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Nathan was walking down the street with a loaf of bread when a massive fissure opened in the sky. A wind whipped up as the vortex sucked everything into it. Nathan struggled to hug a telephone pole as his feet were lifted into the air, but soon his grip failed him, and he was sucked into the portal. He blinked a few times, having landed in the sky of a foreign land.Alex was going about his daily business in the grand city of Ul’dah when the sky suddenly turned an ominous black, and right above the city, a massive portal opened up and began dropping things from inside it; one of which happened to be a boy falling straight towards the road Alex himself was walking on. After a few moments of staring, his instincts prompted him to run underneath where the boy would fall in an attempt to catch him, or at least cushion the fall.While falling from the sky Nathan could see a magnificent cityscape. He wondered if he was going to die as the gray brickwork that made up the streets rapidly approached. Closing his eyes, he awaited death.Opening his eyes one after the other, he feels something squishy.Alex braced his body and prepared himself as the boy came crashing down into him, bringing him down to the ground under him; he wasn’t injured and thankfully the boy was unharmed, but instead his hand had landed somewhere else on him, causing him to blush a bright red. "He-hey! Are you ok there?"Nathan was confused and disoriented, and he looked around a bit not knowing where he was. Nathan padded his body, making sure everything was there. "Yeah, umm, I think so." His shorts and tank top were torn and tattered but he was in one piece. "You saved me from going splat! Thank you!""Glad l could help prevent that, but now if you could do me a fa-favor, please get off me," Alex asked from beneath the boy as he looked around to get a clear view of him before quickly turning his head back towards the ground due to how much of Nathan he could see - The portal had torn up his shorts and tank top a fair bit, but at least they were still doing their job of covering him up.Nathan blushed, quickly getting off of Alex. "Sorry about that, my name is Nathan," he said, rubbing the back his head. "Ahhh, where are we?" Still assessing his surroundings, Nathan noticed the boy’s strange clothing.Alex stood up once Nathan got off from on top of him and brushed off his coat before returning his attention back to Nathan and his rather weird outfit choice. "Well, my name is Alex, and you’re in one of the 3 grand cities, specifically the city of Ul'dah. Mind if I ask what city you came from before that vortex spat you out here?" He asks as he blushes lightly at the sight of Nathan, quickly slipping off his jacket, leaving himself in a small, almost see-through shirt, and handing his jacket to Nathan. Nathan bows, accepting the garment. He tried his best to avert his eyes from Alex's chest. "I'm from a city call Ikebukuro." To Nathan's surprise, the coat fit him. The immediate area soon was swarmed by scavengers looking to make a quick buck by taking the exotic materials that had spewed from the porthole.Alex noticed the influx of Al Bheds beginning to scavenge around the area and quickly grabbed ahold of Nathan’s hand, gently but forcefully pulling him behind him towards a different area of Ul’dah where his home was. “Ikebukuro? That’s a first for me, but it seems like a cool place. For now, why don’t we head back to my home where we can relax?” He asks as he looks back at Nathan while they walked, smiling slightly with a small blush at how his jacket almost perfectly fit him.It wasn't like Nathan had anywhere to go. He only had the contents of his pockets and the loaf of bread he had just bought. It was quite clear that Dorothy wasn't in Japan anymore. "Uraha was it?" Nathan had no idea how long he was going to be staying in this land, or if he could even get back to his home.He smiled as he was whisked away by Alex.“Ul’dah was the city’s name, a city basically ruled by those with money,” Alex explained as they exited out of the main gates of Ul’dah, walking down the road towards the Goblet where his home was located. His hand never left Nathan’s. “I-If I can ask, d-do you normally expose your arms and skin so openly in Ike-Ikebuko?”Nathan let his new friend guide him, firmly holding his hand and refusing to let go. "In Ikebukuro it often gets hot and humid, so yeah!” Thinking about it for a minute he asks, "Does Ul’dah have like, clothing laws?"“Not really any laws on clothing, but if you’re in certain parts of Ul’dah, it’s best to dress like you belong there in case someone from the Syndicate sees you and tries to take advantage,” Alex explained glumly as they enter the goblet housing district. The two pass by houses of varying sizes before stopping in front of a medium sized house. “And this is my home; mom is away in one of the other cities for a bit, so I have the house to myself. Come on!” Nathan entered the modest stone house and sat on the living room floor before emptying his pockets; he didn't have much. He laid out before him his wallet, keys, a pocket knife, a pack of chewing gum, and some loose change. After assessing his things, he questioned curiously; "Syndicate?"Alex stared at the pocket knife curiously for a few moments before sitting down beside Nathan and focusing on him. “A weird title for them, I know, but it’s the name that those who have power in Ul’dah picked for themselves. They’re the ones who basically control the city through their money. Is that not how it works where you live?”“Oh, and you don’t need to wear the jacket anymore if you don’t want to since we’re in my parents house,” he says once he remembers that Nathan was still wearing his jacket.Nathan jumps. "Oh, uh, here - I'm sorry," he said, quickly taking off the jacket giving it back. "You like my knife? Gotta be able to defend yourself, ya know?" Nathan placed his hand to his chin thinking. "Well, l guess a comparison I could make would be the Yakuza - they’re a gang that has influence everywhere.”Suddenly, the gravity of the situation starts to sink in. "How am I going to get back? Where am I going to go?" A panic stirred with a Nathan. "I have no money!"“This ‘Yukuza’ sounds very much like what the Syndicate is...” Alex says quietly, more to himself before he hears the panic in Nathan’s voice. “Well, I’m almost positive there’s a way for you to get back, but that would probably take some time, so for now I don’t mind you staying here with me. It gets lonely after all with how long mom is usually gone,” he adds quietly as he looks down at his shoes, quickly slipping them off and tossing them into a corner, leaving him with his socks on. “I-If you do wanna stay here with me until a chance for you to go back home comes, wanna see what would end up being your room?” Alex says hopefully as he stands back up and offers his hand out to Nathan with a small smile on his face."I don't want to be a burden... is there any way I could compensate you? But sure, I wouldn't mind taking a look," he says, getting up removing his shoes.“You could always help out with chores around the house and run errands to pick up stuff from the city with me,” Alex says happily, excited at the idea of having a new friend and them living together no less before he stills for a second and blushes a bright shade of red. “U-um, before you see the room, I need t-to, ummm...put away a few books! It’s just a small mess!” He runs down the hallway and opens the furthest door on the right before stepping into it and slamming it shut.Nathan blushed and stood in the hallway. His clothes were dangerously close to tearing off of his body. After waiting a few minutes, he slowly goes the door Alex went into.Thinking quickly, Alex grabbed as many of the naughty books that he had 'borrowed' from the guards when they were busy and stuffed them inside the back of his closet before closing it quickly and kicking the few that fell under his bed, hoping Nathan wouldn’t find them. Finally, he opened bedroom door again to see Nathan standing there in his tattered apparel. "Oh yeah, since it looked like my jacket fit you pretty well, all my clothes in the closet should fit you just as nicely. Pick out whatever you want."Nathan graciously obliges, walking over the closet opening it he bends over, causing his shorts and underwear to fall just as he spies multiple pornographic books. Grabbing one, he turns around, covering his hardening dick. "Guess at least one thing is universal."Alex turns a bright red at the sight of Nathan's exposed butt before he turns around, his blush turning impossibly brighter in embarrassment as he sees him holding one of the porn books he tried to hide from him. "I-I, uhh… I can totally explain why those were in my closet, and that doesn’t involve me lo-looking at them sometimes," he says as his eyes drift downwards to stare at Nathan’s hand attempting to cover his dick. "Don't be ashamed, it's only natural," Nathan said before diving back in the closet throwing on a random assortment of clothes.“J-just because it’s nature doesn’t make it any less embarrassing!” Alex hid his face with his hands but left them parted slightly so that he could still watch Nathan’s currently naked form.Nathan was certainly not the bashful type, but Alex's comments about clothing made him think, ‘When in Rome.’ Leaving the closet Nathan asks. "What currency do you guys use? I’m guessing it's not yen."“W-We use this thing called gil, though some people also trade in these old sacks of coins from an old ancient group of people.” Alex continued peeking at Nathan’s naked body, silently enjoying the view and beginning to slowly get hard beneath his short custom made skirt.Nathan's hips swayed to one side as he placed his hand to his chin in contemplation. "Hmm, how would someone like me earn gil?"“A-anyone, in theory, could earn gil easily enough anywhere you go,” Alex answered absent mindfully as he stared at Nathan’s hips as his blush never calms down at all.Nathan sat next to Alex on the bed, shoulder to shoulder, he slowly ran a finger up Alex's inner thigh. "Oh yeah? How?"Alex let out a small shuddering breath as Nathan’s finger runs up his inner thigh, and closes his eyes, leaning into him slightly. “Th-the same way to-you probably would back in your wo-world, pa-part time jobs or helping others out with fa-favors.”Nathan leaned in close to Alex's ear and purred. "What kind of favors?" Nathan's heart began to race; some things are the same no matter what world you’re in.Alex lets out another shuddering breath as he feels Nathan’s breath on his ear, quietly reaching down to tug his skirt a bit further down to try and hide his growing bulge from Nathan. “An-any kind of favor really. An-anyone would gladly accept some he-help.”Nathan wasn't naive; he knew what was happening to Alex. The cheeky grin on his face was a telltale sign that he was having fun. "Do you want some help? I will owe you rent eventually."“I-if you want to… th-though I-I wouldn’t make you pay re-rent for a bit, not un-until you’re used to this wo-world.” Alex says softly as he stops trying to tug his skirt down further to avoid showing Nathan how hard he is under his skirt.Nathan began to rub Alex's crotch. "Thank you, that’s very kind of you - you’re so hospitable." Nathan wondered if the boy had the same equipment as him, assuming he was human as well.Alex let out a small quiet moan before quickly covering his mouth with his hand, cheeks burning brighter as he thrusts up into Nathan’s hand gently. “I-it’s only fair, after all, si-since your’re new here and a-are willing to help out im-immediately.”Nathan continues to massage his hard little bulge. "Is it normal for boys to wear sexy skirts here?"Alex began letting out small shaky breathes as he starts humping into Nathan’s hand, using it to give friction to his now erect small cock. “I-I’m just a special ca-case with my skirt being cu-custom made for me, th-though robes with nothing un-under them are common here for how hot it can ge-get.”"Are you not wearing underwear?" Nathan curiously lifted up Alex's skirt and stared at his cute hairless cock and balls. His dick was hard and twitching.Alex looked away from Nathan, his blush not dying down at all as his small erect cock twitched excitedly in front of Nathan. “I-I don’t normally wear any when I decide to wear my sk-skirt, a-and if I do, I-it’s usually something el-else...”Nathan caressed and fondled Alex's balls with one hand while lightly stroking him with the other.Alex let out small soft moans of pleasure as Nathan’s hands pleasured his body, closing his eyes from the sensations.Nathan admired the young boy’s soft features; he wanted so desperately to kiss his tender lips.Alex slowly opened his eyes to look at Nathan with a small blush on his face as he slowly reached out with his hand and gently places it on top of Nathan's exposed crotch, seeing as he never put on a new set of clothing once his old apparel fell apart.Nathan shuddered and a gasp escaped his supple lips. Goosebumps spread across his skin. Nathan was a very curious boy; his hand moved from Alex's balls and gently felt his stomach, his fingers diving beneath Alex’s shirt.Alex let out a small shaky breath as Nathan's fingers shifted over his skin before they gently trailed over his stomach, causing him to let out a short small giggle at the feeling, before slowly doing the same to Nathan's body as he dragged his hand up his body slowly until it neared Nathan's nipples - he gave them a small flick.Nathan pushed Alex over on the bed, his small yet toned body loomed over the boy. Nathan ground his cock into Alex's. One hand supported his weight while the other hand explored Alex's chest, pinching his nipple. His heart beat rapidly as his face drew closer to Alex's lips, so close they could ark electricity.Alex stared up at Nathan as he loomed over him, letting out a small whimper as his nipple was pinched by Nathan. He noticed the short distance between their lips, closed his eyes for a few moments, and with a determined look, he leaned up and gently kissed Nathan on his lips before laying back down and looking at him with a bright blush coating his face.Nathan eyes widened - the kiss was sweet and magical.Nathan’s hot moist breath assaulted Alex's sensitive member. He looked up, his eyes longing with desire. "Can I suck on it?"“I-If you want t-to you can...” he says quietly as his body shivers slightly in pleasure from the hot breath on his twitching cock.Nathan wasted no time in hungrily devouring Alex's cute little cock, bobbing his head up and down and lapping at his head.Alex let out a short whimper into his hand as his hips accidentally thrust up into Nathan’s mouth.Nathan quite enjoyed suckling on Alex's tasty cock - he sucked and sucked, hoping to get his cream filling as soon as possible, figuring that would be a decent payment for rent.Alex continued letting out small whimpers as his head tossed from side to side occasionally as he squirmed around underneath Nathan, his dick pulsing repeatedly in Nathan’s mouth “Na-Nathan...I-I’m gonna cum soon...”Alex's sweet mewls were music Nathan's ears. He began to massage Alex's balls, coaxing his prepubescent seed out quicker. With his free hand on Alex's hip, Nathan could feel his lover's body tense up as Alex's orgasm rocked his little body.Alex let out one final moan as his body tensed up, and he thrust up into Nathan’s mouth as his twitching dick started shooting his load of cum right into Nathan’s mouth, shivering in pleasure. “Na-Nathan!!”Nathan swallowed his prize. Getting up he wiped a bit off of his chin with the back of his wrist and smiled. "Glad you liked that."Alex let out small soft pants as he tried to catch his breath, looking at Nathan shyly. “Th-that was really good, Nathan...” "Good. Anytime you take care of me, I'll take care of you.”"Umm... Think you could pick out my outfit so I can blend in better?" Nathan said, standing and putting his hands behind his head, leaning on one leg.Alex stared at Nathan’s naked body for a few moments with his blush still burning brightly on his face as his gaze drifted down towards his crotch before he shook his head softly. ”I-I can do that, th-though any outfit works really, s-so you should find stuff you like first.”Nathan chewed on his lip nervously. "I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb here. Can you just pick out something. . . traditional for me?"Alex’s face flushed a light red in embarrassment as he nodded his head at Nathan before he stood up slowly and walked into his closet, moving stuff around. “Fa-fair warning, mo-most of my stuff isn’t traditional si-since I replaced most of it with more sk-skirts, but that’s kinda normal.”Nathan smiled back and blushed. "I trust you." He was eager to get new clothes to show off his assets.“Th-then I’ll pick out the best skirt I have, along with a shirt close to your original one!” Alex yelled back out from inside the closet as he began randomly tossing out shirts from in his closet in search of a semi see-through shirt to match one of his black short skirts.Nathan eagerly tried on well fitting garments. His stomach growled audibly, and he blushed as he gathered his things."Oh right, you're probably hungry after a falling through a portal like that! I'll go prepare us some sandwiches!" Alex said excitedly, running out of his room back towards the kitchen and leaving Nathan alone in his room.Rushing after Alex, Nathan urged him to use his bread as some way to help contribute towards the meal. Surely the otherworldly pastry would be interesting to say the least. In the back of his mind, he was worried about what kind of meats, vegetables, and fruits they had here.Alex paused once he reached the kitchen and turned around as he notices Nathan had followed behind him. Nathan offered a loaf of bread out in his hand, and he happily took it before cutting off a fair bit of it to use for two dodo meat sandwiches.Nathan quickly took his sandwich and sunk his teeth in with reckless abandon. The meat was tender and reminded him of turkey. Happily grinning, he tried to speak, but his mouth was full.Alex quickly made a shushing motion and gestured at the sandwich as he picked up and took a bite out of his own, letting out a small hum of delight before swallowing his bite. “Food first, cause I’m hungry and I bet you are too.”Nathan swallowed what he had in his mouth with a big gulp. "Sorry," he murmured, going back to his sandwich eating it a little bit more politely.“Nobody said you had to act like a boring person through, the way you eat is way better,” Alex admitted quietly from his spot at the table, before taking a quiet bite out of his sandwich and swallowing it down quickly with a bit of chewing.Nathan perked up and began to scarf down his sandwich again. "Um, do you have anything to drink?" He asked as little bits of food flew from his mouth.Alex quickly finished off the rest of his sandwich as he shoved the remaining bit into his mouth before he slowly stood up and moved to the fridge. After a few moments he pulled a pitcher that was typically used for tea but had a red liquid inside it instead. “Hope you like cider, cause mom left crimson cider in the fridge.”Nathan's eyes widened. "What's that? What makes it red?" He asks as he subconsciously licked his lips.“It’s this oddly sweet drink mom makes using these things called crimson oranges that she gets from somewhere, it’s really good!” Alex says excitedly as he placed the pitcher on the table and jumped up to grab two cups out of the cabinet, bringing them over for both himself and Nathan.Nathan watched as Alex poured them each a glass of the vibrant, wine-colored liquid. He picked up the glass and cautiously takes a sip. "Wow! It tastes like Kool-Aid!" Nathan exclaimed. "So what were you doing before we met?" Nathan asked before taking another larger sip."I was just leaving my practice season with the black mage guild that's set up in town next to the place where they keep dead bodies for some reason, and was on my way to pick up a leve so I could practice the new spells I learned - and then that portal opened up, and out came you." Alex then eagerly took a sip from his cup and paused slightly at the odd, barely tasteable new flavor in the drink before shrugging slightly and taking another sip from his cup.Nathan was baffled, scratching his head. "Mages? Guilds? Leves? Spells? Are you a wizard, Har- Alex?""Not really... I’m a trainee to become a black mage, which I guess is like being a wizard from your world. The official name for what I’m training to be is called a thaumaturge."Nathan snickered then burst out in laughter. "Thaumaturd, pfft." Nathan stood up with a determined look in his eye. "Well, let's go do that then!""I-its not funny! I-I know magic!" Alex says with a small pout before he smirks at Nathan and reaches out and gently shocked Nathan.Nathan jumped at the electric bolt arcing into his skin. "Woah!" He said smirking. "...Do it again."Alex pouted even more as he slowly channeled a bit of his mana inside of him to his fingertips before shooting it out at Nathan to cause a slightly stronger static shock to him."Ow," Nathan gasped, rubbing his arm. "That's soooo cooool! Wish l had powers like that." He exclaimed.He finished his drink and inquired, "So, what’s this leaving thing?"“It’s where people like us or adventurers pick up requests to do something that normal people can’t do,” Alex explained as he finished his cup of cider and let out a content sigh.Nathan stood on his seat, dramatically raising his little fist into the air. "Like slay a dragon! Or find an ancient treasure, or save Princess Zelda?" Before sitting down rapidly, pressing down his skirt; he wasn't used to wearing one.Alex laughed as Nathan stood up; in his excitement he caused his skirt to fly up before he sat back down “Yes to all of those actually. Though it all depends on the leve, and normally big stuff is taken by the big adventurers when they rest in town.”Excited and enthusiastic, Nathan grabbed Alex by the wrist. "Well, come, let's go! I wanna adventure!" The smile on his face was like that of a child about to go to an amusement park.Alex smiled at the sight of Nathan’s excitement, and he quickly stood up and began walking towards the door, his wrist still being held by Nathan. “Th-then let’s head out now to pick up a good leve while they’re still there!”
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Nathan and Alex race to the leve board. Nathan ignorantly picked out a level 50 request for Western Thanalan. "What about this one?"Alex’s eyes widened in fear before he quickly put the level 50 request back on the board, and picked a level 15 leve, not noticing the warning about level 20 enemies in the area of level 15’s and held it out to Nathan. “Le-lets try this one instead - much closer to our level of skill, I think.”"Oh, ok. What are the objectives?" He asked, blushing at his overzealousness.“It just says that we gotta hunt down some bandits to intimidate them and keep them from trying to do anything,” Alex says as he stares down at the small clip in his hand, missing the warning at the bottom before he handed it over to Nathan.Nathan looked at the leve, turning it sideways and then upside-down and then right-side up again; the characters and words were unknown to him. "So we just have to scare off some Bandits? That should be no problem with your badass magic."Facing away from Alex, Nathan bursts with excitement. "This world is so fucking COOL!""Wellll, it’s probably not as simple as just showing off my magic and them stopping. They might try and fight us if we show up, so we gotta be ready to fight, too." Alex spoke with a calm and collected expression on his face, but on the inside, he was smiling widely and jumping up and down at the praise from Nathan on his magic.Nathan ran off yelling, "Let's get these bandits!" leaving Alex before running back to him. "Ah, where are we going?"Alex let out another chuckle before picking the leve up and sliding it into a small side pocket on his skirt. He made his way toward the exits leading to Central Thanalan. "We need to get to out to Central Thanalan, which isn’t too far out from here, actually, though the walk to where the bandits might take a bit longer..."Leaving the city gates, Nathan realizes they're actually in an unforgiving, barren wasteland and the hot sun was bearing down on them. He swallowed thickly. "So you think we need like, supplies?""Well, you got your dagger on you, right? So that should be enough for the short trip out there." He said with a small sigh, the heat shining down on them as they slowly began the short trek to the little corner of Central Thanalan where the bandits were said to be hiding out, away from prying eyes."Yep!" Nathan said, gleefully patting his pocket. The scenery was beautiful in an eerie, dead kind of way. Dried shrubbery and rock formations dotted their journey."D-do you normally see this kind of stuff where you’re from?" Alex asked softly after they had walked for a bit as they began entering a darker, more secluded area with a tunnel off the trail, and a small campsite set up nearby.Nathan thought for a minute, pausing his steps. "No, this is very different! We do have big cities like Ul'dur, but outside of the cities we have lush wet forests; still just as hot, though." Continuing to walk towards the light source, Nathan heard a twig snap. He placed his hand on Alex's shoulder, whispering. "I think we have company.Alex opens his mouth to ask that question before he becomes deadly quiet after Nathan's remark and silently taps on a bracelet he had on a few times before letting it fall back to his side as he looks around the area slowly, trying to spot where the sound came from.Dozens of bandits began to charge them, they climbed and slid down the canyon's rocky face blocking the way Alex and Nathan came from. Nathan watches on in awe as Alex's started to pick off the lower level bandits from a distance.Alex let out a small ‘hmph’ as he focused his attention on the weaker looking bandits in the back with his arm raised before flicking his hand out towards, letting loose a weak stream of fire directly at the back bandits, defeating them almost instantly.Nathan brandished his dagger engaging the bandits striking those with red Health bars strategically picking off the weak ones that Alex could not one shot.He was nimble and graceful his agility was too much for the slow bulky Bandits.His movements flowed like water as he hacked and slashed and stabbed their adversaries.Alex's eyes drifted from the bandits on occasion to watch Nathan as he gracefully moves about the area and easily cuts down the enemies that he himself has missed and before he focuses back on a stronger bandit who seems to almost brush off his spells like they were nothing, making him grumble under his breath. "Stupid bandits being strong...not going down in one spell like his buddies..."As the dust settled Nathan is confronted by the largest hulking Bandit in metal armor unlike the weak leather clad bandits. Nathan glanced over to Alex and saw a similar one closing in on him.The one in front of him had more lethal weapons as well a sword and shield the bronze weaponry the glimmered in the sunlight blinding Nathan as he was smacked by the brute force of the shield.Alex quickly does a quick series of backsteps as his spells continue basically having no effect on the brute of a bandit in metal in front of him before he hears the sound of something slapping a shield hard and he watches as Nathan is smacked back from a different bandit that had approached them as well before he quickly runs away from his own bandit to kneel down beside Nathan as he tosses out weak bolts of thunder. "Co-come on Nathan, yo-you gotta get back up, th-these guys are to-too strong for us..."Nathan struggled to get to his feet wiping the blood from his lip. Nathan steeled himself and grips his pocket knife with both hands lunging at his enemy foolishly. The Bandit brought up the shield breaking Nathan's knife in two at the same time slashing him across the gut bringing him to near death. Nathan crawls to retrieve a blade half of his broken weapon a weapon willed to him by his deceased grandfather the sentimental value is too great to be left behind. All the while Alex has his own hulking Brute to deal with.Alex watches on as Nathan carelessly charged at the sword and shield wielding bandit and lets out a small gasp with tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes as the attack is blocked effortlessly and breaks the knife in the process before the sword slashes across his stomach, launching a bit of Nathan's blood with it. He looks back at his own metal foe that had closed the gap while he wasn’t focusing on him with tears running down his cheeks in a mix of fear and sadness before he holds he holds his right arm out towards him and with a noticeable shift in the air around him, lets loose a massive stream of fire at the metal wearing bandit and burning him away before he himself falls flat on his face and unable to move his body at all from using all of his energy and then extra for an attack he couldn’t control.Nathan firmly grasped the broken blade in his left hand, the right still holding the hilt. As tears fell, memories of his grandfather flood his mind with his last mental image being of Alex. The seal was broken the pieces in his hands glowed in a bright white light morphing, growing, changing their shape into long wicked curving blades. Then a black and red aura enveloped Nathan as he rose to his feet his eyes were pure white, no pupils, soulless. The bleed status effect inflicted on him dwindled his HP past 5% subconsciously activating his ability fight and flight granting him haste and berserk temporarily. Nathan, enraged attacked his foe with such overwhelming fury and even more speed than before, swiftly twirling about, hacking relentlessly. The bandit could barely get out his last sentence before his HP melted to zero. "Not the Omega Sickles," recognizing the legendary blades. Spinning around his skirt flares out, putting his assets on display. Soon the ominous blood mist fades and Nathan falls to his knees exhausted. His heartbeat rapid, his breathing labored.Alex lay unable to move his body or turn his head as he listened to the carnage happening behind him as he continued crying quietly before after a long few fearful moments, he doesn’t feel the sword of the other bandit cutting him apart, and he takes that chance to channel his mind and focus it, increasing the rate at which he restored his energy and mana as he slowly rose up to kneel on one knee and look at the cut marks that covered almost every surface behind him before spotting Nathan in the middle of it and barely breathing as he slowly hobbled his down to him “Ho-how...I-I thought we were...th-that can happen later, I-I gotta get Nathan back to to-town...”Nathan catches his breath gripping his belly the bleeding stopped but it still hurt like all hell. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing if this happened in his world this would surely be a fatal wound. Even just by the sheer amount of blood he's lost let alone the organs that would be eviscerated. His mouth was dry his throat hoarse and scratchy his voice was weak and cracking. "A-alex..."Alex quickly kneels down beside Nathan’s wounded body and gently lifts him up so that his head is softly laying on Alex’s lap like a small pillow “Na-Nathan! Yo-your hurt bu-but you still alive, ju-just take some deep breaths for now.”Nathan nestled his head on Alex's lap. "You make the best pillow," he said slightly delirious. He's lost a lot of fluids his vision is going in and out as he looks up at his lil Angel.Alex continues panicking above Nathan before he stops moving for a few seconds and quickly reaches in the back of his skirt and pulls out a small bottle containing a potion before opening it and lowering it down to Nathan’s lips and pouring a small amount at first into his mouth “Th-that’s great to he-hear Nathan, bu-but think you can drink this fo-for me buddy?”Nathan tilted his head up sipping a bitter liquid from a small glass vial. Coughing a bit his eyes open wide, rejuvenated slightly.Alex let out a small sigh of relief as he watches Nathan swallow down the bit of potion and look a tiny bit better then he did before and looks determined as he places the bottle near Nathans's lips again "Co-come on, yo-you still got a bit more to drink down..." Alex says softly as he gently tilts the bottle upwards so the potion slowly begins flowing down in Nathans waiting mouth.Nathan drank every last drop of the potion, he wiped his mouth on his forearm as he managed to get to his feet. "Wow, that was scary, what happens if we died here?" Nathan pondered questioning his own mortality.“Fr-from what I heard happened to a member of scions, yo-your soul floats along in a sea of life...” Alex says quietly as he rises up alongside Nathan to continue providing support for him and slowly leading their way back to Ul’dah. Nathan and Alex leaned on each other as they approached the large magnificent gates of Ul'dah. Nathan's hand drift to Alex's butt while they trekked across the desert, luckily for them, they did not encounter any more enemies. "Phew, I'm beat."As Alex and Nathan finally enter into the safety that is Ul’dah’s walls, Alex finally notices Nathan’s hand resting on his butt but other then blushing brightly and passing it off as just being hot, says nothing. “Th-that’s why people usually only take one leve at a time then rest a bit afterwards.”"Yea, next time let's pick something less hard... Oh right, our reward! What was it?" He asked breathing a sigh of relief now that they were in the safety of the walls. The cities key locations were still foggy and unknown to Nathan he let Alex take the lead.Alex began leading the way back the leve building that they left from and moved so that their sitting at a table to relax and catch his breath a bit before reaching into his back pocket and grabbing the leve “it seems like it was worth around 20k gil due to the possible threat of 2 other bigger bandits.” Nathan's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "Tw- tewnty thousand!" He stammered at the seemingly large amount of Gil."Hmm, yeah. Honestly with who put in the request, I thought it would be more for making sure no one comes back." Alex explains casually as he looks over at Nathan in confusion at the expression he's making "Is that not a normal amount for taking care of bandits or thief's with extra danger back in your world?"Nathan thought and pondered for a moment there wasn't really a real-world equivalent to based off of. "Um well, I don't know it just seemed like a big number to me." Explain rubbing the back of his neck smiling goofily.“Well, here its not too much really, it’s a normal amount really for something like this but sometimes people pay a lot for stuff.“ Alex says as he chuckles quietly at the goofy smile on Nathan’s face before looking down at the table silently for a few moments before looking back up at Nathan.Nathan began to fidget after a few minutes of awkward silence. "You said your mom is away, is she on a Leve?" Nathan asked making idle chit-chat.“Not really, she’s a chef and the people in one of the other city-states, Limsa something, has this high-class restaurant that they wanted her to work there for awhile. So I’m here watching the house for a bit.” Alex says quietly as he begins drawing small circles on the table with his finger as he idly stares at Nathan for a bit before placing the leve on the table in front of them.Nathan bit his lip nervously in a rare instance of social adeptness he picks up on Alex's cue. "I'm sorry. . . you miss her don't you."“I-i admit...I-it’s been lonely in the house by myself, bu-but you made better b-by sticking around!” Alex says quickly as he waves his hands in front of his face quickly in embarrassment at what he said to Nathan as he tries to block his face before deciding to distract him instead “Wh-why don’t we go d-do another leve or something?”Nathan perked up then held his belly. "Yea it was thrilling and exciting but maybe something a little less. . . dangerous?"Nathan placed his hand over Alex's. "Don't worry I'll always be in your party." Nathan smiled reassuringly at Alex thinking of how cute he is when he gets flustered.“I-I do remember there being a slime leve on the board when we were here last time, and those are usually easy and harmless,” Alex says as he winces slightly as Nathan rubs over his gut before his face explodes in a dark red blush at his sweet remark.