Autumn 4994, 14 Aoimoth 

Lily yawned, stretching with her staff held in both hands. Then, because she'd already started the motion, she let herself continue to arch all the way back until her fingers touched the ground. 

"What're you doing?" Tuth groaned, rubbing his temples as he passed.

She thought about answering, but instead yawned again. Master Velona squatted down by her head, "Are you going to finish the flip, or do you need help?" 

"Oh please," Lily scoffed, letting her legs flip over her head until she was standing properly again, "I'm not that tired."

"Tired enough you didn't run with me this morning..." Master Velona teased, starting off with her student beside her. 

The two ladies caught up with Tuth easily. The poor Mage stumbled in the early morning light and still cradled his head. He was trying to alternate between keeping his eyes closed and squinting, which caused him to zig-zag around the mostly empty streets. 

Lily didn't even try to hide her grin, beaming at Velona, "I could hardly sleep! There I was, annoyed with the Guild-"

"As usual," Velona chimed in, though Lily kept going, 

"-and wanting to drop everything to find him, then BAM! There he was! It was just the back of his head, and he's changed, taller and broader, but I knew right away-"

Tuth moaned, "Could you please stop yelling?"

"You probably saw Master Veon-Zih or Ryuuko. They are quite distinctive," The Monk tried to offer logic, but Lily was hearing none of it, 

"-and I knew if I surprised him, he would counter. It was probably really mean now that I think about it. But it's been over six years since we sparred, and that was before I met you, so I was curious how I'd fare unarmed in just a tiny bout-"

"Please, Lily... Your voice... It's like hammers..." Tuth whined. 

Velona snickered, weaving her voice around Lily's continued excited ramble, "Trying to go unarmed against a student of the Ryukyu Monistary is a bad idea, my flower. Know your opponent's strengths and weaknesses as well as your own."

"-but when I touched him, any doubts I had were gone. His cold is just as refreshing as before, and all my memories came flooding back in even more detail." Lily finally stopped to breathe and exhaled with a sigh. The others didn't try to interrupt this time, and she continued softer, "And he recognized me, I could see it in his eyes. Oh, Master Velona! I think I was actually afraid, and I hadn't even realized until it was gone!" 

Velona reached over to stroke her hair, but Tuth huffed, "You read too many romances..." 

Lily rolled her eyes, but she was too happy to be truly annoyed with him. He continued to sway and hold his head, and Lily sighed sympathetically, holding out her staff to his side to help herd him in a straighter line, saying softer, "I would think, after you threw up all the alcohol, that you wouldn't have a hangover," 

Tuth moaned, "It's not just the alcohol, it's the dehydration from..." He couldn't help but try to inform and correct her. It was in his nature. Lily rolled her eyes and ignored him, letting his voice become just another hum in the background of her thoughts. 

She had read a lot of really cheesy romance novels, most before she'd kissed Shon for the first time, back when she was still with the Mages Guild in Clearhelm. She hadn't been thinking about them, but now that Tuth had planted the seed, she couldn't help but let her mind stray back to those hours and hours of late-night reading. 

After spending her entire life -up until what they presumed to be her late teens- as a prisoner to a small group of Warlocks, Lily had no experience with some of the more nuanced social norms of the rest of the kingdom population. Modesty and tact were just abstract concepts to her, and she had embarrassed quite a few people with her blunt questions and observations. Particularly about sex. So Mage Vevi -Master Velona's niece- had given Lily romance novels to better observe, and direct her questions. She had devoured the stories like a starving woman, and though she did enjoy them -particularly the conclusions- she was also consistently annoyed by many of the genre tropes.

She put her thoughts into words, interrupting some long-winded thing Tuth was saying about the necessary balance of nutrients in the human bloodstream, "The problem with romance is that no one ever communicates. If people just talked to each other, there wouldn't be any miscommunication, and most of the drama wouldn't ever be drama." 

Tuth stuttered over his lecture. "What?" He squinted over his shoulder at her, trying to figure out what she was talking about before he remembered his own off-hand comment from before. He groaned, turning away from her but adding, "And you really think that guy is going to communicate with you? He said one word to our every ten, EACH!" He flinched at his own shout of indignation, grabbing his head again. 

But Lily had caught sight of the west gate and ran past the Mage. She got a few steps ahead then spun around to jog backward to address him, "Shon is very communicative. You just have to know how to talk to him." Lily grinned. You had to ask questions that required words to answer and be able to read expressions, which Lily could. Simple.

Tuth clearly didn't believe her, but he didn't have to. Lily spun around and skipped the rest of the way to the gate. Yua leaned against the gatehouse and waved to them as they drew closer. Veon-Zih was speaking to the gate guard and turned to smile at them. But Shon was already beyond the walls, his back to them, Ryuuko balanced on his sword and a large leather pack on the ground beside him. 

Lily waved at the Ranger and Monk, continuing past them. Part of her wanted to jump on Shon's back and wrap him in a big surprise hug, but -in a rare show of self-awareness- she thought better of it and instead slowed to a walk and stopped to stand next to him. Close enough that all she would have to do was shift her weight to lean on him. She didn't right away, instead following his gaze out to the endless grassland plains of Lenare. 

When she did finally lean, it was to find Shon's arm waiting for her. Apparently, he'd done the same. Lily smiled, resting her head on his shoulder, then giggled as Ryuuko climbed over his back and across her head and face, to perch on her opposite side. 

She could stand like this forever. The sun rising from behind and washing the golden grass of late autumn in early morning light. Shon beside her, the cold radiating from his skin calming her in a way she hadn't felt in years. Lily was so used to constantly moving, doing, that just being able to hold still and be was an alien feeling. But the others had caught up and were talking behind them, and Shon shifted ever so slightly as if to turn towards them. 

Lily giggled again, and spun on her toes back towards their companions. Veon-Zih was standing across from Tuth, massaging his hands while the Mage moaned in a way that made Yua laugh and Velona shake her head. Shon slung the big backpack over his shoulder, stepping towards the group. 

No one else carried a pack, and the sight had Lily tilting her head at Shon's back. Skipping ahead of him, she turned to tilt her head to the other side -Ryuuko doing the same with a little chirp- "You don't have a bag of holding?" she asked. 

Shon pat the small belt pouch at his side, and Lily shifted her head to the other side, "Do you really own that much stuff? And I thought I was bad..." She grinned evilly at him. She actually had two bags of holding -one containing a five-foot cube of space and the other only two- but wasn't about to tell him that while she was trying to tease him.

Shon shook his head, his small, barely discernible smile lighting up his face like a thousand suns. Behind her, Veon-Zih called, "Shon carries all the heavy stuff in the pack for strength training." 

"Seriously?" Yua asked. Shon nodded. 

"It looks heavy," Lily added. Shon arched an eyebrow at her, then swung the bag off his shoulder and held it out to her with one fully extended arm. Lily reached out with both hands to take it, and it fell straight to the ground. Lily wasn't weak, but she still had to grit her teeth to pick it back up. "Ryuugen's planetary balls, do you put rocks in it?"

"Ryuugen?" Velona and Veon-Zih asked in unison while Yua laughed, and Tuth continued to moan, his head thrown back. 

"Sometimes," Shon answered, taking the bag back with one arm and swinging it back over his shoulder with ease.  

Lily shook her hands out but then stepped forward and rested them on Shon's muscular chest. He froze, and she could feel his heartbeat. She ran her fingers up to his shoulders, then down his arms and hummed, "Well, if this is the result -and I don't have to carry it- then I certainly won't complain." Shon swallowed, and Lily winked at him, letting her hands trail off his and turning back to the others.

Catching sight of Veon-Zih, she asked, "What's he doing to my Tuth?"

Shon cleared his throat and actually answered before the Monk, "Pressure points. Helps with a hangover." 

"It hurts so good..." Tuth groaned, and Veon-Zih shook his head, grinning. 

Yua stepped forward and clapped her hands, "Alright, so I read the orders the Temple gave, but all they said was that we were to escort you lot through the plains to find some Sorcerer among one of the tribes."

"Laughing Pony tribe," Tuth moaned as if he couldn't help but provide the missing detail. 

Velona took over the explanation, "The Mages Guild is testing a new device to detect Sorcerers and their movements. And since this power is strong enough not to be a typical newly awakened Sorcerer, they suspect it might be a kingdom citizen running from a tattoo." 

Lily scoffed, "AND they seem to think it's their duty to nose their way into the tribes' business and register their Sorcerers either way." 

Lily was pleased to see a small frown shadow Yua's face as the Ranger heard that bit, asking, "Don't the accords say something about the kingdom stepping in if we find a Sorcerer out of control even in the tribes? I didn't think they actually used that loophole."

Shon nodded, and Lily huffed, but then he added, "It's at the discretion of the Mage and Temple representatives sent to investigate..." he paused, and when Lily didn't look at him, she felt his hand move to her cheek, turning her to face him with a feather gentle touch. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, Lily."

Veon-Zih dropped Tuth's hands and wiped his palms on his pants while the Mage shook out his fingers and added, "I don't intend on poking my nose in tribal business if they don't want our help."

Lily shot Tuth a grateful smile but turned her eyes back to Shon. He could see the question in her expression and that small smile she loved so much returned, just barely tilting his lips but lighting up his pale blue eyes, "The tribes have been training their own Sorcerers since before the kingdom was formed. By Hengist's Honor, I have no intention of abusing the accords for anything less than a direct request for assistance." Ryuuko whistled its agreement, and Lily hopped in place to wrap her arms around his neck. 

"Thank you..." She whispered in his ear, choosing not to comment on his Paladin swear on Hengist's Honor. She had her own opinions on the gods, but now wasn't the time to voice them.

"Well, now that that's settled," Yua started again, "Where are the horses?"

Lily let herself slide down Shon's front, hunching her shoulders and hiding her face in his chest, Ryuuko twittering in her ear. She turned to see Yua looking around questioningly at all of them but everyone else staring at her.

"I'm sorry!" Lily whined. Tuth and the Monks all sighed, Yua looked confused, and Shon leaned down to whisper to her, 

"It's alright, Lily." 

Yua opened her mouth -still not understanding- and Lily rushed to explain, "Horses don't like me. They won't let me ride them, and unless they're really well trained, I have to stay far away."

"The Mages Guild provided a group teleport for us to get back if we need it." Tuth chimed in, patting his small belt pouch. 

"Oh damn," Yua exclaimed, "Those are worth a fortune," 

Shon must have read the sudden greedy gleam in Lily's eye because he shook his head at the Ranger's exclamation and stated, "If we don't need it, we'll turn it back in. It's a tool for the mission, not a reward or payment." 

He looked to Tuth -perhaps expecting the Mage to agree- only to find Tuth shrugging, "Then we should probably use it." 

Shon didn't argue, turning back towards the plains with a sigh. The others moved to walk with him, but Tuth also rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he reached into his bag for the magical compass that would point the way toward the Sorcerer. Mumbling, "Paladins..." like a curse. 

Lily saw Shon's shoulders stiffen and could've kicked the Mage. Instead, she ran ahead to catch up and walk beside Shon. He glanced at her, but she just grinned back, content to walk in silence with him. Ryuuko twittered and nuzzled her cheek as they moved out. 

***

They walked throughout the day in what felt like a straight line, Tuth checking his compass and adjust their heading every hour or so. The device only showed direction, and the plains covered most of the province, so they could spend weeks out here before finding the nomadic tribe they were looking for.

Shon enjoyed such long jobs, though this time he'd been annoyed upon reading the orders. But that was before Lily had found him, it becoming evident that it wasn't some kind of divine punishment after finally deciding to find her. It was a prayer finally answered...

He spent the hours walking either beside her or watching her as she spoke to the others. Asking Yua about her training as a Ranger and answering the woman's returned questions about her own time as a Monk's student.

Yua avoided any questions about Lily's past before her training, for which Shon was grateful. He remembered vividly Lily's tears as she spoke about the animal experiments she'd loved as her own. And her anguish as she pulled her own hair, crying that she'd killed all the Warlocks that had held her captive. Even those that had been kind to her. It had been in a fit of fiery rage when they'd killed the animals. Her treasures. Her power melting the very stone of the hidden tower just hours outside Hamerfoss. 

Even if Shon could tear his eyes away from Lily long enough to look around, there wasn't much to see. Though some parts of the plains held great hills that could hide monsters behind their mounds, and others twisting crags in the ground, the flat grasslands were at once beautiful, safe, and dull -with only the occasional tree popping up in the distance to show that they'd made any progress at all- the late autumn breeze rustling the endless long grass like ocean waves.

They stopped for the night by the only tree in view. Though Yua mentioned bringing some kindling, Lily just laughed. Tuth walked far enough away so her magic wouldn't throw off his compass' calibration -though it shouldn't in his bag of holding. Lily set the grass alight in a circle, bringing her hands up and controlling the burn, then pushing them back down, shrinking the fire down to that of a regular campfire. Leaving the ground warm and clear for them to set up their bedrolls on the soft ash. 

 Shon joined them all for a simple dinner, listening as they continued their conversations and glad that no one tried to pull him too far into any just yet. He was used to Master Veon-Zih running interference for him, but hadn't expected Lily to do so as well. She would let Shon answer any questions or comments directed his way but would quickly pull the attention off of him when it was clear he was done talking. In Hamerfoss, she hadn't needed to. His fellow Squires having known what to expect from him. Yua, Tuth, and even Velona -as usual with new people- seemed to think it rude not to try and include him, giving Lily the opportunity to come to his rescue.

After the meal, they drew lots for watch. Shon would've volunteered regardless, but Veon-Zih insisted that he needed sleep too, and so he took his chances. With six of them, they had decided on a four-man rotation. The two that didn't stand tonight would be guaranteed a watch the following evening, and the other four would get a chance for the night off. As it turned out, Shon got first watch, Yua second, Velona third, and Lily fourth. 

Once that was done, the Monks retreated together to walk around the camp's perimeter, Tuth pulled out his spellbook, Yua and Lily continued to chat about the differences between elemental magic in the arcane and divine nature schools. And Shon retreated to the edge of the light by the tree, Ryuuko flying after him to perch in the branches.

Shon leaned against the lonely tree, fishing out his journal. He started his nightly ritual of filling it in with sketches from the day, accompanying thoughts squeezed neatly into the margins. The others left him to it for a while, and when someone finally did approach, he could feel who it was.

Lily's heat preceded her as she leaned down, resting her chin on his shoulder and tilting her head at his drawing -Yua from behind, her long braid swaying as she spoke animatedly to Lily herself. "Your drawings are so beautiful," she said, "Everything I make only lasts a few moments." 

Shon took a steadying breath, keeping his strokes from shaking after a lifetime of practice. When he was finished, he said, "Everything about you is beautiful, Lily." 

Lily pivoted around to sit in front of him. Bringing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them, she tilted her head to the other side, "You really think so?" 

Shon nodded, closing his pencil in his book and setting it aside to watch her. Lily shifted her head to tilt the other way again, saying, "You know, I've read a lot of romance novels, and this is the part in the story where we start to hem and haw over what the other really thinks of us. Maybe dropping hints here and there in the hopes that the other confesses their feelings first. Or even second-guessing our own feelings now that we're forced to get to know the people we've become over the years." 

Shon swallowed. Was she second-guessing? He had changed over the years, and Shon wasn't sure he liked who he'd become. How could he ever be worthy of someone like Lily? Strong, confident, beautiful, Lily... Shon managed to arch his eyebrow, trying to hide his fears behind a single word, "Oh?"

Lily didn't stop smiling, so maybe it worked. She leaned forward to rest her chin on her knees. "Mmhmm," She hummed in the affirmative and continued, "We will pussyfoot around the issue as the tension builds and readers will want to reach through the pages to shake us. Then we'll reach some exciting, probably life-threatening climax and realize that we can't live without each other and finally confess. Followed by a passionate conclusion."

Lily shrugged, and Shon held onto her every word as she continued, "I don't really like that part, so I'm going to skip it. I'm going to tell you exactly what I want." She tilted her head at him, waiting. Shon managed a nod.

Lily scooted a little closer as she started, "I've missed you, Shon. Every new thing I saw I wanted to show you. To see your expressions and hear your thoughts on it. Every battle, I wanted you at my side, watching my back and trusting me to hold my own. But I think I missed you most in the in-between time. I wanted you next to me so we could talk if we felt like it or just exist in silence if we didn't. Like we used to at Hamerfoss. 

"I want to spend time with you. Hear your voice when you chose to speak, because you never talk just for the sake of talking. Feel your refreshing skin on mine whenever I get the chance, even if it's only casual, friendly, touch; like everyone else gets to do so easily. I want to learn everything about you firsthand. And even if you don't want me romantically, like I want you, then I want to be friends," She actually laughed, exclaiming, "I'll take what I can get! But you should know that I do want more. I want everything. Finally seeing you again just solidified that. 

"Every feeling and fantasy I've ever had since you gave me my name came rushing back, and I realized that I couldn't keep going without at least trying. I've met a lot of men over the years, Shon, and none of them could hold a candle to you. You don't only make me want to be better; you make me believe I already am. You believed in me when no one else did. You were happy for me even when everyone else was worried. You took me seriously from the very beginning, and I'll never not be grateful."

She took a moment to rock back and stare at the stars, "It helps that you're very handsome. Strong in all the right places, with stunning eyes, gorgeous hair, and the most refreshing skin." She looked back down at him, her eyes scrunched with her smirk, "But that's only part of it, I promise." She rocked forward again, kneeling beside him, her hands resting in her lap, "So that's how I feel, and what I want from now on. But what do you want?" 

At some point, Shon's jaw had gone slack. He swallowed, his mind swirling too fast to latch onto any one thought. He focused in on her question. What did he want?

You... Shon thought, All of you, everything, all the time, forever. Your smile, your confidence, your blunt sincerity, and your companionate understanding. After what felt like an eternity, in which Lily just continued to watch him, endlessly patient in a way that seemed utterly out of character for her dealings with anyone but him, Shon settled on one sentence.

With a hand much steadier than he felt it had any right being, he cupped her cheek, pulling her close as he came forward to rest his forehead on hers, and answered, "I want to kiss you again."

Lily's eyes searched his face for something and Shon's heart thundered in his chest. He ran his thumb over her scales just to feel more of her. There was so much more he wanted her to know. How reading about her adventures made him enjoy his own more, imagining her reactions and wanting her at his side. How her letters had kept him going when oblivion seemed preferable to most futures he could imagine. But Shon couldn't find the words.

Lily cupped his cheeks, wrapping him in her warmth. Shon felt torn, wanting to close his eyes and sink into her heat, but never wanting to look away. Lily didn't ask him to say anything more. She kissed him. 

Her lips were scalding and smooth as silk. Shon breathed in her cinnamon scent, his hands shaking with his struggles, resisting pulling her closer. He prayed that she could feel all the things he wanted to say in his kiss and felt her mouth open, tasting her tongue as she pushed him to lean back against the tree. Then he thought no more.

The world dropped away, leaving only him and Lily behind. She pressed him hard but was twisted at an odd angle beside him. Until she threw a leg over to straddle his lap. Shon stopped resisting the urge to touch her, running his hands up her legs to her hips. Lily threaded her fingers up the back of his neck and into his hair, melting against him and moaning into his mouth. His fingers curled in her flesh as Shon squeezed, making her gasp against his lips.

Balling her hands into fists, pulling his hair but keeping her chest pressed to his, Lily tilted her head back to catch her breath, sighing into the night. Shon wasn't ready to stop. He needed more of her, all of her. He kissed her neck and when she didn't stop him, he trailed down to the junction of her shoulder. Tasting her skin and feeling the transition between her skin and scales with his tongue. Lily moaned, and Shon wrapped his arms around her. Letting his fingers trail up her back, feeling the hot skin under her tunic, causing his power to surge to the surface to counter her fire with his ice.

She rocked on him, small, maddening, movements, and he nearly lost what little control he had left. Shon let his teeth scrape her flesh down to her collarbone, and she shuddered. He had to grab her hips again to try and stop her motions, but just ended up pressing her harder into him, the added pressure tipping him towards the breaking point.

Ryuuko whistled loud and shrill, but Shon barely registered the warning until a second sound, someone pointedly clearing their throat only a few feet away, caused them both to freeze.

"Do you think maybe we could finish this mission before you finish each other?" His Master's voice was firm and clearly disapproving. 

Lily leaned away just enough for Shon to reach up and hide his face in one shaking hand. He didn't want to see the Monks glaring at them, but Ryuuko sent the image anyway. Masters Veon-Zih and Velona stood side by side, their faces in shadow from the fire behind them. The flames had clearly grown well beyond their previous range. Tuth and Yua just now starting to return to its side after falling back from the blaze Lily had apparently created in her passion. 

Lily's hands slid out from his hair, down his neck, and over his chest. And the fire died yet further. Shon still hadn't looked at any of it with his own eyes. 

"Not that I would normally mind," Velona said, "But you can't exactly stand lookout with your eyes closed. Lily, you and I have watch later. We should turn in now." 

Shon felt Lily nod and managed to look between his fingers to watch her stand gracefully. She bent to kiss his forehead but left with Master Velona without another word. 

Master Veon-Zih had the decency to turn his head and watch the ladies go, giving Shon time to pull his journal onto his lap, leaning back to rest his head on the tree -still covering his face. Ryuuko climbed down to his shoulder, trying to nuzzle under his hand and lick his face. 

"I'm sorry, Shon," Veon-Zih whispered. Shon glared through his fingers at his Master. The Monk just shook his head, "There is a time and place, and this is neither." Then he walked away too, leaving Shon alone and aching.