Missteps V.2

Chapter 40 – Moonlit Truths

It was decided that Sol would sleep with Kerri and Elaine that night, and then in the morning they'd begin their preparations for the trek down to the temple. Flyta had gone to bed shortly after Carric and Elaine had arrived back, but she'd made her distaste for their appearance known. Kerri did what she could to help, but even magic had its limit for cleanliness.

"If you're that concerned," said a voice from the stairs, "there is a bath house ten or so minutes from here." The group turned to look. Halfway down the stairs, their robe only loosely tied so that their dark bare chest was exposed, was Carric's companion from the night before.

Carric sighed and stood up. "I said I'd let you know if I was interested in a repeat performance." He said as he walked over, a twinkle in his eye.

The man shrugged. "You took too long so I thought I'd invite myself. Do you want me to leave?"

Carric reached out and closed the robe over the man's chest. He grinned. "Why? You're already here."

The man laughed loudly. He looked over at the table. "If you do decide to use the bath house, tell them that Chaxelle sent you." Chaxelle winked and then the two of them disappeared upstairs.

"Where are they going?" Sol asked, her brows knitted together.

Kerri wiggled her eyebrows. "To have fun." The majority of the group laughed, and Elaine just rolled her eyes at their antics. Sol tilted her head to the side, confusion written on her face.

Kerri patted the girl's shoulder. "I'll tell you later."

Jun stood up. "I'm headed to the baths, who's joining me?"

Lia, Iados, and Ander all raised their hands.

"Do you think they'll have private baths?" Elaine asked as everyone stood up.

Lia walked over and linked her arm with Elaine's. "If they don't I'll just bathe with the guys and leave you alone, deal?"

Iados grinned. "I'm okay with that."

"Of course you are." Ander rolled his eyes. "Who says I am?"

Jun led the way towards the exit. "Let's see what the place is like before we make any final plans, ok?" Jun's voice sounded tired as he held the door open. He looked back at the two females left at the table. "You two going to be ok here?"

Kerri nodded and shooed him away. Once the door had closed behind him, Kerri turned to look at Sol. "What do you say we clean up in here, and I'll tell you what's happening upstairs?" Sol nodded.

Twenty minutes later Ander came back and asked Kerri to magic him clean. The topic over the sink had moved on from the bedroom antics. Turned out that Sol was very familiar with 'sating desire'. Kerri surmised that there wasn't a wide range of activities available an underground temple.

A little over an hour later, Elaine and Jun arrived back at the inn. Sol was outside, Kerri's cloak around her shoulders. She chased Shomma around in the snow that had begun to pile high. As they watched, Sol slipped and landed face-first into a snow drift. Jun and Elaine started hurriedly towards her, but Sol simply picked up herself with a laugh.

"You're back." Sol practically skipped over towards them. "Kerri's inside. She mentioned something about putting down notes for a new song."

Elaine raised an eyebrow. "She left you out here, alone?"

Sol shook her head. "Shomma's here, and she can see me from up there." Sol pointed up towards the second-floor. Elaine and Jun raised their eyes, and there sitting in the open window was Kerri.

"Do you really have that little faith in me?" Kerri called down as she played a low note on her pan flute. Elaine rolled her eyes as she trudged inside.

Jun waved for Kerri to go back inside, and waited till she'd closed the window behind her. He settled himself down on the edge of a wooden post next to Sol. "So, have you given more thought into what you're asking from us?"

"What do you mean?" Sol knelt on the ground and rained snow down on top of the weasel.

"You want us to free you and your sister, right?" Sol nodded. Jun continued. "Do you consider yourself free, right now?"

Sol's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

He gestured to the area around them. "Look where you are. You're above ground, playing in the snow under the moonlight. Besides your sister being down there, is there anything keeping you from just walking out of this town?"

She frowned. "Mother, father, and Ma are still down there."

"So we need to bring them above ground as well?"

Sol shook her head fiercely. "They would never leave the Tree. They're just as rooted to that place as it is. Everyone in the temple works and breathes for one purpose: the continued growth of the Tree."

"Is it possible your sister tried to destroy the tree then, so that everyone could leave? Is everyone down there as 'rooted' as your parents?"

She shook her head. "There's no reason for anyone to leave. The Tree and the temple are all we know. Some of them have vague recollections of a large city inhabited by thousands, but they have no desire to leave. They've grown content with their life."

"Sol," Jun moved and knelt down next to the young woman. "If we go down there to retrieve your sister, will they let us?"

Sol looked away as she thought. Finally, she shrugged. "I don't know. The only ones who've ever went down before were the Chosen ones."

"The Chosen ones?" The human's face twisted in curiosity. "Who are they?"

"They're given to us by the above grounders in exchange for wine that we make from the Tree's fruits. My sister is in charge of the hand-off, and I'm in charge of the Chosen ones. I learned Common from them."

"And what do the Chosen ones do?"

"They water the Tree."

Jun felt goosebumps form up and down his arms, and it wasn't from the falling snow. He smacked his suddenly dry lips. "What do you mean they water it?"

"I take the blood from the Chosen ones and pour it at the base of the Tree." Sol stood up and stretched.

Jun stood up as well. "Why not just use regular water?"

"When the temple fell, it fell into a cavern. No soil, no earth, only rocks all around. No water either. My father was desperate to keep the Tree alive. He was entrusted with it by a goddess, and it has a destiny. It's meant to reach and guide the ley lines into place. It's an important piece of the puzzle, it just has to get stronger." Sol lifted her gaze and watched the snow fall from the sky. "Since they had no water, my father's acolytes kept the Tree alive with their own blood. Shortly after, the goddess sent Mother and her warriors to the temple. They, too, bled themselves for the Tree, but it wasn't long after that when the above grounders broke through."

"That's when the deal was struck?"

Sol shook her head. "Initially they wanted to take the Tree back to the surface. They tried to uproot it, but according to the stories the Tree screamed and lashed out. My father and Mother decided the Tree would never leave. To thank them for their loyalty, the Tree bore fruit and told them how to make it into wine. With the wine they were able to strike an agreement with the above grounders."

Jun narrowed his eyes. "What happens with the Chosen ones?"

"I take care of them, until they can't give any more blood. I feed them, I keep them company. I only take a bowlful of their blood every few days or so, so they last a long while. Eventually they fall asleep, and don't wake up. That's when Mother has the guards take them away, and we wait for a new one."

"When they fall asleep, where do they go?" Jun asked.

The girl shrugged. "Mother says they go upstairs. I never see them leave. I'm always busy cleaning and getting ready for the next Chosen one." Sol turned to look at Jun. "Father says I have the most important job of all, because the stronger the Chosen one, the stronger their blood is for the Tree. I can keep the Chosen ones awake for a long time before they have to leave." Sol smiled, and suddenly that smile wasn't very sweet in Jun's eyes.

Up above them Kerri stood at the window. "What do you think they're talking about?" She called back to Elaine who sat on one of the beds.

"No idea." Elaine's gaze was concentrated on Ander's pants that were in her lap as she sewed up a rip. Next to her were a few other articles of clothing that she'd promised to mend for some of the others.

Kerri turned back around and studied her friend. "Aren't you going to admonish me?"

"For what?"

"For messing around with Kalia when I wasn't quite sure you were alright." Kerri crossed her arms. "We'd already been told several times by Loiwin that you and Carric were more than likely dead, but still I went and shared a bubble bath with a perfect stranger."

Elaine pulled up on the needle and watched as the tear came together in the fabric.

"If I got mad every time you'd gone off to share a bath with some stranger I'd be in a perpetual state of anger."

"If you're not angry at me, then why won't you look at me?"

"Because I'd rather not poke myself in the finger." Elaine tied off the knot. Finally she looked up. "Why do you think I'm mad at you?"

"Anger is just the first thing I could think of." Kerri sighed. "I know you're something at me, but I can't put my finger on it. Ever since I woke up in the cavern, you've been giving me these weird looks. Not to mention the vice grip you had on my arm for so long I'm pretty sure you left a bruise."

"Maybe you're just the type of person who inspires people into giving you weird looks." The dark-skinned woman picked up a pair of Iados's pants from the pile. She wondered if he'd noticed they were missing yet.

Kerri crossed over to the room and sat down on top of the pile of clothes. "What aren't you telling me?"

"That you're being extremely annoying." Elaine tugged on the pants under Kerri's butt and succeeded in knocking her over. "Why is this such a big deal to you?"

"It's a big deal, because I feel more like myself than I have in months." Kerri twisted around so that she sat facing the cleric. "For months I've felt like this huge weight had been pulling me down. Even after speaking with Maron and clearing the air somewhat between us, I still felt out of sorts."

"Does that feeling have anything to do with the weird tattoo on your back?" Elaine threaded another needle while Kerri was struck speechless for a few seconds.

"You knew?"

Elaine nodded. "You're not as stealthy as you might think. I've known about it since the first night on the boat ride to Marblebrooke."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Trust me, your choice in body art was way down on the list of questions I wanted to pester you about." Elaine pierced the fabric. "I figured it'd come up one night over a drink."

Kerri pursed her lips as she studied her friend. She brought the pan flute up to her lips and started to play out a sweet, but purposeful melody. She repeated it over and over again, till she saw Elaine began to sway in with the melody. She did one more round of music, before she transitioned to the lyrics.

"They all see you standing strong,

As you chant them back to health.

But I can see you as so much more

Than just a healer from death's door.

Vowil's in your heart

And she whispers in your ear.

So my friend don't be afraid,

Don't let your choices keep you here.

Spread your wings and fly

And be the one I see inside."

Elaine stopped her task and looked her friend. "What was that?"

Kerri smiled and set the pan flute to the side. "Your song. You never seem to need my singing as much as the others in combat do, but right now you seem to have something weighing you down."

Elaine laughed. "Just because I won't tease you about getting lucky, you think I have a secret?"

"It's more than just that!" Kerri groaned. "You once hounded me for a month because of a henna tattoo I had to wear for a production back home."

"I hounded you because the tattoo completely blacked out a thick circle on your arm, and it kept smearing on my clothes."

"What about that time you followed me on my date, because you thought the other guy was a murderer?"

Elaine shrugged. "I got a bad feeling off of him."

Kerri raised an eyebrow. "You based it off the fact that he wore two left shoes."

"I'd also overheard him make a bet with his buddies on who could get you into bed first." Elaine admitted.

The bard's eyebrows lifted. "Where could you have possibly been to overhear that?"

Elaine smiled sheepishly. "I might have been hiding under a cart with my alms box at the time."

"So what, you didn't want me to sleep with him because he made a bet like a jerk?"

"No," Elaine hesitated before she hung her head. "His friend said that if they won they'd donate the money to the Church."

Kerri squeaked and shoved Elaine. "You ruined my date for money?"

Elaine laughed. "Yes, and I'd do it again."

"You'd give me grief and butt in on all of that, but on the worst day of my life you wouldn't bring up the tattoo on my back?" Kerri's smile faded. "For all these months later, you didn't even ask."

Elaine set down her sewing and faced her friend. "To be honest, I wasn't quite sure where we stood. As you and Maron got more serious, the more I got left behind." Elaine reached into her bag that sat behind her on the bed. She rummaged in it for a second before she finally pulled out a small rolled up piece of parchment. She handed it to Kerri. "Until I got this, I wasn't sure if you even needed me still."

Kerri unrolled the paper. The slanted words written on it were hastily scrawled, but legible. 'Kerri needs you. Dock 13. 7 AM'

She read the words over and over again. Three words had made her best friend in the world leave her life behind. Three words that she didn't even question. Three words that made she sure wasn't alone on the worst day of her life. Tears started to run down her face, and drip onto the parchment. Kerri launched herself at Elaine and enveloped the other woman in a hug. "Thank you for not being dead." She whispered in the cleric's ear.

Elaine returned the hug. The held on to each other for a moment before they let each other go. Kerri wiped her eyes and handed the parchment back to Elaine. Elaine didn't take it. Suddenly, she couldn't meet Kerri's eyes.

"Everything ok? I didn't hurt you, did I?" Kerri bent down and tried to get in Elaine's eye line.

The dark-skinned woman took a deep breath and looked her friend. "I am keeping something from you. I didn't tell you because I wasn't sure what to make of it."

Kerri's eyebrows knitted together. "Well, what is it?"

"You died." Elaine gulped. "In the caverns when that rat bit you. You weren't just near-death, you were dead. You stopped breathing, your heart didn't beat. You were dead, and I was too late."

"If I was dead, then how am I not dead, now?" Kerri spoke slowly as she processed. "I mean, I am alive, right?"

Elaine nodded. "I heard this voice, and it said there was still time. It offered to save you. It was in my head, it saw my thoughts, my desires before I'd even fully formed them in my mind. It told me that this time was a freebie."

"So, this voice brought me back?"

"Yes, but it used me to do it. I felt this power surge into me, a power unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. It was like I was being shown how to do it." Elaine reached out and touched Kerri's chest, right over her heart. "I saw the magic as it flowed from me into you. I saw it wrap itself around your heart and force it to beat again. I watched as it filled your lungs and fill them with air. The magic swirled around your spine, your liver, in and out of every muscle and ligament. I didn't just watch it, I studied it." Elaine's voice was soft as she finally gave voice to the thoughts that had swirled around her head. "All of this magic was connected to my hand. With hardly any effort, your body had become a puppet, and I the puppeteer. Before I could flex my own muscles and make you move, the strings left my hand. The voice was there with me, not speaking, but I felt their presence. They took the strings from me, and had me watch as they used those magical strings to almost sew your soul back into your body. Your soul that had been fighting against leaving, was given back to your body. Or more accurately, your body was given back to your soul." Elaine blinked and looked up into her friend's eyes. "And you woke up." She gave a small laugh and let her hand fall back into her lap.

Kerri reached out and took Elaine's hand. "You saved me. Thank you."

Elaine shook her head. "It wasn't me. It was the voice. I was so desperate to save you that I barely even questioned some disembodied voice who said they could bring you back."

"What did they want for it?"

Elaine shook her head again. "They didn't want anything. They said next time it'll cost me, but not this time." Elaine wrenched her hand away and stood up. She walked closer to the window and gazed out at the night sky. "I'm more concerned about myself. For a single instant, I had control of your body. For a single moment, I knew what it was like to reanimate a body with no soul. To have total control over another living thing." Elaine shivered. "Part of our training, we had to read a letter a necromancer wrote to the church. In it, they'd said that until we'd held the power they did, the power of a soulless body, we wouldn't understand why they couldn't stop. That the followers of Vowil would never understand the rush it was to have another creature under that measure of control. A creature that didn't have thoughts of its own, a creature who's entire existence was in the palm of their hand, and who existed only to achieve your every whim. "We all just thought they were the ramblings of a mad man. We couldn't understand how someone could wield that kind of power and influence over another living creature. But that was the problem. It wasn't a living creature. A creature without a soul is merely a puppet, and now I know how little it actually takes to make a dead body into one." Down at her side, Elaine's hand shook. "Now I know how thin that line truly is, and it scares me."

Silence stretched between the two of them as they both mulled over their own thoughts.

"It sounds like the voice did you a favor." Kerri set down the flute.

Elaine scoffed. "How so?"

"How are Vowilian clerics supposed to fight the undead, unless they know how the undead are made? Isn't 'know thy enemy' some kind of proverb or something?" Kerri stood up and walked over to the cleric. "Listen, if given the choice, would you have rather had me as a puppet, or brought back my soul?"

"Your soul." Elaine answered instantly. "The body is just a vessel. Who you are is in your soul."

Kerri smiled and clapped her friend on the shoulder. "And that, is the key difference between you and the wacko necromancer. The necromancer didn't give two shits about souls. But you do. It sounds like that voice of yours walked you through the process, to show you that it takes more than just animating a body to bring someone back to life. Remember soul over body, and you'll be golden."

Elaine still didn't look convinced. "What if the voice wants something more from me?"

Kerri reached up and lightly poked her friend in the forehead. "You follow a freakin' god. Isn't messages taken on faith kind of your deal? Don't you think that if the voice was evil, that Vowil would have sent you a sign or something?"

Elaine sighed. "You're right, I let myself get way to wound up. Thanks."

"That's what friends are for. Now, to change the topic. You want to hear the story of this bad tattoo?"

Elaine nodded and the two of them settled back on the bed. Kerri told her friend everything she knew about the necromancer Maccus Leigh, the mark on her back, and the job she'd been naïve enough to undertake.

The more she talked, the more she realized she wasn't in pain. When she'd told the story to Xayoe back at the entertainer's guild, the pain had been immense and it'd been like she couldn't breathe. Now, there was nothing. She was in such shock with the realization, that she stopped halfway and had Elaine help her look at her back. With the aid of a couple of mirrors Kerri was able to see that the mark had changed. It was as if a layer had been peeled off the top and exposed more of the design underneath.

She suddenly wanted to kiss the rat that had killed her.

The next morning Elaine was woken up by a scared hissing in her ear. "Elaine, Elaine wake up." The cleric's eyes snapped open. Sol was huddled on the floor in front of her, a blanket wrapped around her lithe form.

Elaine dropped out of the bed next to the scared woman. "Sol, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" Elaine could see that the female's eyes were red and there were tear tracks all down her face.

Sol's eyes welled up again as she pointed towards the open window where the first rays of sunlight had begun to stream through. "What is that? I tried to look at it, but it hurt me."

It took Elaine a few seconds before the issue dawned on her. She quickly walked over and shut the shutters to block out the offending light. She crossed and knelt back down next to Sol. "It's called the sun, and you're not supposed to look directly at it."

"No one told me." Sol reached up and rubbed her eyes. "Why is it so bright out there?"

"For one, the sun reflects off the snow, and two that's how it usually looks up here. The sun shines down so that we can see the world around us." Elaine quickly lit a candle and used its light to examine Sol's eyes.

Sol stuck out her lower lip "It wasn't like that earlier." The pupils on Sol's eyes were larger than anything Elaine had ever seen. Last night she'd been too exhausted to fully notice them.

Elaine set down the candle. "Last night the sun was gone, replaced by the moon which shines significantly less brightly." She quickly poured a healing spell into the elven woman's eyes as she chided herself for not realizing that someone who'd lived their whole life underground would be susceptible to the sun. "We'll have to take getting you under the sun slowly so that you can adapt to it and it doesn't hurt you."

"My Father and Ma used to tell me stories of the sun, but they never said it could hurt me." Sol's voice was soft and no longer full of pain as she let Elaine guide her into the bed.

"Your father and mother lived above ground?" Elaine tucked in the blanket around Sol, and made sure that her head pointed away from the window.

Sol shook her head. "Mother has always lived underground, but Father and Ma used to live above. Ma told me stories of how Father would take her to pick flowers in a meadow when she was a child." Sol yawned. "Of course, then she had to explain to me what a meadow was."

Elaine smiled. "Sounds like Ma and Father knew each other even before the temple was sent below."

"Ma was just a little girl when the temple fell." Sol explained. "When Mother and her people found the temple, she married Ma to unite the two groups." The bundled woman smiled. "That's what she says, but Ma says that Mother couldn't keep her eyes off her from the moment they met, and she married Ma so that she'd never have to."

Elaine's brow furrowed. "Wait, are Ma and Mother two different people?" By now Sol's eyes had begun to slink close. Elaine wondered how long the woman had stayed up the previous night.

Sol nodded. "Ma is also a daughter of Father, so technically she's also my sister, but we don't call her that. She gave birth to Des, while Mother gave birth to me."

"Have there been many children born in the temple?"

This time Sol shook her head drowsily. "The Tree said it needed more followers, to worship and care for it. Said it was Father, Mother, and Ma's duty to supply more. So Mother had me with Father, and then Ma had Des with one of the Chosen Ones. We're the only ones who've ever been born in the temple since it fell." Sol's voice tapered off near the end as she fell asleep. Elaine reached out and patted her hair.

"The more I hear about this Tree, the more disconcerted I get." Kerri's voice said softly from the other bed. Before everyone had retired for the night, Jun had told them what Sol had said about the Tree and its mission with the ley lines. The news hadn't been welcomed, and for those of them who knew the importance of the ley lines (Lia, Ander, and Carric), it had strengthened their resolve to venture to the temple.

"Sorry if we woke you." Elaine quietly went over to the other bed and sat down in front of it, so that she and Kerri's heads were close, and they could easily converse without disturbing their roommate.

Kerri waved her off. "Don't worry about it. Do you think Ander's right? About the tree?"

Elaine nodded her head. "In everything I've learned, I've never heard of anything that survives off the blood of others as a good thing."

"Isn't Carric supposed to bring it back to Glendaia though?"

"Glendaia sent him after a sapling, not a fully-grown blood tree." Elaine reminded her. "I think Ander's right, and the tree needs to be destroyed. We can't run the risk of it actually reaching a ley line."

"Can't you just purify it or something?"

Elaine nodded. "Oh I plan to purify it, with fire."

Kerri opened her mouth to respond, but a soft knock interrupted her. The door opened a crack and Flyta stuck her head in. She looked around the room until she found the two of them.

"Kerri, there's someone downstairs looking for you, I highly suggest you don't keep them waiting." By the tone of Flyta's voice, she didn't much care for whoever was waiting.

Kerri and Elaine shared an inquisitive look before they both clambered to their feet. They both quickly, and quietly, pulled on their clothes and made their way downstairs.

Downstairs, a woman stood by the bar, dressed in a dark heavy coat. Their white gloved hands were clenched together in front of them as their eyes skirted around the dimly lit space behind half-moon spectacles.

Kerri paused on the stairs as she saw the guest. "Kalia? What are you doing here?"

Kalia looked up, and the sour frown on her face instantly lit up. "I was made into an unwilling messenger." She stepped closer as Kerri descended the rest of the stairs. Elaine and Flyta followed after, with Flyta immediately disappearing off into the kitchen, and Elaine standing awkwardly to the side.

"Oh, and here I was hoping this was a social call."

Kalia grinned. "As charming as you are Kerri, I wouldn't normally be caught dead in a place like this."

Kerri nodded in understanding. "Well then, how can I be of help?"

"A very peculiar thing happened when I went to wash my face this morning." Kalia stepped closer to Kerri as she took off one of her gloves.

"Oh?" Kerri pretended not to notice as the ungloved hand moved towards her messy hair.

"There was face in it." Kalia ran her hand through Kerri's hair. "The features were much too angular to be human, so I surmise that they might have been a fey of some kind. They told me to deliver a message to Carric, and I happened to remember that Carric was the name of one those friends of yours who'd gone missing in the cavern."

"Well, thank you for delivering the message yourself." Kerri purred as she leaned into the ministrations.

Elaine quietly slunk back into the shadows and settled herself down on a bench, her eyes averted away from the scene. Not that it mattered, Kalia's attention was focused solely on Kerri.

"Ordinarily I'd just send a messenger, but since you made quite the impression on me yesterday, I thought I'd come personally." Kalia's eyes twinkled behind the spectacles.

"I consider it a great honor." Kerri did a small bow that made Kalia laugh softly. "What's the message?"

"Glendaia wants you to kill the tree." Kalia moved her hand to under Kerri's chin and tilted her face up. "Does that mean anything to you?"

Kerri's face twisted into confusion. "Did she say which tree? There are lots of tree around here."

Kalia's eyes narrowed. "So you know who Glendaia is?"

Kerri nodded. "There was a poem about her in the caverns, and your brother mentioned that an ancestor of yours used to be a follower of this goddess."

Kalia removed her hand from Kerri's chin as she rolled her eyes. "Loiwin never did know when to keep his mouth shut. Why would this goddess be interested in your group?"

The bard shrugged. "I think Carric might have had something to do with her. He was pretty freaked out when we saw the poem."

The older magic-user seemed to accept this as she nodded and put her glove back on. "Well I can't stay another minute in this place. Walk with me to my carriage outside?"

"I'd be delighted." Kerri smiled and skipped forward to get the door for Kalia, before she followed her outside.

Elaine, bemused by her friend, got up from her seat and headed for the stairs. Just as she reached the top, Jun came out of his room. He was dressed for cold weather.

She moved to the side to let him pass. "Where are you off to?"

"I'm going to see if I can catch the mail carriage before it leaves." He held up a small bundle of letters that were tied together with string. "Been meaning to send these to Kai. Flyta says I should be able to catch them at this time."

"Well good luck. Also, some woman named Kalia showed up with a message from Glendaia telling us to 'kill the tree'."

Jun's brow knitted. "Kalia? That noblewoman from yesterday? Why'd she get the message?"

Elaine shrugged. "No idea, but she just left and had Kerri walk her out."

Jun nodded. "Thanks for the info. I'll get my errand done and hurry back." He quickly descended the staircase as Elaine disappeared back into their room.

Elaine had only been in the room for a couple of minutes before she frantically threw open the door and rushed across the hall. She banged on the door of Carric's room.

"Can I help you?" The deep voice of Chaxelle said from a small crack when it was opened.

"Is Sol with you?"

"No," Chaxelle said in a bored tone as Carric said at the same time, "Wasn't she with you?"

Elaine groaned. "Last I saw she was asleep in a bed, and then Flyta called Kerri downstairs and I followed."

"You left her alone?" Carric's voice said from the other side as Elaine heard the bed moan and the rustle of clothes being gathered.

"Only for a few minutes." Elaine sighed worriedly. She quickly crossed to the next room, Jun and Ander's, and knocked on it. After no answer she opened it and saw it was empty.

The door to Carric's room was wrenched open as Carric stepped out in his hastily tossed on attire. "Alright, she couldn't have gone-" He was interrupted by a loud thud that emanated from the last bedroom. Carric and Elaine both shared a look before they very carefully opened the door.

The scene that greeted them was an irritated and shirtless Iados sprawled on the floor, while Sol snuggled with Lia on the bed. Lia, who was fast asleep and lightly snoring, wrapped her arms around the young woman like a teddy bear.

Iados looked up and saw his audience. "Not a word." He warned as he picked himself up. Elaine reached down and tossed him a shirt that lay on the floor near the door.

Carric shut the door. Elaine, grinning to herself, went back into her own room.

"Well, now that that mystery is solved, how about you and I grab some breakfast together?" A pair of dark arms came up and encircled the ranger's shoulders.

"Thanks for the offer, but no." The ranger gently shrugged off the arms and turned to face a fully dressed Chaxelle.

Chaxelle smiled softly. "No worries, I'll bring some treats by when I see you tonight."

Carric shook his head. "No, as fun as this was, I'm going to have to put a stop to it. One time is a good time, twice is a rarity, but after three times it becomes a habit and I don't form them."

The darker man pouted and stepped closer to Carric till their chests almost touched. "I think you'll find that I'm a hard habit to kick." He leaned down and kissed Carric deeply.

When they broke away, Carric just chuckled. "Good bye Chaxelle, it's been fun."

Disappointed, Chaxelle stepped back. "Fine, maybe I'll just see if that akudaem boy is up for something different later."

Carric chuckled again. "From the stories he'd told, I'm sure it wouldn't take much convincing."

The spurned man's eyes narrowed, and with a flourish he put on his cloak and descended the stairs.