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.
***
