"Are you up, Nocri?"

I looked above me. Svi was lying on top of my body. Her blond locks were on my face, so swept them to the side.

"I am now. I haven't woken up this early in a while."

"Come on. Get up. We should get on with the day."

"You've always liked to stay busy."

Svi removed herself from atop me, allowing me to upright myself. I slid out of the blankets, looked for my clothes, then fit myself into them. I threw Svi her clothes, who caught and put them on.

I traveled to the bathroom, grabbing the comb on the sink's edge. I started fixing up my cowlicks. I ended up needing water to fix them. I left the bathroom to see Svi tethering her feral hair in chains. It looked like a struggle.

"Wait for a second, Svi. Your hair is still a mess. Let me take care of that."

"I don't have a brush. I left it at the inn I was renting out. Out of all the things I could've left..."

"I can try to comb it," I suggested, walking up to her.

"It doesn't work... I've tried. Long hair is a pain."

Svi took the chains from her hair, then she whipped out a dagger from her side. She had an annoyed look on her face. Panic swept over me.

"What are you doing?! Stop! I'll go find a brush!" I yelled, liking her long hair.

"I'm sick of this."

Svi held her hair, swiping the blade through it. Her hair was cut to a quarter down her back. I looked at her with shock. Satisfaction was spread on her face.

"Why'd you do that! I liked the long hair..."

"It was a pain. It's been aggravating me for a while, but I wanted to see if it'd get better. It didn't."

"I'm going to get the comb. Stay where you are," I mentioned, sighing after.

"Sure, Cri."

Svi calls me Cri. It's fast to say, so she uses it most of the time. Her name is actually a shortening for Svidi, but she doesn't like the name, as her father named her.

I grabbed the comb from the bathroom, returning to her. I sat on the bed, motioning her to sit on my lap. After she sat down, I took out my dagger.

"I'll fix this. Your hair isn't straight."

"I'll trust you with that. You've always been good at cutting hair."

I began cutting my hair when I was fifteen, and I got good at it with practice. Eventually, I learned I could cut the hair of others. While living together, I cut her hair.

I used my dagger, carefully trimming Svi's hair. After tidying it up, I combed her hair from the tips, upward. Some resistance occurred, but I managed. I trimmed it a bit more, as it was slightly different after combing.

"Can you tie up my hair?"

"Aren't those chains heavy?" I questioned, as I didn't want excessive weight carried by her head.

"Pick them up for yourself."

I picked up the clanking chains, feeling the coolness of the metal. The links were lighter than I had expected. It didn't seem like they'd be a problem to carry.

"What do you use these for?"

"Short-term use. They aren't very heavy or strong. If I need long time binding, I use the chains on my waist."

"You do replace them after use, right?"

"That'd be a waste. A little blood or saliva in my hair isn't a problem," Svi told, acting as if it was no big deal. I didn't like the thought of those substances in her hair.

"I can buy you more. I don't want your hair to be tainted."

Light pink spread on Svi's face.

"You always make what you want to happen."

"If I have a goal, it's going to be achieved."

"That's why I love you. You go through with what you want."

"And I love you because you understand me. You're also the only one who can handle my insanity and bloodlust," I claimed, as I've never met another woman who was okay with it. That or I realized I didn't like them. Usually, I just didn't like them. Actually, I don't think I've ever liked anyone but Svi in a loving way.

"That's because I'm crazier, and my bloodlust is stronger."

"Debatable."

I bound her hair in the chains. I gave her a typical ponytail, the chains falling down from her scalp. The metal links fell lower than her hair now.

"Let's go to Flarem's room. We need to meet up."

"Why? Your lap is comfortable," Svi whined, making me feel attraction. She's adorable when sad, as she pouts.

"Oh, crap, I forgot to tell you. We need to take down this place today. Our army is going to starve to death if we don't."

A grin flashed onto her face. I saw a bloodthirsty twinge in her eyes. Bloodthirsty women are way more frightful than typical women...

"Will we start this soon?"

"After we meet up with Flarem. We need his other personality."

"Sounds good."

I felt Svi gulp, swallowing drool spawned from the thoughts of destruction.

Svi removed herself from my thighs, brushing the hair I cut from her pants. I stood up, sighing, as I wanted her on my lap for longer, but I knew she couldn't stay.

I blushed when I looked at her from the front. I thought I liked the long hair, but this length filled me with adrenaline and remembrance. She appeared how she had when I left her, but with chains. The chains made her look gorgeous.

"Y-you look stunning..."

"Does the hair change look that good?"

"It's similar to your old style. It's nostalgic. You should keep it this length," I insisted, gaping at her beauty.

"You should keep cutting it this length."

"I will."

Svi held onto my arm, rubbing her cheek against my shoulder. We walked out of our room, entering Flarem's.

Flarem was sleeping in his bed, a puddle of vomit on the covers. Snores filled my ears. I ran up to him, opening his eyes. They were still blue. After peeling them open, the eyes started to twitch around. Flarem moved his arm up, slapping my hand away from his face.

"I'm trying to sleep. Go away."

"Get up," I demanded, annoyed with him. "I'm not leaving. We've got to move on with our day."

"I haven't gotten much sleep. Leave me alone."

After covering his face with the blankets, Flarem rolled over, giving out a groan.

"I told you to get up."

"Shut up, Nocri."

Flarem pissed me off, so I pushed him off the bed. The blankets fell on him, the vomit getting on his naked body.

"Are you going to get up? You're covered in throw up."

"I have to now."

Flarem rose from the ground, bags under his eyes. His chest was covered in partially digested food bits. I had a disgusted look on my face.

"What happened to you?"

"I shouldn't go to taverns without anyone else... I stayed until earlier this morning. I had too much to drink and stumbled back here. I think I lay down, threw up, then passed out. I don't remember many details from when I was inside the tavern," Flarem grumbled, every fiber of his being exhausted.

"I warned you. You've got to be careful."

"I'm taking a shower. I'll be out soon."

"Yeah... You do that."

Flarem looked like a typical undead when he traveled to the bathroom, almost tripping over his own feet and moaning. I looked at him with pity.

"Does he normally do this?" Svi asked, appearing concerned for my companion.

"I'm usually with him to keep him in check. He's never gotten quite this bad."

"We should hit up a tavern ourselves some time."

"We can after we destroy this place. It'll all be free then," I suggested, smiling.

"It's a date."

The words gave me happiness when spoken. If I had a pulse, my heart would've been beating out of my chest.

We waited for a few minutes, exchanging kisses. Flarem burst out the bathroom door, fully clothed. He still appeared exhausted.

"Are you good now, Flarem?"

"As good as I'll be for the day. I feel like garbage," He groaned, looking as if he would collapse on the ground.

"Switch over to Meralf. We're taking this place down."

"Fine. He can deal with my body right now."

Without hesitation, blood spewed from Flarem's eyes. A shape began to form. Two reptilian legs took form, building up into a fully reptilian body. It was a blue-scaled dragonkin.

"How did you summon that?! This can actually do damage!"

Flarem looked at the creature with confusion. I was stunned.

"I think I felt some magic created."

"Did you feel angry?"

"I'm not sure. This just happened."

"You haven't even lost all of your strength. How have you lasted this long?" I asked, puzzled by the cause of his anger. It might've been that he was stressed from drinking, me blowing him off for Svi, waking up so early, and the fact I wanted him to switch.

"It's running low. I'm almost out."

"I'm not sure if this is a good thing... It's good your summoning's better, but it also means you're enraged."

"I am a little angry. I want to sleep m-"

After a blink, Meralf and his yellow eyes came into existence. The blood entered his eyes before the change.

"So, you're Svi. Nocri told me about you. You seem very... close. Emotionally and physically."