It was late in the afternoon by the time the team got back, and Huo Lohse hurried home to clean herself up for the meeting. The elders wouldn’t appreciate her muddy, blood-stained training clothes or all the leaves stuck in her hair, and if nothing else, this meeting was important to Philige.

Lolo washed up and found her green and black dress to throw on. Make-up. Hair. Done. Out of habit, Lolo grabbed her sword to slide into her belt and took off toward The Great Hall. She made it to the front doors as the sun began to set and took a moment to catch her breath and smooth out her hair one last time.

She opened one side of the double doors just enough to slip through it. No one noticed her entry. She peered around the room. It was quiet. Almost everyone was reading through some documents or quietly discussing them with their neighbor. Philige was sitting in a corner of the platform all the way down at the bottom of the stairs. She moved around the edge of the room as silently as possible so she wouldn’t disturb anyone and walked down some corner stairs to Philige.

“Hey!” she whispered as she sat down next to him.

Philige had been pouring over some papers when she walked in and hadn’t seen her approach. A wide smile spread across his face when he saw her. His hand moved to her cheek to pull her into a kiss, and her finger moved to his lips to block it. The elders nearest to them stopped to observe their exchange.

“Not here!” she whispered.

“Why not?” Philige pouted.

Lolo looked around bashfully as more elders were now gawking and pointing them out to their neighbors. “Isn’t it a little awkward?”

Philige just grinned. “I don’t care. You’re my girl, and, actually, I realized last night that I’m kind of excited for everyone to know it. That’s why you’re here anyway, isn’t it?” Before she could block him again or protest further, Philige stole the kiss he wanted. Lolo couldn’t help but kiss him back, but when Philige made it clear that he wanted more, she gently pushed him away, shaking her head.

One of the elders with a front seat view of their lip-locking cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows at Philige. Lolo blushed, but Philige didn’t seem bothered in the least.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have a quick announcement,” Philige stood up, pulling Lolo up with him as he addressed the room, his arm wrapped around her waist. “I want to introduce you to my girlfriend, Huo Lohse Lang from the Wolf Tribe.”

“We already gathered that she was your girlfriend,” one of the elders chuckled, and the rest of the room followed.

Philige looked around unabashedly while Lolo’s blush deepened.

“Bear Tribe Leader, ‘mind if we ask you some questions?” asked a rather feeble looking elder toward the top of the stairs.

“Fire away!” Philige smiled, and the elders took him at his word.

“How long have the two of you been dating?”

“Two weeks.”

“And already so affectionate?”

Philige just pulled Huo Lohse closer.

“How long have you known each other?”

"About five years.”

“How did you meet?”

“During her early admittance application into the training exchange when she was fourteen. I was the fifth year designated as the exam sparring partner that year. She actually won the match!” Lolo had almost forgotten this early meeting.

“When did you start having feelings for her?” This was a question she was eager to hear him answer.

“During her summer exchange here at the Bear Tribe four years ago, although I don’t think I recognized those feelings until the end of the summer.” So Fortus had been right.

“Do you love each other?”

For the first time, Philige hesitated. “That’s kind of a personal question, isn’t it?”

“It’s one worth asking, don’t you think?” the elder argued. “The question stands.”

Lolo could see some of the enthusiasm leave Philige and rescued him. “Yes.... We do love each other,” Lolo said and turned to meet Philige’s gaze. “I just hadn’t told him that yet.”

Philige returned to the room full of elders with a start. “Are there any more questions?” he asked, clearing his throat. After looking about the room for a moment, Philige continued. “Then, if you don’t mind, I’m going to kiss my girlfriend now.”

Philige had no shame passionately kissing Lolo in front of the council, and the council didn’t seem to mind one bit. In fact, many of the elders applauded. Once he got started, though, Philige had a hard time peeling himself away, so, as usual, Lolo had to draw the line.

“I’ve got to go, Philige.”

“No,” he moped. “Stay.”

“You won’t get anything done while I’m here.”

He knew that she was right. “Then wait outside for me to finish?”

She smiled and acquiesced.

He pulled her back in for one last kiss and then tried his luck for one more as the elders chuckled. Lolo blocked him with an amused smile. “You’re incorrigible!”

After Lolo left the hall, one of the elders stood up to address Philige. “When do you intend to propose?”

The question took Philige by surprise. “What now?”

“You plan to marry her, don’t you?”

“I don’t think we are quite ready for that yet.”

“Why not? You love each other. She’s the daughter of the Wolf Tribe leader and a beloved hero here in the Bear Tribe as well as several other tribes. Any of those things would make her an appropriate choice as your wife. To say that she’s suitable is an understatement. In fact, I’m not sure how you captured her in the first place!”

Philige laughed good-naturedly along with the rest of the room. “You’re right, I don’t deserve her.”

“So then, what’s stopping you?”

“Isn’t it a little fast to be proposing marriage at this point? We’ve only been dating for a couple of weeks!”

“You said you’ve had feelings for her for four years.”

“Well, yes, but they weren’t returned until recently… very recently,” he added.

“But they have been returned.”

Philige’s smile could not be contained.

“When you know you’ve found the right one, how long you’ve been dating doesn’t really matter, does it?”

Philige seemed to study something on the floor for a moment. “Will you excuse me, please?” He didn’t wait for an answer and ran the flight of stairs to crash through the front doors of the hall.

“Lolo?!”

She was sitting on the bench to his right and startled as the doors banged open. “Philige, you can’t be done already?!”

Philige knelt down in front of her and set his hands on her waist. “Lolo, you just told me that you love me.”

She laughed softly and put a hand on his shoulder. “I did.”

“And you announced it to the entire council of elders.”

“I did.”

“Did you mean it?”

Lolo made it a point to look Philige directly in the eyes. “I did. I love you.”

“Then marry me.”

She froze. “What did you say?”

“Marry me, Lolo. It can only be you. Say you’ll marry me?”

She searched his blue eyes. He was looking at her with such love and intensity, she could barely think. “When?”

“What?”

“When were you thinking?”

“Does that mean ‘yes’?!” he asked almost breathlessly.

She glanced down, her eyebrows knit together thinking.

“Lolo?”

She met his eyes again. “I think it does.”

There were no words. Philige kissed her so hard, Lolo felt dizzy.

“Did we just get engaged?” she asked when Philige finally released her again.

“Yes, we did,” Philige declared firmly. He couldn’t stop smiling at her. “Come with me,” he stood up, dragging her behind him.

“Where are we going?”

Philige just grinned and pulled her back into The Great Hall. “Everyone, I’d like to introduce you all to my fiancé!”

The elders laughed and cheered as Philige scooped a reeling but happy Lolo up into yet another kiss.

***

Fortus woke up to the unfortunately familiar sound of Huo Lohse fitting in her sleep. If he could hear her all the way from his room, enough to wake him up, it had to be bad this time. Groggy, he rolled out of bed to check on her.

"Lolo!" He knocked on her door, but she didn’t hear him. "Lolo, I'm coming in."

She had a bloody nose, probably the result of rolling out of bed and hitting the floor. Her body was thrashing against some unseen force and she was sobbing pitifully. Yet, somehow, she was still asleep, trapped in her nightmare.

Fortus sighed and accepted that his shirt was going to end up with blood-stains as he grabbed a clean cloth and fought Lolo back onto the bed. He took his position next to her and set a hand on her shoulder. Predictably, Lolo rolled into him, clinging to his shirt as though begging him to save her from whatever monster was tormenting her. As she settled into his shoulder, Fortus brought the rag to her face to clean her up a little.

***

Philige was still over the moon. The girl he’d been in love with for four years had finally returned his affection and agreed to marry him. Too excited to get much sleep, he’d been up consulting a calendar, looking for a good wedding date. He managed to wait until sunrise before he just couldn’t keep it to himself any longer. He wanted to see her, discuss the dates he’d come up with, but mostly, he wanted to hear her say “I love you” again.

He knocked on her door as gently as his excitement would allow. “Lolo? Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Inside, Fortus woke up to hear Philige at the door and started panicking. He had no idea if Lolo had told Philige about her nightmares or not, if Philige knew that he occasionally ended up sleeping next to her to help her through them. This was not how he should find out.

“Standig!”

Standig was getting dressed when Fortus’s voice floated through his head. “Not now, Fortus.”

“Standig, don’t you dare shut me out. This is an emergency!”

“Emergency? How so?”

“Lolo had another nightmare last night, and Philige is at her door!”

“And you’re in bed with her?” Standig almost laughed before he realized how devastating this could be for everyone involved. “What do you need me to do?”

“Run interference!”

Standig got up.

“Crap! He’s coming in.”

Standig ran outside just in time to watch Philige disappear into Lolo’s room.

“Oh, crap, Standig. This isn’t good. Lolo is still asleep, and I’m pretending to be asleep. You’re going to have to catch Philige and convince him that nothing is going on between us.”

“How am I supposed to do that?!”

“You’re his brother!”

“So?!”

“Fine.... Um. Just convince him to listen at Lolo’s window when I wake her up. I’ll keep this connection open so I know when you get here.”

“Fine.”

Philige emerged from Lolo’s room looking like he’d seen a ghost. Standig was waiting for him.

“Philige, what’s wrong?”

Philige just shook his head and started to leave.

“Is Lolo ok?”

He looked like he was about to cry.

“What’s wrong?” Standig went to physically intercept his brother, and Philige knocked his hand away. “Talk to me.”

“I can’t.”

“Alright, I apologize for this, but this is for your own good,” Standig said and grabbed him in a bear hug that pinned his arms to his sides. As Philige fought to get away, Standig marched Philige into his room.

“What is wrong with you?!” Philige started yelling at his brother.

“Nothing. But I can tell that something is wrong with you.”

“So, what? You’re kidnapping me?!”

“Just until you tell me what’s wrong. Does it have something to do with Lolo? Yes, I know you’re dating,” Standig added when Philige gave him a questioning look.

The fight left Philige almost instantly. “You don’t know the half of it.”

“Then explain it to me.”

“I was going to marry her.”

“What?!” Standig was shocked.

“Crap!” Fortus’s voice added in his head.

Philige broke down. “I asked her to marry me yesterday.”

“And she agreed?!”

Philige nodded. “But, she’s in her room right now with Fortus.”

Standig was having a hard time staying focused. “Doing what exactly?”

“What else would she be doing with someone this early in the morning? She’s sleeping with him!” Philige was suddenly angry.

“She probably just had one of her nightmares,” Standig said in a tone that he hoped was casual.

“Nightmares?!”

“She hasn’t told you about them?”

“What nightmares?”

“Fortus, help me!” Standig thought.

“Just convince him to listen in at the window.”

“Philige, it’s not exactly my place to tell you about her nightmares, but you owe it to yourself and to Lolo to be certain about what it is that you think you saw before you do something that you regret.”

Philige’s forehead furrowed as he considered this.

“Come listen in at her window with me.”

“What?!”

“The worst thing that happens is we’ll confirm your suspicions, but if there is a reasonable explanation, you’ll be glad to know it before you call off your engagement.”

Philige nodded and Standig led him out. He felt immature for sneaking around to Lolo’s back window, but Philige needed answers, and strangely, Standig’s idea actually had merit. This was a sure-fire way to clarify what he'd seen.

“Ok, Fortus, I did my part,” Standig thought.

“Hang tight. I’m going to crack the window for you, but then I’m going to have to close this connection.”

Fortus pulled his arm out from under Lolo causing her to stir. He got up and cracked the window. Philige jumped slightly, forcing both Standig and Fortus to stifle laughter.

“Wake up, buttercup,” Fortus said.

“Five more minutes,” Lolo complained.

“No. Get up, Lolo.”

“Fortus? What are you doing here?” Lolo registered his voice. “Aw, man! Did I have another nightmare last night?”

“It was a bad one, Lolo,” Fortus nodded, hastening to explain the details for the benefit of the listening ears more than for Lolo. “I haven’t seen one that bad in a long time. I could hear you all the way from my room, and when I walked in, you’d fallen out of bed and given yourself a bloody nose. Look! I’ve got blood on my shirt and everything.”

“Gross. I’m sorry, Fortus. I’ll wash that for you.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Lolo. Your nightmares are way worse for you than they are for me.”

“Yeah, but you still have the joy of dealing with them. And I tend to forget them by the time I wake up. At least, that’s true most of the time.”

“That’s probably a blessing,” Fortus said. “Hey, Lolo, I had the thought last night: does Philige know about your night terrors?”

Lolo sighed and shook her head.

“You really need to tell him.”

“It’s never come up, and honestly, I’m not even sure how to tell him.”

“But Lolo, he needs to know. Can you imagine how he’d feel if he found out the wrong way that I sometimes spend the night in your room?”

Lolo groaned and whimpered as she flopped back on the bed. “I know. I need to tell him. But how can I explain these nightmares without explaining the rest of it? I’ve never told anyone, Fortus. Not even my parents. I don’t know how to talk about it.”

“Why you get nightmares isn’t what’s important right now. The point is, he needs to know about them, about this, so there isn’t a misunderstanding later.”

“You’re right,” Lolo agreed. “Of course, you’re right.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Fortus offered.

“No. This is the kind of thing that I really need to tell him by myself, but thank you.”

“Lolo, if you’re serious about Philige, invite him to spend the night in my room so I can teach him how to deal with your nightmares himself. If you two were to get married, it would kind of be like declaring war for me to climb into a bed with you.”

Lolo laughed. “Lion soldier in bed with the Bear Leader’s wife. That’s a scandal waiting to happen.”

Fortus chuckled.

“Funny you should mention it though. I have some news!”

“You do?”

“Philige proposed yesterday.” Lolo had a hard time containing her excitement.

“You’re getting married?!” Fortus feigned surprise.

Lolo nodded and practically bounced on the bed.

“You’re serious?!”

“Yeah!”

“That was fast,” Fortus observed. "Really fast."

“I know. But, I really do love him!”

Fortus smiled and gave her a hug. “Then congratulations! I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you!”

“But, Lolo, while you are thinking about it…”

“Oh, no....”

“Oh, yes. You need to go tell Philige about your nightmares. I’m giving you the morning off for this. It’s important.”

She groaned loudly. “Ok.”

“Invite him to come talk to me if he has any questions that you can’t answer, and tell him that I want to teach him how to deal with your nightmares some time. Actually, please just tell him to come talk to me about everything?”

“I will. Thank you, Fortus.”

“Before you go, though, you might want to clean up,” Fortus grinned. “You’ve still got blood on your face.”

“Charming,” Lolo laughed, suddenly self-conscious. “After you change, bring me your shirt back. I’ll try to get my blood out of it for you.”

“I could just take it off right now,” Fortus teased.

“Ugh! Fortus! No, thank you!” came the expected reaction, making Fortus laugh. “Get out. I need to wash up.”

“Alright! Alright! I’m going,” Fortus surrendered with his hands in the air.