Winter 4994, 20 Aoimoth

Tuth was the only one who closed his eyes before the flash, so he was the only one who didn't need to blink his mind clear after the disorientation of going from standing outside in the plains, to inside the Lenare Mages Guild in an instant. The teleport receptionist didn't even look up from his book, picking up his quill and moving it over to his log, he asked in a drone, "Papers and origin?"

Tuth dug through his bag, his fingers feeling the spines of a small horde of books before he found the smallest and pulled it free, presenting his papers to the Mage while the others dug out their own, "Journeyman Mage Tuth, here from the Laughing Pony tribe of Lenare to report the registration of a Sorcerer and..." Tuth trailed off, looking over at the others. Veon-Zih had his arm up to the elbow in Shon's bag, Ryuuko hanging off his shoulder with its head stuck in as well. His free hand held a book of papers thick enough to be an Archmage's spellbook, while Velona held out her and Lily's own impressive documents, and Yua laid hers out on the table beside Tuth's.

"I think it would be best if you spoke to him directly of the rest," Yua said for both Tuth and the receptionist to hear. The man finally looked up, his eyes going wide at the sight of them all. 

He settled on the unconscious Lily and stammered, "Oh my... Um... Will you be needing a room then? I can send a Cleric of Saint Bede-" 

"No," Shon stated simply.

"She was seen by the Druid of the tribe. There is nothing a healer can do for her," Velona explained more kindly. 

When the receptionist still looked concerned, Tuth added, "She used too much magic and needs to sleep it off." The Monks exchanged looks at the understatement, and Veon-Zih finally managed to pull out Shon's papers. Tuth cleared his throat and continued, "That being said, I do need to report to the Archmage. And a room-"

"No," Shon said again.

Velona rushed to explain, "The last thing she needs is to wake up in a tower full of Mages."

"So what? You want to take her to the Temple? You think that will be any better?" Tuth argued, "They'll just summon the Mages and have her tattooed in her sleep before we can explain, and-"

"No," Shon said for a third time, his muscles clenching, though he managed not to squeeze Lily any tighter.

The receptionist was jotting down their information as quickly as possible but looked up frequently as the party argued among themselves. Ryuuko flew over to do its best to get in his way and Yua stepped between Shon and Tuth, stating clearly, "The inn then. We'll take her to where we stayed last time."

They exited the gate room and made it all the way to the door before Shon spoke more than just the one word, "Tuth," The Mage stopped in his tracks and turned to the cold knight, studying his emotionless face and wishing he could read the man, "Report to the Archmage. Tell him everything, don't downplay what happened." 

"But..." Tuth tried to argue, but Shon was passing Lily over to Veon-Zih without looking at Tuth. Shon was going to report Lily's loss of control to the Temple... "They'll seal her! How could you allow-" but the glare Shon shot him froze Tuth's words in his mouth and the blood in his veins.

"Give a full report to the Guild," Shon said again, his tone holding no room for argument, "The law cannot function if we try and undermine it at our convenience." 

Tuth swallowed. Turning away from the party, he made his way up the stairs the slow way around the tower's perimeter while the others left out the front door. He could have had the door receptionist take him directly to the Archmage's office, but he needed the time to think. So he went the long way. Up the two stories to the living quarters, then across the atrium garden to the desk there to take a levitate spell up six more levels to the resident Mages' offices.

He should've known that any devotee of Hengist, let alone a Paladin, would sell out Lily to the kingdom. They'd sworn an Oath to the god of justice, and their own divine magic depended on keeping that Oath to the letter. Shon was a Sorcerer, but he'd chosen to seal his natural magic and had even threatened Pia in front of everyone. Tuth had thought that perhaps, because he dealt with Lily differently, that there was some amount of compassion for his fellow Sorcerers hidden behind the layers of ice and self-righteousness. But now he had to wonder if even Paladins were wont to think with their dick on occasion. 

Tuth still hadn't come up with a plan to save Lily's magic -or her freedom- when he reached the very top of the tower -panting and out of breath after six more flights of stairs. Tuth knocked on the Archmage's door and was called in. He entered, laying the registration papers and compass on the man's desk and taking a deep breath as the Archmage studied him. "Though I appreciate your diligence, you could have left these with the receptionist, young man." the Archmage finally said. 

Tuth sat down without waiting for permission, exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally, and answered, "There was a complication you needed to know about right away..." 

The man nodded but said, "Yes, the limnic eruption, we got the message and sent..." But Tuth was shaking his head.

"Not that, and not this," he tapped the contract with the tribe and got to the point, "There were Warlocks." 

The Archmage went pale and stood. He moved for a cupboard by his window and withdrew a thick stack of blank paper and a bronze quill before returning and balancing the quill on its tip. It stood on its own, and he stated, "Explain. Every detail. This shall be your official report."

If his story didn't match Shon's, Tuth would be prosecuted alongside Lily... Tuth explained everything. He tried to give what background he could to justify Lily's loss of control, but the Archmage seemed more disturbed that she'd ever been allowed out of the Guild's care in Clearhelm.

"So they are both dead..." he stated flatly as Tuth finished the story with their teleport. 

"One escaped through a strange gate. Master Veon-Zih said he'd seen such spells before, but the Warlock was badly injured. There is a high possibility that without healing, he is dead." 

"And this berserk Sorcerer? Where is she now?" 

Tuth bristled at his choice of descriptor but answered, "Her companions, including the Temple representative, took her to a private inn in the city." 

"Fools. What inn?"

Tuth hesitated but gave the name of the inn in which they'd met Shon only a week or so ago, then added, "She's comatose, Archmage, and was of her right mind before..." But the Archmage wasn't listening.

He waved a dismissive hand at Tuth and said, "You should be prepared to be questioned by the Guild counsel and the Temple in the next few days. Go tell your friends the same and make sure they are ready to surrender the Sorcerer to the Temple when they come to fetch her." He held his hand over a large emerald at the side of his desk and spoke to someone else, "Journeyman Jan, please have my door connected to the atrium."

Tuth stood, and as he approached the door, the frame glowed green. When he opened it, it led him out onto the ground floor. He left, feeling sick to his stomach, to find his companions. 

*** 

Tuth had returned to the inn that afternoon but by the time evening came, the Paladins still hadn't come to retrieve Lily. And Shon hadn't returned from the Temple.

Veon-Zih made his way to Hengist's fortress after the sun set, carrying with him a new sheath for Shon's sword and leather straps to wrap the hilt. The Paladins at the gate let him through with a salute after seeing his papers, and the clerk's office directed him towards the library where he found Shon in a corner hunched over a table behind a mound of books.

"You need to rest too, you know..." Veon-Zih said by way of greeting, laying out his gifts over Shon's pages. 

Ryuuko whistled in agreement, but Shon just lifted the sheath and his naked sword, slipping it in and leaning it against the table again before going back to his paperwork. His Master hadn't included a shoulder strap, knowing Shon would want to get one specially fitted.

Veon-Zih pulled up a chair to sit across from him, glancing over the half-finished report and studying the drawing Shon was doing of the Warlock's face. "Lily hasn't woken up yet..." Veon-Zih said. 

Shon's pencil lifted for a moment, but he went back to drawing after a brief nod. Veon-Zih sighed, "Tuth said the Temple was going to come for her, but they haven't yet. Even if you haven't finished your report, the Mages would've told them."

His student finally sighed and set the pencil down. Picking up a quill and moving the picture to the pile of finished pages, he took a blank one from another stack and said, "I claimed the Protection of Hengist for her. They will hear the full report before they decide if they will come get her." 

"Protection... but only..." Veon-Zih started, but Shon was shaking his head, 

"The law doesn't state Paladins or Clerics specifically."

So with Shon's rank -and head- on the line, the Temple was forced to obey the letter of the law.

"So you found a loophole..." and, in doing so, tied his fate to Lily's. If she woke up and raged again, Shon would pay double any consequences she incurred. Up to and including his life.

Shon finally looked up and met Veon-Zih's eyes, "Lily is only afraid of three things." He said, "Losing her freedom, losing her friends, and losing her power. She lost control when she thought she lost us. If she wakes up and no one is with her, and she seems to have lost one of the others, what do you think she will do to save the third?"

"And you think saving her for a few more hours will help?" Veon-Zih asked in a whisper. He knew how the kingdom usually dealt with Sorcerers, even before losing themselves as severely as Lily had. 

Shon didn't answer and went back to his report. Veon-Zih stood to look down at Shon's black head but spoke to Ryuuko, "Make sure he gets at least a few hours sleep." The pseudodragon chirped at him and wrapped its tail around Shon's neck. The man still didn't look up.

Veon-Zih knew Shon loved Lily, but he also knew how seriously his student had taken his unofficial oath to the Temple. What Veon-Zih didn't know was what Shon would do when those two things collided. He left the Temple and returned to the inn.

*** 

Light shone from beyond her eyelids. Somewhere nearby, two people breathed, slow and steady. Lily's breath fell into rhythm with them, but she didn't dare open her eyes. Her mind was a jumble of disjointed memories, flashing by too quickly for her to properly examine. Master Velona rolling away, her back burning; Shon's abandoned sword; Pia shaking her awake; Arver smiling at her out of the darkness; Tuth falling in a heap.

If they were gone, she didn't want to wake up. Lily squeezed her eyes tighter, trying to place each of the memories and stitch them back together in order. Arver, fire erupting from his mouth and eyes as he clawed at his throat; Pia holding the flap to her yurt open for her; Shon... Shon kneeling surrounded by ice sculptures that looked like flame; Shon's lips, cold and soothing as she sat across his hips on the plains. Lily whimpered. 

"Lily?" Master Velona's voice, present and alive, interjected itself past Lily's memories. "Oh, my precious flower..." she felt the Monk's fingers on her face and forced her eyes to open. 

"Mast-" She started, but her voice cracked. Heedless of her heat Master Velona gathered Lily into her arms, pulling her up from the bed to sit up and holding her tight. 

"We are fine, Lily, all of us. Everyone, even the tribe. It's okay." 

But the memories continued to flash, some gaining clarity, others losing it. Lily pulled away from her Master and hugged herself, "I... I attacked you. I lost control. I..."

"It's alright, Lily," Master Veon-Zih said, sitting beside Velona at the foot of her bed, "The Warlocks are gone, the tribe is safe, and so are we. Yua and Tuth are downstairs, Shon's-" 

"Shon..." Lily choked, "I attacked him. I lost control, and I attacked him..." She grabbed her head, pulling her hair while Velona tried to stroke her hands, "I'm a monster. I'm everything he hates. I..." 

"He's at the Temple," Tuth's voice sounded from the door, and she hunched her shoulders with a sob. They were all alive, but did any of it matter if she endangered them again? She'd wanted to burn the world down at the thought of losing them, but if she was the one who killed them? Like Brom and Ran...

"Go get him, tell him she's awake," Veon-Zih spoke to Tuth, and Lily curled into the tightest ball she could manage. How could any of them stand to be near her after what she'd done? She remembered Brom's face, kind Brom who'd held her as a child over a thick blanket as she cried. He'd dissolved into ash at her feet the first time she'd lost control.

Her door closed, and her head shot up in panic as the latch clicked. Master Velona gripped her shoulders and said quickly, "It isn't locked, Lily. I swear it. And we aren't going anywhere. No Warlock or Temple will take us from you."

"How?" Lily asked, "How can you not hate me?" she pleaded, not really expecting an answer. 

Velona gave her one anyway, petting her face, "You are my precious flower. I could never hate you." 

Veon-Zih nodded from behind Velona and said again, "No one was seriously hurt, Lily. We're all fine. And even Yua is waiting downstairs, worried about you. The tribe doesn't blame you for anything and is praying for your health and well-being." He managed a smile. "If anything, we're flattered that you should care so much."

She wanted to laugh, but it came out as a strangled sob. She collapsed into Velona's lap, crying into the woman's legs as she very carefully pet the top of Lily's head.

*** 

Tuth made his way to the Temple, going over his spells and thinking himself prepared to drag Shon bodily back to the inn if he had to. The man hadn't come back at all. While the rest of them took turns sitting by Lily's bedside so she wouldn't wake up alone, he'd stayed at his precious Temple. Already abandoning her to their 'justice.' But as Tuth stormed through the pristine stone halls and rounded a corner to run face-to-face with the man himself, his resolve faltered. 

Shon held a thick file and two massive tomes in one hand and his bastard sword in the other. He stood at stiff attention across from a set of ornate doors, and though Ryuuko whistled a happy greeting to Tuth, Shon himself merely glanced his way without turning his head. 

Tuth took a steadying breath and straightened his shoulders. Well... He might not be able to drag the big man back, but he could at least tell Shon what he really thought of his behavior. "Lily's awake," Tuth declared, and his last hope that Shon might show some kind of relief at the statement died when instead of relaxing, he stiffened, the folder crinkling in his fist.

Whatever Tuth might've said next was interrupted by the door opening. An elderly Cleric woman stepped out and said, "The command will see you now, Staff Sergeant."

Staff Sergeant...? But that was an enlisted rank...

Shon passed her into the room and Tuth hesitated, but the Cleric saw him and asked, "You're the Mage who went with him?" at his nod, she gestured towards the door, "Then you should come too. It may save them some time." 

The full command of the Temple of Lenare's province capital waited behind a large table inside the room. Eight officers in total. The Cleric took her seat at the end, lifting a quill to take notes of the meeting.

Shon presented his stack of papers and books to the officers then took a step back to salute. The head of the cabinet returned the salute -a General by his knots- and said, "At ease, Staff Sergeant"

It's true... Tuth thought, very confused.

The General picked up the first few pages of the report, reading them in silence and passing them to the man next to him as he finished. Shon spread his legs and grasped his hands and sword behind his back just as formally as before. He made the stance look natural, but it hardly seemed 'at ease' to Tuth.

It took ages, and Tuth shifted on his feet, looking between each of the Paladins to try and gauge their reaction. A few furrowed their brows, but none seemed surprised by what was reported. They'd probably all already heard his own account from the Guild...

At one page, the General hesitated, turning it towards Shon and Tuth. On it was a perfect rendition of the Warlock that had attacked them in their yurt, "You drew this, Staff Sergeant?" 

"Yes, Sir," Shon replied shortly, and the General passed it to his companions and continued reading.

He hadn't yet reached the end of his next page when he spoke again, "We would hear from you directly what happened." 

"Sir." Shon snapped back to attention, "The mission to find and register the Sorcerer of the Laughing Pony tribe was a success. However, the day after our arrival, the Druid of the tribe voiced to me her concerns about a man, a city Mage she presumed, who had come to their tribe weeks previous. He was was protected by their laws of hospitality after saving one of their children and the tribe itself from the magical storm that claimed the town of Locthan. She requested that I meet with him the following day and take him with us when we left. 

"After completing the Sorcerer registration, it was brought to my attention by my companions -who have experience with Warlocks- that a possible Warlock familiar had been sighted." The officers didn't dare interrupt him, all of them looking up from their papers to watch as Shon continued. "We needed more information without showing our hand or endangering the tribe and planned to confront the man the following morning. Our Sorcerer was kept out of this meeting. As detailed in my report, she has history with Warlocks and suffered under their imprisonment. We did not wish to distress her with the possibility that another may be near before it had been confirmed. That night, the tribe and we were poisoned with an enchanted sleep, I believe slipped into the toast offered at the evening's feast."

The General finally interrupted, "And yet you didn't succumb to this?" 

Shon's answer was delivered just as flatly and formally as the rest of his report, "I did not partake."

"Why?" 

"It didn't feel right."

But the Paladin narrowed his eyes at Shon's answer. If he really wasn't an officer, then that meant Shon had no divinely inspired inner guidance of such things as they might. The General gestured for Shon to continue.

Shon explained how Pia had come to get Lily and how he followed them as far as he could without being seen before turning back to wake the others. How they'd been attacked and split up, the Monks and Tuth going for the Warlock and Yua dragging him off without his sword to the Druid. 

Here a woman -a Major General- interrupted his story again, "You left your sealing item behind?" 

Shon opened his mouth, but Tuth answered quickly, "He didn't have a choice, he'd taken a fatal blow, and Yua practically dragged him from the yurt." Why am I defending him?

The Paladins all looked sternly disapproving. But not at Tuth. Their glares were leveled at Shon, who didn't flinch. Didn't move. Until Ryuuko started chittering angrily at them, at which point he reached up and clamped the pseudodragon's mouth shut.

"We will deal with that later. Continue, Staff Sergeant," the General ordered again. 

Tuth stiffened, looking at his feet when Shon told of the flash of light he could see through the Druid's roof, and the scene Shon had found when he returned to their yurt, now ablaze with a raging Lily inside.

"She lost-" one of the other officers started, but Shon spoke over him, 

"You will find attached copies of two legal cases that each set a precedent for this case. The first details a Sorcerer with clearance in Talkar, a soldier of Hengist. His unit was ambushed by barbarians. When he was the last survivor, he lost control of his earth power and caused an earthquake that took out the entire barbarian band and half their village until he was found by support. It was determined by the Temple that his loss of control was justified for fear of capture or death, and he was permitted to keep his clearance.

"The second details a man of Lenare, an air Sorcerer and Mage in good standing who returned home to find his family had been murdered by thieves. He lost control and summoned a tornado that destroyed most of his property and killed two farmhands. In understanding of his shock and grief, the Temple allowed him to keep his clearance, and he paid a heavy wergeld to the farmhands' families, supporting them for the rest of their lives." 

How had Shon possibly known such perfect examples? Tuth narrowed his eyes at the books, their spines labeled with legal jargon. 'Magical cases: kingdom, volume 14c' and 'Magical cases: Lenare, volume 8a'. Tuth's eyes shot to Shon, who just continued to stand at attention as the officers dug through his report and cross-checked the documents with the books. He'd stayed here the entire day and night preparing a legal defense for Lily. 

The Paladins all seemed just as confused, "Who helped you with this, Staff Sergeant?" a man with the knots of a Brigadier General asked skeptically. 

"No one, Sir," Shon answered. 

"But how...?" 

"I trained for four years in the Hengist training facility of Hamerfoss -Clearhelm- Sir." 

"You..." the man looked back down at his book then shook his head, "Why did you not take the Oath, solder?" 

Shon finally moved, just a twitch, but answered, "I tried, Sir."

The rustle of papers and hiss of whispers stilled instantly. All eight Paladins and the Cleric stopped what they were doing to stare at Shon. He lifted his head a fraction higher, and Ryuuko whistled a slow, sad sound.

The General cleared his throat, "I'm sor-" he started, but Shon actually interrupted the command to continue again,

"Lily had been held prisoner and was subject to experimentation under the Warlocks of her childhood. She was faced with that again when confronted by them, thus meeting the criteria of Ralin versus Talkar. She did not lose control at that time. Instead, she returned to our yurt for assistance only to find perceived evidence of our demise, thus meeting the criteria for Wanla versus Lenare." 

"Adventuring companions are hardly the same as family, Staff Sergeant," The Major General argued. 

Tuth opened his mouth to try and counter, but this time Shon beat him to it, "Master Velona, a Master Monk of the Kensai Monastery and ally third class to the Temple in good standing, has been Lily's teacher since shortly after she was freed from the Warlocks. She is like a mother to her and the only family she has. She was one of those who went after the Warlock who attacked us."

Tuth could add up every word Shon had spoken since they'd met in the inn to when the Mage had confronted him in the hall, and he didn't think it would equal even half of what Shon said in this meeting. And yet no word was wasted. Tuth closed his mouth and swallowed, turning back to the table of Paladins as they conferred with each other.

"You draft a convincing argument, Staff Sergeant. We will review your report and honor your Protection of Hengist. We will summon you and your Sorcerer companion tomorrow morning if she is awake." The General stood and saluted Shon, who returned the gesture with sharp professionalism.

But the Paladin didn't dismiss him just yet, "I have one more question for you, Staff Sergeant... Why? Why go through all the trouble?" 

Shon actually arched an eyebrow at the man, and Ryuuko chittered without interruption from his shoulder. Finally, Shon answered, "The justice of Hengist is never trouble." 

"But for a fire Sorcerer, who didn't only lose control but went completely berserk?" The Brigadier General asked, "You know the nature of their power, Staff Sergeant. You know the dangers-" 

Shon's cold eyes locked on the man and the knight's voice faltered, but Shon answered him anyway, "When Lily was given her freedom, she earned her clearance on her first attempt. When she left the Mages Guild, she joined an honorable Monk on pilgrimage and has worked for various kingdom organizations for the past six years. Whether for money or noble intentions, it doesn't matter, she has served the kingdom and its citizens for all of her free life, and there is no justice, none, in taking either her freedom or her power from her." 

Once again, silence filled the room. It seemed to stretch on for eternity as Tuth held his breath. Finally, the General cleared his throat and said, "You are dismissed, Staff Sergeant. Please report with your party tomorrow morning at eighth bell."

Shon saluted, then turned a crisp about-face before marching from the room. Tuth watched his back, then glanced at the Paladins before hurrying after him. He followed the man without speaking all the way out the Temple and through the gates, past the guards, and finally said, 

"You were drafting an argument." he looked over, and Ryuuko chirped. "I thought you'd abandoned her to the Temple." No response, "Will you tell her?" Shon shrugged.  

Tuth rushed ahead of him, trying to turn like Lily did to walk backward but tripping over his robes. Shon stopped but didn't try to catch him. Tuth steadied himself as Ryuuko took off from Shon's shoulder to flutter around his head, twittering little dragon giggles. "She thinks you're angry with her. That you'll hate her now." Shon's brow furrowed, and he walked past Tuth, forcing him to run to catch up again.

When they entered the inn, it was to find both the Monks and Yua sitting at the table they'd shared before. "Lily?" Tuth asked, pulling out a chair and collapsing into it. Shon didn't sit.

Velona answered, "She's okay. She wanted to be left alone." 

Shon moved for the stairs, and Tuth shouted after him, "Our room is the first on the right. The girls are next to us. If she wants to be-" But Yua rested a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "But she said..." Tuth tried to argue, trailing off when Veon-Zih stood, moving for the bar, "Where are you going?" Tuth called after the Master.

"To get another room," the Monk answered over his shoulder. 

***

Shon knew Ryuuko could feel his intentions. That was the only reason it would wrap its tail around his neck this tightly. He stood outside Lily's door and tried to wrench the little beast off his shoulder, but the pseudodragon just clung tighter. Finally, Shon sighed, even whispering out loud, "Fine, you can stay." 

Ryuuko let out a surprised and happy chirp that was almost cute enough to stir some semblance of sympathy in Shon. Almost. The moment the little beast loosened its grip, Shon jerked it off and tossed it down the hall. 

It hissed angrily, spinning in the air and flapping back towards him at full speed. But Shon was fast too, and he had the door open and slammed shut again in time to hear the thump and scratch of four sets of tiny dragon claws against the wood.

He turned to see Lily awake and whole and beautiful. She was sitting on the windowsill and staring at him with a mix of curiosity and... fear?

Her golden hair rustled in a light breeze. Beyond the door, Ryuuko chirped. 

Shon waved Lily away from the window. She scrambled back from him, and he pulled the glass shutters closed with barely enough time to spare. Ryuuko slammed into the window and hissed again, scratching its sharp claws against the glass and causing both Shon and Lily to flinch at the dreadful sound. 

One moment alone, damn it! Shon snarled in his mind at the pseudodragon. Outloud he growled, "Pest..." and wrenched the curtains closed over the dragon's angrily chittering face.

With a sigh, he set his sword beneath the window, its pommel swirling an opaque sky blue. Beside him, Lily let out a strained, almost pained laugh. Shon turned to face her fully, blocking out his familiar's annoyance to give her all his attention. But she wouldn't meet his eyes. She crossed her arms, squeezing her biceps defensively and looking at the far corner of the floor.

He'd wanted to tell her again that everyone was fine, that she had nothing to be afraid of. But as he looked at her downcast eyes, the words drained from his throat. He swallowed.

'She thinks you're angry with her. That you'll hate her now...' Shon hadn't wanted to believe Tuth. Not Lily. She knew him better than that, better than anyone but Master Veon-Zih, who seemed able to read Shon's mind more clearly than even Ryuuko.

Shon took too long to find his words, and Lily spoke first, "I'm sorry..." She whispered, "I thought... I thought that maybe if I just lived like everyone else, that if I pretended to be normal, that it would somehow be true..." Her nails dug into her arms, and she squeezed her eyes shut, choking out, "But I'm just a monster. Another experiment gone wrong. I-" 

"Lily," He didn't want to hear anymore, "You're not-" 

"I am!" She shouted, "I lost control. Not only of my power but of myself. I let it happen. I didn't care. I just wanted to destroy him, destroy everything, and I attacked Master Velona and you and I-" 

Shon slammed his palm against the wall beside her, making the window rattle, "Enough." She stopped with a flinch, finally looking up at him. Shit... What was it about being near her that caused him to lose his carefully crafted control so easily? He hadn't lost his temper, or even had a temper, in years.

"Stop, Lily, please," Shon spoke softly, leaning on his arm beside her and clenching his hands into fists, resisting touching her with all his might. She was still curled into herself, hurt and afraid, and the last thing he wanted was make it even worse than he already had. "You're not a monster," He whispered, "You were faced with something no one should ever have to face. Do you really think I would do any better if it were Veon-Zih? Or you? Lily..." he started to lift his hand, then pulled it back down, locking it to his side. "You are the most precious thing in my life. The only thing that keeps me going. And I will not allow anyone to say such things about you. Not even you."

Her lip quivered, and Shon went slack. He closed his eyes and turned his face away, "I'll go... If you ask me to, Lily. I'll leave." 

Lily's answer came out as a breath of a whisper, "I don't want you to go..." 

Shon exhaled his held breath and looked at her again. Her eyes were wide, their pupils the most narrow slits, making the dark blue stand out and shine. Like the heart of a flame. "Then I'm not going anywhere." 

"But..." She searched his face, though what she hoped to find there he didn't know. "But what if it's true? What if I'm a dragon? Or something worse. Something twisted." her hands came up, one tracing the scales on her cheek and the other gripping his shirt desperately. As though trying to prevent him from running away. As if he hadn't just told her he wouldn't leave. "The reds... Inryuu's fiery brood. What if..." 

"I don't care," Shon finally grabbed her hand, squeezing it tight, reveling in its heat and life... holding it to his heart, hoping she could feel it beating. "I don't care what you are, Lily. I care who you are. My strong, brave, driven, stubborn, beautiful, Lily."

Her fingers trailed down from her face, and Shon let go of her hand to take their place, running his thumb over her cheek to wipe the tears from it. He leaned forward, not quite close enough to touch, and whispered, "I will only leave if you ask me to."

She didn't say anything, closing her eyes and leaning into his hand. Shon's breath shook. She was so close. And yet still so very far away. He wanted to drive all her fears away. And eliminate that emptiness between them. "May I kiss you?" he breathed. 

Once again, Lily didn't say anything. She lunged forward and kissed him, nothing slow or sweet about it this time. She pressed her lips hard to his, and pulled him harder, leaning back against the wall and managing to take him off balance in his shock. He fell forward to pin her in place, their lips locked together. 

She melted against him, opening her mouth to taste him, his lips and tongue diving to meet hers. Shon let his fingers trail back to lace into her hair and cup the back of her head; but he needed to control himself, needed... Lily whined, arching her back off the wall and pressing into him, shifting one leg out from beneath his and rising it just enough to rub the outside of his thigh. 

It was all too much too fast. Any thoughts he had of staying gentle, of being careful of her recent ordeal, flew from Shon's mind at the speed of Lily's kiss and his own driving need. He gripped her shoulder harder than he should have, stroking down her side and over her hip, wanting to feel all of her. He squeezed, and Lily whimpered against his lips, lifting her leg higher. He lifted her up, and Lily wrapped her legs around his waist. Rubbing him with a painful pleasure that made him groan into her mouth.

She managed to work her hands up from between them, breathing him in and holding the kiss so he wouldn't pull away. She laced her fingers through his hair and tilted her face up, breaking the kiss but holding him close. Shon scraped his teeth over her chin and down her neck, struggling against his desire to bite and suck hard enough to leave his mark on her soft skin. She gasped, begging, "Don't stop... Please. Don't stop..."

His muscles shook with the effort to control his darkest needs. He would need her to make him stop now. If she pushed, he might still be able to do it. Instead, Lily wiggled and whined and curled her fingers in his hair... And begged... Gods. Nothing in the world mattered except that she continued making those sounds and that he be the one causing them.

His lips continued to trail down, and he lifted her higher, relieving some of the pressure on his groin but making her whimper. Until he pulled the neck of her shirt down to expose more flesh, causing her to gasp again. The line of her scales arched over her right breast and trailed down between them. Shon tried to follow it with his mouth as far as her shirt would allow before Lily finally did pull him away, tugging on his hair with one hand and bringing the other between them to push on his chest.

Shon leaned back, trying to catch his breath and regain his composure. He started to let her down but Lily growled. Locking her ankles together and holding him tight about the waist, she wrenched her shirt off. Gripping his face, she kissed him hard and bit his lip, then leaned back once more.

Keeping her pinned to the wall, Shon lifted her still higher. Freeing one hand to cup her exposed breast, he dipped his head to continue kissing along her stripe. It circled back around and under to disappear behind her and out of reach. The trail gone, Shon moved up to take her already hard nipple between icy lips. Lily moaned, the sound quickly turning to a desperate whine as she clawed at his shirt, pulling the back up until he was forced to pull away so she could tear it off and throw it to the ground. 

Even through fabric, he could always feel her heat, but it was nothing to the feel of her bare skin pressed against his. His cold flooded to meet it, making his nerves stand on end. He'd thought their magic canceled each other out. Now he felt the truth. They merged and mingled, interweaving together into a never-ending warmth. But even pressed together, their energies intertwined, there was still too much between them. 

Lily returned her fingers to his hair, pulling it hard but pressing him with another kiss. She whimpered into his lips, sliding back down to press against him. "More, Shon. Please. Don't stop..." She rolled her hips, and he had to clench every muscle to keep from bursting.

He growled against her lips, gripping her thighs and squeezing them hard. But not hard enough. Never that hard. He had to control himself, had to... "Don't stop..." He pulled her off the wall and turned. The move shocked her enough that Lily's grip loosened, and he dropped her onto the bed, the rope supports bouncing and groaning at the sudden weight.

The space between them felt like an empty void without her warmth to fill it. Shon followed her down and Lily started tugging at his belt, managing to get it unlatched as he knelt between her knees. He curled his fingers in her waistband and pulled. Lily squeaked in surprise, her feet flying into the air as he tugged the pants off with a jerk.

Shon marveled at her beauty. Her stripe reappeared from her left side, looping her belly button before disappearing again to twist around her right leg. He waited for her to protest, using the time to catch his breath and attempt once more to regain his control. But she whimpered, using strong abdominals to sit up and pull his face down to hers with both hands. Devouring his mouth, she tried desperately to run her feet over his legs to force his own trousers down.

In all his late-night imaginings in all his life, Shon hadn't thought it would be like this. Whatever possible pretense of slow romance they hadn't abandoned with the first kiss was long gone. Shon kicked his boots off as Lily finally managed to wrench his pants down past his buttocks before lifting a leg to hook them with her foot and push them the rest of the way down until he could kick them off too. 

All the while, she begged against his lips. Pleading broken nonsense for him not to stop. That she wanted more. Needed more. Needed him. When he finally settled between her thighs, it was to find her wet and waiting for him. She wiggled, rubbing herself against him, trying to slide lower, to press herself against his aching, throbbing tip.

Shon gripped the back of her neck and groaned. Lily pulled away from his lips but arched her back, so her chest pressed against his as he slid into her. 

Her body yielded to him as he filled her completely. She gasped, and Shon clenched his teeth. Control, he needed control, needed...

Putting all of his weight on the arm holding her neck, Shon used the other to hold her hips still, choking out, "Oh gods, Lily. Don't move."

He hadn't thought there could be anything hotter than her lips, but he hadn't counted on this. She struggled to obey, but he could feel her inner walls clenching him in waves that threatened to send him over the edge before it had even truly started. 

Shon focused on the artistic arch of her neck. On her eyes held shut and her mouth partly open. On the way her golden hair splayed out on the mattress beneath her. On how the light glittered off her ruby scales, and the feel of her skin everywhere they touched. 

When he started to move, Lily moved with him, rising to meet his careful thrusts and gasping the most beautiful sounds he'd ever heard. They moved as one, and once again, didn't stay slow for long. As if she could sense his darkest desires, Lily scratched down his back and squeezed, urging him harder and surrendering to his every move.

He didn't know how long it lasted, minutes or days. He lost himself in the feel of her. In the shifts in her body as she rose to climax; until she dug her nails into his flesh and cried out his name. Lily clenched around him like a vice, and Shon lost the battle of wills with himself, filling her with everything he had. His love and passion. Body, heart, and soul. She took it all, until it overflowed and spilled out between them.

Shon's arms shook with the effort to hold himself up, and Lily went limp. He buried his face in her neck and tried to catch his breath. He didn't want to leave her, never wanted to stop touching her. But he needed air. Shon let himself fall, rolling onto his side. But Lily rolled with him, all the way until he lay flat on his back, her chest pressed against his side and one leg draped over his. 

For a few more blissful moments, Shon's mind was blank, the afterglow of feeling both full and empty all at the same time radiating from his core. Then Lily's shoulders started bobbing, and Shon remembered what had brought him to her room in the first place.

Afraid, he looked down, but, "Are you laughing?" 

Lily continued her giggles against his chest, and he couldn't help but smile, reaching up to run a hand through his sweaty hair. Confused, but relieved. And happy down to the root of his being.

"I'm sorry," she managed to gasp between giggles, "But... Wow... I think I found my new favorite exercise." Lily propped herself up to look down at him, her hair flowing over her shoulder and tickling his neck. "We should have done that way sooner." she declared. 

And Shon laughed, honestly laughed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her down to kiss again.