After what felt like a long sleep, his body still feeling dazed and weakened, he heard a voice call to him faintly from nearby.  Gently looking around with the softest motions he could make, he saw Glenn standing beside him, eyes warmly looking down upon his pupil, large and golden.  He assumed that it was morning as he slowly asked:
	"Morning.  Is the...doctor here?"
	"She will be along soon...for now, I have something for you."
The frog came closer and slowly sat onto the bed, which worried James slightly as he tried to back up.  There was something about the look in his trainer's eyes that he could recognise, but he did not want to imagine it.
	"Is something wrong?  You appear a little anxious."
	"J-just a little worried is all...wh-what you wanna tell me, sir?"
	"You have been a good pupil to me, for quite a while.  Yet you have a long way to go.  I wondered if...perhaps I can offer you a little relief..."
A smile glanced across the amphibious lips, whiskers pulling upwards a little as his hand slowly reached down along the bedsheets.  James' eyes widened as he felt the leather glove smoothly slip towards his crotch, flinching a bit but not moving completely.  For despite the suddenness of the situation, he could not resist.  Or rather, he did not try to resist.  Something inside him said that he wanted this, despite him wanting to show a little restraint for the sake of humility, but he couldn't.  There was something about Glenn he was enraptured by.
As if gazing through a dreamlike filter, he saw a wonderfully handsome face.  Reptilian-like, smooth, noble, a tongue of the old world and such strength to boot.  He was breathing hotly at this point just looking at him, gazing with a rising lust in him that he had never felt so strongly until now.  Sometimes he felt this before, but never like this.  And somehow he felt his instructor respond to it.  Feeling himself still stiff, he gently moved his hips upwards and asked:
	"Wh-...what do you want from me, sir?"
	"I would like to offer you my support, dear James...and I can offer it in a way that you will enjoy..."
	"I...I-i-"
	"Shhhh..."
A gloved finger placed softly upon his lips quieted the shivering raptor.
	"Do not deny your honesty to me..."
Slowly the frog came closer, moving up slightly onto the bed with a knee, and he soon kissed James' lips tenderly.  He blushed hotly through his cheeks with an extra throbbing from his crotch that made him gasp out to Glenn's mouth.  The lips stroked along his for a small while, testing, feeling the texture, eyes closed before he felt a warm long tongue slowly creep inside his mouth.
He had always wanted to know what that tongue tasted like.  He had seen it occasionally, either flicking out by an instinct or to genuinely eat something.  It intrigued him, in his most private and fleeting of thoughts that came fully alive here.  His hand sliding around to behind the smooth head, suckling deeper, panting hungrily as he whimpered:
	"G-glenn...hhhh...ohhhh...."
	"Do you desire me, my boy?"
	"Yes...I...I need you...."
	"Art thou awakening?"
	"Wh-wha..."
	"James..."
	"Y-yes?"
	"James?"
	"Wh...wha..."
	"James!"

He felt his eyes truly open for the first time that day, shaken a little awake as he gazed into the rather worried expressions of Glenn and Lizbeth staring down at him.
	"Glad to see thou art with us."
The dream-like weave of the scene fell apart without hesitation, his lust turned into confusion, Lizbeth looking only concerned for his condition.
	"Wh-what happened!?" asked James.
	"You were just having a long sleep was all," said Lizbeth politely.  "I was hoping to check on the wound that Glenn told me you had, and I didn't want to wake you, but he insisted."
	"Indeed.  I apologise for interrupting thy...pleasant dream."
	"Wh-what do you mean...AGH!"
He realised how Glenn knew when he gazed down upon himself to see a noticeable tent in the blankets and hastily covered it, much to the pain of his back that made him cry out even more.  Lizbeth was in like a shot to put him down on his back fully.
	"CAREFUL, no sudden movements!"
	"A-aaaagh sorry sorry...I...didn't think."
	"Hehehee, it's okay, you'd be surprised how often it happens to my patients."
	"Thy beauty may be a curse Lizbeth, when even those asleep feel thy presence nearby."
	"Haha, you never miss a chance to flatter me hmmm Glenn?"
	"A gentleman is nothing but honest, even at the cost of brevity."
She tittered and made sure that her patient was fully laid down before asking:
	"Can you roll over onto your side for me please, James?"
He nodded and did so, whimpering as he revealed his stitched-up scar, which was examined and tenderly unbandaged to reveal the full wound itself.  The bandage itself had soaked up a fair amount of blood.
	"Hmmm...no major arteries, a few inches closer and it would have hit the kidneys...mainly superficial damage, some veins cut, if he'd been hit lower across the uh...rear he would have fared better."
	"Uhhh still alive here you know."
	"I know, this is just how I explain things.  Well...you did a really good job on stitching him Glenn, it'll hold a good long time, all you need is to replace his bandages every day, and I will come back within a week and a half to remove them.  After that, he should just keep his physical activity to a minimum for the next...six weeks at the most."
James had to force himself to not jump up at hearing this as Lizbeth slowly applied a new bandage around his wound.
	"Six weeks!?!  B-but I have to train!"
	"Not in this condition James.  It might not be six weeks, you healed pretty fast from when you were at my inn, so you might recover faster than others."
	"That's...true I guess..."
	"I thanketh thee doctor," said Glenn, "I am glad that my skill with a needle has not diminished with age."
	"Indeed!  I'm rather surprised myself so well done for looking after your pupil.  I'll be back in a week or so okay?"
	"Very well.  Good day Lizbeth."
	"Bye now!"
	"Thanks doc!"

And so she left, climbing up the ladder of the frog's humble home, the raptor lying on his back once again with a whimper, looking up towards Glenn with a long sigh.
	"Art thou well James?"
	"Still hurts...I'm sorry sir."
	"For what, may I ask?"
	"For letting you down and...putting myself in bed for long enough to fuck up my training."
	"My boy, were I a lesser instructor I would hath not foreseen such things coming.  Thy training shall not suffer from being temporarily incapacitated, so do not cause thyself anxiety."
	"You sure?"
	"Aye."
	"...well, if you say so, but I'll still do anything you ask."
	"I expect nothing more."
	"So...how did you know how to do stitches?"
	"In mine travels, and the aftermath of such until encountering thee I spent my time learning worthwhile pursuits, not the least of which is that of some rudimentary medicine.  I must say, even I am surprised of my own handiwork."
	"Yeah...I mean I dunno much about first aid other than like, putting a bandage on something or how to deal with bleeding or broken arms."
	"Essential knowledge nevertheless, no matter how small it is."
	"Yeah...well I dunno what would have happened if I didn't know it back when I got those scissors."
	"Oh?"
	"Yeah, the guy who had them last was pretty much stabbing me and fucking me up all over!  He stabbed my shoulder so I get a bandage on it.  He cuts me above the eye, get a band-aid.  I sprained my ankle, I find something cold and wrapped it tight around it, even if I couldn't rest it like I should've."
	"I see."
	"Though Sarah was the one who taught me it, said I should know first-aid when in a job like hers."
	"Ahhh yes, thy dear friend."
Glenn sat himself down on his nearby bed, which somewhat relieved James to see reality play out differently.
	"Tell me, what was her profession?"
	"She was a bartender?"
	"Ahhhh, the humble bar maid."
	"No no, bartender, she owned the place."
	"Ah...I presume it was a struggle for a woman to earn the respect of her drinkers as the owner."
	"Not as bad as you'd think, but yeah she pretty much worked her way up to get that bar.  It was a great place, we called it the Two By Two, she had it for like twenty years when it was just some abandoned house she converted with her husband back before they got married, and she pretty much lived in it."
	"Not unusual at all to see couples running a place together, especially one so social as a pub."
	"Hahaha, yeah, but the place was in her name 'cause it was what she wanted.  Course it was more the fact she wasn't local that worried people more than the fact she was...well a woman."
	"Oh?  Where did she hail from?"
	"Uhhhh California."
	"Another place new to me."
	"I never been, but she tells me it's like one huge sunny beach full of big thick cities, lots of stuff gets made there, big entertainment industry."
	"Ahhhh a city of the faire!"
	"Ehhh...something like that."

James was inwardly laughing at the immense generational gap he had with his instructor as he continued.
	"So she worked at this bar for like, years and...well she split up with her husband over some personal problems."
	"My apologies."
	"Yeah, but she kept the place running firm but fair, became a local celebrity cuz everyone knew her, knew she was tough as nails and would help anyone out no matter who they were."
	"A local philanthropist too!?  What a marvellous woman she sounds!"
	"A philanthro-what?"
	"A person who performs charitable or benevolent needs."
	"Like you?"
	"If thy believeth such, perhaps."
	"Well...yeah she was a good person, even if not all she did was strictly legal.....actually a lot of the stuff she did wasn't."
	"Hmm...now I am curious as to how thee ended up as her assistant."
	"Well it wasn't like a job interview or anything.  I arrived in Chicago homeless and on the streets, and...I was...kinda stealing to keep myself alive."
	"...I see."
	"Yeah...I'm not proud of it yanno, I mean I didn't steal from anyone who was like, struggling, I only stole from-"
	"James, thy actions in the past do not concern me, considering thou art willing to make amends for thee.  And I can already tell that while thou may not be strong-willed with honour, there is a potential for kindness within thee.  Continue."
	"Alright, sorry...so one time I decided to steal from Sarah's bar, and she caught me, shot me in the foot with her gun, gave me two choices basically.  Either I work for her, minimum wage, get to live at her place and no more stealing...or she throws me out on the street with a wounded leg and the police on my tail."
	"Hah, so it was she that first set thee straight!"
	"Haha, oh yeah she was...she was like a mum to me.  Practically is."
	"A shame I shall not meet her, I admire that spirit within people to stand firm within a new land with aplomb."
	"Yeah...she'll be okay I bet, you said so yourself, she's a real strong woman."
	"From thy words and praise of her, I expect her to be a strong-willed character.  I am sure that thy friend Sarah shall still remain at her place when thou shalt finally complete thy training."
	"Yeah, you're right, she's got like, iron will, no like freaking titanium will!"
	"And when I train thee to possess that same calibre of willpower, I am sure she shall be all the more proud of her assistant."
	"Haha, totally...mmm..."
Glenn slowly stood up realising the conversation was over, and that James was starting to look quite tired.
	"I must attend my usual scouting duties within the forest.  Rest awhile until I return."
	"Alright sir...uh, careful out there."
	"Thy concerns should only remain for thy wellbeing.  I shall return soon."
And so the frog swordsman leapt onto the ladder like the amphibian he had become, and headed into the woods, leaving the raptor to ponder to himself in his bed.  As he sighed and snuggled into the blankets, he still wondered about one thing.

The dream he had had felt so real to him, such a strange erotic dream to have, with Glenn of all people.  He expected Daisy or Sarah which were the usual subjects of his more soothing dreams, but this was new to him.  And yet, despite one part of him feeling a little uncomfortable about it, another larger part of him wished it had continued on longer.
He imagined the frog to have an amorous nature about him, a Renaissance-style understanding of love that involved ballads, fighting for the lady's honour, and a passion that would equate to the apparent passion he had heard existed in dusty old plays Sarah mentioned to him once or twice.  He was secretly now hoping the dream to return, even if a part of him didn't want to admit it.
I don't really like Glenn that way...do I?  He's a great guy and all, a real hero but...was that...agh it's just a dream, you get weird dreams all the time, just forget about it.
He decided to just not think about it too much and let himself go back to sleep.
In his recovery period, James was well looked after by Glenn, well-fed and attended to by his instructor which only increased the level of friendship he felt he had with him.  It also didn't help when it increased another feeling he had for him that was slowly drowning out the part that refused to believe it.  He didn't want to believe it, but by the time he could accept it through all the tender loving care that he was being given from this old swordsman, he was feeling something that he hadn't experienced in a long time.
A crush.  He didn't consider it love, at least not yet, but he was definitely developing a crush on Glenn.  Now he couldn't even stop thinking about him, and whenever he dreamed of him, the passion increased, the sensual acts becoming more and more intimate inside his mind, turning even more stronger due to his reliance on being looked after by the frog.  Before this, he considered Glenn to be a great hero, a noble warrior who was nothing but good-hearted and kind.  Now, he was the most wonderful person in the world.  Experienced, handsome, strong, and compassionate.

A childish part of him almost didn't want to heal up, if only so he could be continuously cared for by Glenn, and he always at the very least made for an opportunity to just even touch the smooth cool rubbery skin of his teacher, feeling the strong muscles underneath.  He wanted to be serious about this, he knew that there was no way Glenn would even like him that way.  He was definitely sure that the warrior was straight, especially in an era like this.  Glenn's attitude never changed towards his pupil, a mixture of concern and pride like any other instructor would have towards a significant pupil.
Soon James had recovered well enough to get out of bed, after the stitches were removed from his body around 10 days after that first night.  He was able to walk around but in no condition to fight, easily made weary from anything strenuous.  This did not deter Glenn from training him however, but only with exercises that he was able to do, which was mainly based on reflexes.
For the next few weeks, they would constantly train with sticks, clacking back and forth, faster and faster until James would tire out from swinging his arms left and right.  He was still sharpening his eyes however, the sticks turning into a blur before him but still able to keep up, until he turned too weak to do so and had to give in.  This of course made his progress suffer when he would slow down greatly, but Glenn did not falter.
	"I am most impressed at thy coordination remaining sharp James, not concerning thy wounds."
	"Th-thanks...sir."
	"May I see thy wound and see how thou art faring?"
	"S-sure."
He always enjoyed this part, in a rather perverted kind of way.  The feeling of those gloved hands softly rubbing his lower back as if they were about to start massaging him, their touch making him forcefully restrain his moans as Glenn examined the wound.  Thankfully they were hearling up impressively quick in the space of only 4 weeks.
	"Lizbeth was right, thou doth heal rather swiftly my lad!"
	"Yeah?  Howsit looking?"
	"Quite good actually!  Thou shalt be back in fighting form very soon, but I will not stress thee with that.  We will take it as slow as thy body alloweth, but I want thee to promise me that thou shalt throw all thy remaining strength into every regimen I put thee through."
	"I'll do my best sir."
	"Good lad."

A tiny blush escaped him when he was given a small pat on the shoulder, his body certainly healing up all the better within the next few days to soon be back in action.  The training continued onwards, itself uneventful for the next few months which stretched long into the winter.  His only worry at this point, was that he missed by Christmas in a world that not only didn't have it, but also for Sarah having to have hers without him.
Of course they did not have extravagant ones, Christmas at Sarah's bar meant all drinks were half-price and it was a good meeting spot for friends to exchange presents, a few even given to Sarah herself from loyal customers, as well as a special party thrown for all the children in the local community.  Sarah adamantly believed that a child should never have a bad Christmas.
He remembered the last Christmas they had together, a large plastic tree she had always kept with her since buying it with her husband ever since the bar opened, in a cupboard ready to be deployed every year.  She got James some DVDs of ass-kicking action movies that he rewatched repeatedly since then, whereas he got her a book entitled "The Greatest Heroes Forgotten By History", which she treasured for ages.
Despite his brief misery of missing such an event, the closest he had to that was Toy Day back in Crossville.  In retrospect, this only saddened him more at missing the warm nights he spent with Daisy, but he shook them from his mind quickly and focused on his training fervently.  He would force any of his anger or sorrow through his blade, rather than into his heart.  Glenn realised this from how he swung over the winter, how tense his posture was, and how serious he became in trying to improve himself, an unconscious need dwelling within him.  But on one wintry day, it took them both by surprise.

During his dour period of winter on one snow-drenched sunset, he sat outside feeling the cold not chill him too much, thanks to a cloak being lended to him by Glenn.  He reminisced of better days during the snow of Sarah and Daisy, cruelly reminded of not only the fact that Sarah would be spending Christmas alone in closing hours, but also that it was a day like this that Daisy was cruelly taken away from him.  Despite the training, he could not tear himself away from this memory.  He couldn't stop the cold from reminding him.
It was the first winter since Crossville that he had been able to experience.  And with that, the memories of that last time were as fresh as the snow, turning over in his head again and again.  His feelings for Glenn were temporarily forgotten in respect for his ex-lover, sighing as he walked around the forest now transformed bare, losing himself within his own thoughts.
As much as he was eager to keep training, he could not help himself with these thoughts, and he did not want to whine to Glenn about it, feeling that it was expected of him to just suck it down and keep training like a man.  His unfortunate memories concerning snowy nights did not help when he fell with his foot down a small hole.  Snow against his scales made him shiver, as he looked back to snarl venomously at the hole.
	"AGH!  ...fu...fucking...pitfalls..."

As he dug his claws into the snow as if trying to pull out flesh, he saw his pair of scissors left nearby against a tree.  In all of his training, he had forgotten to take it inside and out of the weather, worrying now that it had gone rusted from disuse.  He headed towards it and grabbed the handles, seeing that thankfully by some miracle that they had not rusted at all.  As he held them, he continued to ponder on his darker memories, of snowy days that did not bring him cheer, his reflection glinting weakly within the blades.
	"You...and everything...nothing's been good for me since this shit.  Fuck this snow.  Fuck everything, I could have been happy...right?"
Questions came to him which he began to speak aloud to himself, with no answers.
	"I mean, if it hadn't been a blizzard or something, ohhhhhh noooo, fucking pitfalls, always there to screw things up, right?"
An anger was starting to rise up in him unconsciously, his teeth grating hard against each other as he walked over to the offending hole in the ground.
	"One.  FUCKING.  Hole.  Ruined everything.  Made a HOLE in my heart, right!?  Well...there was a hole here...it'll be fucking gone soon."
With these words ringing in his mind, he stabbed into the hole repeatedly, growling with every slam downwards, burying the sharp ends into the ground again and again.  His frustration grew stronger and stronger with each plunging thrust, making the hole deeper and deeper to a fine point.  His muscles turned tense with rage, a fury that dwelled within him and channelled through his scissors, amplified until he was interrupted by a voice nearby.
	"James?  Is something wrong?"
	"Wrong?  WRONG!?!?"
He turned around swiftly, snarling at Glenn with scissors in hand, the frog only concerned at his pupil's odd mood of late.
	"Oh, nothing's wrong, just a lotta reminders thanks to the fucking snow.  You know normally around this time I have Christmas with Sarah, just a nice, pleasant christmas, yanno, the closest thing I can do with her that's like family!"
	"Well...that is unfortunate."
	"Yeah, but that I don't mind, I mean hey, she's a tough girl, she can handle it, you said so yerself!  But yanno what hurts me more?  The fact that it's this kind of weather, and THIS!  FUCKING!  PIECE OF SHIT!  HOLE!  That RUINED my life, again!"
	"A hole?  What dost thou mean!?"
	"One trip!  One...fucking trip, I just fall, and EVERYTHING was gone!  If I hadn't fucking fell, but it wasn't my fault, IT WASN'T MY FAULT!"

His rage had blinded him, his eyes were psychotically tight as he wielded his scissors high into the sky, panting from his ground-stabbing.  Glenn was worried even moreso now, it was as if something had taken over his pupil.
	"James, calm thyself, I cannot understand thee!"
	"WHY SHOULD I!?!?  FUCK THIS WINTER!  FUCK THIS SNOW!  You know I used to love snow, when I was a kid like anyone else, it's awesome and magical like fucking fairy wings, and you don't get much of it in Chicago, not enough to be a problem!  But now...it's fucking everywhere...fucking blizzards and knee-high snow, fucking destroyed everything, I HAD A GOOD LIFE GLENN!  I HAD EVERYTHING!  I had a house, a girlfriend, I COULD HAVE SEEN THAT HOLE IF IT WASN'T FOR FUCKING SNOW!"
	"James, calm thyself!  Anger is not the solution, I cannot understand thy disposition towards this season I admit, but if thou shalt not calm down and focus-"
	"CALM DOWN!??!  Don't you fucking tell ME to calm down, YOU NEVER LOST SOMEONE DEAR TO YOU!??!"
	"I have."
Glenn's voice became deadly serious and emotionless, his face blankly restraining insult to the highest degree.
	"Never.  Think.  That I do not understand such pain."
	"I...I...you did?"
	"My master.  The one who had me become a swordsman.  My dearest friend, slain by a terrible warlock.  Did I not tell thee?"
	"...I...I think you mentioned..."
He soon calmed down from this admittance, and dropped the scissors bluntly onto the snow, feeling that he had spoken out of place and stared dumbly into the hole he had widened.  His anger drowned within a sea of shame.
	"I do not know what happened entirely with thee, but at least thou never had to ally thyself with the one who murdered thy dearest friend."
	"...r-really?"
	"As my journey across time progressed, certain facts were revealed concerning my enemy that would not allow me to kill him."
	"What!?  Wh-why!?!?  The dude killed your best friend!"
	"There were greater things at stake than my need to avenge my master."
	"WHAT greater things!?!?"
	"Time itself, boy!  Hast thou not been listening to me!?"
	"I...I dunno, I mean, couldn't you have-"
	"When I realised that my enemy had a life worse than mine, and that he had lost far more than I at the hands of evil, our missions became one and the same.  Even he, over time, felt remorse over his crime against me.  We settled our matter, but I realised how powerful a temptress revenge can be."
	"I can't believe that.  ...I don't agree with that at all, sir."
	"Very well, I will not force thee to understand.  I only ask that you take a lesson from what I said before.  Revenge might begin with the most noble of intentions, but one slip of control, and thou shalt become the same as thy enemy...or worse."
	"Whatever...I'm too cold, fucking snow."
	"Aye, let us return home."
And with that, they returned to Glenn's subterranean home to warm up with some stew by the fire, sitting beside each other.  James was partly ashamed to have acted in such a way to his instructor, and murmured his apologies while cuddling up under the pretense of being cold.  With some of his rage released from his tantrum, he felt a little better, forgetting about the outside and focusing on being near Glenn, against his smooth skin.  Glenn merely smiled and pulled him close in mutual forgiveness.
After the winter would thaw itself out, the swordsman would put the second part of his training regimen unto James, no doubt a part of the training that James would be very happy to finally reach.