already gotten three harvests out of their fields this year when they should have gotten just one. Why can't I eat from a garden which I have blessed?"

Which was a question I have asked myself every time I was hungry. Rhetorical and to the point. Personally, I had never been able to talk myself out of answering something like:

No reason, buddy! Now go get the cabbages!

"It is still stealing, Jean. Can't we go and rent a garden? Then you could farm your own vegetables and fruit."

"No money," I murmured, as Lars pumped more magic in me. My stomach was starting to feel so, as if I had overeaten, instead of so, as if I had lost a battle with a very persistent bull. An improvement, one could say.

"We have plenty of money," said Lars, as he patted me on the stomach again. "And now? Does it hurt?"

"Not anymore, thanks," I smiled at him, and he grinned right back. If he were my soulmate, I would have allowed myself to appreciate him. Sure, he was fat, his cheeks full and rosy, his skin pale. Which was even more accented by his black hair and deep and pretty blue eyes. He had a certain kindness around himself, which I found charming.

"Then we can go!" said Mike, as he offered me his back once more. "I know some cheap gardens for rent!"

"We will need seeds," said Nate thoughtfully, then he sighed. "No one will offer you all a fair price if I come with you. How about I wait for you somewhere?"

I could read his entire life story in his brain, and my heart reached out to him. It wasn't fair, that the greed of three nations had resulted in him losing everything. I had heard only good things about Queen Sybil. 

Humans were always like this. Not only the humans, who had ears which weren't pointed. But also, the elves and the Halflings. Everyone wanted that life would be unfair, yes, but in their favor. 

And when it didn't happen naturally, they made it so by force.

"Lars can stay with you," I was not blind. The tender soul bond between Lars and Nate was there. Sure, Nate was still in the stage, at which he was proving himself as a good mate, but that didn't mean that they didn't have a future ahead of them.

Just like I would have never left Mike, Nate wouldn't have left Lars. It was fate, or something that had more meaning and laws behind it.

"Yes, I will stay," Lars couldn't sense it, but he was already gravitating towards Nate. That made me smile.

"Jean, come on. I have no idea what sort of seeds I should buy!" Mike gave a belly laugh, which made my toes curl up delightfully. Oh, for how long I have waited for this moment?

"I can teach you," because I wanted to share this part of me with him. 

"Deal!" 

I climbed on his broad back, a back perfect for carrying a Halfling around. He was humming all the while.