"I would rather not," Cyrus told Lyda. "You're exhausted from the day, and being exhausted or tired increases odds of mistakes during alchemy. We can do it tomorrow, after your first magic training session, when you'll be more alert."

"Okay," she said. "Come on, you should eat while it's still hot. Reheating with magic probably does the same thing as popping it in a microwave."

"Sometimes," Cyrus muttered, then shook his head. "I need to finish this, first."

Cyrus finished making the potion, then cleaned and dried his equipment and sent everything back before joining Lyda at the table to eat. After dinner, Cyrus returned to reading while Lyda relaxed in her room before bed.

Deciding to let himself sleep, Cyrus went to his room and stripped off his pants before collapsing onto the bed, falling asleep immediately. He slept straight through the night, then woke up and pulled on sweats and a hoodie before heading to the main room to prepare breakfast.

Lyda came out as he cooked and watched him, then the two ate breakfast together. Cyrus cleaned the dishes, then asked Lyda which potion she wanted to use during her training.

"The same as yesterday," she told Cyrus. "I want to focus on getting a feel for fire magic. Once I can sense it decently without the potion, I'll probably switch to a different one."

"Okay," he handed her the appropriate potion, as well as a tray, three candles, and a box of matches. "Here you go."

"Thank you," Lyda sat down and lit the candles so she could begin practicing, and Cyrus sat on the couch and began using his tablet.

For the next hour, neither bothered the other, but when the effects of the potion ended, Lyda asked Cyrus to teach her how to make a potion. He set up two sets of equipment and pulled out enough reagents for both of them to prepare a potion for enhancing sight, then began teaching her how to create it, doing his best to answer any and all questions she had in a way that made sense to her.

The two of them fell into a routine for several days, where Lyda would train her magic before or immediately after breakfast, a couple of hours after lunch, and shortly before bed. Cyrus would teach her potions making before lunch, Lyda would help him deal with his aversion to touch by sitting right beside him, their arms and legs touching after lunch, then she would go and do her own thing while Cyrus either exercised, practiced martial arts, or worked on something.

It worked for them, and neither sought to change the routine until a week and a half in, when Lyda noticed Cyrus wearing sneakers rather than going around the suite barefoot while she was practicing her magic after breakfast. Had she been able to see it, she would have also noticed Cyrus wearing underwear, something he hadn't been wearing because he didn't see a point to it when just lounging around the suite.

"Cyrus," Lyda said as he put the training equipment away. "Are you going somewhere?"

"We're at a ski resort," Cyrus told her. "I'm going skiing."

"I've never been before," she told him.

"Dress warmly," he told her. "I've got an extra set of equipment that will fit you."

Lyda hurried to her room and changed into warmer clothes, then rejoined Cyrus. They left the lodge and made their way up the mountain in a cable car, which dropped them off at a facility at the top of one of the defined ski paths.

Cyrus helped Lyda into her equipment, then gave her several tips and instructions on how to use her skis, before he set off down the hill. Like most talented water mages, Cyrus used his magic to help guide the skis to ensure a smoother, safer run.

While he enjoyed skiing, Cyrus knew it had been a few years since the last time he had managed to go. His brothers had begun taking up more and more of his time, resulting in him having less and less time to enjoy activities he found fun. There were a few times he had to tie them down just so he could go into a Dungeon that would take him two or three days to complete.

When he reached the bottom of the hill, Cyrus stopped and contemplated switching to a snowboard, which he found even more fun than skis. Deciding against it, he took off his skis and waited for Lyda to arrive. When she showed up several minutes later, she had snow on her clothes and was accompanied by a man.

"Are you okay?" Cyrus asked her, using his magic to remove the snow from her clothes, dumping it on the ground in front of the man. "What happened?"

"I fell a couple of times," she told him. "Jared here helped me the rest of the way down. You probably should have stayed with me."

"Oh," Cyrus said. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Lyda laughed. "I'm sure you thought your explanation was enough."

"Let's head inside," Jared told them. "Unless you two wanted to head back up?"

"No," Lyda answered. "Maybe another day, but I've fallen enough times for today."

"Give me the skis," Cyrus told Lyda, who handed him his gear for him to put away. He then gave Jared a suspicious look. "What's your interest in her?"

"Why do you think he has an interest in me?" Lyda asked. "He just helped me down the mountain after seeing me fall."

"Because he's thought about what you look like without the heavy gear on while you were taking off my gear," Cyrus answered. "And has wondered twice what our relationship is."

"Mind-reading is considered rude," Jared told Cyrus.

"That's… something that's normal to wonder," Lyda told Cyrus. "You know what my job was, you don't do well in a job like that without being attractive and drawing attention and curiosity. And Jared," she looked at him. "Cyrus is covering my trip to a few places and teaching me a few things, in exchange for me helping him out with some issues of his own. It's nothing sexual, if that's what you're wondering."

What Jared thought next made Cyrus realize the full extent of the other man's interest in her.

"Lyda," Cyrus said. "He's a painter looking for a model for a painting for a private gallery."

"Reading minds is rude," Jared told him again, then looked at Lyda. "There are certain, ah, requirements for beauty necessary before I can take someone on. I wasn't going to say anything unless you met the standard. As he said, it's for a private gallery, and taking pictures of the paintings aren't allowed. There are two styles I do, one shows everything, the other doesn't. How much I pay depends on which you choose for me to do."

Lyda gave Cyrus a look before agreeing to at least let him decide, so the trio made their way into the ski center's building, where Lyda took off her heavier coat, gloves, hat, and earmuffs. Jared appraised her for a few moments, then nodded.

"You do meet it," he told her. "As long as there aren't any flaws underneath the clothes, I'd be willing to offer you money for a painting session. Five hundred notes if it doesn't show anything, double that for showing your stuff."

"I prefer not to have my front shown in images," Lyda told Jared. "So the lesser deal works for me, if you wanted."

"Okay," he smiled. "When would you like to do it? I'm free anytime over the next few days with a limited schedule for the few days after that."

"How about right now?" She asked. "Or after lunch?"

"We can do right now," Jared told her.

"Then let's do now," she told him.

"Where at?" Cyrus asked, feeling strangely protective of Lyda.

"At the lodge down the road," Jared told him. "I'm renting one of the suites while here on vacation. Room three-oh-seven, and I'll do the painting in there."

"We're three-oh-eight," Lyda told Jared. "You're right across the hall from us."

"Okay," Cyrus said.

"And sorry," Jared told Cyrus. "But I'd rather be alone with her during the painting."

"She's a woman," Cyrus said. "If she wants to do it, it's up to her. I'm just traveling with her."

"I see," Jared said, and Cyrus detected a strange note in his voice and slight amusement in Lyda's mind.

He had stopped reading Jared's thoughts, and was tempted to do so again to find out what that strange tone was about. In the end, he decided against it and suggested they head back to the lodge, so the three walked down the path to the lodge.

At the lodge, Lyda and Jared split off and went into Jared's suite while Cyrus entered his own, changing back into just his lounge sweats and hoodie. The young god attempted to read as he waited for Lyda to return, but found himself strangely anxious over her being alone with Jared.

Having scanned the man's mind, Cyrus knew there was no ill intent there, just a young, rich man who wanted to add another portrait of a beautiful woman to his private collection. Despite that, he was restless over the situation.

After nearly an hour of struggling with himself, Cyrus expanded his senses, allowing him to watch Lyda across the hall. She was posed on a bed, her back to Jared, who was painting on a canvas. A few minutes later, Jared called for a break, and Lyda turned to face him.

"So," Jared said, Cyrus allowing himself to hear everything. "If you don't mind me asking, what is Cyrus's situation? He's a lot more intense than you told me he was."

"It's his first real vacation," Lyda told him. "He's had to raise his brothers because of their parents abandoning them, and his brothers tend to get up to no good. So he's a lot more serious than someone our age should be. Though he might seem like a typical guy our age if you see him most of the time, as he's using a tablet, he's probably doing some sort of work."

"Work?" Jared asked.

"He deals in antique goods," Lyda answered as Cyrus sighed, wishing they wouldn't talk about him. "And is usually looking for or arranging to buy some, though his brothers told me that he also sells some, too."

The pair went silent for a few moments, and Cyrus was about to retract his senses when Jared spoke again, asking a question that made him pause.

"He's not forcing you into something, is he?" Jared asked. "He seemed rather annoyed at my interest in you, and bothered by you being alone with me."

"No, he's not," Lyda told him. "I'm with him willingly. As he said, he's helping me with something. He's covering the cost of my trip, and I'm helping him get away from his brothers and learn to loosen up and relax."

"Are his brothers really that bothersome?"

"They gift-wrapped a skyscraper."

Cyrus snorted as Jared's stunned reaction, then decided to pull out. He had some questions he wanted answered, and it would be difficult to focus on them while eavesdropping on Lyda and Jared. Jared had brought up a point that was already bothering the god.

Why was he so bothered by her being alone with him for a nude painting? It wasn't as if she actually mattered to him, so his emotions confused him. Why did he feel so protective of her?

He set his book on his chest and pulled out his tablet, loaded up the chat with SnK, and sent a message asking his mother those things, explaining everything that happened. Then, he swapped the tablet for his book and resumed reading until she responded twenty minutes later.

I'm going to let you figure that out on your own, Cy. As that will probably take some time, and you have plenty on your hands as she trains up and does her quest, I've decided to gift you something. I've arranged for you to enjoy the resort's spa tomorrow. I booked for two guests, so that you can take Lyda as well. - S

Cyrus growled under his breath, then sent his mother a message back reminding her that the spa package would include a massage, which he wouldn't be able to handle. She responded immediately, and he knew she had been anticipating his complaint.

Cy, you're working on dealing with that. Just think of the massage as one long training session. While undergoing it, think about the things you like. Fruit parfaits, collectible antiques, ancient swords, reading, alchemy, and so on. - S

He growled again, then shot her off a message saying that if it was that easy, he'd have dealt with his issue years before. She responded a few seconds later.

The difference now, Cy, is that you're wanting to deal with it with an actual purpose beyond 'I want to deal with it'. The spa appointment is at two, and you have a reservation in the lodge's restaurant for five-thirty, both tomorrow. - S

Deciding not to deal with his mother further, Cyrus put his tablet away and began reading again. While his mother usually did her best to support him whenever he was struggling with something, she had never done something like that before. She had never set him up for something she knew he wouldn't enjoy.

He wasn't one to waste his mother's efforts, even if being a god meant she had no reason to care about the cost of things. Money was unlimited to the gods due to various reasons. Even Cyrus himself didn't actually need to care about owning a company to buy what he needed – he could simply transmute anything he wanted into something precious and sell that.

But Cyrus loved his mother and accepted every gift she gave him, even if he was reluctant for them. So he decided to take Lyda to the spa the next day and do his best to put up with the massage session he knew was part of the package.

After deciding that, Cyrus returned to reading, and when Lyda returned from the painting session, they returned to their routine as usual. During it, Cyrus did his best not to pester her about how the session went, if Jared did anything inappropriate, and so on. Though it bothered him not knowing what happened when she was alone in a room with an unknown man, Cyrus knew she was an adult and could make her own decisions, especially since as far as he could tell, they weren't much more than strangers on a trip together.

She also didn't belong to him, and he didn't own her, so he had no right to ask her any of that stuff, even if he did feel protective of her. He wasn't sure why his mother wouldn't tell him what was going on with him, and as he went through the motions leading up to the spa appointment, the young god became even more baffled by it.

"Lyda," Cyrus said twenty minutes before his time booked for the spa. "My mother booked me two spots at the spa downstairs, and she suggested I take you."

"Isn't the spa expensive?" Lyda asked. "I'd have to do… well, it would take me more than a couple of sessions to afford a two-hour block."

Cyrus did his best not to frown at the mention of her 'sessions'. He knew she meant having sex for money, and that, too, bothered him for some reason. Even if he knew she was doing it with guests at the lodge, as long as it wasn't talked about, he was able to forget about it.

He really wanted to know what was going on with him, but as progress wasn't coming, he decided to push that to the back of his mind and respond to her.

"We're gods."

"Right," Lyda said. "And wealthy. If you want me to go to the spa, then I'll join you."

"Okay," Cyrus said. "Let's go."