21:00 AT, Day Thirty Six | Somewhere in the Grassland

  Ray is asleep in my lap, looking super duper cute as always. She was super tired after our date excursion, which was wonderful. We have almost arrived back at Castle Arce Lunae. It has been pretty quick going since we took a smaller group back with us. We have established a semi-permanent base in the cave back in Cinder Keep.

  It does feel a bit strange to be back in the grasslands after all that has happened. But the fact that everything is covered in snow feels even weirder. Gone is the endless ocean of grass, and instead it is replaced with an ocean of snow. The darkness just makes it even eerier, like something is lurking out there, waiting to strike. Though with our night vision, we would be able to see anything trying to sneak up.

  I look out the window and all I can see is white snow and the gentle rise of the occasional hill. In the distance there is a large herd of Bisoclo that seem to be digging in the snow to get the grass underneath. The snow doesn't just affect us, it affects the entire ecology. Though I am pretty sure the game masters will continue replenishing the beasts, it is still strange to see.

  A lot has happened recently. Not just with Luna, but with the Cinder keep, and honestly the entire arena. It has only been just over a month. The Game Keeper said we would be here for about two months, which means we are likely nearing the end, one way or another. I bet a lot has occurred outside the arena, both with our city and the wider universe. Initae has no doubt been busy, especially since her brother finally seems to have made a move, with that countdown orb.

  Whatever happens when that thing finishes, I have no doubt it's going to change the universe forever. Hopefully in a good way.

  I move my hand to gently brush a strand of Ray’s hair from her face. After all, I wouldn't want anything to hide her cuteness. She is truly awesome, and her cuteness deserves to be seen in full by all. I truly have no clue where I would be without her, and I have no desire to find out.

  The castle comes into view and I gently run my hand down Ray’s spine, which prompts her to stretch. She stirs and mumbles something incomprehensible. Then she sits up, her hair messy. Her eyes meet my own and she smiles, and then kisses me.

  “ ‘Morning darling.” She says.

  “More like night, darling.”

  “Pfft, who cares about details. I am sure it's morning somewhere. So, what's on the agenda for today?”

  “Apparently the troops have put together a small festival at the castle, to celebrate our victory over the Dragon Queen.” I say, “I hear they have some cool ice sculptures and such, making good use of all the cold.”

  “That sounds like a lovely date opportunity. Right, darling?”

  “Didn’t we literally just have a date?” I say, “But it does sound nice. Maybe another won't hurt.”

  “Well then Mr. Jerk, how about it?” She places her hand in mine. I give it a squeeze and she seems super happy.

  A few hours later (morning)

  Ray and I exit the castle hand in hand. She insisted that we change out of our armor. So she is wearing an absolutely adorable light blue dress that matches nicely with her eyes. Her hair is arranged to look like a crown and I must resist the temptation to pat her too much, lest I ruin it.

  “Really, that was the best you could do?” She comments on my own attire, a simple black leather jacket and some jeans. I thought it was pretty good. “You are cute, so maybe you can pull it off. But seriously? You look like some street punk or something.”

  “So, do you like it?”

  “I love you, no matter what abomination you wear.” She intertwines her arm with mine and pulls me forward, into the festival of ice.

  “I love you as well. Especially when you wear super cute outfits like that.”

  She blushes at my statement and looks away from me. I think I hear her mumble ‘jerk’, but she still stays by me. I am starting to think her ‘jerk’ is a compliment, I shall be sure to do more research into this topic, it is of critical importance. Plus, getting to see her blush is the best.

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  We proceed into the festival and we immediately are surrounded by a crowd. Hundreds of soldiers dressed in normal clothes are milling about. The sides of the streets are lined with food stalls hawking their various treats.

  Also, the centerpiece of this festival are tons of ice sculptures and snowmen dotting the streets. “Hey Ko!” Ray says, “Let's go look at that one!” Without waiting for my response, she drags me along. We end up admiring a pretty dragon sculpture.

  “Woah, that is quite realistic.” I say, “It’s almost like they got to meet one in person.”

  “They probably did, silly. Don't you remember that we just fought a bunch of dragons? Plus there is tons of footage of our battles that must be circulating around. Especially you and your cute butt.” A mischievous grin appears on her face.

  “Hmm, I think they would care more about your beautiful everything. After all, who wouldn't want to get a glimpse of the cutest girl in the universe being a klacking badass.”

  “Oh stahp, you're such a jerk. Now, let's eat lots of yummy food!” She quickly changes the topic and then drags me along to many foodstalls and we grab piles of food.

  We find a seat in a nice park that has a ton of snowmen around us and sit down for our feast. We’ve got steak, sushi, waffles, french fries, lasagna and even some roast komodo dragon skewers. The festival doesn't have quite as much variety as you would find back at an Earth festival, but it's pretty good. Especially considering most of the workers are just soldiers that happen to know a recipe or two.

  “Ko, try this!” Ray shoves some random skewer of meat into my mouth and I gratefully accept it. It's quite nice, and tastes almost exactly like chicken. It must be the komodo dragon.

  A bit of a side here, but I have always found it hilarious that chickens went extinct a few years back. So rather than de-extinct them, humanity just domesticated komodo dragons instead. Though I am pretty sure they were altered a tiny bit to taste more like chicken.

  “Well then, you try this!” I give her a piece of sushi, which she takes with way too much care to not let it fall off her tongue. I honestly don’t know where she learned such techniques, maybe I should keep a closer eye on her.

  “Woah, that's yummy.” She mumbles through a mouthful of food. “Can’t believe we are in a trial right now. We should definitely make a lot of holidays for City Stelarum. In fact, let's just make every day a festival!” I notice a grain of rice left on her cheek so I grab it and eat it. It is always important to be a helpful boyfriend. Especially when such helpful actions make your girlfriend blush profusely.

  “That sounds nice, though it might hurt productivity.”

  “Screw productivity, we need more good food.” She says, stuffing her face full of food again. “Oh, I know! Let's hold a grand cooking competition. Invite people from all over the universe to compete. That should get plenty of good chefs to show up.”

  I reach over and pat her on the head, very careful not to ruin her cute hairdo. “Darling, you are a genius.”

  “Thanks, darling. You ain’t so bad yourself. Though you are a big jerk.”

  We finish our meal, but just before we stand up a couple of girls approach us. “Uhm.. excuse us, but could we take a picture with you two?”

  Ray immediately shoots up and drags me to my feet. “Of course! Anything for the fans!”

  “Ray I don’t-” I try to caution her, but she just waves me off.

  We take the picture with the nice couple, but then we are immediately swarmed by hundreds of people. She scoffs and calls me an idiot when I tell her ‘I told you so.’

  It takes about half an hour for us to clear the crowd. We only manage it by taking pictures with dozens of people at a time. But everyone seems fine with it. As we walk out of the festival to head back to the castle, I tell Ray to be careful next time. But she just punches me on the shoulder and tightly grabs my arm.

  Once we reach the bottom of the castle, Ray enacts a devious plan. “Hey darling, you know how you are always flying me around, right?” I nod. “Well, now it's my turn!” Before I can protest (not that I would) she scoops me up into her arms and we take off into the air.

  I have a fun time and wrap my arms around her shoulders, pretending like I am holding on. Of course, I secretly tie myself to her with a bit of inae. I wouldn’t put it past her to accidentally drop me. Or heck, she would probably do it intentionally just to laugh at me.

  “So darling, how does it feel to be cradled in my super duper awesome arms?” She asks. Her arms are wrapped tightly around me. They are quite warm, even amidst the cold of the snow. It is reassuring, to have her warmth protecting me. I can see why she always likes to fly with me.

  “It feels absolutely wonderful. It's like we are cuddling, but in the sky! Plus, I get to do this.” I reach around and start tickling her sides relentlessly.

  “Ha. Wai. Ha. Stop. That!” She tries to speak, but is consumed by laughter. But she still holds on tightly. See, I know that she secretly loves being tickled, something that is not for the faint of heart. After all, tickling was classified as a torture technique by the AI insurgents during the great rebellion.

  Millions of humans were ticked mercilessly to extract information and cause havoc. Many did not survive. Those that did are largely still in recovery.

  I finally let up my tickles and Ray hugged me tighter. We coast amongst the clouds for quite a while, just enjoying the snowy vistas as they scroll past us. Every once in a while we pass over a convoy or party of some form. We always wave back when they start pointing at us, wondering why their leaders are just lazily gliding across the sky.

  Later they would start calling us the leisurely dragon couple. But that didn't last long, as other monikers took over.

  The future is full of uncertainty. But there is one thing I am absolutely certain of. I love Ray. Together we will overcome whatever the universe decides to throw at us. We will conquer these trials and become the rulers of humanity. Then we will build humanity into a new age of prosperity. Not just meeting that of the other empires, but surpassing them by leaps and bounds.

  After all, we are the Moonlight Duo. That is simply what we do.

  So, bring it on.

  End of Chapter 129

  Next: Chapter 130 | Snowy Tickles

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