Autumn 4994, 14 Aoimoth

Somewhere beside Shon, Veon-Zih was shouting for a table. Lily pulled away and winked, still grinning despite Shon's inability to react. "Let's get a seat." she grabbed his hand and didn't seem to notice his instinctual flinch. That, or she was used to people flinching when she touched them. Lily made a point of brushing her shoulder against his as she moved past him before letting him go and running to the closest available table with six seats.

Shon moved as if in a daze. It had all happened so fast. Was it still the same day he'd agonized over just looking for her? Lily took her seat, and Veon-Zih pulled out the chairs to her right for Velona and himself. Before Shon could reach it, a young man in purple robes took the spot on Lily's other side and Yua grabbed the one beside him. It left Shon with the chair opposite Lily, as far away as he could be but with her smiling directly opposite him. 

The bartender waved a serving woman in their direction, and she took their orders and left before Velona broke the silence, "We really were going to come looking for you after this mission. I suppose the gods decided to intervene."

Veon-Zih laughed, running his hand over his bald head, "They were probably waiting on us! We were going to do the same. One last mission before taking a leave of absence to hunt you down." 

Lily humphed, turning her nose up, "The gods can shove it. If they really cared, we would have found you years ago just from doing their bidding keeping the kingdom safe." 

The returning server gasped, and Yua nearly dropped her drink at the blasphemy, but beside Lily the Mage just rolled his eyes, "And you think your disdain makes them care? They have better things to concern themselves with than your private affairs, Lily." 

"Yeah, because you're so devout," Lily waved a dismissive hand at the young man. Shon started thinking a silent prayer on her behalf as he took a drink of his mead, but under the table, Lily extended her legs and crossed her ankles, brushing Shon's leg as she did. 

He only spluttered into his drink a little.

With one move, she'd brought him back to the mess hall in Hamerfoss -where he'd trained and met Lily. She was the first person who'd ever wanted to touch him, and back then, she'd done it every chance she could get.

Lily tilted her head at him in her feline way, her grin returning to warm the air between them, "So, what's this last mission? Or do I need to wait for the letter?" she snickered, and Shon felt his cheeks grow ever so slightly colder. 

The Mage cleared his throat. Leaning back and crossing his arms, he glared around the table, "Or, we could maybe introduce ourselves first?"

"Tuth..." Master Velona admonished the Mage, but Lily just clapped her hands and pointed around the table,

"Right! This is Tuth. I'm Lily. Master Velona. Master Veon-Zih. Shon. And... I'm sorry, but you're the only one I don't know." Lily leaned over the table to tilt her head at Yua, who could only blink at Lily, lost for words. 

Master Veon-Zih came to her rescue, "This is Yua. She's a Ranger of the Southernwood who has agreed to travel with Shon and I on this next mission, or until she chooses to go her own way." 

Yua found her voice, apparently deciding that if Master Veon-Zih liked this strangely striped woman, she could too. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you, though I get the feeling this is more a reunion than anything else." She turned a sly look on Shon and added, "Do you make a habit of attacking old friends?" 

Lily's smile could light up the darkest of caves, and she rushed to explain, "Oh yes, Master Velona is my teacher, and Master Veon-Zih is Shon's, they both know each other from way way back. Tuth has been with us for about a year, and Shon is my favorite treasure from way back in Clearhelm when I first got free."

"Free?" Yua asked, but Lily had already moved on,

"The Guild has us tracking some barbarian Sorcerer to test a new magical device, but I can go with you instead. I'm not a member, so they can't make me do anything."

Shon doubted anyone could make Lily do anything she didn't want to, member or not. Still, Veon-Zih caught on immediately and interjected, "Really?" he laughed. "We are to escort some Mage representatives into the plains to find some barbarians." 

Lily clapped her hands and gasped, "I bet it's the same one!" It was an unnecessary observation in Shon's opinion, but for once he didn't mind, anything to see Lily's continued grin. Then she turned that smile on him again, and he felt his heart skip a beat, "We finally get to do a mission together!" 

Shon nodded, taking a drink of his mead to hide his face. He hadn't blushed in years, and though he wasn't sure if anyone could see it, he could feel it. Chill to him but with the same pressure as anyone else. Putting down his cup, Shon ran his fingers through his hair, delaying the inevitable still further. Should he say something? Confirm verbally that he was looking forward to it as much as she seemed to be? He glanced over to find Lily still beaming, though she moved on to talking to the others before he could find his words. 

"We just finished the most boring kobold hunt," she informed the table at large, "And the Duke was a real prick." 

"You weren't complaining as you looted the bodies," Tuth muttered, seeming to take her complaint personally for some reason. 

Velona sighed, rolling her eyes and saying, "You nearly got him killed. Seriously, letting him fight the entire nest alone." 

"I fought the entire nest alone." Lily countered with a shrug. 

Yua gaped slack-jawed at her, "You... But that's really dangerous, Lily. I know they aren't that much of a challenge, but with enough numbers..."

"Lily can take care of herself," Shon said, and the table went silent. He took another drink of his mead and let it stretch until Lily locked her feet around his ankle, and he thought his heart might beat its way out of his chest. Shon brought his tankard down slowly so as not to slosh it with a shaking hand. Lily's smile was small, but her eyes seemed to glow with the inner light of her happiness. Shon swallowed again and arched an eyebrow at her.

Lily giggled at his expression, and the spell was broken. Yua starting to tell their own story. "I don't know what I expected, considering you literally threw your sword away in a fight against draken."

"Shon is more dangerous without his sword," Master Veon-Zih chimed in, "I honestly don't know why he still carries it." Ryuuko whistled its agreement from the rafters where it had retreated at Lily's surprise entrance. Shon hadn't even noticed it was gone. 

"Ryuuko!" Lily exclaimed, standing and leaning over the table with her arms outstretched to the pseudodragon. Ryuuko fluttered down to her shoulder, nuzzling her scaled cheek and following the stripe all the way down to dip its head into her shirt. Lily just giggled. 

Tuth also jumped to his feet, nearly knocking his chair and tankard over, "A pseudodragon?! You have a damn pseudodragon as a familiar?!" 

Shon huffed a quiet "Pest," looking away from the little dragon that looked like it was about to crawl all the way into Lily's tunic, pulling the neck far enough down that they could all see the top of her stripe cresting her right breast before continuing down between her cleavage. 

Lily just continued to giggle. Taking her seat and pulling the dragon out of her shirt, she placed it on her shoulder with a gentle pat. "That's just a nickname," Lily said, winking at Shon again, then turning back to Tuth, who was trying to pick up his chair without looking away from the pseudodragon. "Its name is Ryuuko, it means 'little dragon' in draconic. I named it, but it's the one who decided to keep it." Ryuuko chirped its agreement and rubbed Lily's cheek again. 

"You speak draconic?" Yua asked, seeming to find Lily more and more curious instead of less so the more she learned. 

Lily just shrugged, "For as long as I can remember." Her eyes trailed to Shon's sword over his left shoulder, and her smile finally faded as she changed the subject, "You still haven't gotten your clearance?" 

Shon looked away without answering, and Lily rubbed her foot against his calf.  He knew it was only a matter of time. She'd hated when he sealed his magic. Would that be the thing that drove her away? Not only the magic but the fact that he still didn't want it? Wanted it even less now? Damned if he did, damned if he didn't?

"I'll open a tab," Veon-Zih announced, getting to his feet and coming to Shon's rescue. 

"Ooo, I'll take another mead! This is delicious." Lily said, and Shon sighed, moving his foot ever so slightly to touch Lily's under the table. They would have to talk about it soon, but not yet.

***

Velona followed as Veon-Zih stepped away. Leaning on the bar beside him while he asked the tender to open a tab, and turning with him when he looked back to the others, she said "You look well."

"And you," he watched her out of the corner of his eye, "I was surprised when you didn't return to the Monastery after your pilgrimage."

She shrugged, smiling softly and nodding back towards the table, "Lily was determined to continue adventuring, and find Shon once she found out he'd gone off with you. I wasn't about to leave her on her own. The world wouldn't survive." 

Veon-Zih chuckled, rubbing his head again, "So she hasn't changed much over the years?" he asked. 

"Not really," she shook her head, "Maybe a little more blasphemous after what happened to Shon. He seems..." 

"Closed off," Veon-Zih finished for her, "He's locked his emotions behind a wall. It's put him far behind in his ki training, but he makes up for it with sheer stubborn discipline." 

Velona's eyebrows shot up to her shaved head, and she turned to more fully face Veon-Zih, "And the Ryukyu Monastery is okay with this? With you teaching him beyond the basics?" Veon-Zih's Monastery was one of the most strict and secretive of the six orders in the kingdom, requiring absolute adherence to their vows. 

Veon-Zih shot her a look for only an instant before looking back towards the table and rubbing his mouth. "Well..." 

"Well?" she prompted, 

"They don't really have a say anymore... I'm... a Grandmaster now," 

Velona looked away, "I see." She forced a laugh, "That must be a pain. Literally. How often are you challenged?" There could only be five Grandmasters at any one time in each of the Monasteries. If a Master wished to advance in rank, they had to challenge one of the Grandmasters. If they won, they would take the Monk's position, demoting the former Grandmaster until he could challenge his way back up.

Veon-Zih turned his back on the table. It looked like the ladies had challenged the men to a drinking game, and at least Tuth seemed bound and determined to win, waving down more drinks while Shon sipped at his tankard. "A few times a year." Veon-Zih answered, "I have to go back to the Monastery at least twice a year, and there's always at least one then, and I've had three track me down on the road over the last five years," 

Veon-Zih finally turned his head to look at Velona directly. She grabbed a glass, gripping it in both hands to hide the tension in her fingers. He whispered, but she could hear him clearly even over the babble of the pub. "I never wanted the rank. I knew my own strength without having to test it that way, and before I knew it, I'd gotten old. But I couldn't keep training Shon without it. Now that I have it..." His fingers twitched for a moment, then clinched to a fist before finally reaching over to cup her hand around the glass. "I'm an old man Velona, and I never expected you to wait-" 

"I did, though," she interrupted, and he stuttered into silence. She smiled sadly at him, "And what's age to a Monk? A Grandmaster?" They were both in their mid-seventies but looked no older than their mid-forties. The result of a lifetime of disciplined training. Velona released her glass with one hand just enough to cup over the top of his still on hers, "There was never anyone else Veon-Zih. I don't know if we can find what we had so long ago, for such a short time. But I would really like to get to know you again. If you'll let me. Starting with this mission." She nodded back towards the table, and Veon-Zih looked over long enough to see Lily take his abandoned spot beside Shon.

"I would like that..." Veon-Zih said softly.

"I would too." Velona answered. 

***

Shon had stopped drinking after three meads, and Veon-Zih and Velona still hadn't returned to their table. Ryuuko stood on his knees, its front claws on the table and face licking the bottom of his empty glass. Yua was on her fourth drink and Lily on her fifth. Tuth, who had foolishly agreed to a drinking game with the two ladies, was staring mournfully at his seventh mead. Looking like he was about to refill all his empty glasses by returning the drinks from his stomach.

The two Monks had moved from the bar to a smaller table against the wall to speak in private while Shon stayed at the larger table with the ladies and drunken Mage. “‘m fine, ‘m fine.” the boy was slurring, smacking the table with one hand and waving the giggling Lily away with the other. Tuth had started to loosen up after the second drink or so, though he hadn't wilfully spoken to Shon until after the fourth.

"You're a lot bigger than I imagined..." he'd said, narrowing suspicious eyes at Shon then adding, "Lily doesn't have any drawings of you." 

Shon just shrugged. He never drew himself. 

Come to find out, Lily was a bit of a lightweight drinker, though it was hard to tell at first. The signs were minor, she spoke faster and touched more, leaning over the table past Shon to touch Yua's hand whenever addressing her. It surprised the Ranger the first time but just caused her to laugh every time after that, leaning over as well to answer and forcing Shon to lean back from the table to get out of their way. He was no expert, but he could almost swear Yua was flirting. 

Lily also became physically hotter. At first, Shon thought it was the increased number of patrons -and some of it may have been- but by her third mead, it was evident that the warmth was radiating from her direction. His magic kept him cool and made his skin tingle, but everyone else had started sweating.

Shon’s only apparent symptom of too much drink was that he became more talkative. Which Yua quickly took advantage of, grilling him on his training and the different missions he'd been on with Master Veon-Zih. He answered readily enough, and Lily actually stepped in to add more detail with the knowledge she had from his letters - preventing Yua from pressuring him to talk more than he was inclined even with the drink.

When the server came with more refills, Lily waved her away, leaning way over the table and patting the young Mage on the cheek with a playful, “I think that'll be enough for tonight.” Then she practically climbed over Shon and Yua to whisper loudly in Tuth's ear, “We have an early day tomorrow remember?” Which made the lad turn bright red under the light green he'd been from nausea.

“How.” Tuth closed his mouth on the word, swallowing before continuing, “How are you fine?” he swayed slightly, glaring at Lily, who laughed and took his cheeks in both her hands. Shon couldn’t tell if Tuth was still red from the earlier blush, a new blush from having Lily so close, or from the heat he must be feeling from her palms.

“I,” Lily said magnanimously, “burn off alcohol quickly.” she shot a sideways look at Shon, who was content just observing. He'd never seen Lily drink before. There was a lot he hadn't seen Lily do, and this just highlighted that fact. 

Tuth looked like he was trying to decipher her words from another language -and failing- which made her giggle again, kissing him on the forehead and letting him go. The Mage smacked his head with a loud, “Ow, too hot, too hot.” And then -as if that was what his body had been waiting for all along- he rushed to the door and the side alley as fast as his stumbling legs could take him, Ryuuko flying hot on his heels with a pseudodragon's twittering laugh.

Yua and Lily both snickered into their hands. Climbing to her feet, the Ranger shook her head in the direction of the door and said, “I’ll go check on him.” before walking off. Leaving Shon and Lily alone at the table.

Lily was still trying to contain her giggles while Shon shook his head and found himself grinning at the floor. Lily sighed, and Shon expected her to follow, instead, she sat back down next to him.

Lily sat sideways in the chair, leaning one elbow on the table and resting her chin on her hand, watching him. “How are you?” she asked softly. Her smile was small but intense, and her eyes sparkled as she held his. The pub was loud and crowded, but to Shon, they were suddenly completely alone, everyone else melting away into the background.

He twisted in his seat to mirror her position, leaning against the table and resting his knuckles against his cheek. The move brought their faces to within only a foot of each other. So he wouldn’t have to shout, Shon tried to convince himself. He considered for a moment before answering, “Better now.” which earned him another beaming smile that lit up the tavern.

Lily slid closer, bringing her knees into contact with his. He could feel her warmth through the fabric. “I like your hair,” she said, reaching up and running her fingers through the long strands in front. It was one of the last things she'd said to him.

The same night he'd been denied and lost everything. She'd smiled and said that at least now he would be able to grow his hair out. And he had. Though he hadn't acknowledged why, even to himself, until now. 

Shon pulled his eyes away from her to look at the backside of one of the black locks that had fallen into his face. He also ran his hand through it, saying, “It needs to be cut.”

“No,” Lily whined, snatching his hand out of his hair, “I like it long.” she grinned wickedly and leaned even closer to say in a loud whisper, “I want to play with it.” Lily let go of him, freeing herself to run both hands through his hair, using the backs of her nails to scratch his scalp. Rather than protest, Shon tilted his head down, giving her better access to the back of his head. Her fingers felt good, and his stomach fluttered at her touch. When was the last time he'd really let someone touch him? Veon-Zih would grab his shoulder sometimes, maybe giving him a little shake. But that was it. For five years.

Even before, Lily was the only one who was never bothered by his cold. It felt like his skin was trying to pull itself away from his bones in an effort to reach more of her. Her touch was like fire, and unlike everyone else, it stayed that way. His ice unable to sap her endless heat. 

She leaned even closer so she could reach the back of his neck, then dipped her head towards his ear and whispered, quietly this time, "You're making this very difficult, you know?" Shon froze, and she shifted to his other side with a sigh, continuing in his other ear, “I want to kiss you again.”

Shon’s heart could've stopped and he wouldn't have noticed. Six years. It had been six years since he'd heard her say those words. He'd been a Squire and not allowed to court. He'd kissed her anyway. For a moment, Shon was on the bell tower of Hamerfoss again, Lily's golden hair framed by the setting sun as she looked away, convinced that he didn't want to kiss her back. He'd proved her wrong, and it had taken all of his self-control and Lily's gentle hands to stop him that time. That was when she'd promised to find him. Back when they both thought he was going to be a Paladin but still didn't know where he would be stationed after he took his Oath. 

Shon tilted his face up to see her eyes shining with her smile, her pupils nearly round in the shade created by their proximity. “Lily…”

“Uh, Lily!” Yua called from the door, and all the sound in the crowded tavern came crashing back. Shon and Lily sat up, turning as one to look at her while Shon’s heart seemed to be trying to make up for lost time by slamming into his sternum in double time.

Yua was still looking out the door, and didn’t seem to notice what she'd interrupted. But Ryuuko -on her shoulder- tilted its head at them. “I think Tuth needs to go back to the Guild for the night.” Yua laughed. The boy's hand could be seen coming from the side of the door, feebly trying to wave her away.

Lily laughed loudly, shaking her head and getting to her feet with a sigh, “Alright!” she called to the Ranger, then to Shon she whispered, “Lightweight.” and winked again. He blinked at her before also standing. She moved as if nothing had happened, as if the entire world hadn't disappeared, then reappeared in an instant. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Lily said, spreading her arms out for a hug he gave gratefully, breathing deep. She smelled like cinnamon...

Shon let his arms fall at her slightest resistance, not wanting to overstay his welcome. He looked over to see the two Monks also sharing a hug when Lily leaned forward and kissed his cheek. It felt like a brand against his skin, a brief sting followed by a soothing balm as his cold compensated at the spot. Shon covered his cheek automatically, turning wide eyes on her.

Lily had her eyes closed and was licking her lips with the tip of her tongue. “Mmm, refreshing.” she hummed, opening her eyes slowly. Shon's heart stopped again. It felt like she was looking into his soul, and though she continued to grin, he wasn't sure he liked what she would see.

Then, with another wicked wink, she glided past him. Letting her arm brush his as she moved out the door and to the side of her sick companion.

Shon watched her go, and Veon-Zih sidled up next to him, resting a hand on Shon's shoulder and making him jump. “It’s a small kingdom, isn’t it?” he asked slyly as they watched Lily and Velona helping Tuth past the open doorway and presumably back to the Mages Guild. Shon could only nod.

Ryuuko flew back in, leading Yua -who was shaking her head and grinning- and landed on his shoulder with a happy whistle. It sent Shon an image -from the little dragon's perspective- of himself leaning in close to Lily. 

Tomorrow...