In the shadows of an empty castle, stood a lonely prince. A prince who had spent his entire life until very recently alone. As such, his only interactions with others were from stories of others. Stories of heroics, kindness, and of how with enough kindness one can do amazing feats and save the world!

The prince still believed in the power of ACTing nice, as he so put it. He believed it so much, that he even scheduled a training session with his friends. The fellow Delta Warriors and heroes of legends, the other members of the Fun Gang! The prince, also known as Ralsei, was so excited to see them!

Well... That isn't completely honest. While the Dark Prince was hoping to see Kris for sure, there was a bit of apprehension of seeing Susie again... Not that Ralsei didn't like her, of course. The problem was more that he knew that the brutish Susie very clearly didn't like him at all. And more, she was very into attacking others. The darkener worried that she wouldn't at all enjoy the training regimen that he set up for the three of them, and fully prepared to let her sit it out.

It was almost time, he straighten up the dummy, making sure it looked just right! The teal robes all pressed, the hat not crooked, and it stood firm and ready to be hugged and told that it looked very good in that hat! He smiled brightly.

Suddenly, there was some footsteps echoing through the caves! Oh! They were coming! Ralsei scrambled and made his way to the castle entrance, ready to meet up with both of his dear friends he met last week!

When he finally made it to the empty little town, he found the tall lizard girl that was Susie peeking inside one of the windows. She knocked on the glass as if to test how durable it is. Ralsei smiled and called out to the tall girl. “Susie! Hi!” He waved, skipping over to her.

The purple haired monster turned to the smaller darkener, giving him a mostly blank expression. “oh? Sup. So, how long do you think this thing will take? You said there will be cakes after it.”

Ralsei smiled. “oh! It shouldn't be long at all!” He pulled out a list from his robes, “We'll start on this practice list right away! Um! Oh! Where's Kris? They should be here before I give the full explanation!”

“Oh right. Kris ain't coming” Susie said bluntly.

Ralsei's expression deflated. “W-what?! Why...?”

“Kris failed a big test and has got to retake it. Yeah, bummer. They're not getting out of class anytime soon”

“Oh... Well. I guess we can schedule this another time” Ralsei said with a defeated expression. He was about to put the list he wrote up back in his robe before he felt his wrist getting grabbed by a big scaley purple hand.

“Now hold on there Toothpaste boy.” Susie said, glaring at the prince. “You said we'd get cakes if we did this. Well. I want cakes. So we're gonna do this”

“Oh? Susie? You want to practice ACTing?” Ralsei said, his eyes twinkling.

“Why do you always say it like that? Can't you just say acting?”

“I am. ACTing”

“Why do you put so much emphasis on the word act? I get that's the word and all. But you say it so weird... Can we just get this training over with so I can scarf down some cakes and get fat.” Susie said walking passed the prince.

Ralsei followed behind. He was a bit upset that Kris hadn't shown up... But, studies were important, and if anything, this was way more important for Susie to learn herself!

“Wait...” Ralsei said, realizing something. “You and Kris are in the same class right? So. If Kris has to retake the test, does that mean you passed it?”

“Me? Nah. I failed with flying colors” Susie replied with a smirk.

“Than... How come you don't have to retake the test?”

“Simple. My mom ain't a teacher who's making me. She don't give a damn one way or another what I do”

Ralsei frowned. “oh.. I'm sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah. Save it.” She said, reaching the courtyard where the dummy was. “Cakes”

Ralsei smiled at the eager Delta Warrior. “okay! So! Let's begin our training!” He pulled out his list once again. “First! We need to-”

Before Ralsei could even say the first thing on his list, Susie rushed towards the training Dummy and smacked it hard with her axe! Sending it flying over the railing. Both Ralsei and Susie watched as the tummy flew through the air, soaring far and falling down the cliffside on the other end of the railing. It fell into the darkness, far beyond where anyone could see.

“Hah!” Susie said, posing with her axe. “Defeated the dummy in record time! How was that!” She had quiet the smug grin on her face, only for it fade when she looked over and saw the severely disappointed Ralsei looking over the railing.

“Well?” Susie said. “How did I do?”

Ralsei sighed. “Um... Susie... This training was supposed to be... On ACTing” The Darkner said a bit bashfully. “And... Well... With the dummy gone, we're gonna have to do this again some other-”

“No way!” Susie said, walking up the the spellcaster. “We're doing this. And if we need a dummy for it to happen...well” She gave Ralsei a smug smirk. “Looks like you're gonna be the dummy”

“W-what?” Ralsei replied, eyes wide. Before he knew it, Susie picked him up from under his armpits and moved him to where the Dummy once stood.

“There! Perfect!” She said. “Now. Lets get back to buisness with this training!” She said, staring at Ralsei. “So. This isn't about clobbering, fine. Tell me what I have to do”

Ralsei swallowed nervously, pulling out his list. “U-um.... Well. You have to first, tell the Dummy a genuine compliment..Which, I guess is me now” He said, suddenly feeling incredibly sheepish.

Susie's face fell as well. “Ugh.. This. Okay. Um...” She began thinking. “Genuine compliment huh?”

Ralsei nodded. “Mhm. They tend to make people feel good. But. You don't have to actually come up with-”

“Well...” She interuppted. “The truth is. You're like.. Not nearly as lame as I thought you were when I first met you” She said, folding her arms.

“Awww. Susie!” Ralsei said smiling. “That's...the nicest thing you've ever said to me!”

“Well. You're turn!” Susie replied with a sudden grin on her face. “Now pay me a compliment.”

“Oh that's easy!” Ralsei said almost immediately, “I think you look very pretty with your hair out of your eyes! Not that I don't think you didn't look good before... but, I like seeing your eyes! You look a lot better!”

Susie found herself blushing. “Oh? Go straight for my eyes huh? Well. If you wanna play that dirty. I think you look nice in those glasses.”

It was Ralsei's turn to blush. “S-Susie... you really-”

“HAH! Beat you! My compliment was way better then yours! So you lose!”

“Susie it's not a-”

“What's that? Sounds of a loser talking? Hah!”

Ralsei sighed. “Okay. I think your strength is admirable, and you have shown despite everything to be a true Hero”

“Booring!” Susie called out. “How about this? That dummy you made. Real quality work! You are really good at making stuff.”

Ralsei face flushed again. “S-Susie? T-that actually a really good compliment! H-how did you know?”

“Because nerd!” Susie said pointing at Ralsei. “I read a magazine someone threw in the trash! While I was eating it, I read some of the words! And the words mentioned that people like hearing things they put time and effort working on! And since I knew i'm gonna be forced to grovel with you losers, I thought I'd practice a little”

Ralsei was stunned. “Susie... Y-you really put that much effort into being kind to others?”

“Hey! Don't get me wrong!” Susie said. “This is just so I can deal with dweebs trying to kill us better. I don't want a repeat of what happened with those Hathy's...”

“Yeah that wasn't great... still! I'm happy you're putting effort into this!” The darkener replied. “You really would make a great hero!”

“Ugh. Please stop. I'm gagging now” Susie said, her face scrunched up. “Now I gotta go beat up some guys just to prove you wrong”

“Well. I think we should probably move on.” Ralsei said looking next on the list. “Okay. This next ACT is... oh” There was suddenly a blush on the Prince's face. “I forgot I put this... uh. It says... Flirt”

Susie squinted her eyes at the Darkener. “You know how bad I am at flirting. What's your game fluffy boy.”

“N-No game! I just wanted us to get practice because.. well... I know neither of us are very good at it”

Susie growled and folded her arms. “Well. Let's see than. Um...” She thought for a moment. “Uh.. You're... actually. Incredibly cute” She turned away. “I nearly feinted when I saw your face under your hat.”

Ralsei' face was turning bright red. “W-what!? Really?”

“Hey!” Susie snapped. “This doesn't leave between us two! This is just practice remember...”

“Right! Of course! And um...” Ralsei took off his hat and played with it in his fingers. “And... Well. You're actually pretty great Susie. I was worried you wouldn't like this. And think this is dumb.. And think while maybe you do.. It's just. I'm glad you're my friend. And I'm glad I can do this with you”

Susie's face was now completely turned. “S-shut up! Stop getting all sappy on me...”She paused for a moment before turning back. “And. I guess if this is gonna be a sap fest. Well. You're alright Ralsei. I'm glad to be here and I.. think of you as a good friend”

There was an awkward silence now. Both Darkener and Lightener were too embarrassed to say anything more. Both of their faces a deep red. Susie let out a cough.

“So” She finally said. “Let's finish this list up and then we can chow down on some cakes”

“Right! Um... Okay. This was supposed to be for the dummy so.. You can skip it. Um...” Ralsei fumbled his words as he read the last thing on his list. “It's...Hugging”

“A hug? Seriously?” Susie groaned. “Dude, I don't know anything about hugging. I've never been hugged before.”

“Yeah. Kris was my first hug myself!” Ralsei said. “You and Kris were actually the first people i've ever met!”

Susie blinked. “Wait...first people you ever met? What? That can't be possible”

“Oh no. It's true” Ralsei said. “I've lived by myself ever since I was created. I just...woke up one day. In the empty castle. I knew how to read. I had enough food to survive. My company was stories that I read. Epic tales that one day I'll meet some grand heroes and go on an epic quest! And! Well! You and Kris made that dream come true!”

Susie was silent again. “You mean to tell me. Me and Kris literally were the first people you've ever talked to?”

“Yeah. And you guys were great!” Ralsei said cheerfully.

There was a moment of silence before Susie took a step forward. “Alright fluffy boy. Here it comes”

“w-what?” Ralsei said, find himself taking a step back. “W-what's coming?”

“You're hug.” Susie said. “I'm gonna give you a hug so great it'll make the one that Kris gave you look like nothing.”

Ralsei's face was flushed again. “Wait! Susie! You don't have to-” The fluffy prince found himself getting lifted into the air. A pair of strong beefy arms wrapping around him, squeezing him tight. His body was pressed against Susie's. “Ahh.. This... actually does feel good”

Susie kept the hug up for a long while. Holding Ralsei against her. His feet dangling in the air. Her face pressed against his. “Um... Don't tell anyone I said this. Or I'll throw you wherever that Dummy landed but... You are, really incredibly soft.”

“oh.. Thank you!” Ralsei wrapped his arms around Susie. “Your body feels great too! It's so strong!”

After a solid 60 seconds, Susie finally put Ralsei down. “There... how was that?”

“It felt great! Thank you so much Susie” Ralsei said, smiling at the tall girl. “You've more then earned those cakes now. Come on. Lets go have some. I made a ton”

Susie followed behind Ralsei. “And listen. Um... Well. I'm not sure if we totally got that hugging thing down.”

“Hm?” Ralsei said, turning to Susie. “What do you mean?”

“I mean... We should probably practice the hug again. And, not because I love how soft you are... But so if Kris ever makes us hug in battle or something we don't completely suck at it!” She said, feeling awkward for even suggesting it.

“Oh! Yes! O-of course!” Ralsei replied. “Maybe... we can practice inside the castle. Just.. Hugging it out?”

“Well. If you're making me” Susie said smirking. “Come on. Let's go”

….

Kris found themselves arriving at the dark castle about an hour or two late. They wondered how the ACTing practice went. They were a bit upset at themselves for missing something that Ralsei had put so much time and energy into planning, but was happy at least Susie was willing to go.

The human checked the courtyard and found there was no one by the training dummy. And then proceeded to go inside the castle proper. Opening the door, they peeked inside.

There were several empty cake tins laid all over the place. Any crumbs that were left devoured. The human walked passed them, looking around for where there friends were.

Kris finally made it to something of a Foyer. Seeing a fireplace was lit was a good indicator that someone was inside. Kris had slowly grown concerned over Ralsei's safety... Susie didn't eat him did she?

The human walked into the room, and turned their head. The normally stoic human was now caught by surprise from the sight they saw.

There, the short fluffy Ralsei, was being cuddled by the taller more intimidating Susie. Both of them in each others arms, fast asleep. Both of them having a big smile on their face.

Kris found a blanket nearby and threw it over them. The two looked far too comfortable to wake up now. Kris didn't want to interrupt them. With a small smile from the human, they turned and walked out the door. Leaving the two monsters to their cuddling.

…

Susie slowly awoken a while later. Ralsei was still in her arms. A blanket was over her for some reason?... Weird. She didn't question it though. She looked down and saw the still sleeping fluffy Ralsei laying against her. She didn't dare to move or else she would wake him from his slumber.

She laid her head back against the sofa. Thinking of how it got to this. She could hardly even remember it. It just sort of happened... And yet. This is the happiest she's been in a while.

She looked down at the prince, and couldn't help but give him a genuine smile... The monster was falling in love. She knew it. She would never admit it to anyone. And would deny it even to Ralsei. But as of right now, she couldn't help but smile when she laid with him.

She leaned her head back, and wrapped her arms around the fluffy boy laying on her chest. Falling back asleep. A smile crept on her face.