After making it home, Kora was so tired she only stayed awake long enough for Nori to rebandage her leg before she fell asleep. 

However, it wasn’t long before she woke up to the sound of screaming. Looking outside, it was still obviously daylight so there shouldn’t have been any monsters out yet. However, the screams only intensified as they seemed to get closer. Freezing in panic, Kora doesn’t move until she sees Nori rush into the room. 

Without saying a word, he scoops her up and rushes down into the basement. He only speaks as he gently lowers her to the ground by the door. “Stand up here for a second while I lock the door. I’ll take you downstairs as soon as it’s secure.”

Standing up, she couldn’t help but think about the screaming and worry about the village people. Despite all of the curious stares she’d received, most of the people had seemed really welcoming and she couldn’t imagine what could’ve caused the creatures to attack early. Before she knew it, she was being scooped up once again and found herself sitting on Nori’s lap on the mattress downstairs. After she’d realized he’d sat down, she tried to move but found herself trapped within his arms. 

“Stay here, just a minute longer.” Nori says with a tremor in his voice. As she listens, she could hear his ragged breathing and feel his hands shaking. 

She couldn’t imagine how he felt. This must feel like a replay of everything that had happened before. Wrapping her arms around him she gently rubs circles on his back and murmurs words of comfort in his ears until she can hear his breathing even out. 

“I’m sorry, I just panicked for a bit there. I thought something might happen to you and I couldn’t bear the thought.” Nori said as he lowered his head to the crook of her neck. 

“I’m okay. I’m here. Besides you wouldn’t let anything happen to me.” she says with a smile in the hopes to brighten his mood.

“I promised to protect you and I plan to keep that promise, but something tells me it may not be easy.” Nori says somberly. 

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she decides to go in for a kiss. He hadn’t pushed her away so far and his words earlier might as well have been a confession. As soon as their lips touched, he took control of the kiss. Despite all of his talk, he very clearly had feelings for her as well and they didn’t pull away until they both needed air. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you… especially like that-” Nori began before Kora leaned in to cut him off with a short peck on the lips. 

“Don’t ever apologize for kissing me. Besides I actually kissed you first, so if anyone should apologize it should be me.” Laughing, she says, “Honestly though, that’s the best kiss I’ve ever had, so I should really be thanking you at this point.”

Without any warning, Nori pulls her face back down to his and kisses her breathless before saying, “I tried to keep my distance from you but you insist on making it difficult for me. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Giggling, Kora responds, “Give me your worst. I have a feeling it’s not nearly as bad as you think.”

“Are you sure? I have a dangerous job that normally requires long hours.”

Pretending to consider what he’d said, she readjusted herself in his arms and looked at the dark room. In their haste, they hadn’t brought the lantern, so she was unable to see much more than silhouettes of the furniture in the basement. Looking back up at his face, she reminds him, “You must’ve forgotten that your job right now is to protect me.”

“Okay… Well, I also get really jealous. I don’t like other guys looking at what’s mine. I saw the way they looked at you today and I-”

Cutting him off with another peck on the lips, she says, “And, I’m not interested in any of them. Anything else you want to add?”

“I don’t like the idea of you learning to control your essence. Elder Maize seems to envision you getting into a lot of danger with it and I don’t want you to be in a position where you can get hurt.” 

“You’ll be there to protect me. As long as you’re with me, we’ll be just fine. Any more concerns?”

Chuckling he says, “You seem to have an answer to everything don’t you? One last question, how do you want to describe our relationship then?” he asks as he pulls her even closer. 

“Flirty now, huh. What happened to ‘I can’t date you’ or ‘I wouldn’t make a good husband’?”

“I’ve done some thinking and I think- no I know that I can be a good husband for you.”

Feeling herself flush as a blush covers her face, she felt grateful for the darkness that obscured the finer features of her face even with his superior eyesight. “We can be whatever you’d like. Although, I suppose we’ll be married or at least engaged soon considering how traditional your village is.”

Nuzzling his face into her neck, he says, “Mmmn, I like the idea of you being my wife, although I’d like to plan a proper proposal so we’ll go with courting for now.”

“Okay, sounds good to me.” Although the idea of a proposal in the future was exciting, she couldn’t deny that after the fear from earlier had faded, exhaustion had creeped back in and she was feeling warm and comfortable in his arms. She hadn’t even gotten half an hour of sleep earlier so it didn’t take long before she fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat and his soft breathing.