Elise

Sven woke up to a warm sensation to his right, he had slept on the floor all of last night and had nothing but the rough-spun blankets the inn keeper had thrown him to warm his sleep, so why was one half of his body considerably warmer than the other? Looking towards the direction of the heat source his mouth fell agape. The short red headed woman was clinging to him like a hot water bottle on a chilly night, her heavy breasts mushing into his arms, her legs coiling around his right most one, her hand draped over his stomach, all the while with a silly, drooling expression lay mere inches away from his face.

What could he do?! This was the first time he'd slept with a girl. Was this counted as 'sleeping' with a girl? He wasn't sure, but his heart beat faster and faster at the erotic position she was in, she seemed to notice this increased heart rate as her eyes suddenly began to crack open. Her silly drooling sleeping face quickly shifted into one of embarrassment as she leapt off of him.

"Where am I? Who, huh?!" She looked around herself, the night before rushing back to her as a quiet understanding washed over her. She looked to the bed and realized that at some point in the night, she had tossed off the bed and had rolled into his. With him. She blushed deeper still.

"I'm sorry for screaming..." She looked away from his eyes, Sven couldn't help but laugh after watching the whole event unfurl right before his eyes.

"That's alright, are you feeling better now?" Sven asked, the red head nodded, still not able to meet his gaze, her heart was beating fast even being close to this man.

"I am, Sven was it?" She asked, Sven nodded.

"Thank you Sven, you saved my life." Her shaky eyes finally met his, he hadn't noticed last night but they were a deep colorful blue, almost azure. "I knew I shouldn't have been out there that late, but I wanted to become stronger..." She looked away again, teary eyed. Sven could understand that need, he too felt the desire to grow stronger no matter the cost.

"I never did ask your name." Sven changed topics lightly, the girl looked surprised for a moment,

"I'm the barons daughter, Elise Vaulder. I just assumed you knew who I was from my red hair." Sven racked his brain, Vaulder? Where had he heard that name before? Was her family in the original game?

"I'm new to these lands, my apologies for not knowing who you are." Elise shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "I understand the desire to become stronger Elise, but you have to be careful out there. Slow and steady wins the race after all." She seemed to take those words in.

"But you're already strong, you're a hero after all." While that was true, Sven wasn't exactly a full fledged 'hero' as she puts it, more like a trainee or an apprentice.

"Power is a never ending journey, even the strongest feel the desire to climb higher and higher, that they always feel where they're at now isn't enough. That desire leads to imbalances in decision making, power is a tightrope act where gusts of wind are caused by the risks you take, the gusts may blow you off the rope and you'll fall to your ****, or the gusts of wind cause you to traverse the rope faster. To become stronger by the risks you take, that is the key to exponential growth, but it must also be tempered with caution and wisdom." Sven didn't realize it but he had taken somewhat of a lecturing tone as he spoke to the wide eyed girl, she was taking this all in.

"Is that why you're so strong? You're wise enough to navigate around the risks?" Elise asked, almost breathlessly, she was hanging on his every word Sven realized.

"Like I said, nobody every feels strong enough. You may see me as strong, but I still see myself as helplessly weak." She seemed shocked at that admission, but it was true. What chance would Sven have against a lava dragon at this stage? Classless, low level and with shoddy bandit gear to boot.

"Is that why you were in those woods? So you could get stronger?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, if I'm stronger I can protect myself and..." He stopped, in his past life he would have never said something like this; "And those close to me. I need the strength to do good in the world, to stop men like those we met last night from consuming the world." Her eyes shone for a moment after hearing that, Sven wasn't sure if it was the lighting or not but her bottom lip trembled.

"This may sound very sudden! But is it at all possible that I can accompany you on your journey?!" She knelt before Sven like a knight speaking her vows, hand on her blanket covered chest. Sven's eyes widened, a companion? He'd never had one of those before, he played the game solo the entire time, but here was an attractive noblewoman wishing to enlist in his service.

"Why?" Was all Sven could ask, why would a noblewoman adventure out into the bandit ridden woods in search of battle? Why would she abandon her status to become a warrior?

"You might tell but I was never made out to be some fine lady, to be handed out to a male suitor in some political power grab." Sven looked at her boyishly short red hair and attractively toned arms. "The bandits prayed on my town and my father did nothing to defend the small folk, week after week my father would be beseeched by the peasantry to send patrols out at night to deal with the constant raids of his people, anything to stop the unopposed theft and **** of the innocents, but for whatever reason he ignored them. It's a common tale in these war struck times, nobles will refuse to spare a single man for the commons, every battle ready man and boy are conscripted into the war effort or into the castles personal guard." She looked down, Sven listened on silently taking this all in.

"For these reasons I couldn't sit around and wait for more of my people to suffer, I was just so frustrated I... I guess I just didn't think it all through." She closed her eyes, resolve building through her once again. "That's why I want to join you! You fight for the people as I do, and I thought if both of our goals are to grow stronger." She paused with a small blush on her face. "That we could grow stronger together." She looked away at that last part.

Sven looked at her for a time, would it really hurt to have a party member? The old Sven was dead and gone, this new Sven shouldn't need to fear the company of others any more, he felt strong, confident. Even a little extroverted, what was stopping him from making friends any more?

"I accept, just know that our journey will be a long one, and you may not return home for a time." Sven warned, Elise looked determined nevertheless.

"If it means growing stronger, I will make any sacrifice!" She declared proudly, Sven wondered if she would still keep to those convictions if she knew what it might mean. In her energetic declaration, the blanket she had hugged to her chest floated to the floor, exposing her still nude chest. Looking down she blushed a deep crimson, covering her chest and facing away from the white haired man.

Sven couldn't help but sneak a sly glance as it fell, it wasn't like it was the first time seeing them, not that he was complaining. Suddenly the door burst open and the Inn keepers daughter burst through the room, her mouth agape as she took in the scene before her. The woman from last night, her chainmail torn from her clothing and cowering away from the kneeling, white haired red eyed scary looking predatory man that had his hands extended out as if he was pursuing the scared half naked woman.

"****! Lecherer! To think I thought you looked cute!" The homely brown haired girl pointed in abstract horror at the scene before her, a deep blush on her face as she saw what she thought was a sexual **** in progress playing out before her eyes.

"Wait, he's not..." Elise explained the situation, the homely girl growing paler and paler as the truth of the situation was detailed to her, the man she'd called lecherer and a **** was actually the man who'd saved her, and the reason Elise was sprawled out on the floor was because she had rolled over from the bed Sven had given to her in place of his own comfort. She'd made a complete fool of herself, and what's more, she had admitted she'd thought he was cute. Needless to say she ran off crying. Sven sighed as he was absolved of all nefarious titles. What a morning.