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In the wake of the war, not a place in Magvel remains unscarred. The land, the homes, the people, they all bear deep wounds inflicted by chaos and bloodshed. Neimi knows that such wounds can never disappear, but given time, they can be mended. Thankfully, she thinks as she wipes her brow clean of sweat and sawdust, time is the one thing war leaves behind. She lowers her hand once more, grasping for her hammer as her other hand steadies the vertical length of wood in front of her. Time to rebuild her village, and time to…
“Neimi, do you need help with that?”
Neimi turns with a little too much haste, and the plank wobbles, threatening to fall on top of her. Before Neimi can shout, and before the wood can topple, a pair of hands extend outwards, cradling Neimi and stabilizing the plank simultaneously.
“Woah, be careful. You could have gotten hurt,.” gGreen eyes, deep with concern, stare into Neimi’s. “Your're face is turning red;, you don't have heat exhaustion, do you?”
Only now realizing the burning sensation in her cheeks, Neimi shakes her head with enough force to sway her pink bangs.
“No, no… I’m just fine… Thank you though, Amelia.”
The calloused pads of her fingertips act on their own as they ghost over Amelia's bicep. Though her touch is light, she feels the faded scars mapped across the skin better than she can see them. Neimi remembers when she first met Amelia. Her arms were unmarred then, a blank canvas telling of her inexperience. Slowly, as the battles got worse and the enemies more viscous, the scars appeared. Every mark is evidence of her growth, her pain, her sacrifice, and the canvas now tells a story of everything she’s been through during that hellish time. Neimi wonders if she can identity every scar by date, name every battle they belong to. Her fingers suddenly stop, and she returns her hand to her side before she can lose herself in the last remnants of war left on Amelia's body. The last physical remnants, anyway.
Amelia’s gaze relaxes, and she grins wide enough that the corners of her lips almost touch her blonde fringe. “That's, good. Now hold onto this,” her fingers tap on the wooden plank, “and I'll hammer the nails in.”
Neimi manages a hurried nod, and moves to secure the plank as Amelia steps back and picks up the hammer. She nods again when her grip is firm. Amelia positions a nail perpendicular to the plank and drives it into the wood with a heavy thud of the hammer.
“We’ve gotten better at this, haven't we?” Amelia hammers in the next nail. “Remember the first building we made? That thing toppled over with the first breeze.” Her cheerful laugh seems louder than the pound of the hammer to Neimi, who laughs along.
Neimi quickly cuts her laugh short, her mouth tasting dry and her throat struggling to let air pass through. “Amelia…”
“What is it?” The strokes of the hammer remain smooth.
“Remember when we… Talked about…” Neimi tries to swallow the heavy lump in her throat. “... Love?”
“You mean your crush? On someone in princess Eirika’s army right? Did you ever confess to them?”
“N… No.”
“Oh… Well I'm sure fate will bring you two together again someday,.” tThe hammer strokes become slower, though Neimi fails to notice with the rapid sound of her heartbeat in her ears.
The air in Neimi’s lungs feels as heavy and solid as lead as she takes a shaky breath. Her courage is beginning to fail her as she grips on the wood with enough force to bury splinters in her hands. “Fate… Fate doesn't need to intervene anymore.”
Amelia stops hammering, and now the only sound is Neimi’s nervous breathing. She turns to look at Neimi, whose’s gaze is focused intensely on the ground. “What do you mean?”
“Amelia…” Neimi already feels the tears spilling from her eyes as she raises a hand to her face to hide her shame. “T… Thank you…” Her syllables are broken with choked sobs and hiccups. “For a… always being here for me… For leaving your home and coming w… with me…”
“Oh, Neimi…” Amelia tosses the hammer aside and pulls Neimi into an embrace, nuzzling her nose into her soft pink locks. “You don't have to thank me… I'm happy to be here with you.”
“A… Are you really?” Neimi buries herself into Amelia's shoulder, her breath tickling the skin there.
One of Amelia’s hands cards through Neimi’s hair. “Of course I am.”
A relieved sigh slips past Neimi’s lips, warm against Amelia’s skin. Her muscles relax, and Neimi wraps her arms loosely around Amelia’s waist. “Amelia I… I love you.”
Amelia's hand stops, and Neimi buries herself even deeper into her shoulder, as if she could disappear into it. “You… Do you really mean that?”
Fearing her voice will fail her, Neimi manages a weak nod, the soft brush of her hair making Amelia chuckle.
The hand in Neimi’s hair moves down to her cheek, gently coaxing her out of Amelia’s shoulder. A thumb wipes away the tears clustered on her lower eyelid as lips press tenderly against her temple.
“I love you too.”