Will

Despite the rangers' best efforts, an audience was rapidly forming. They eventually gave up trying to dismiss the crowd in favor of simply holding them back to maintain a circle of open space for the two fighters. Will spotted Crow among the onlookers in her Corvin disguise, laughing and clapping her hands like a little kid at the fair.

At least someone's having fun.

A few people had seated themselves on the horizontal crosspiece of the maypole to get a better view of the action, and Golden Boy was using Fly to hover above the crowd. The fight promoter flitted erratically at the edge of the circle like a man at war with himself, fighting his natural inclination to start commentating and taking bets. He appeared to be losing that fight; at least until Buck came and yanked him back to the ground by his chubby ankle. The lord was allowing the fight to proceed, but evidently didn't see much spectacle in it.

Francine unbuckled her sword belt and handed it over to another ranger, followed by two hidden knives she kept on her person. Sam didn't have any weapons on her, so she just took off her shoes and tied up some of her skirts to get them out of the way and did some light stretches. The two women occupied opposite ends of the fifteen-foot circle of bare grass and stared each other down like they were plotting murder.

Since they were both Level 10, it probably looked like a fair fight to most people on the surface, with maybe an edge given to Sam due to being a Laborer compared to Francine as an Explorer-Entertainer. But even though a good chunk of them were familiar with Sam due to her brief stint as a pit fighter, they didn't really know.

This kind of unarmed, close-quarters fighting catered perfectly to her talents. Add to that the fact that her opponent was more than a little sloshed, and the outcome was all but predetermined.

Maybe I really should tell her to take it easy, Will thought, working up a nervous sweat as he studied the uncharacteristically dark look on Sam's face.

Before Buck could step in to enforce some rules and call the start of the fight, Francine shot forward with a Dash while Sam was still stretching. The latter settled into an easy guard at the flash of movement, her left hand outstretched to control her opponent's distance and her right fist up tight by her cheek.

Will cast Identify [Skill Effects] so he could accurately read what Francine was doing.

Sam aimed a low kick when Francine got in close, but the ranger leapt high over the chopping leg—she'd used a Flash Step—and soared ten feet high. Then, as her Dash came off skill lag, she threw out a second cast and launched herself straight back down, her leg coming down in an axe kick to catch the back of Sam's head.

Sam sidestepped just enough so that Francine's heel brushed her shoulder before sliding past harmlessly. As soon as she touched down, Sam shot a hand out to catch the collar of her shirt. Francine rolled backward out of the way, though she fumbled the recovery as one of her feet slipped and ended up on one knee in the grass while Sam advanced.

"Flash Step," Francine blurted in a panicked voice, but evidently hadn't gauged the skill lag correctly, because nothing happened. Sam's swift backhand caught her cheek, and drew a surprised blink from the ranger. She staggered to her feet and used Glitter to throw a fan of distracting dust into the air as she made some distance. "Wait," she said with a drunken laugh. "Was that really the best you could—"

Sam shot through the Glitter, feinted a jab with her left that Francine weaved, then used that same hand to grab the back of her opponent's neck instead, holding her in place so that the uppercut follow-up landed square on the chin. Francine's head snapped back, and she instantly went limp, sagging to the ground. Sam caught her by the collar and lowered her slowly so she didn't hit her head, then stood back and let her slide sideways in a graceless sprawl.

She looked surprised when people started cheering, and returned the praise with a few half-hearted waves and an awkward chuckle or two. Will felt a twinge of disappointment that the fight hadn't lasted longer, since he would have liked to see a more comprehensive display of her new powers, but even from the little he had just seen, he could tell that she'd grown considerably as a fighter compared to anything she'd shown him previously.

Buck was accompanied by a Physician named Venture to care for a groggy Francine, whose head swung groggily on her shoulders as she tried and failed to sit up.

"She'll be all right," Sam said in a confident tone with barely a glance in her opponent's direction. "I didn't hurt her too bad."

Will got to Sam first, and a stiff glare was enough to scare off the close second in Golden Boy, who flitted off without argument. "That slap," he said as he guided Sam off to the side. "You were using it to calibrate your Measured sense, weren't you? So you could calculate exactly how hard to hit her without causing too much damage?"

Sam just shrugged sheepishly. "I mean, she's a massive bitch, but I didn't wanna snap her spine on accident or whatever."

Will smiled at her. "Very clever. I like it."

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"Hehe. Thanks."

She accepted congratulations and slaps on the back from a few other partygoers as they made their way through the crowd, and she took a deep breath in relief when they made it to the other side. "Sorry for causing a scene," she said.

"Meh, she had it coming."

"Right? The fuck is her problem, anyway? I was just trying to be nice."

"Who cares?"

"Yeahhh, I guess you're right."

Francine was carried to one of the guest tents to be cared for while the party resumed. Desserts were served for those who were in the mood. Predictably, that included Sam. After that they sat in the grass for a while, bumping shoulders and leaning their heads together while they listened to the music played by various Entertainers. After that they got up and mingled a bit more, and after that, at long last (for some), Sam finally got that dance she'd been whining about when they started playing music slow enough for him to shuffle along to.

It was well into the night by this point, but a number of people had sent up balls of light with Illuminate to bob serenely through the air like giant fireflies. Will guessed that it probably looked beautiful to anyone with working eyes, but to his Detect sense it was just as bland as anything else.

Not that he was paying much attention to his surroundings, considering the woman he had in his arms. Holding Sam by her waist, he could feel her muscles shift under his fingers when she moved. Though he didn't need to physically look to see her, he still found himself turning his face up to meet her gaze.

"Hey, beautiful," he murmured with a soft smile that was just for her. "What's a place like this doing in a girl like you?"

"Oh, shut up!" Sam laughed. "You're never gonna let me live that one down, are you?"

"Hmm? I don't know what you're talking about. Just a simple slip of the tongue, that's all."

"Man, fuck you."

He kissed her, and let his lips linger on hers a moment before pulling away. "If the lady insists."

Her eyes widened a little. "Wait, for real? I'm getting laid tonight?"

"If you go on top and promise not to shatter my pelvis, I think I can make it out alive."

"Hell yeah!"

They danced a little longer. At some point, Sam wrapped her arms around his neck. The added weight hurt his bad shoulder a little, but it was worth it. Her warmth made him feel safe and excited at the same time.

Mongrel twirled past them with his bought-for lady companion and wolf whistled. Will told him to piss off, and the old man just laughed and continued on his meandering way. For someone with such a disastrous appearance, he was a strangely proficient dancer.

Maybe I should get him to teach me how to do this for real so I can actually take her dancing sometime without embarrassing her. At least, assuming my leg gets a bit better… I can't be sure of that until I hit Level 21, and that'll probably take a while.

"So," Sam said after a while.

"So," Will replied.

They came to a stop in the grass, standing at the edge of the festivities far from the people and the music that had faded to a diffuse backdrop. Their faces were close together, noses brushing. Her breasts pressed against his collarbone in a very pleasing way.

"You know that thing you told me about the other day?" she asked.

"Elaborate."

"That, uh, ability dealio."

"You mean True Bond?"

"That's the one."

"What about it?"

"You told me to think about it, so I did. Then I decided to take it after all, so now I have that."

"I see."

"Basically, I guess what I'm trying to get at is, uh…" She cleared her throat and looked up at him briefly, then back down at her feet. "I don't know how to say this in a way that doesn't sound like a lame proposal or something, but… will you Bond with me?"

"I should've known you wouldn't be able to hold back until after the party," Will said with a put-upon sigh, though he couldn't keep a certain fondness from his voice.

"Oh, yeah? You're one to talk, tough guy. I bet you've already taken it too."

That made him hesitate for a second. He cleared his throat sheepishly, contemplated fibbing, then finally said: "Well, yeah. Obviously. I already knew you'd want to go ahead with it—I just thought I'd give you some time to think it over as a formality, that's all."

"Suuuuuure, dude. Just admit it—you couldn't wait to Bond me."

Will scoffed. "Stop saying it like that."

"Like what? I just want you to Bond me good and hard, that's all."

"If you can't take this seriously I'll go find someone else to Bond with, how about that?"

"Hey! Not allowed!"

They kissed again, then nuzzled a bit. Their hands found each other, fingers interlacing, and he brought hers up to his mouth to plant a kiss on the back of each.

"How do we do this, then?" Sam asked. "Like… how does it work?"

"Don't worry, the process isn't anything too involved. The first half is physical contact, so we've got that part down already. The second half is the chant, so just repeat after me, please."

"Sir yes sir!"

Will shook his head, smiling. "All right, here goes. O, Era. Join our hearts, that we may become one."

"O, Era," she echoed. "Join our hearts, that we may become one."

"I take this woman, Samantha Darling, to be my closest companion—always and forever."

"I take this woman—"

"No, you say my name, idiot."

"Ohhh, that makes so much more sense. In that case, I take this man, William Greene, to be my closest companion—always and forever."

Will nodded. "And so our accord is made."

Sam grinned. "And so our accord is made."

For an instant, his mind flashed bright, then everything returned to normal.

[True Bond accepted.]

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