LOOSEN UP
A Radiata Stories Fanfic

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Jack Russell, Ridley Silverlake or any other character mentioned here, nor do I own the great Radiata Stories. All characters belong to their rightful owners.

Ridley Silverlake sat on a tree stump just outside the doors of the Forest Metropolis. The were given half a day of waiting time for the Light Elves' reply, and in the meantime, they were allowed to explore the Dark Elves' humble abode. Her thoughts were riddled with Jack's words earlier that day. At first, they had no effect on her, but she didn't expect them to become very 'troubling'.

"I didn't really get the chance to enjoy my childhood, did I?" she told herself, while watching squirrels, birds and various other woodland creatures go on with their daily lives.

Ridley looked back, back to the past, back to the days when she was a little girl of five, or six. Those days, she did nothing but read, study, fence. Be taught by the most sophisticated people the proper etiquette, and good manners. It seems that the past few years were spent doing nothing but being cooped up inside the large castle. She kicked a pebble away, and unintentionally alarmed a rodent. It scrambled up and hid in the bushes.

She looked around her and sighed. The Forest Metropolis was beautiful in person. Long ago, she studied all about the Light Elves and Dark Elves' cultures, and the pictures in books and documents shown to her as a child always took her breath away. But Ridley never imagined the real thing to be this beautiful. Truthfully, she never really saw anything that even resembles a countryside in Radiata. She even admitted to herself that she was envious of Jack's childhood, and where he grew up. How he grew up. Free, with not a single responsibility and not much pressure.

"Jack was right."

"Right? About what?" A boy with brown hair emerged from behind the clumps of bushes and trees, looking intently at Ridley and smiling smugly.

Startled a bit, Ridley turned around to see Jack Russell.

"N-nothing!" she stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing? Exploring the forest!"

"We're on a mission." she snapped. "I can't believe all you could do is goof around."

"Well, I'm so sorry, your highness! I didn't realize that you, sitting down there and thinking about stuff that don't seem to be related to our mission, aren't doing anything productive." he answered back.

Ridley glared at him, but Jack didn't falter. Instead, he grinned. "So... What was that you said I'm right about?"

"Nothing." She stood up, brushed off the leaves that stuck to her clothes, and started to walk away. "I'm going back now. We're on a mission."

Jack frowned. "You're way to uptight, Ridley. All work and no play, that's what you say, I guess. But it's not gonna work out that way. There's a lot of stuff to appreciate around you! A lot of things worth stopping by for! Don't you see that?"

"All I see is you trying to get me into trouble or into one of your idiotic adventures."

"Pfft. You have got to loosen up, Ridley." said Jack, crossing his arms. But Ridley didn't take notice. Instead, she sighed and turned around, walking back to the Dark Elves' home. But Jack, despite the misunderstanding and tension between him and his fellow brigade member, didn't let it stop there.

"Come on," he told her, grabbing her gently but firmly by the wrist and attempting to lead Ridley around the forest. "I'll teach you how to appreciate life and to lighten up!"

Despite Ridley's initial attempts to free herself from the boy's grip, she followed Jack (although unwillingly) as he walked on a set path in the forest. They stopped at the banks of a creek. Fishes' heads occasionally poked out of the water's surface, while trees and branches hovered and danced over the body of water. A rabbit hopped along the bank and disappeared behind a bush.

"Here!" Jack announced proudly. Ridley sat, remaining as expressionless as she possibly could.

Jack grinned and started to remove the hard armor he wore. Ridley, surprised and startled at this sudden action, turned around, cheeks red, trying to find something of interest. The boy eyed Ridley curiously, as if asking why she was looking away.

"What's wrong?"

Involuntarily, Ridley turned to Jack's direction, and was relieved to see Jack fully clothed, sans the armor. His pants and sleeves were rolled up a bit and he stood at the shallow creek, almost knee-deep in it. He shrugged at Ridley's somewhat dazed expression and plunged his hands into the cold water. In a few seconds, he held up a fish squirming and trying to slip away back to the water.

"See?" Jack grinned. "You could at least try to catch the fish with your own hands."

"That's what the fishing pole's used for, Jack." she frowned.

"See? That's what I mean when you're too uptight about stuff. You're the practical type of person, not the one who really likes to mingle with wildlife." He let go of the fish squirming in his hands, and it plopped in the water with a soft splash before swimming away. Somehow, he saw that his efforts weren't going to pay off easily.

She didn't really seem to care about Jack, and even mocked him for being so enthusiastic to be in harm's way, but she can't help but feel that the large elven oak tree was something more of a threat than three blood orcs combined. Ridley never was a fan of heights, nor did she like watching people go up something really tall.

She tried her best to look composed as Jack scaled the oak tree, hopping up the branches and testing each one to determine which of them could hold his weight. Ridley looked anxiously at him, but he didn't care. As long as he could get what he wanted, everything was fine.

Of course, at this moment, we all know Ridley wasn't fine.

She wanted him to come down at the very instant, tell him that he should stop playing childish games and focus on the mission at hand. She wanted to tell him to go down and save his energy for when they were to return to Radiata. But she couldn't. It was as if she swallowed her tongue, and all she could do was watch nervously.

Jack was having fun. After what seemed like an eternity, he reached the highest part of the tree, where the best-tasting fruits were. Carefully, he reached up and took two ripe elf apples. The gave off a sweet smell that stirred one's hunger. Jack learned of this when Adele returned home one day, carrying a basket of fruits she bought from a traveling dark elf merchant. "Perfect," he whispered to himself.

He glanced back down and sighed. It was a long way back to the comfort of the floor.

Ridley cupped her hands around her mouth and started to shout.

"Jack! Just go down already!"

She became increasingly nervous as time passed. Again, she gathered her breath and shouted. "Jack!"

Silence. She waited. A rustle of leaves, and Jack's foot dangled from up above. In a swift, fluid motion, he landed unharmed on the forest floor. He held the two elf apples in front of him, smiling smugly. Ridley returned to her uncaring, mocking self again, just as Jack had stood up straight.

"Here!" He handed one of the plump fruits to Ridley, who took it cautiously, just in case it would explode or something. Fortunately for her, nothing worth getting mad about happened.

Jack sat on one of the broad tree stumps that bordered the path. He carefully peeled off the yellowish-orange skin of the fruit and smiled contentedly as he threw down the skin and ate the fruit. It tasted heavenly, delicious, and it gave off such a tantalizing smell that Ridley can't help but do what Jack did and eat. She sat on a smooth, broad rock and ate her own elven apple.

As she swallowed the first bite, Ridley felt light and carefree, as if her problems were running away and she was free to do whatever she wanted to do. It was like there were no pressures on her at all, like she was just a normal girl. It felt good.

And she ate more. Carefully, of course. However great Ridley felt, her table manners (though they weren't exactly eating at a host's dinner table) were impeccable, and they remained the same wherever and whenever she ate. Ridley, after each and every bite, felt happier. This is probably what people felt when they were kids. This should've been the way I've felt when I was younger, she thought.

Caught up by the amazing properties of the fruit, she didn't notice Jack watching her intently. He smiled after seeing Ridley took a bite. He knew about the elven apples, and how they worked. The fruits themselves were the ones that helped Jack get over his parents' passing away. He saw Ridley's expression grow lighter, until he knew by way of looking that Ridley felt problem-free.

"So, what do you think? Isn't it great?" he asked.

"It's..." she hesitated for a moment, but couldn't deny it. "It's amazing, Jack."

"See? Aren't you glad that I took you here?"

"...Yes."

"At least, now, you know how you should have felt as a kid. It's probably nauseating being cooped up inside a castle."

Silence. Then, Ridley raised a question. "What's gotten into you, Jack? All of a sudden, you act all so friendly and kind."

"What? So you don't get it? I wanted you to experience just a little bit of a normal kid's life, that's all. I thought you needed to relax and enjoy the good life." he said.

And for the first time in his life, Jack Russell saw Ridley Silverlake smile.

He felt weird, somehow. But he shrugged it off and checked his watch. "I guess we ought to go back now."

She was slightly disappointed, but Ridley nodded and stood up, starting to walk back to the Forest Metropolis.

"Jack? Thanks."

He grinned sheepishly.

"But I still think you're kind of an idiot." Ridley added.

A/N: So that's my third official Radiata Stories fic. I saw my Unwavering Devotion fic and spotted a lot of typos, so forgive me. I started to play Radiata Stories again and tried hard to find whatever plot and when to push it into the game's timeline, and this is what happened. So yeah, it's not exactly that deep or anything, but I guess it's good enough. How 'bout you guys?