Not unless you count as rolling off and sleeping next to me as something else.

Flora rolls off of you and snuggles into the bedsheets. You know this could spell disaster if anyone were to walk in on you in the morning, but you’re too tired to say or do anything about it, so you decide if it happens, you’ll just cross that bridge when it comes…

In the morning, you find yourself completely alone on the bed. There’s also a lot of chatting coming from the kitchen. No yelling, which you think is a good sign, but knowing that all the girls are in one place makes you feel a little anxious for some reason.

You sort of sneak around to avoid everyone until you’re showered and well-presented for the women of the house. Alexandra notices you first when you step into the kitchen but pretends not to. The second and most obvious person to see you coming in is Flora, but it’s Amara who voices her opinion first. “Look who finally decided to crawl out of bed.”

“Yeah,” you mutter. “Finally, some time to sleep.”

Amara stretches, unintentionally flaunts her slender frame and tight stomach through her clothing. Luckily, your expression hides your interest. It’s a good thing because both Alexandra and Flora have their eyes fixed on you.

If Amara wasn’t such a mink, you couldn’t easily forget about her and focus on Flora, but her bitch attitude towards you has soured even your most favorable opinion of her. To get a chance to be with her would be…

“I saved you some eggs,” Flora perks up, gesturing to a plate full of eggs and what looks to be toast on the counter. “The coffee is cold, but there’s some left too.”

You smile. “Thanks, Flora. You don’t have to worry about me if I sleep in again.”

A small yet noticeable blush forms on her cheeks. “It was nothing.”

You can feel Amara’s eyes bore into your back like a red-hot laser somewhere behind you.

Amara slides into the table with you when Flora leaves. You awkwardly stare up at her as you chew your breakfast. The coffee, just as Flora said, was cold too. You swallow before you lean into your chair.

“What is it?”

“I’m starting to hate you,” she says. “I don’t know why, but everything you are doing right now is getting under my skin like a splinter.”

“Well,” you don’t want to step on her toes, despite her practically begging for it. “You could always leave the kitchen. I’ll clean everything–”

Amara snaps. “I don’t trust you either.”

A lump forms in the base of your throat. If you knew this would happen to you when you got out of bed, you probably would have waited for everyone to leave first. “Well, maybe we should fix that? Unfortunately, we will be stuck together for another couple of months, so we might as well try.”

She sighs. “I know.”

You shrug, letting your eyes trained on hers. It’s hard to maintain it at first, but you figure this will be one of the few times you will be alone with her. “Is there a bounty or a contract you want me to accompany you on?”

Amara perks up at the idea but glares at you. “Is that how you’d clip me?”

“If you’re worried about me doing something stupid, you can take Alexandra with us,” you try.

“And leave Flora alone?” She counters.

“I don’t have anything else to offer,” you return to your plate, but Amara continues to look at you as she considers your last suggestion. Then, before you knew it, she was nodding.

“Alright, Warren. I’ll take you personally under my wing for a contract and see how far I can still trust you. I intended to send Kenji out, but now that you’ve presented me a chance to test you properly, perhaps you and I can work together,” Amara smiled, which you weren’t used to seeing.

“When do you need me to be ready?” You ask.

“Early in the morning. Let’s say 3 o’clock. Pack light, no need for anything extensive,” Amara tells you. She smiles wider when another thought comes to mind. “I’m interested to see how well you handle the tasks that will be presented.”

“I’m sure you’ll find me well-suited for most tasks, Amara.”

…

…

Another walk with Flora. This time, however, the weather is slate gray above you and paper white below you. You explained what you “planned out” with Amara when she left. She became rigid and worried. “I don’t like the sound of that all that much.”

“Why?” You ask her.

“Because if she’s distrusting you suddenly, what’s stopping her from outright killing you?” Her question makes her let out a whimper. “I don’t want to lose you. You’re practically my only friend right now. I’ll be alone if she takes you away.”

Feeling flattered now, you realize the danger you’ve put yourself in. To begin with, you never developed much of a relationship with Amara, and now you’re going to work on a duo quest with her? Your stomach churned with your breakfast still inside of it. “Do you think I’ve made a mistake doing this?”

Flora thinks for a few seconds before adding a voice to her thoughts. “I think my emotions are wrapped up with you. We’re moving so fast, you and me. I don’t know. I’m probably just worried for no reason at all.”

You stop near Tiny’s Tavern and look inside. “Would a drink calm you down at all?”

Flora looks up and squints at the building. “Isn’t this where Delilah works?”

You frown. “I guess she moved away with her kin. So no awkward run-ins.”

“I’m sorry,” Flora says. “Yes, I would like to have a drink with you.”

When you step inside, it’s almost empty. Flora stretches and removes her gloves, remarking how pleasant being inside is. It still feels a little weird that you’re back here, and it takes a couple of moments of talking for you to shake off that feeling.

Maple offers you some hot drinks– cider with freshly baked pastries. The quality isn’t the greatest you’ve had. Flora doesn’t seem thrilled with it either, but it is nice to have it while you continue to get to know each other. It would have been easy to spend the rest of the morning inside Tiny’s Tavern with Flora, she was easy to talk to, and neither of you wanted to brave the cold again, but when you exhausted all your talking points, there no other option besides to return to the house.

The first person that greets you at the house is Amara She’s wearing a black shirt tucked into a pair of black jeans. She’s also wearing tall black boots that go nearly halfway up her legs. Her brows knit when she sees you and Flora walk in together. In her hands are two steaming cups.

Flora makes a weird noise and quickly splits away from you, trying to avoid any and all conversation. At least you weren’t holding her hand…

“There you are,” Amara says. You smell something fresh in the air and figure it’s some kind of herbal tea. “I was just about to invite you for a small conversation.”

“Good. I had some questions about our contract,” you tell her.

“That’s exactly why I wanted to get a hold of you,” her smile is emotionless, and she hands you one of the cups.

…

…

You hadn’t been inside Amara’s room since you helped bring stuff into it. It’s a little hectic, but you can see signs of organization here. The papers, the tools, the sticky notes, and pieces of clothing like shirts, belts, and pants. She gestures to a chair and plops down on the edge of her table.

“Drink up,” she says. “Then we can begin.”

You look at the liquids inside your cup and swallow at the lump forming in your throat. Is it laced? You look back up at Amara, noticing she hasn’t drank from her cup.

“Sure…” You say, taking a minimal drink from your cup.

Amara grins while her eyes narrow, but she does the same thing.

The conversation starts off light and full of banter you could have done without, but it comforted you to know Amara is at least trying to make things normal, despite making it so weird in the beginning when your finish your tea Amara clears her throat and crosses her legs, looking lady-like than ever.

“So, since neither you nor myself are as good as Kenji, we’re going to snuff out a little ranger network that is operating just outside of town,” she materializes a manila envelope from her bedside and hands it to you. “It’s a sloppy little independent company probably hastily paid to search for ‘suspicious activity in the area from an outside source.”

You open the envelope and pull out a few aerial-colored pictures. You see a warehouse and a few shanty cabins in the snow. There are a few red circles made in marker highlighting essential objects. Surprisingly, you see some cars circled. You look at Amara “Sloppy independent group?”

“Canadians, I think, trying to branch out and find the dispersions of Russians out of the country. I’m sure they’ve noticed the uptick of weaponry here and decided now would be a good time to expand business. But, of course, they'll back away once we pluck off their little expeditionary groups.”

“I’m not so sure. Usually, when you kill a bunch of people from a larger group, they retaliate somehow,” you pull out another slip of paper. It’s signed by someone named Arabella at the bottom. There are receipts of bought parts, reports of deliveries, and sightings of local trades between cities and other small towns. “Besides, what if they aren’t Canadian but Montanan instead? We’ll have the full state rise against us. Billings already seemed to be aware of our presence.”

Amara shakes her head. “There’s no need to worry about that, I assure you. Read that yellow slip of paper.”

M. HITCHCOCK #1 & #2 (aka Male H0 & Male H1) were caught by the suspected investigator group. They were interrogated for several days before being released. The delivery was confiscated due to it being supposed as “RUSSIAN HARDWARE AND/OR RUSSIAN SUPPORT.” When M. HITCHCOCK #2 was caught a second time, he was killed since he was already suspected of supporting the Russian group departing Canada.

You continue.

DUE TO THESE EVENTS, I spied on this investigation group while Mikko, Gwendolion, and the remaining male continued to move deliveries at night. They are motorized and partially organized by observers. I spotted several Canadian observers in official uniforms directing drivers, patrols, and parties to local areas asking about Russian movements, deserters, and new visitors.

Worried that our involvement might INCREASE the threat level, I closely listened to one of the smaller (but more official) investigations group. They voiced concerns about the Homefront (Canada) and the fragility of their current logistical system going this far into PRE-WAR Montana. In addition, they are being harassed by local raider groups.

I “convinced” a private air company to fly over some of the roads the foreign group used and spotted two LARGER bases of operation. If we were to “remove” them, I would recommend we use this as an opportunity to make contact with these raider groups and push them out before they make the connection to the ARS… it is likely they will forfeit their positions in Montana if the situation at their Homefront is as bad as they sound.

(Refer to April/August reports on the “Canadian/Kalispell” situation on why this is true.)

Arabella, FSH#2, Team #02

You finger through the paper, searching for the reports last mentioned, but Amara extends her hand out, silently asking for the documents and pictures back.

“So, we’re off to find some raiders. Any concerns?” You ask.

She smirks slightly. “Those same raiders could be the ones that attacked our smugglers… attacked you when Scarlet was last with you. But they don’t need to know about that.”

“Sounds risky, but I'm sure you know what you’re doing.”

Amara stows away the reports. “Every bandit loves loot. Canadian government hardware will be enough for them to stage some attacks. We won’t even need to sell any of the products or make any empty promises. It’s cake,” Amara shrugs. “The only thing you and I need to worry about is A) finding them and not getting killed by them, and B) leading them into the buildings and not getting killed by the Canadians.”

Amara looks at you. “What do you think?”