Ashes of the Fallen

Lying out on the river bank with Selene by my side, Katherine was a ways away, asleep in the warmth and comfort of the cabin with the kittens and Barkley for company.

Selene and I had snuck out for a little fresh air and privacy, wanting to enjoy the late night skyline before it turned to day. A few days had passed since I returned, and I had been strangely pushed into accepting Katherine's flirtatious advances as if it were a normal thing while Selene and I continued on.

It was a weird situation, but it made both parties happy.

Happy for now, at least… there was no telling when this silly plan of Selene's would backfire. But, so long as things continued as they were, I wouldn't mind it.

Yeah, as long as they were happy, I could bear with it.

Lying on my back, I stared up at the partial moon peeking through.

The moon was barely visible behind the clouds out here, which was a bit disappointing as the aurora was obscured as well, but it wasn't all that bad. If every night was a great night for stargazing then it probably wouldn't be quite as special.

So in a way, I guess there was a silver lining for future evenings.

Well, not everything was a waste actually.

It was a cold summer night out, which meant Selene was snuggled up to me, nice and tight, in order to keep warm. She wasn't exactly a soft girl, seeing how in-shape and athletic she was, nor did she have the curves to flaunt either, but she was still feminine.

Having her next to me, was a comforting thing.

Holding her, was a simple pleasure.

Something I had been missing in my real life.

There was a chance, that I might have broken my own rule.

I was starting to get attached to an Artificial Intelligence. There weren’t any real feelings, but I could tell that I enjoyed her presence more than normal… what worried me, were that future feelings might be seriously developing.

An emotional connection with a Non-Player Character… was odd.

A few years ago, I might have even called someone who fell for that sick.

Now, I was falling into that trap.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, calmly and quietly as she stared up at me. Keeping her hands on my chest, she played with her fingertips and ran them up and down, teasing me as she waited for a reply.

"Nothing important," I replied, somewhat a lie; mostly to myself.

Leaning in and giving her a kiss on her forehead, I looked up at the sky once more as the darkness began to fade. The sun would rise any minute now, as light began to cross over the edge. Soon, it would be a bright sunny day.

I wasn't used to it, and it came faster than expected.

Yeah, that was life, though.

"Long day ahead," I mumbled to myself.

"Again?" asked Selene as she buried her face into my arm. "Do you never take a day off… you've been working all day, every day, since you returned from your journey."

No, I couldn't take a day off.

Not when I was behind schedule, with a lot of work needing to be completed.

As the sun finally broke past the mountain tops and shined light onto my world, I knew it was time to get started. There were plans and I intended to carry them out, without fail. My village was going to become a town, soon enough.

Standing up slowly, Selene tugged at my arm and brought me back to the ground, giving me a quick peck before finally releasing me. She was dangerous… if this continued, I would be falling for an NPC.

Maybe it was already too late.

I gave her a smile, a fake one though, as I worried over how realistic her AI was.

Ah, nothing was ever easy with me.

Oh well.

By the time I made it back to the village the majority of the NPCs were already awake and hard at work. My first stop, was going to be the blacksmith. There were two of them, but I heard they picked up another one, a child that showed some aptitude.

It was interesting, how it worked, really.

Through the NPC-Recruiter, I was able to draft numerous Non-Player Characters for  a relatively low cost but in order to get the best available, I took on some baggage in the form of tag-along NPCs such as spouses and children. It didn't bother me too much, as it filled out the village. I also figured most of them would be dead weight in the scheme of things. I mean, a child couldn't be expected to produce.

That's what I thought.

And I was completely wrong there.

Everyone ended up carrying their own weight quite well, far beyond my expectations. To the point, honestly, that I felt guilty about doubting their self-responsibility and efficacy.

The children surprised me the most.

If they were old enough, they helped with the farm work on the two parcels of land across the river, helping to set up and maintain the crops. For those that weren't quite up to par in physical ability yet, they spent their time with the fishermen on the river banks, helping pull nets and other such minor work that mostly kept them busy.

Sure, they brought in some fish too, but mostly, they weren't in the way.

A select few children though, were picked up as apprentices.