Natasha the Halve

“So,” I struck a conversation while climbing the wall. “I've heard people mention taboos a few times. How many are them?”

Yolin turned to me with a confused face. “Where's this coming from?” she asked and stabbed the wall with her fingers, then pushed herself up.

I kicked the wall with enough strength to make a hole that would support me, then stretched my leg to push myself up. “Distraction,” I replied.

She hummed. “Still scared?”

I sighed and shook my head. “Falling and surviving is not going to make it go away,” I argued while climbing.

“True,” she agreed. “Did it help even a little?”

I glanced down and noticed I wasn't paralyzed by the fear. It was still scary, however. “A little, yes,” I conceded. “But don't ever do that again!”

“Fair,” she concluded with a chuckle.

I nodded in satisfaction and continued, “So, taboos?”

She thought for a second and sighed. “You're not angry at me?”

I laughed. “I'm not such a petty woman, Yolin.”

After a few seconds of silence Yolin chuckled, “I've noticed.” She pushed herself up and continued. “Well, there are various taboos. The first and most important one is to never recreate or speak of the image of a Divine. There are no words in the known languages to describe the arrogance needed to attempt to do so.”

I opened my mouth to point something out.

“However,” she continued before I could speak. “Metaphors and poetic prose is allowed if the individual must describe them. I have never met a Divine and Perculis didn't mention them in the few publications I read, so I wouldn't know.”

“I see.” I nodded and used my hands to climb the wall.

“Next is to never obstruct you Halves while you go about your task of protecting,” she continued. “Active sabotage is viewed as abandoning the right to live. Basically, you don't get to hinder the species that allowed us to evolve in safety.”

“That's pretty extreme,” I sighed.

She laughed. “Well, yeah. Sex between family members is taboo as well,” she continued. “Also with animals and the dead.”

“That's pretty obvious,” I agreed.

“Mentioning status numbers is taboo,” she added while climbing. “It's the most personal of information. You can only talk about it if you're planning to have children, though. That helps with a lot of things.”

“I see,” I muttered, but didn't push for more information.

“When Perella got pregnant with Eliso's child, they shared their status with each other,” she went for it. “I was glad they didn't tell me, which led me to the conclusion that I didn't want to spend my life with them.”

I nodded. “Thank you for sharing.”

“Not a big deal,” she chuckled. “It ended on good terms.”

I hummed and stabbed the rock with my fingers. “You sound a bit... hesitant when you mention them, so I thought it was a difficult topic,” I tentatively brought it up.

She sighed and stopped climbing. “I mean... yeah,” she chuckled. “If I'm completely honest I was unsatisfied,” she admitted with a long sigh. “I'm a tank so my wants are a little...”

“Intense,” I finished for her with a giggle.

She laughed for a few seconds, then let out a short sigh. “Basically, yeah,” she agreed and continued climbing.

I kept pace in silent contemplation.

“Now, however,” she purred with a sultry chuckle. “Warriors like you are just made for tanks like me. And with you being a Halve and having both... uff! You can't begin to imagine how satisfied I am.”

My cheeks burned at her bold words in a mix of embarrassment and satisfaction. “Ahem. I'm happy to hear that,” I giggled. “I'm the same,” I added with a smile.

“It will only get better once we get the toys, Natasha,” she teased me while climbing.

“Oh, yeah!” I laughed loudly. “It definitely will.”

Yolin joined my laughter and we continued climbing while talking about bedroom activities.

Once we made it to the mine shaft we found Lapia leaning her back on the right wall.

“How did it go?” she inquired and walked to us.

I gave her a thumbs up and a big smile.

She nodded and gave us a kiss each, then extended a hand. “Can I see it?”

I produced the first one I found and handed it to her.

She moved a hand and the rock floated towards her. Then, she did a circular motion with her fingers.

The gray surface of the rock peeled itself off, revealing the rough shape of a crystal.

“Decent,” she commented and made it float in my direction.

I caught and stored it.

“Let's move?” Yolin suggested, heavily tilting her head to the side.

Her horns prevented her from standing upright.

“Yeah,” I replied and started walking.

We went down the ramp and into the dungeon floor, where the rest had made camp and were playing cards.

I stood next to Thelea, who was still taller than me when sitting down, and appraised the group to check progress.

[Alyssa Pruvik – Bonded Partner – Krystaali Luzo, Lvl 298 Cardinal]

[Lapia Pofeta – Bonded Partner – Domi Elf, Lvl 296 Pyromancer]

[Yolin Makav – Bonded Partner – Red Oni, Lvl 305 Asura]

[Bromisnar Bahadh – Bonded Companion – Khlyp Satyr, Lvl 292 Minstrel]

[Bonte Slirmy – Bonded Companion – Shishi Tigea, Lvl 299 Shadow Chaser]

[Pokh'Orra Pezh'Che – Bonded Companion – Elmari Elf, lvl 302 Sniper]

[Thelea Vathunith – Bonded Companion – Rodon Goliath, Lvl 267 Battlemaiden]

[Elena Pazh'khun – Bonded Companion – Faeton Elf, Lvl 292 Entomyst]

[Sonya, Lvl 892 Ratnak]

[Pochi, lvl 891 Fekir]

[Delazh, Lvl 642 Vulupitas]

[Valuk, Lvl 640 Bey'tu]

[Kathnik, Lvl 645 Unnak]

[Red Killer, Lvl 650 Untu]

[Giorgio, Lvl 639 Northern Grand Stallion]

[Trokoa, Lvl 856]

I stared at Pokora's mount for a moment and then walked around the group towards her.

She noticed me and raised her eyebrows. “What's up?”

I gestured at her mount. “What's the name?”

She squinted at me for a second. “Promise you won't laugh?” she challenged me.

I shrugged and nodded. “Sure.”

“Pepe,” she replied and stared into my eyes.

I fought back a smile and tightened my stomach. “That's uh... cute,” I praised with a shaky voice.

She frowned. “Natasha...”

“I'm not laughing,” I pointed out while shaking my head.

She rolled her eyes and turned away.

I slowly took a deep breath and walked away, then sat down next to Lapia.

The Elf wrapped an arm around my neck and pulled me into a hug.

I reciprocated and looked at the party.

The progress was good so far. Arachnophobia aside, the dungeon was pretty boring in my opinion. There was no challenge with me around, and the equipment I had given them booster their power a bit too much.

Better dull than dead, I concluded, looking at Bonte who was playing with his daggers.

A tiny concern popped at the back of my mind. I had given him Unique quality weapons, same as with Pokora, but I had given Thelea a Legendary quality sword and shield.

I searched my storage and retrieved a pair of identical Legendary daggers, then appraised them.

[+100 Throat Cutters (Legendary) {Ascension Lvl 10}]
(SS+ Sharpness) (Durability S+)
-Sharpness + 100% ({Lvl 10 Emerald}x10)
-Sharpness and Durability + 10% (Enchantment)
-STR + 100
-CON + 100
-DEX + 200
-Increases Swiftness (5% for every 20 Enhancement levels). (25%)

I let out a satisfied hum and looked back at the Tigea. “Bonte!”

He turned to me.

“Catch!” I warned and tossed the two daggers in his direction across the low table in the middle of the camp.

The man caught them cleanly and inspected them, then raised an eyebrow. “What's the occasion?” he inquired with a smile.

“You've leveled up so you need better gear,” I bullshitted with a shrug.

He nodded and whistled. “Thank you. Cool name, by the way,” he cheered.

I shook my head with an amused chuckle.

“How magnanimous,” Pokora spoke up with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

“You got a weapon recently,” I pointed out.

“True,” she conceded with a nod.

Lapia chuckled and gave me a kiss behind my right ear.

I turned to her and closed into her ear. “I wanna go back right now,” I confessed in a seductive voice.

Lapia turned her head to Pokora and gestured for her to come closer.

The Archer walked over and waited.

“We're done here, right?” the Wizard probed. “Natasha found diamond and we cleared the dungeon. How about we leave?”

The party leader checked a pocket watch and hummed. “It's almost ten o'clock,” she pointed out. “How about we leave after resting?”

Lapia turned to me with a 'I tried' face.

I chuckled and nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Alright,” Pokora agreed and looked around. “How about the three of us take watch tonight?”

My girlfriend's smile widened and her eyes turned mischievous. “That's perfect,” she muttered in a conspiring tone.

***

Later that night, and after everyone went into their tents, Lapia, Pokora, and me were sitting on a rock I had removed from the dungeon walls.

“Why do we need to keep watch? We already cleared the dungeon,” I pointed out after a minute of sitting down.

Pokora sighed. “Some monsters hide under the ground and come out when people are resting. To prevent injury or death, we have to keep a lookout.”

“Have you been to a lot of dungeons?” Lapia asked her.

“Not that many,” the Elmari Elf replied with a sigh. “I once went through the desert for a training exercise with the army. The ones responsible for keeping watch got lazy and took a nap. A young Desert Tentelu ate them in their sleep.”

“What's that?” I interjected.

“A giant snake,” Lapia supplied. “They don't usually eat people unless they're newborns.”

“Mhm,” Pokora nodded. “You never really know what's out there.”

“Damn,” I muttered. “That must've been tragic.”

The two Elves turned to me with confused faces.

“Ah,” Pokora uttered and chuckled. “No, they didn't die. They were swallowed, sure, but the monster was low level. They were flamed to tears by the instructor, though,” she added with a laugh.

We laughed with her and Lapia kept asking questions about her time in the army. I tagged along, interested in her life in Galeia.

At around six in the morning we woke the group up, had breakfast, and left the dungeon towards Paarjo.

I was satisfied with the delve. My storage held ores, weird plants, dead monsters, and, more importantly, diamond.

The trip back took around eight hours with the regular break for food and the like.

After going up into the floating city, a large raven-looking bird flew down and perched itself on my shoulder. It was the same bird that delivered the letters back in Lakeview. A small package was hanging off its left leg. The bird croaked and offered me the limb.

“Oh, a Corvitex,” Elena, who was sitting in front of me on Sonya pointed out. “Who's it from, Your Excellency?”

“I'm assuming it's from Nilenna,” I replied and removed the pacakage.

“Right,” she muttered with a sigh. “I have no memories of Her Excellency Nilenna.”

I didn't know what to say to that so I patted her shoulder in an attempt to convey empathy.

Sonya kept moving next to the others' mounts while I opened the small box.

There were two letters and a stamp-looking thing inside.

One read 'To His Majesty King Gordon Igne Lumin IV', and the other read 'To Natasha Novak'.

I opened the one sent to me and read it.

'Yo, lil' sis! 'Tis I, your big sis Nilenna!

Don't you think the newspaper is an amazing thing? Such a clever little method of conveying information across the world! While I think letters are a good way to communicate, the newspaper is the real champion. You see, the hot topic is you healing the King! You did great! Your big sis is very proud of you, you know?

As promised, I will give you a really good reward when we meet. AND...! Wait for it! You get to keep Pyotr! I bet you're really happy right now! You are, right? Let me know how happy you are by sending me a letter! I will seriously wait for it, you know? Don't make me wait a decade, though!

Pyotr is a very good boy when it comes to letters, you know? He can find Halves really easily! As long as they don't move around too much... like big sis Yulianna. I still haven't found her, you know? Do you have any suggestion on her whereabouts? I could use the help! I arrived at Makah last week and nobody here has seen or heard of her. I think it's healthy to mourn the loss of a loved one, but three centuries is a bit much, don't you agree? Just what is she doing that takes so long?! This shit is getting ridiculous!

On a more light note, I sent you an Official Halven Stamp made by the one and only Tylke! That's a tool of divine making! Do you feel the weight of it? Can you sense the Godly energy emanating from it? That's how Gods feel like! Amazing, right? Show me your gratitude by sending me a letter!

This stamp works really uniquely: you inject it with E'er and the device recognizes you're a Halve and makes the stamp you see on our letters! Cool, right? The E'er signature is impossible to fake! We're cool like that!

By the way, Pyotr eats flesh and bones. Don't let him trick you into feeding him only bones! Those are his good boy snacks so make them special!

Also, let me know what was going on with the King. Information is crucial to prevent more cases like that if at all possible. If it's a disease you should let Miraztor know along with how you dealt with it. If it was a spell or curse, let us know too. The more details, the better. If there are details you don't want to share and they are not relevant to the matter, you are free to keep them to yourself.

Hoping we properly meet in the future,

Nilenna Atarka.

PS.: Giants are annoying!'

I blinked and smiled. Such a chatty woman, I thought. I kind of want to meet her.

“Everything alright?” Lapia next to me asked from atop her mount.

“I unlocked the feat to send letters,” I replied with a nod and a smile.