Steelday, the 15th of Busheldown

Long fingers reach out to hover above the smooth blue surface of the strange orb, the rainbow beneath it shimmering to life as the stone’s sentience stirred, connecting immediately to that of the high elven woman who sat at the desk its pedestal rested upon.

Behind the woman, tucked into their bed rested a half elven man with red streaked white hair. He was sleeping deeply after a long night of drinking and exhausting conversation. It had taken her much longer than usual to slip from his grasp, his arms holding tightly to her as if he were afraid she’d vanish.

She glanced back at him, a small smile upon her lips as she absently toyed with a strand of fiery red hair.

“All of these things transpired on Steelday, the 15th of Busheldown, after returning from the den of the Splitpaw Gnolls,” she thought before recalling her night.

The high elf drifted into the Mythic, clad in a blood red, black and silver robe. Her fiery red hair was mostly pulled up, the long curling tendrils falling in waves down her back, robe and hair tussled by a constant breeze. Several more patrons entered the tavern area from either the gardens or through the front door; eventually an odd mooing sound came from the garden area.

Avaria had glanced about the room, and was making her way to what once was her usual couch only to pause at the sound of the moo, blinking a few times as she shook her head and sat, a server bringing her a bottle of fayberry wine and glass immediately to her.

“Ooookay,” she almost giggled.

“Beats me,” Kerris said with a smile as he waved to Avaria.

Her attention was on Kerris as they spoke, and she did not see that Kacer stood at the doorway of the gardens, holding it open and snickering as he waited for the drunken Lyrah to come inside. Sandro entered the main room, the tall, lean man clad in black robes. A hood was drawn over his face, its shadows most of his features, the rest hidden behind a black bandana across his nose, mouth and chin. He swayed gently, Lyrah hoisted into position at his side in the usual 'I'm too drunk to carry myself' position.

The high elf merely shook her head again, pouring the wine into her glass, frost instantly covering it to chill the wine. The too slender, too small Koada`dal looks up at the other patrons, watching curiously as if looking for someone.

Lyrah stumbled along next to Sandro, leaning against him more than walking, and yelled to the patrons, “MMMMMMOOOOOOOO!!!”

“'Ow you been, Avaria?” Kerris began to ask, his voice trailing off at Lyrah’s outburst before adding, “Wine tonight must be really nice stuff.”

Avaria’s head turned to glance at Lyrah until Kerris’ question reached her ears, causing her eyes to drop down to her wine in a slightly nervous fashion. Kacer followed behind Sandro and Lyrah shaking his head. As he headed towards the bar where he left his drink he stopped cold, his eyes catching sight of Avaria. He stood unmoving, staring at her for a few minutes not sure whether she is real or just a ghost.

Sandro walked silently with Lyrah. From the shadows of a corner, a female shape with a long, black tail strode out, her curvy shape swaying with each movement. She fell in behind Sandro and Lyrah, clad in clothing that reveals much of her pale skin, a light smirk on her rose red lips.

The high elf glanced over, stopping her movements as she stared at the succubus, swallowing hard, fearful of the creature. The familiar green flames burst into vibrant life around her hands, as if an instinctual reaction to the beast, her silver eyes narrowing at it.

Vahhn almost hissed at the succubus, trying to control himself so he didn’t show his own demonic features. Sandro said nothing, simply guiding Lyrah toward the stairs. The succubus followed close, darting a wicked grin and a wrinkle of her nose at Kerris and the rest of the patrons who look at her. Her hand reached out, and gently took the back of Sandro's black robe into her fist, tottling along with him.

“Most of those are pretty antisocial, no?” Kerris shook his head, his attention returning to Avaria, realizing her defensiveness. “Easy. No reason t'fret.”

Sandro looked over his shoulder and stared at the succubus that followed them up the stairs. The succubus paused, the emotion in her face dropping. With a quiet hiss, her hand buried into Sandro's pocket, and then produces a small bag. Turning on her heels, she strides back downstairs and moves to the bar. Sandro and Lyrah proceed on, dissapearing into the shadows at the top of the stairs.

Avaria turned to look back at Kerris after the strange man and Lyrah vanished up the stairs, stopping cold to look at Kacer. She smiles brightly, blushing lightly just looking at him.

“Kacer!” she exclaimed, her happiness at seeing him clearly evident on her features.

Kerris followed Avaria’s eyes, smiling faintly, not offended by the shift in her attention at all when finding out who she was looking at. Kacer glanced down at the necklace he was wearing and pulled it off as he finished crossing to his drink. Hearing her voice he turned pale and quickly finished his wine.

Rising from her couch, she walked quickly over to Kacer, still smiling. Turning around to her, he blinked, holding the chain in his hand he glanced at the succubus for a moment before shifting his attention back to Avaria – still trying to determine if she's real or not. She opened her arms and gave him a hug before realizing he didn't smile or anything. He tilted his head at her, then stiffened at the hug, a gut reaction. He glanced over her form as he tried to decide if he'll speak to her. She pulled away slightly to look at him.

“What,” he stated through clenched teeth, shrugging slightly.

Her smile faultered greatly, becoming a frown. She looked at him, confused for a moment before it slowly dawned on her what might be wrong. When he spoke, voice cold, she pulled away entirely.

“Nevermind,” she whispered, looking away from him sadly. She turned quickly, head down as she nearly ran to the gardens. Avaria burst through the garden doors, walking quickly to a bench near the fence to fall beside it, her arms rising to rest on the bench, sobbing as her head buried in them.

The half elven boy kicked the bar as he cursed himself, heading back towards the gardens while tossing Savriel a glare.

“Shut up,” he growled, and Savriel narrowed her eyes, her smirk faltering as something dangerous came into her eyes, but the girl turned back to the bar with a shrug.

For a moment, he paused at the door to the gardens, resisting the urge to kick it open; instead quietly opens the door. The high elf sat on the ground, head resting on arms that were still folded on the bench beside her, face hidden against them as she cried softly, the last month crashing down upon her mind.

Kacer mumbled to himself as he entered the gardens, “So damn stupid.”

He looked around not being familiar with the gardens, looking for the familiar form as he called out, “Avaria?”

After a moment, he continued walking down the path and caught sight of her. He walked towards her, but didn’t sit down when he finally reached her on the far side of the garden. Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets and glanced towards her.

“Dammit, Avaria, what did you expect?” he muttered, clearly hurt. “You took off without a word chasing after your old flame?”

She looked up, turning her upper body to look at Kacer, brushing away her tears with the silvery edge of her large sleeves, as if trying to hide from him that she was upset.

“I...I'm sorry, Kacer. I just...I have to know he's not coming back because,” her voice trailed off as she looks up at him, more tears slipping down her cheeks as she stared at him.

“Avi, you made plans to die,” Kacer replied, finally taking a seat. He propped his elbows on his knees and pushed his fingers into his hair as he sighed, his brows furrowing almost in anger, “I...oh hell I dunno...”

“I was told the gnolls were dangerous. I had to think of my duty to Qeynos...that the books and artifacts would be taken to their appropriate places,” she sniffled as she paused before finally adding, “...I nearly did die, which is why I know he's dead.”

As if finishing his thought, only half aware of her words, he sighed, “I didn't even know that was you in there dammit, I thought you were...I thought you were a ghost or something and since the Raven was were we were happy, you were going to haunt me there or something.”

“They are far too fierce for him not to be,” her voice trailed off at his words, and she looked quite stunned.

Her words had impacted Kacer hard, reminding him again that he nearly lost her. His hurt was evident as he clenched his jaw and asked, “And what was stopping you from talking to me first? You couldn't leave me a note or someting?”

The high elf frowned, biting her lip, fresh tears falling down her face as she tried to justify her actions to him, “Trecle...she frightened me...the images of Br- the being that kept Phenix alive all this time frightened me...”

“It's just...I feel invisible because whenever we talk or are enjoying each other's company and 'he' comes up – you bring him up or someone else does and you just fall apart or freak out or something,” Kacer continued, his voice pained as he nodded, “Yeah, I know, you told me about all that and I can't pretend to understand it…I wasn't there, but he's not here anymore…I am.”

Avaria looked up at Kacer, dumbfounded. Her eyes went wide, unsure of what to say. Finally, she looked away, tears falling down her cheeks faster. When she spoke, her voice was shaking.

“Oh, Norrath...Kacer...I'm sorry. I,” her voice trailed off as she choked, lowering her head back to her arms to cry.

Kacer frowned, tilting his head at her. He turned to face her on the bench, his brows furrowed as he took her chin to turn her face back to his. She stared up at him with teary eyes, and he felt like his heart was going to break – he couldn’t stand to see her cry, especially when it seemed he was the cause of it.

“Sorry for what?” he asked softly, frowning.

“For being so confused, for lingering over what's been lost so badly I can't see what's here before me,” she choked, “I just...its so hard to forget...so hard not to be afraid that it will happen all over with someone else...”

Frowning, Kacer sighed again, “I wish that I could promise that for you, but you know I can't.”

“I know...and that's why I'm afraid,” she replied, frowning and nodding as she lifted one sleeve to wipe at her cheeks.

“You know I,” he paused, glancing down, then back up at her with a smirk, “you know I care a lot for you. I can't promise all the things I would like to, like guaranteeing some assassin isn't going to catch up with me one day. Maybe that's why I tend to live each day at a time, and try to live each day to the fullest that I can, ya know? But I have to admit that when I heard what you were doing, I wanted to hate you for it but..I couldn't.”

As he spoke, she frowned up at him. She felt horrible for what she had done to him, even though she hadn’t realized that was what she was doing, and his words only made her feel worse.

“You...couldn't,” she smiled faintly, pushing away more tears.

“I tried to tell myself that you were already dead, or that I never lo...loved you or that you never felt the same, that we were fooling ourselves and that it was all just a daydream,” he rambled, nodding to her, “really tried hard to lie myself out of this one, and I've been able to lie myself in and out of things before, but this was the first time it didn't work. See, I figured if you knew all that you'd hate the real me.”

All she could do was blink up at Kacer, her mouth falling open at his words as she begins to shake slightly. For a long moment, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing, couldn’t believe the two small words he’d spoken.

“You…” she whispered, the rest of her sentence nearly inaudible, “love me?”

Kacer blinked, his head snapping up, not realizing what he had said earlier. His eyes widened for a moment before he shrugged, then nodded, “Yeah, guess so. If I can't lie to myself over you, I dunno what else to call it.”

“I can't lie to you, and I can't lie to myself about you. I can't hurt your feelings and I just can't be mean to you. I can do it to anyone else in there,” he continued, motioning back towards the tavern section of the inn, “but..not..you.”

“I don't know what to call that either....I'm so...so happy to hear you say everything,” she cried, blinking and smiling up to him despite her falling tears, watching him fidget nervously. “To be...cared about enough that you can't do those things to me...”


After a moment, she quietly added with a still shakey voice, “I don't know what love is, Kacer. I – I thought what Phenix and I had might be it, but I was wrong.”

Her mind wandered back over things that had happened with Phenix, realizing that only one or two things were even remotely more than what friends were. Her thoughts then raced over how things had been since meeting Kacer, and she nodded slightly in confirmation for herself.

“But I do know you make me happy,” she said, blushing furiously.

“I figure if you aren't willing to hurt someone and you trust them, you love them,” Kacer replied, still looking a little nervous and unsure of himself.

Smiling up at him, Avaria slowly slipped up onto the bench beside him, continuing to look over at him once she’d settled down. She almost felt like she couldn’t take her eyes off him, that he’d disappear just like Phenix if she did. Her smile faulted slightly as she began to speak, again feeling guilty for what she’d done to him.

“I'm...I'm sorry my foolishness hurt you, Kacer,” she almost whispered. He glanced towards her nervously, not sure what to say. Instead he simply shrugged, returning her intense stare. She frowned slightly at his response, unsure of whether or not he accepted her apology.

“Are...are you over him yet? Or still mourning him?” Kacer asked, leaning back against the bench, fingers fidgeting nervously as he spoke.

She stared at him, unsure of what answer to give. She knew what he wanted to hear, but she wasn’t sure what the real answer was just then, still so confused by what was happening in her life.

“I mean you said they gnolls were hard, unforgiving, means he's really dead right?” wincing at his words, he added, “Sorry, I mean...well...sorry, I just wanted to know.”

Pausing for only a moment, watching how nervous he was, she quickly replied, “I...mourn him, Kacer. For me, at least, it takes time to not hurt when thinking about it...but I...”

“He is gone, and I need to move on,” she finished after a moment.

“I know, Im sorry. I just don't want you to do what I did…to mourn him into eternity,” Kacer replied, fidgeting more before adding, “I understand missing him and all that...I just...I hated feeling invisible...”

“I...I'm sorry. The ghosts of the past were - they hid the present from me,” she replied, tilting her head to watch him as she frowned.

“They do that, mine still hide now,” he said, glancing at the chain still in his hand before pocketing it, “but learning more about that...”

Kacer gave her a small smile, wrapping an arm around her before pressing his lips to her forehead, whispering, “And I admit, I missed staying near you too, I like that guest bed.”

“I...we should stay in my library from now on, Kacer,” she replied, frowning a little. “There's an entire bedroom I kept hidden...just so Phenix would let me stay in his room.”

Her words surprised him, though he wasn’t quite sure which part did more – the fact she had a bedroom in the library or the fact she had to hide it for Phenix to let her sleep in his room.

“You have an extra bed in your library?” he asked, confused as he thought over her statement.

“I have an entire bedroom - desk, engraving table, large bed, candles...books, my pets go in there,” she laughed slightly, “The magics Sage Indius put on the door for me hide it, making it look like another room that is empty save for my desk.”

“Well, okay but um... where's the other bed?” he asked, nodding slowly as his brows furrowed in confusion, his ears turn a slight shade of red. “With only one bed we'd have to... wait. you mean...”

“Well...we, um...eh...we could...or move the other bed in....or, erm,” she blushed brightly, her voice trailing off.

Kacer smiled, his ears turning bright red as his heart started racing. He nervously said, “Your bed…it's um, heh, your choice but the idea of sharing sounds um, well... nice.”

Avaria stared at Kacer, eyes wide and mouth gaping, turning almost as red as her hair. He glanced at her curiously, amused by her reaction to the situation.

“Huh?” he said. “What is it?”

“I just...well...even with Phen...only had someone sleep next to me like....twice,” she whispered, shivering from nervousness and from being flustered.

“Twice?” he smirked, “Only time I did that was when I was a kid and had nightmares and would crawl into my parent’s bed with them.”

Blushing as she nodded, she replied, “Yeah, twice…I didn’t have parents.”

“Well, we're even – I didn't have them for long,” he smirked in reply.

Still blushing brightly, the high elf nodded to him as she stammered, “We...we'll figure out, um...well, where you'll sleep.”

He nodded as he watched her. He reached up to where her tears once were and wiped away anything that might still reside there as he whispered, “Feel better?”

“Much, yes,” she said, nodding as her own hands rose to brush at her cheeks with the silvered sleeves. She stared at him for a moment, almost about to cry again, “I’m so sorry…”

“No, it's probably me who should apologize, unless there was no damage done but still, I didn't have to be so mean in the bar back there,” Kacer replied, shaking his head.

She frowned slightly, biting her lower lip as she murmured, “I...I was just happy to see you...”

Glancing up, he noticed that she's on the brink of tears and he shook his head, pulling her close to him.

“It's okay look, it's fine don't cry,” he whispered as he wrapped both arms around her to try and reassure her of this. She fell against him, head leaning on his shoulder as she nodded. He gently added, “I know, and I was surprised. Like I said, I was trying to lie to myself and I can't lie when it comes to you, it backfires and doesn't work.”

Tilting her head up to look at him, she smiled and whispered, “I’m…I’m glad you can’t.”

Smiling down at her, Kacer tilted is head to steal a kiss from her lips. She blushed brighter, eyes opening wide before slowly closing, returning his kiss shyly. Brushing his hand against her cheek, he broke away to smile at her, his voice low, “I missed that.”

For a moment, she smiled up at him, blushing hard and looking downward as she replied, “I did too...its, well, nice.”

“One way to put it,” he replied with a smirk.

Leaning her head on his shoulder, she hid her face from him as she whispered, “I missed you…”

“Took you going all the way to Splitpaw, making arrangements for your death…just to figure that out?” he asked in a playful voice, smirking.

She giggled, playfully hitting him with her fist as she added, “Well, ya know, really you need to add the Almost Dying to that.”

Kacer snickered playfully, rubbing the spot where her tiny fist had struck him, trying to act like such a small swat actually hurt.

“Ow, hey now,” he laughed.

“Oh yes. I forgot - you're a mage. A strong wind will kill you,” she said, smirking. With that, the wind about her kicked up playfully, tugging at his jacket and hair.

“Oh, you'll enjoy this,” Kacer said, suddenly remembering something. Lifting his left hand, he glanced at it for a moment, and suddenly a snapping noise was heard. A fiery serpent appeared and weaved its way around his arm and fingers, moving along the length of his arm.

“Wait...that's not it,” he said with a frown. She laughed, nuzzling against his chest as she watched the flamed snake.

“It is pretty though,” she giggled.

As he continued to eye his hand, the serpent moved faster and his hand started to glow with a fire of its own, melding with the serpent. The concentration on his face was intense and only a small portion of his hand and arm was glowing with a small flame. He very slowly and quietly spoke, as if it takes quite a bit of effort, obvisouly concentrating on his trick more than speaking, “T-h-e-r-e...”

Avaria smiled brightly at his trick, her own hands becoming wreathed with their green flames. Slowly, she reached her hand out to hover beside his, watching the flames lick at each other. Kacer grinned, watching the flames, though eventually his died down, causing him to shrug.

“Not real good at that but it's coming along,” he said.

She slipped her outreached hand into his, smiling as she giggled, “It was very pretty.”

He smiled, watching her hand slip into his, folding his fingers with hers as he shrugged. “Thought you’d get a kick out of it.”

He held their hands against his chest, lowering his head so his chin touched them, thinking quietly about their conversation. Her voice pulled his mind from its thoughts, making him smile.

“I missed that too,” she whispered, smiling at their hands.

He glanced around, realizing he didn't bring his drink outside. Quietly, he whispered, “I'm not thisty but I didn't bring my drink outside for you, do you want anything? I can go back in...get you..”

Kacer blinked upon hearing her words, voice trailing off as he turned back to look at their hands. He smirks and finished his sentence, “get you something....”

“Do you want to stay out here...or go back inside?” she asked, tilting her head, “I’m fine with either.”

“I don't care, I just thought,” he smirked, shrugging, “thought you might be thirsty is all.”

“Oh, stars!” she exclaimed as she blinked, realizing she must have dropped her glass somewhere on the trail, “I think I owe Duvessa a glass...”

He relaxed against the bench and smiled, watching her as his thumb brushed against her arm, his other thumb brushed her hand. With a smile and shrug, he murmured, “She'll survive, many people have broken glasses in here, I've seen it happen, she'll live minus one glass.”

Avaria giggled, nodding. She shivered from his touches, curling up in his arms happily. Kacer grinned mischievously, watching her and using the opportunity to nuzzle himself up to her neck. The high elf tensed, sighing slightly at the touch, enjoying the feeling of such again after a long time without it. After a moment, she smiled at Kacer, sliding off his lap to stand, her hand slipping down his arm to his hand as she waited for him.

“Let's get your bags and head out then,” she giggled. He nodded and stood from the bench, yawning while taking her hand with his. He didn't say anything as they headed towards the inn for his bags, content to just smile – happy that she was alive and that they worked things out.

They quickly fetched his bags, the pretty high elf blushing brightly as they walked through the inn and out into the night, the wind about her kicking up to playfully tug at his jacket and hair.

She glanced back to the bed, a small smile on her lips as she slipped away from her desk and the strange orb that rested there. The rainbow beneath the blue stone faded again, both resting as Avaria made her way back to the bed. After a moment of standing to just watch the half elven man sleep, she crawled into bed beside him, sighing softly as his arms reached out and wrapped tightly about her.