Witches Going Live 1.6

Extremely proud of this one.

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Chapter 6 - We’ll Get Together Then

Leo took a moment to look around the Tavern Big and Small, an ever comforting sight. The entire area was lit by torches scattered throughout, and the sturdy benches lined up around the restaurant were polished hardwood. Anyone sitting at the numerous booths was given an excellent view of the colosseum memorabilia displayed on every wall.

Signed and framed posters of various fighters took up an entire segment behind the bar, including posters advertising a two-vs-all-comers king-of-the-hill match featuring rival champions Rekitach and Virgo Dardanus, one of Brighde MacDhuibe taming an infamous lindwurm known creatively as ‘slaughterboy’, a collector’s edition poster of the one and only match ever performed by Tilton ‘Evil Grin’ Godfrey, and not to mention the previously referenced poster of Sydney Vail who seemed to take up premium real estate on the wall despite her status as a current year rookie.

Along with the posters, Gunther had hung up some random broken weapons that’d been used by famous contestants, displaying the trophies with the seriousness of an avid collector highlighting their favored pieces. Shirts, hats, and handheld flags bearing insignia and color schemes representing various fighters hung high on the walls beneath the high ceiling, some standing side by side with trophies from Gunther’s storied past as a silver-ranked adventurer.

The most noteworthy of his personal trophies were the terroboar tusks that inspired him to hang in the towel and retire at twenty-five. He’d won the fight and somehow hobbled back to town with them still embedded in his rib cage, and the rest was history. Given their personal significance to the man, they dominated a corner of the building behind the main counter. Beneath it rested several damaged weapons on a tiny but well-kept shrine to the twin goddesses, with a shrine to Zilbillis, head of the gnomish pantheon, wedged between them.

Leo always wondered how the twins felt about sharing self-space with a foreign god but assumed they had better things to worry about.

Many casks of drinks were set on shelves up high above the barkeep’s station, allowing for easy access by way of long copper pipes plugged into their taps. The tavern carried alcohol from all across Karnalle, but the most popular ones on the menu were beers brewed by Gunther himself- a fact he would never live down.

As Gunther sauntered back into the kitchen, Silla returned from behind the bar with a couple of glasses of water. Passing one to Leo, she took advantage of the lull in patrons to take a break from serving and hopped up onto an adjacent toadstool by his side.

Leo picked up the glass and swallowed long, an action Silla took as an invitation to continue their conversation. “Feels like it’s been weeks since you’ve been around, Leo.”

“It hasn’t been that long,” Leo frowned. “I always make sure to stop by at least once a week. You know that.”

“Well, no one’s saying you can’t do it more often, yeah? I know adventuring takes a lot out of you, but since Gunther won’t say it, I will. We miss you. Try not to forget that, will you?”

“…Yeah,” The boy lowered his head, fighting back a smile. “I’ll try.”

“Good. Now how has your adventuring been going, anyway? It feels like only yesterday the big doofus was pitching you a new career path, and whaddaya know, it’s already been two dang years! How in the heck did that happen, huh?” Silla kicked her feet and tapped her finger on the counter while sitting atop her toadstool, unable to curtail the boundless energy that her race was known for. She forced herself to take a sip of water and pace herself, letting Leo have time to answer her before she went and prattled on again.

“Time flies when you’re having fun?” Leo shrugged. “No idea. Just sorta happened. Work is going okay enough, though. Hard to complain when you’re making as much as I am, and there’s no shortage of shit that needs doing…”

Leo paused, but Silla still would’ve sensed the apprehension even if he hadn't. “Feel like I can smell a ‘but’ somewhere in there…” She tried coaxing him into talking more with a lame joke, remaining uncharacteristically silent to allow him time to speak rather than pushing on.

Leo didn’t take the bait, opting to remain silent. It was mainly because he didn’t know how to talk about it, especially not with someone he loved and trusted as much as Silla. His career was great- if you were only factoring in the pay at the end of the day. It was hard to say he was unsatisfied with the status quo, so much so that he was unsure how he’d even put it to words. It felt like he was pushing against a ceiling and couldn’t reach the sky, but the same could be said of many things in his life right about now.

How could anyone describe that feeling of inadequacy?

Of impotence?

After the pause stretched on and on, Silla sighed and reached out to rest her tiny hand on Leo’s forearm. “Just cause you’re making a lot of money doesn’t instantly make everything okay, y’know. If you’re having problems, then you’re having problems. Lotta people hop around before they figure out what they want to do with their life, Leo. You can always come back and crash with us if you need a break from it all. You don’t even have to help with any deliveries, just… I dunno, take some ‘you’ time and get a change of perspective! Might do you some wonders.”

It was now Leo’s turn to sigh. Silla never failed to see right through him, yet her ability to do so shocked and amazed him every time she did. Embarrassed as it made him, her kindness made him smile. Mr. and Mrs. Brasseur had gone out on a limb for him when he’d first moved in with them six years ago, and he was endlessly grateful for everything they’d done for him since. It was hard to hide how he really felt around either of them.

“It might, but really, things aren’t going that bad. Not yet, anyway. Maybe I’ll consider taking some time off if it ever gets to that point, but I promise it’s probably not anything beyond your typical run-of-the-mill burnout right now.”

“As if that ain’t reason enough to take a break,” Silla scoffed and sent a dirty glance at the kitchen. “I swear, you men… always looking to kill yourself over some dumb point that ain’t in need of proving or trying to impress people that don’t need impressing. Y’know what that accomplishes, Leo? Besides fuck all, I mean. It makes you look like a fucking idiot, that’s what- putting in effort where it’s not appreciated and making mountains out of molehills just cause you can…”

Gunther, who’d been following the conversation while cooking, suddenly couldn’t hear his wife over the sound of sizzling meat and mushrooms. He looked away from the dishes he was fixing, calling out, “What’s that, honey?”

“Nothing! Don’t you worry your pretty little mug over it, hubby,” Silla smirked sweetly, a look of contentment coming over her as she spied on her man muddling about with seasonings, fixing the meal he’d burnt while multitasking on Leo’s dinner at the same time.

Leo chuckled at her bluntness, not taking it personally since he knew it was obviously only partially directed at himself. “Sorry for being a fucking idiot, Silla. I’ll try and use my brain a bit more if that’ll make you happy, but I don't wanna go promising what I might not be able to deliver.”

She giggled warmly. “Ain’t exactly what I meant, dear. If anything, you should learn to shut the darn thing off sometimes. Now that’d do you some good. You’re different than Gunther, y’know. You got those sad eyes full of self-pity, whiny man-pain, and angst- yick. Nah, Leo. What you should be doing is enjoying yourself! Find yourself a sweet girl, hell, find two or three and just say fuck it and stop thinking for a night or two! If you want, there's this cutie who's been poking around the bar lately, and I couldn't help thinking she might kick your ass into gear and do you some good-”

In the face of gnomish bluntness, Leo could only blush and huff as he thumbed the silver sun-shaped pendant he wore around his neck, “Good goddess above…”

It was bad enough having Dev trying to drag him to bars and teasing him about hitting on chicks. Returning to his safe place only for Silla to do the same wasn’t Leo’s idea of a good time. Unfortunately for him, once a gnome had set their mind on a topic, it became a fixation they couldn’t let up on.

“Okay, fine, you don't want me playing matchmaker. Fair, fair... but c’mon, don’t tell me you haven’t had luck with any of them adventuring floozies? I’ve seen how they dress themselves- all them sword-slinging sluts strutting around in metal bikinis, or them witches with those skimpy nightgowns they insist on calling robes… a boy like you, as cute as you are? Hell, you could score on ‘em with nothing but a free drink and a smile!” Silla gave Leo a suggestive wink and a smirk, leaning half out of her seat to pinch his cheek.

Leo recoiled from the pinch, waving his hand at her to fend off the older woman with a frown. “Hey, gah- Silla, can we not? Ugh- I get where you’re coming from and all that, but I don’t wanna talk about girls right now. Totally not the night for that…”

“…Why not?” Silla honed in on his curious word choice. “Did something happen?”

“No,” Leo replied truthfully. “Nothing happened. Nothing ever happens…”

That didn’t sound good. Fighting back against her impulses where she sensed it was most necessary, Silla silently nodded and respectfully bowed out. Or at least as much as a gnome could do so.

“Well, okay, then. Sorry, Leo. Just can’t stand watching you beat yourself up over some dumb old nonsense that wasn’t ever your fault, y’know? Might not mean much coming from me if all people, but you’ll find someone who’s right for you. Hell, more than one, probably. A special guy like you?” Silla reached out and placed her little hand on his heart. "You've got so much love in there just waiting to burst out that I doubt one gal could handle it all alone."

Leo had to fight hard not to choke on his latest sip of water. “W-What? Where did that come from…?!”

“Roundabout compliment, sweetie,” Silla grinned and pinched his cheek again. “You’re cute, handsome, and all I'm saying is keep an open mind on how you find your happiness. You’re the kinda guy who doesn’t know how many opportunities he has until he loses ‘em, so start taking some risks. Just cause you had one bad-”

Gunther slammed two plates down on the counter, nearly breaking them with his strength as he interrupted the conversation and shot his wife a seldom-seen look of sternness. “Hon, hate to break up the moment you and the kid’re having, but I’m thinking ya should drop it and hop back to work-” He tapped the plate that wasn’t Leo’s and nodded his head at the customer still waiting for food, then slipped Leo the one that was.

As promised, the dish was Leo’s favorite and Gunther’s signature creation- a spicy pepper doublesteak sandwich. It was a symbolic dish, cheesy in both the literal and metaphorical sense in what it represented. It combined Karnallian beef with traditional gnomish shroomsteak fused on top of each other with a thick layer of Echoran cheddar with some diced Kissuaran peppers to make it really pop. Add some buns basted in butter and fried to perfection, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a sandwich.

As Leo eyed his meal, Silla eyed Gunther, who eyed Leo, before looking back to Silla, who then eyed Leo again. She noticed he was happy because of his food, but it still had that aura of sadness that it always did, and she understood then that her inquisitiveness had likely made things worse for him. Sometimes she hated that part of her that just couldn’t stop talking, but she did her best to own up to it whenever it happened and respect her husband when he politely pointed out her overstepping.

In her own way, of course.

“Think you can order me around, huh?” Silla clicked her tongue. “Big words for a big man. Ah, well. Guess I got no choice. I’ll help you out, hubby…” Before she did, temptation crept over her. She tried resisting, she really did, but Silla’s gnomish instincts won out in the end and she couldn’t leave well enough alone. Not without getting in the last word.

“Leo? I mean it, dear. Don’t go getting your fancy hair ruffled over the past.” She smiled warmly, ruffling the very hair in question before yanking the plate off the table to drop it off and then run around the place to check on the guests and top up everyone’s drinks.

Leo smiled, appreciating the sentiment, if not her pushiness, as he fussed over his hair before deciding it didn’t matter for once. Meanwhile, Gunther poured two tall, frothy beers from the tap and slammed them on the counter. Browbeaten Boar- Gunther’s premium draft. It wasn’t a surprise to see Gunther pulling out the good stuff. He always did when Leo came by, but gods, if he didn’t appreciate it.

“Probably don’t have to tell ya not to mind the missus,” Gunther cracked a smile. “I’d think after six years you’d more or less understand she means well, but, well… she’s got a mouth on her, she does.”

“Yeah, it’s all good,” Leo was quick to forgive and forget, especially when there was a sandwich with his name on it. The conversation died down as he packed it away, Leo being so much hungrier than he even realized that he all but inhaled the damn thing.

Just as he finished and was washing down the meal with his beer, Silla appeared to take his dishes. Gunther took a deep gulp, setting it back down with a contented sigh as he turned to his wife. “Mind watching the front for a bit? I figured I might take a quick break and hang out with the kid in the back.”

“Sure, I reckon that might be a good idea,” Silla nodded respectfully after scoping out the state of things. Gunther was the main chef, but she was more than capable of stepping up to feed these drunks if the need arose. “You two have fun now, you hear?”

“I think we’ll manage. Right, kid?” Gunther asked as he poured them each a refill for their oncoming talk.

Leo, who’d been spacing out since finishing his dinner, snapped back to reality. “Y-Yeah, sure. Sorry. Got carried away for a sec there. The sandwich was great as ever, Gunther.”

The chef smiled warmly at the compliment and led Leo to a small seating area behind the building. Wooden benches with toadstool umbrellas and mushroom seats dotted the surroundings. It also had a wrought-iron fence to match the one in front, though this one was covered in a dense shroud of morning glories that were, in contrast to their name, blooming in the twilight. Some bushes sat in front of the fence, too, further adding to the outdoor atmosphere not commonly found in a city as big as Imperalis.

The area was empty aside from Gunther and Leo, so they sat together at the nearest table. The sight of the foliage brought a satisfied grin to the boy’s face, as he’d had a pretty big hand in its development. A few years back, Leo suggested improving the back by giving the place some ambiance. Before the bushes and the flowers, the dining experience outside the tavern was pretty bleak, providing yet another glimpse into a random back alley with an ugly fence to keep out the riffraff.

All he’d done was mention the idea to Silla and Gunther, who were surprised by his suggestion. Not because they hadn’t thought of it themselves but because he’d been a pretty quiet and withdrawn kid up until then. Why not let him have this one?

Silla didn’t know much about growing anything other than fungi, and Gunther was unreliable at best regarding things that required a subtle touch, so most of the heavy work fell to Leo. He wasn’t a gardener by any means, but he’d wanted to show his appreciation for the Brasseurs and somehow pulled it off. It wasn’t a breathtaking sight or anything, the bushes were spaced poorly, and they probably could’ve worked in other species of flowers, but it was still something Leo was proud of whenever he thought back on it- precisely why Gunther suggested coming there.

Leo wasn’t oblivious. Bringing him out back here for some alone time with a pair of beers… as much as he appreciated the intention, he had to ask and break the silence with a self-deprecating smile. “Nice night out tonight, but I hope you’re not about to tell me this isn’t some kind of intervention.”

Gunther laughed as loudly as he ever did. “Intervention? Gods, no. Just thought ya looked like ya had a lot on your mind, kid. Granted, that ain’t nothing outta the usual, but I can’t just stand by without at least asking about it. Feel like sharing what’s going on, or have ya not had enough beers yet?”

“Well, it’s like you said. I’m usually like this. Not much to say about it.” Leo swirled around the beer in his mug.

Leo’s closed-off nature forced a sigh out of Gunther. “Just trying to help, kid. I can’t if ya don’t let me.”

“…It’s just, I don’t know. Everything?” Leo slumped over in his seat. “Sorry, I can’t really narrow it down.”

Feeling a little out of his depth but eager to try anyway, Gunther scratched the back of his head and asked, “Well, how’s work? I heard some of what ya told Silla. Sounds rough, even if ya won’t be honest about it.”

“It’s hard to be,” Leo bit his lip and glanced sideways. “I-”

Gunther raised his hand. “Simmer down. Ya don’t gotta go making excuses for yourself. Ya think we don’t know your deal by now? Kid, it’s been six years. Pretty sure we know ya bout as well as… well, as if you were family.”

“…Thanks.” Leo’s heart raced at the implication. It was tough to grapple with- his self-worth fighting back against the happiness it made him feel. All he could do back was nod, letting Gunther continue.

The older man had trouble continuing from there, though. He wasn’t great at this, either. But he looked down and saw that Leo was wearing his boots. That gave Gunther a pretty good jumping-off point, so he latched on and went with it.

“Crazy to think it’s been two years since I had those boots of yours resized. They been treating you good?”

“Yeah. Even though the artificer did a great job, I can’t help thinking they still seem a little big for me sometimes, though…” Leo laughed.

Gunther frowned. “That’s kinda what I was afraid of. Look, kid. I know I pushed ya into the whole adventuring thing, but… ya know you don’t have to prove anything to me, right? Endless Hells, I quit all those years ago cause I couldn’t stand it anymore. I’m the last person who’s gonna look down on ya for packing it in.”

“I know,” Leo nodded and leaned back in his chair, looking up at the stars shining above beyond the heavens. So far away, so unattainable. “But it’s nothing as bad as what you went through. I’m just frustrated by where everything is at, you know?”

“Sure, sure…” Gunther studied Leo’s face for any sign of a lie, and after finding none, he contented himself and continued speaking. “I was at that age, once. Restless, ready to prove myself, somehow even dumber than I am now. Thought I was giving ya the right push, thought that getting ya outta the hole that bitch dug for ya would do you some good, and I didn’t think staying around here would help none.”

Leo closed his eyes, a flash of momentary distress showing on his face as he suppressed an unpleasant memory. “You were right about that. I think it helps to be on the move all the time, and besides, I barely even think about any of that junk anymore. Really.”

“…Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m doing alright for myself. I might not’ve been able to pick up any of your combat arts, but hey, you sure taught me to run well.”

“Heh. I’ll never understand how those instructors of yours let a natural like you slip through their fingers, but when there’s so many of ya, I guess that…” Gunther stopped short, covering his folly with an awkward beer chug. He needed to pivot, so he changed the topic to where he planned to take it all along. “Ah, never mind all that... hey, I ever tell ya how the missus and I met, kid?”

“Uh, yeah. A bunch of times.” Leo blinked. He’d heard all about how Gunther’s adventuring career ended up with him finding his way to Cransmere, where Silla had been a waitress at a local pub he frequented. “What about it?”

“Your situation’s got me nostalgic, that's all. There was this quest-”

“The terroboar,”

“Right ya are. Whole forest over there is crawling with these nasty pigmen bastards, but terroboars? Hoo, boy. Those’re some of the worst. Everything that could go wrong did. Barely made it back with my life, and afterward, I couldn’t find it in me to keep fighting. All I had was my self-pity and my booze…”

Leo suddenly realized how this might be relevant to him and clammed up, listening intently.

“But there was a girl who wouldn’t leave me with my toxic headspace. Fiery, she was- is, I mean. Silla, she… well, she beat me over the head with my bullshit and made me step back and realize that it wasn’t the end of the world if adventuring wasn’t working out. She made sure I knew I could choose a different path.”

“She was saying the same to me just a bit ago…”

“Course she was. Ya might not be where I was, but she knows where you’re headed. I know you’ve gotten comfortable with your life, Leo. Ya like your fancy clothes and your jewelry, and that’s all well and good, but not if you’re burning yourself out to keep up your lifestyle.”

“Gunther-” Leo sighed and cradled his forehead. “It’s not that. The adventuring is going fine. It’s... it's that everything in life is just so fucking listless. Stagnant. I’m not making progress on fucking anything. My career, girls, whatever, and there’s not much you or Silla can tell me that'll make it feel better. If you’re gonna keep saying the same stuff as her, then I’ll just say right now that it’s not like getting a girlfriend will magically solve my problems either, I-”

The boy stopped when he got a look at Gunther’s heartfelt expression. He was looking at him with great concern but also relief. A smile lifted the corners of his mouth, complimenting his downtrodden eyes.

“Feel better, kid?”

“…Yeah,” Leo sighed, surprised at how easily it had slipped from him. “I guess I really needed to say it out loud. Fuck.”

“Heh. I didn’t even bring up girls, y’know. Guessing that’s a big issue you’re going through right now?” Gunther took Leo’s silence as confirmation and smirked wider. “Finally, something I can help ya with. Feels like ya climbed out of a hole only to fall into a rut, and now you’re afraid of taking chances. Running in place all day, every day- well, no shit, ya feel stagnant!”

Leo took in a deep breath and held it in for a few seconds before letting go at a snail’s pace. “Taking chances is hard. Whenever I think about making a move on a girl or getting into a relationship, or…” he trailed off, shook his head and finished quietly. “I just obsessively wonder why they’d even want me of all people…”

“So,” Gunther crossed his arms. “Just so we’re on the same page, there is a girl? Cause if there ain't, I was sorta thinking-”

"Silla already tried, no thank you."

"Fair," Gunther laughed. "So, what's she like?"

Leo frowned. “It’s complicated. There are a few girls I'm kinda into...”

"Gods, kid. How many are we talking?”

“N-No,” Leo blushed and chugged the rest of his beer for courage. “It’s not like that, kinda? I mean, there’s this one girl I’m really into that I hang out with a lot, but, uh… I told you about the orbnet, right?”

Gunther blinked, struggling to recall. “That crystal ball thing ya were going on about around a year ago? The one that lets ya talk to people, or whatever?”

“Yeah,” Leo sighed from the frustration of explaining new technology to the older generation. “I never told you, but the whole reason I got it was to practice talking to girls. On top of the girl I hang out with, there are three more that I’m kinda, um… close to.”

It took Gunther a moment to digest the information. “…Alright, kid. But ya don’t really know these girls on the, er, the orbnet, right? Don’t see why they should figure into it if there’s one already in your net, so to speak.”

Leo muttered mainly to himself, “It matters because knowing her, she’d want me to keep my net wide even after I, uh, reeled her in…”

That was even more difficult for Gunther to take in than the orbnet junk. “Ya lost me, kid. Spell it out?”

Leo was past the point of caring about embarrassment, so he spit it out. “You ever meet a girl who wanted to be in a harem and… like, not as a joke or anything or for a financial reason but who actually got off on the idea?”

There was a long period of silence.

“Are ya fucking with me, Leo? Thought ya could pull one over on your old- er, on old Gunther, did ya?”

“No,” Leo was so lost he didn’t even notice the man’s near slip-up, still thinking deeply of Liri. “It's her fetish- said so in no uncertain terms. Thinks being with a guy who needs tons of sex and being used is hot, or whatever. She also lends me all these shitty adventurer novels where the protagonist ends up on top of a pile of naked women...”

“...Kid. I’m trying hard to be supportive. Really, I am. Last thing I want is to be reductive, invalidate what you’re feeling and all that, but-”

“Just say it.”

“You’re saying a girl like that not only exists but that ya ain’t rushing to shove a ring on her finger because… why?! Fuck's sake, ya lived with us for six years... we both know ya got the 'hunger' this gal is looking for if all the bedsheets ya had to wash count for anything-”

“Goddess above-” Leo bemoaned, holding his pendant again to distract himself from the embarrassing memories. “Because I… I can’t…?”

Gunther took a moment to calm himself down from that surprising revelation. That a girl was into Leo was far from surprising. The kid couldn’t see it, but he could really offer the world to someone if only he’d try. That there was a girl who was not only crazy about him but was actively grooming Leo to have a harem by planting all these hints before they’d even started dating?

That… was nearly inconceivable.

“Leo, I’m gonna be more real with ya than I ever have been.”

“Fuck. You’ve been pretty real with me before, Gunther. Feels like I should be a little worried, here…”

“Only reason ya should be worried is if you’re afraid of hearing the truth,” Gunther shook his head, knowing that Leo likely was. He didn’t let it stop him, pushing forward instead. “I’m not gonna mince words like I mince meat. You’re a fucking moron if you don’t jump on this chance.”

“Tell me something I don’t-”

“Will ya shut up and let me set ya straight for once? Stop hiding behind your fast talking and your jokes and listen.” Gunther’s seriousness hit hard. He never got like this, and as the only father figure Leo ever had, it was super effective whenever he did. Soon as he’d verified he had Leo’s undivided attention, though, Gunther softened up like the big teddy bear he was and adopted a sad smile.

“Opportunities don’t just sit there and wait for ya to take ‘em. You’ll trick yourself into thinking they’ll always be there for ya, but by the time ya hype yourself up enough to pounce they’ll be long gone. I was only a few years older than ya when I fought that terroboar, and y’know what? If I hadn’t taken the chance Silla offered me, I never woulda healed. Who the fuck knows where I woulda ended up? It certainly wouldn’t be here- running this restaurant with the love of my life. Ya get me? I don’t care if ya feel like the saddest sack of crap in all the realms, Leo. Ya gotta know you’re on the fast track to losing your chance with this gal, and no matter how fast ya run, there’s no catching a ship that’s sailed. Don’t make me have to pull ya outta the gutter again, kid. Once was enough.”

Dead silence. Gunther’s words hung in the air, endlessly replaying in Leo’s mind. At least he knew he’d gotten through to him since he was racking that brain of his.

“…Ya want another beer?”

“…Yeah. That’d be nice. Thanks.”

Gunther stood up, grabbed their tankards, clasped Leo on the shoulder, and returned inside to give the boy the time he needed to sort through everything he’d said.

Gunther was right.

Opportunities had expiration dates, and most weren’t kind enough to tell you when they were coming. There was a jumping-off point, a point of no return. A time for a leap of faith and for faith in general.

It was true that Leo would never again have to suffer the pain he’d experienced in the past if he locked off his heart and doubted everyone’s intentions. The question was whether it was better to hole up and keep his defenses high or take a chance that might lead somewhere. The answer was obvious, given how miserable Leo was with himself and who he was. At some point, he had to return some of the good faith others had given him before they ran out.

Would it really be so bad if he actually met one of the girls he chatted with, even if it was just once? Well, maybe that was a step too far. Gunther was right in that he didn’t really know any of them. He’d spent many long nights chatting with the three, but each was as guarded as he was with their personal lives and revealed little, if at all, of who they were off of the orbnet.

There was much uncertainty for him to handle, especially when opposed to Liri. Taking a chance on her seemed like a sure bet. More than that, even. It seemed like the smart thing to do.

It wouldn’t hurt to keep things as they are with Chrissi, Hazy, and Dire since, knowing Liri, she’d probably encourage it in the first place, but it was pretty clear to Leo where his primary focus should be turned. Despite the alcohol in his system, Leo felt more clear-headed than he had in a long time. It must’ve been obvious because it was the first thing Gunther commented on upon his return.

“Looking a little better, kid. Hope I helped put things in perspective for ya.” Gunther grinned, slamming their frothy tankards on the bench.

“You sure did,” Leo proudly announced. “Gods, I should’ve talked to you about this ages ago before it got so bad, but… you know how I get. I’m not proud of it, but-”

“Leo, it’s all good. Me and Silla, we know ya by now. Ya weren’t dealt the best hand when ya were born, but we’ve tried our best to make up for that ever since ya came into our lives. That ain’t gonna stop just cause you’re difficult sometimes, kid. Don’t go forgetting that.” Gunther raised his tankard to Leo, waiting expectantly for him to reciprocate. It took him a moment to work past his overwhelmed emotions, but Leo clinked their glasses, and they both had a long, hearty chug of Browbeaten Boar.

“Thanks, Gunther. I won’t. Promise.” Leo smiled, wiping the beer froth from his lips and suppressing a belch. Gunther didn’t extend the same courtesy, and they laughed at the sheer scale of his burp and its ill-timed arrival.

“I think I’m gonna head home for tonight and get some rest. You gave me a lot to think about, and I think I need time to decide what I’m gonna do next.”

“I imagine you’re gonna sneak in some more of that ‘practice’ while you’re are it, huh?” Gunther grinned deviously.

“Depends on if any of the girls are on,” Leo blushed and scratched his head. “But I’m still taking what you said to heart. I’m focused on Liri.”

“Liri, huh…?” Gunther scratched his goatee and nodded in approval. “Cute. Well, I’m glad to hear it. Hope this goes without saying, but if things ever get serious…”

“I’ll bring her here sometime, yeah…” Leo smiled and blushed as he lowered his head, imagining the surreal experience of introducing Liri to the closest thing he had to a family.

Gunther said nothing in response, merely finishing his beer and giving the boy another broad smile. Leo stood up and gave him a quick hug, then one for Silla when he came back inside to say goodbye. After leaving, Leo took a moment to gaze up at the stars and appreciate the sight. With his new perspective, they looked a little closer than they did before.