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“When do you think they’ll come back?”
Laios poked at the campfire with sleepy movements and the logs crackled with bright orange heat. Tonight the party sheltered inside a small stone ruin on the dungeon’s second floor. Shadows danced across Laios’s face as he glanced sideways at you. When the sun fell and you reached a great impassable lake, you all decided it was time to camp up for the night; but there was a tower just down the lake shore, and the rest of the party had gone there to check for any useful loot. You and Laios stayed behind to guard the camp from any thieves.
“I don’t know when,” you said. “Do they take long usually?"
“Not really…” He sighed and pursed his lips, a sheepish hint of embarrassment on his face. “They should be done in about fifteen minutes I guess. Silly question of me. Parties never separate long in the dungeon — it’s too dangerous. Though we’re with many right now, so they should be fine. They got fighters, healers, mages and even a lockpick. Nothing should trouble them, they’re basically a full party on their own…” His voice trailed off as if he felt like he rambled on.
Quietly he poked the fire again and you watched a cloud of embers disperse as a blackened log collapsed. He grabbed a fresh chunk of wood to throw on the flames and the edges of the wood charred right away. The need to say something too arose in you. All day he’d been hanging by you, talking about any little thing on his mind, to the point where the party members begged him to shut up. But you didn’t mind his longwinded explanations about the dungeon. He talked about useful facts about monsters; and the way he gesticulated by flapping his hands wildly and pointing at random things captivated you. However, thinking of something to talk about on the spot was hard, and you were too tired to think.
“Oh!!” Suddenly he perked up with a big smile on his face. Without explaining he stood up and grabbed his backpack. When he returned he held a small wooden box in his hands. There was a glint in his eyes while he held it up to you. “Namari explained this thing to me. I found it this morning in an empty mimic chest. It’s a little puzzle!”
Before you could ask more, he shoved it into your hands and excitedly wagged his fingers. “It’s a puzzle where if you solve it the box will open and you can take what’s inside. Like a little treasure chest!” He rubbed his index finger along his chin. “I guess it’s more of a locking mechanism than a puzzle. Namari explained it’s like an old dwarven toy to put treats into! It’s supposed to teach kids patience and humility!”
You felt the cold wood in your hands and angled it against the campfire light. “How does it work?”
“Heh,” he chuckled while rubbing his chin, “Not telling you. I know you can figure it out by yourself. It’s not that hard. Try it!”
The box was a flawless smooth cube of wood about the size of Laios’s fists. “Patience and humility, huh…?” you said. You couldn’t discern any visible grooves or holes or hinges. No matter what side you pressed and squeezed, nothing happened. It was fully solid. If Laios hadn’t told you this was a box, you’d just think of it as any normal wooden cube.
When you were about to sigh and give up, you saw Laios grinning from the corner of your eyes and you made eye contact. “I’ll give you a hint,” Laios chuckled, “Namari told me about a dwarven expression. I kind of forgot how it went, though the gist of it had to do with waiting gently and feeling a problem from all sides at once and asking politely for permission from the ancestors. Do you know the dwarven word for please?”
You shook your head. Laios carefully moved his lips as he tried his best at showing you his Dwarvish skills. It didn’t sound anything like what you heard at dwarven markets, but still you tried to mimic him, holding the cube tightly in your hands and feeling it from all sides at once. Your fingers traced the sharp-angled ridges, pressed on each face, and when you repeated the sounds from Laios’s mouth again, a sudden click dimpled in blocky patterns on all sides. The thing snapped open by a concealed hinge.
“Good job!” Laios clapped. “Look how flawlessly they built that thing! You really can’t tell it opens. The treat inside is long gone, I suppose, haha! Might’ve been a sugar slime or a pickled blood berry!”
You stared at the inside of the box, a small compartment that looked like any ordinary box. Even when opened you couldn’t see a locking mechanism. The solution didn’t seem like much of a puzzle. A puzzle was something you should be able to solve without any hints. “It’s not something I’d ever have figured out by myself,” you said, careful not to seem too negative. Laios looked so precious and happy about showing you his stuff, and you didn’t want to hate on the box.
“Ah, me neither. But it’s really cool that it exists! I guess it would make more sense in the context of old dwarven society. At least, Namari told me these used to be very popular. They are a bit strange to us. I thought I might put some dungeon plant seeds in them, so Marcille won’t notice…” His voice trailed off.
He rubbed the back of his neck anxiously while he glanced at you for a second. Without a scratch of hesitation he spread his arms wide. His soft upper body, dressed only in a shirt and undergarments, pressed against you and hugged you close. His hands pushed against your back, and once he had you tight under his grip, he wiggled your around. “Hehe! Good job opening it!” Then he suddenly let go. There was a big blush on his face and he twiddled his thumbs. “Oops, I didn’t mean to hug you again. I just thought you’d deserve a reward for your clever thinking!”
“You didn’t mean to hug me?” you laughed and teasingly bumped his shoulder. “Again? It's only the fifth time today, Laios!”
“Aw, really? Well, I really didn’t mean to. But you just let yourself be hugged so well. I couldn’t help it.” His face was now so red he looked like he’d been lying in the sun for hours, and he pursed his lips whistling a short tune. “I’m sorry…”
“No! Don’t be sorry!”
Laios grabbed the cube from your hands, closed it with a click and fidgeted with it. “Falin says I shouldn’t randomly hug people. I never do it, because it’s not okay. People say it’s creepy.”
“Don’t worry about it, I love hugs!” You smiled at him. When his eyes met your smile, his shyness cleared up halfway and he looked a little less embarrassed, even a little hopeful. You asked, “Do you hug people often?”
“Only Falin…” he said. You thought of Falin and how much she and Laios seemed to love each other. It was clear as day that of all the party members, most love existed between the Touden siblings. Though Falin and Marcille had a lot of affection for each other too.
“Only Falin? That must be tough! It’s no good having no one to hug. A sister is nice, but it’s really good to have a friend outside your family you can hug with.”
“Ahh…” Laios’s eyes wandered off like he was tracking an ant on the ground. Then with serious and vulnerable eyes, he asked, “Can I hug you more often?”
“Yeah! That sounds cool! Let’s hug more from now on!” You spread your arms into an invitation. Scratching his cheek, smiling at you with narrowed eyes, he spread his arms too and you both embraced. His arms gripped around you, tensing and letting go, squeezing you as if he was testing how firm you were. You felt the thud in his chest penetrate you, twice as fast as a clock, slowing down steadily while you held each other.
You stayed like that until footsteps climbed the ruin’s entrance from afar, followed by the talk of voices.
Laios immediately let go as if he didn’t want to be caught. He smiled meekly and said, “Thank you…”