Ursa stirred at the first sign of light. She tried to sit up, but her arm was pinned under something warm. Ursa blinked rapidly before rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She was a bit confused about seeing sunlight as she was supposed to be on watch overnight.
She didn't get any time to think about it before she felt stirring. Whoever was on her arm was waking up. Panic started to take over, and Ursa fully woke up. Light slowly illuminated the woman when she remembered her interaction with Jasmine last night.
Elsie's blue eyes were sleepily staring up at her. In the brief moment of silence, Ursa remembered her beauty. Then, she could see the recognition of their situation flash across the mage's face. A bit of confusion turned to panic before Elsie backed away.
"Morning," Ursa said shakily. She felt a pang hit her chest after watching Elsie move away.
"Morning…" Elsie replied hesitantly. "Did I roll into you last night?"
"I… don't know," Ursa said, her voice tapering off.
"Sorry… I tend to cling to others when I sleep."
"It's okay. I just worry since…" Ursa awkwardly spoke. She rubbed the back of her neck, feeling the awkwardness between them.
"Right," Elsie whispered. Silence fell over the two again as they avoided each other's gazes.
"Wait. It's morning? What about watch?" Elsie said, her eyes widening. "Did someone fall asleep on watch?"
The older twin got to her feet in a hurry, causing the others to stir. She made her way to the door in a hurry, with Ursa following her. The two rushed out only to be greeted by Jasmine, who was dutifully tending to the fire.
She had a wide smile on her face as she kept her head down.
"Have a good night's sleep?" She asked, poking the fire.
Elsie tilted her head before letting out a deep sigh. "Really? I thought there was no messing around with watch."
Jasmine giggled. "I didn't. Just let you two have some extra rest. I thought you both needed it."
"And here you were supposed to be the serious one," Elsie grumbled. She glanced at Ursa, who was standing beside her awkwardly.
"I am," Jasmine said firmly. Before her voice softened. "Just couldn't wake you two when you looked so cute together."
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Elsie said, crossing her arms. Seeing Jasmine mess around annoyed Elsie to no end, especially after reprimanding her so many times.. "Hypocrite."
"Hey. I see it as team bonding." Jasmine retorted. She set the stick down and got up to meet Elsie. "I'm just glad Ursa stuck beside you all night."
Elsie turned to Ursa, whose face flushed red. She stammered out an excuse, "H-hey. You rolled onto my arm and I didn't want to disturb you…"
Elsie rolled her eyes. "Jaz. If I can't mess around, then neither can you. You are the one who punished me for goofing off too much."
"Like I said, I wasn't messing around," Jasmine said, stepping closer to the two. "Just need you two to settle this friction. That's worth more than a missed shift of watch."
Elsie opened her mouth but was cut off by Ursa. "Friction? I just find her mildly annoying."
Elsie shot her a look. "Annoying? You tried to kill us and caused that incident with the trolls. I think I deserve to be a bit annoying."
Ursa scowled, not quite remembering specifics. She scratched the back of her head as she spoke. "Um, well… part of my class makes me go into a combat trance, and I don't remember most of it."
"That's no excuse, though," Elsie said through gritted teeth. "We had to drag an apology out of you even after filling you in."
"Right… yeah, that's part of Ravian culture," Ursa replied. She took a deep breath, "We are not fond of apologies… it hurts our warrior pride."
"Yeah, well, you're not with your people. Here in Riefleheim, we apologize and don't try to kill our rescuers." Elsie snapped.
"I-I get it… " Ursa stammered. Clearly uncomfortable apologizing or admitting fault. But Claire would want her to. That thought alone pushed her forward. "I'm quickly seeing the flaws of our ways… I hope to make it up to you, all of you, as a part of this party…"
Elsie hesitated. She could see how uncomfortable Ursa was, could hear the effort in her voice. Part of her wanted to stay angry, but she knew she had to meet Ursa halfway. She took another deep breath. "Thank you for that… It's better than your forced apology. I guess…. I have to be more patient with you…"
Jasmine laughed. "Patient? I'd love to see that."
"Hey! I'm still mad at you." Elsie snapped at Jasmine. "Don't think I'm going to forget this."
She stepped forward, pressing her chest against Jasmine's, scowling up at her. Ursa watched from the side, a pang hitting her chest. A bit of jealousy at Elsie's boldness. She wished she could be that bold, that comfortable.
"Oh? Gonna try to punish me?" Jasmine raised a brow, voice dropping into a sultry tone.. "I'd love to see you try…"
Elsie lost all her traction, feeling Jasmine's length press into her. Her mind blanked, and she momentarily forgot about her anger. "I bet you would…"
Ursa watched the two's sexually charged staredown before taking a deep breath. She had to be brave.
"She's not the only one who wishes t-to punish you…" She blurted out. Her voice lost its confidence immediately and began to taper off. The two looked at her with lust. Their giggles fueled Ursa's embarrassment.
"Oh?" Jasmine said, biting her lip.
"Look at her…" Elsie whispered to Jasmine. "Trying so hard to improve."
"Mhmm. Would you like to do the honors?" Jasmine whispered. She wrapped her arms around Elsie's waist.
Elsie nodded, a bit hesitant, but excited. "She's such a good girl."
Ursa stiffened at the words. She could feel her face heat up and her mind go blank. She stammered while trying to respond, "N-no I… didn't m-mean…"
The two giggled again at her reaction. Not to make fun of her, but because of how cute she was.
"Fuck me. We need to have a session with her and Claire…" Jasmine said, her hands wandering over Elsie's body. "All of us just complimenting them."
"See which one breaks first?" Elsie said, grinding against Jasmine.
Jasmine giggled. "Obviously…"
Ursa took a breath, steadying herself. "That sounds… fun."
It was a bit forced, but she said it. And she meant it. The image of Claire losing her composure helped.
Elsie glanced back at her with a warm smile. "Heh, there's hope for you yet…"
"Um, thanks…" Ursa got out, barely above a whisper. Her heart was pounding in her chest.
"So worth staying up all night," Jasmine whispered to Elsie.
Elsie rolled her eyes at Jasmine before the two separated. She gave Ursa a sly smile, finally not feeling annoyed at her presence. She finally let herself soak in Ursa's muscular frame.
"Looks like we have company, maybe we can pick this up later," Jasmine whispered.
Ursa glanced back to see Claire groggily exit the carriage. Her green eyes lit up upon seeing the three of them. Her sleepy face grew into a smile.
"Oh? You two are already up?" Claire said, surprised. "Did it go well?"
She looked at Jasmine, who nodded enthusiastically. "Was able to get Elsie to commit to being more patient."
"Damn, that's impressive," Claire said glancing at Elsie. She rolled her eyes at Claire. "And Ursa? Did she stay with Elsie all night?"
Ursa's face reddened, but she pushed through it. She nodded sheepishly, wanting to admit it herself.
"Oh… good girl," Claire said with a cheery tone, almost instinctively. The moment the words left her lips, her eyes widened just slightly. Her own mind was going hazy as they echoed in her ears.
Elsie's giggle cut through the haze. "Did you seriously just turn yourself on by calling her that?"