Episode 86

With a powerful kick of his armored boot, the physically imposing Trakenthin shoves the beaten and battered drone grinding across the stonework floor of the large hallway. He leaves the tall entryway, and Chad and Modoran close massive exterior doors on the huge main building at the edge of the clearing. Dragging over a large log in front of the doorway, Trakenthin guides it in place with the help of Chad and Modoran. The trio stand back, resting and stretching out their bodies. Chad glances over to both Modoran and Trakenthin, shrugging ambivalently, and grumbles. "Well. We found it. Mostly in one piece. But, I don't think they specified what condition we were supposed to keep it in."

Modoran snorts with an ill-humored tinge and crosses his arms, smirking. "I do not think they will care. I mean... I think they were expecting us to report back with pictures of the fucking thing crashed in a burnt crater."

Lifting a dryly amused eyebrow, Trakenthin slowly shakes his head and sighs, resting his hands at his sides. "It resembles that now."

Drawing in a long breath, Chad works off a grimace and pivots around, rolling his brown eyes. "Yeah. Hopefully, stuck in there, it won't be taken for another joyride by a crazed spirit, or whatever else is running around this place.."

Chad leads the group towards a larger gathering in morning sun of the clearing and eyes Trakenthin inquisitively. "You have any trouble calculating the coordinates to this place?"

Trakenthin rocks his head slightly from one shoulder to another, twisting a vague grimace, and ponders out loud. "Land transponder signals are weak here. Enough to get a rough location. Refined with our route from camp today. Confirmed with landmarks. Should be enough. This large clearing would be hard to miss when you are near."

Modoran nonchalantly strolls next to Chad, gazing across the field towards Deedri, Tassilda, the crew, and Veevi, and pries. "So, what is the plan today? I think we have gotten everything under enough control, for now. You got any desire to explore this place further?"

Gritting his teeth briefly, Chad uneasily sneers his upper lip and shakes his head. "No. No... Not at this point. Sleeping at camp knowing this place was nearby was hard enough last night. I think I'm okay with just spending tonight at Goff's Inn. We'll leave this place to the Grand Library. Let them have..."

Bouncing a stare between the different ancient structures around the clearing, he furrows his brow and grimaces. "FUN... With this place."

A smile appears on Modoran's dusky bluish gray face, and he releases a loud sigh of relief with a trailing chuckle. "Oh. Good. FUCK this place. I am ready to just have to deal with Veevi on the ride back."

Trakenthin cranes his glance over at Modoran and sympathetically smirks. "I could sit back with her. Our route back is charted already. I do not need to navigate."

With an indifferent attitude, Modoran shrugs his shoulders, snorting. "It's fine. If she tries anything again, I will just let Tassilda handle her and keep her distracted."

Shaking his head with a mild cringe, Chad brushes his brown hair with his fingers, watching Veevi hog the camera crew attention, and eyes either side of himself at Modoran and Trakenthin. "Speaking of which... Would one of you want to use the laser pistol? Thought I'd ask before keeping it myself."

Modoran searches his mind for a moment and waves off the offer. "Nah. Honestly, that bow seems powerful enough for me. Also, it can be quiet and harder to track back if I need to fire it from hiding. So, it works well enough for my tactics."

Nodding in agreement, Chad glances over to Trakenthin, expectantly awaiting an answer. Trakenthin shakes his head, pats a side compartment on the upper leg section of his armor suit, and smirks proudly. "I have a suitable weapon."

Both Chad and Modoran snap their attention at Trakenthin, puzzling at the new information. Chad cocks his head curiously to the side, blinking in thought, and narrows an examining gaze at Trakenthin. "Wait, really? Why haven't you used it before?"

Frowning slightly, Trakenthin sighs with a disappointed groan, furrowing his brow. "Not as proficient with it. Would not have been effective against enemies we faced."

A smile appears on his dark bronze face with a warm tone. "My house mother made it for me. I am careful with how I use it. Not for trivial tasks."

Pausing in thought a moment, he eyes the unconvinced expressions upon Chad and Modoran's faces, and sighs with an embarrassed grumble, wincing slightly. "The ammunition is EXPENSIVE."

Both Chad and Modoran nod understandingly, curiosity satisfied sufficiently, and smirk in commiseration. Walking across the large sunlit clearing, the trio close in on the rest of the team and gathered crew. Chad shakes his head, grumbling. "Cool. Yeah... I'll just keep it for now. Probably best that way. Far safer for all of us."

Sneaking out a snort, Modoran briefly grins. "Gerald will probably appreciate it."

Trakenthin fights down a sly smile, and Chad rolls his eyes at himself. Stepping forward of Modoran and Trakenthin, Chad clears his throat and calls out towards the team and crew. "Everyone! The drone has been stowed away safely in the big, main building. Once we get a good signal, we'll inform the Grand Library where to pick up their property."

Tassilda lifts an ill-humored brow, resting her hands on her hips, and grins slightly. "Or, more appropriately, whatever remains of it?"

Chad glances over at Tassilda, furrowing his brow at the situation with a smirk, and shrugs his shoulders. "Well. As Modoran pointed out, they were probably expecting a pile of parts in a crater. I'd like to think we delivered a little more than THAT. Certainly have quite the story to go with it now."

A smile creeps out past Deedri's professional exterior. Veevi tosses back her pink hair back petulantly, sneering at Chad. Summoning up a bit of pride, Chad poses for the attention of the cameras and announces. "As far as I am concerned, The Flames of the Phoenix delivered, and went well above and beyond the call of duty on this one. I think we've honored our contract. And, we certainly deserve a proper victory celebration..."

Gritting his teeth, he darts his eyes around the ancient trees surrounding the massive clearing and stiffen his upper lip. "AFTER... We get far, FAR away from this REALLY creepy place. Right?"

He surveys the reactions of team and crew, wandering between a bold grin and awkward grimace. "I think we've all learned enough about this place for one mission."

A chorus of agreeable voices sound out from the rest of the team and crew in the gathering.

---

A lone evuukian man stands in front of aged, weathered signs, glaring at them disdainfully. Focusing his yellow eyes at the various warnings boldly shown in different languages, a mean smirk pulls across his light-gray, green hinted face. He draws back his boot and angrily punts the sign post from underneath, sending the placard tumbling through the air. Flopping upon the packed dirt, the reflective GAA logos shimmer in the noon sun. The lone evuukian steps through the overgrowth of the forest and slowly navigates down a narrow passage through the thick, old trees. Minutes later, he arrives at a simple, clipped top, pyramid building, and stiffens his posture. Brushing the debris off his leather armored outfit, the evuukian man tosses his long black hair back and eases off his backpack. He carefully approaches the decaying, concrete exterior of the structure and maneuvers upon the crumbling walkway, closing in on a large metal exterior door.

Narrowing an examining stare at the sealed entryway, he notices a newer locking hardware upon the building and focuses his glare upon a device welded onto the door and frame. He sneers in disgust at the keyholes, keypad, and display on the front of the locking block and lifts his hand in front of the mechanism, concentrating. With slow, purposeful breaths, faint flows of prismatic magical energy swirl down his arm, condensing into his palm, and sink into the GAA branded device. Seconds later with the growing energies, the display on the system flickers to life with a warning message beeping loudly. More flow pours into the locking block. The alert grows distorted, strained, and warped. With a faint spark of white in the evuukian man's glowing yellow eyes, a surge of magical energy dives into the device. A loud shrill beep screams out, crackles of electricity arcs inside the system, and a large plume of smoke erupts from the joints in the chassis. The display goes dark, the soot soaking through. An orange-red glow radiates from inside the unit, the torrent magical energy ripping into the system. Moments later, the block drops unceremoniously to the concrete patio, specks of solidifying molten metal splattering out.

The evuukian man kicks the smoldering mechanism out of the way, and turns his focus towards another metal box. Lifting the lid up, he studies the old, worn keypad under the layers of dirt and grime. He brushes off the collected debris with his leather gloved hand and firmly wipes off a series of numbers and letters in the lower corner of the panel. Resting his backpack down, he rummages his arm deeper than the length of the bag into the space and retrieves a ragged binder of paperwork. He eyes the uncovered letters and numbers, flips through an array of changing types of notes and differently formatted documents, stopping at a technical printout. Tapping thoughtfully upon a long, highlighted series of numbers, he reaches a hand over and carefully types in the code from one line. With the final digit entered, he presses a confirmation button.

Seconds pass in the quiet of the surrounding forest. A groaning beep sounds out from the panel. A low hum of machinery resonates out from around. A crunchy grind sounds out from the large metal door, and puffs of crumbling rust vent out after hard thunks vibrate through the door frame. With a final chunk, the heavy closure releases, drifting slightly ajar. A satisfied grin appears on the evuukian man's face, and he sweeps up his backpack. Gripping tightly on the door handle, he slowly pries the old door open and slips inside.

Wandering through dark hallways with a simple illumination spell in hand, the evuukian man studies the different signs. He follows old architectural blueprints in hand and determines a route through the ancient base. Through the maze of corridors, he arrives at a dusty room with multiple computer stations and a large, full wall window into a very dark void. Hunting around the room, the man locks his yellow eyed gaze upon a series of large switches on the wall. He reads the labels in the dim light and notices a power meter needle vibrating at the ready. Drawing in a hopeful breath, he pulls the large arm of the main breaker. The faint hum of electrical activity resonates through the window from the space beyond the glass. Through the dusty, transparent wall, a series of loud electromechanical thunks echo out. Overhead lamps flood sections of a concrete floor far below. A sly, plotting grin widens on the evuukian's face, and he steps over, witnessing the final lights clacking on. Silently, he studies the massive warehouse of bipedal robots standing on marked platforms. His gaze shifts down upon a console, and he wipes the eons of dust off a faintly glow screen. A menacing taint colors his smile, and he watches the status scroll upon a terminal, methodically listing active units and equipment loadouts. He slings off his backpack upon a chair nearby, settles in a seat, and places a binder near the console.

---

Peeking over the treetops, Sebastian's ethereal figure surveys the area, and he squints his eyes into the distance. Slowly hovering down from the top of the canopy, he flies down a path towards Bach. He keeps just below larger branches in the thin woods and halts above Bach, crossing his arms. He glances through the wide gaps between trees. Bach stops in the shade of a tree and gradually pivots in place. Staring out into the furthest reaches of his vision, he studies the forest and shakes his head. He reaches into his pocket, retrieves his aetherphone, and taps through a few menus. Hearing mumbling below, Sebastian drifts back down onto ground, landing next to Bach. He cranes his head over Bach's shoulder, peeking at the digital map on the phone, and inquires. "So... What are you trying to figure out, bro?"

Bach twists his mouth contemplatively and shrugs his shoulders unsatisfied, sighing. "I don't know. Trying to make sure we're on the right path. Because, I haven't seen any signs of something that could be tearing up the park."

Searching around briefly, Sebastian nods in agreement and contorts an uncertain grimace on his ghostly face. "Yeah... From what they were describing in the brief, you'd think there was some kind of unholy terror lurking and haunting the woods."

Scanning the vicinity, Bach waves his hand out towards the surrounding woods and gazes at Sebastian, puzzling. "I know, right? But... This all looks just like any normal park path to me. I mean, what more do you want?"

Sebastian frowns slightly, sorting through his thoughts, and lifts a quizzical eyebrow at Bach, pointing to the aetherphone. "Anything from the others?"

Bach swipes through a few screens, selects a messaging program, and reads the latest texts from Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. "Yeah. And they haven't found anything worth mentioning either."

Sebastian scratches his chin, staring distantly, and ponders out loud. "The night watch reported seeing strange lights, the sounds of trees being taken down, and a lot of large things moving around."

He twists his mouth indecisively and rocks his head side to side, hovering in place. "Maybe that's spirit phenomena? That would explain strange lights, but the other weird noises..."

Furrowing his translucent brow, he grumbles. "I don't know. Aristespha wasn't so certain either."

Bach shrugs his shoulders, glances down the path in front of him, and motions towards that direction. "Well, maybe we'll find something up ahead."

Sebastian nods and floats alongside his brother, the two continuing down the path. Minutes of quiet walking and scouting pass on by. Bach blinks with a thought rising up to the front of his mind and aims a curious gaze at Sebastian. "So... I've been meaning to ask this... When did you and Aristespha decide to become a serious couple? I mean, when did you think she was the one for you?"

Sebastian's hovering slows, and he blinks blankly at Bach. With his transparent, blue eyes darting around for pieces to a proper answer, he grits his teeth and stumbles out a rambling response. "Well... Um... You see... I- We- Um- Well, we just came to a conclusion after so many other events that... We might actually have something worth pursuing."

Narrowing an inquisitive stare, Bach trains his attention fully upon Sebastian, pushing the question. "Yeah. But. What was THE moment? The key event? The thing that made you finally realize it?"

Contorting an uneasy smirk on his face, Sebastian tries in vain to quell the slight squirms of discomfort creeping into his posture. "I wouldn't say there was an event. More like... A series of smaller events that built up over time. And, I'd like to think it just eventually became recognizable as a relationship... And, we came to acknowledge that fact and..."

He shifts his averting gaze back over and meets Bach's unconvinced glare and sighs out his defeat. "You ain't accepting that bullshit, are you, bro?"

Bach slowly shakes his head, grumbling. "Fuck. No."

Slumping his shoulders, Sebastian lifts his head up, staring into the afternoon sky, and groans, rolling his eyes. "FINE. I was trying to dress it up and make it sound like either of us had a clue. But, really, bro..."

He tilts his head to the side and eyes his brother. "We were doing all kinds of couple things, really. But, the both of us were just in active denial of the possibility."

Stopping abruptly, Bach lifts a bewildered eyebrow at Sebastian and cocks his head to the side. "You, actively avoiding relations with a beautiful woman?"

Crossing his arms defiantly, Sebastian narrows an annoyed stare at his brother and ethereally sighs. "First. Fuck you. Second. Yes. Okay..."

He rolls translucent blue eyes at himself, slowly shakes his head with tinges of embarrassment, and grimaces. "In case you haven't figured it out by now, Cideeda and Dretphi heard about our group by my unprecedented failures at flirting with them. And, Sotalia is my ex. Where I seem to fail romantically, I oddly succeed at recruiting amazing party members."

Blinking his blue eyes a few times, Bach turns his gaze away contemplatively, processing the information. He gradually aims his curiosity back at Sebastian, scratching his chin, and twists his mouth. "Wow... I mean, I had some suspicions. But, I didn't want to inquire and..."

He furrows his brow and cringes. "Now, I REALLY don't know how to approach these new subjects."

With a humored snort, Sebastian holds up his hand to Bach with a calm smile. "Sotalia and I were decent together in the short term. But, we realized that long term, romantically..."

He grits his teeth and softly hisses out. "We'd eventually tear each other apart. So, we decided to ease it back. Stay good friends and adventuring partners."

Nodding at the explanation, Bach pauses, drawing in a long breath, and inquires further. "Okay... Still doesn't explain the active denial thing."

Sebastian pinches the bridge of his nose and eases out a long ethereal groan. "Long story short, bro... I just decided to not pursue any kind of romantic relationships for the time being. I mean, you know my track record up to and including college. My more recent failings thankfully got together into a really great team. And, with Aristespha, I just was NOT looking. For once, I decided to focus on other things. I mean, it just didn't dawn on me that it was a possibility."

Chuckling, Bach shakes his head and smirks. "Fucking figures. When you aren't looking, it happens."

He thinks a moment, lifts his head up at a revelation, and gazes at Sebastian. "Wait. So, your ex played matchmaker with you and your current girlfriend."

Sebastian blinks and awkwardly grins, shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah, bro. Yeah... A bit weird. But, I can't really complain. And thankfully, Aristespha and I figured we should try being a couple when we did. Otherwise, I think Sotalia was plotting to somehow lock us up in a room and until we fucking figured it out."

Narrowing his distant stare, Bach searches the top of his head, sorting through the possibilities, and gradually nods in agreement. "You know... I could totally see her doing THAT. Yeah... That is within the realm of what she is capable of."

A chime rings out from Bach aetherphone, and he glances down at the new message prompt. "Huh, Cideeda and Sotalia found something weird down their path."

Sebastian pivots in place, searching the park paths nearby, and motions towards the possible directions. "So, where do we go?"

Checking his phone, Bach brings up a map and points towards a passage at the next intersection. "That one should take us where they're at."

Sebastian hovers alongside his brother, and the two pick up the pace down the route. During the quick walk, Bach directs his voice towards Sebastian. "So, you haven't answered my question. When did you and Aristespha figure out you were a couple?"

An amused, awkward grin appears on Sebastian's face, and he fails to contain the amusement in his voice. "Well, honestly, it was somewhere after she'd yanked my shirt off and her taking her shirt off that it dawned on me that we might have something."

Bach shakes his head in humored disgust. "Really, man?"

The brothers travel down a long park path, arriving at a picnic area. Sotalia stands with her hands on her hips, tosses her wavy, fiery orange hair back, and waves at Sebastian and Bach. "So. If THIS isn't something, I don't know what is."

She points over underneath the shade of a large, old tree, watching Cideeda examine a large patch of turned up dirt. "Something has been digging up the place. Some small trees were knocked down, and the bark was all scratched up."

Cideeda digs through a patch, sniffing the air, and grabs hold something in her clawed fingers, pulling up a small dark fungal mass. Studying the roughly round ball, she glances back over to Bach, Sebastian, and Sotalia, and presents her findings. "I think something was trying to dig up these truffles, maybe?"

Aristespha and Dretphi arrive from another path, joining the gathering. Dretphi steps over next to Cideeda, holds her gauntlet covered hand out, and curiously inquires. "May I see that?"

Cideeda hands it over and stands up, brushing off her body suit. Closely examining the fungus, Dretphi lifts her visor up on her helmet and carefully smells the truffle. "It is a truffle. This variety can be found in this area."

Lifting up a sly eyebrow, Aristespha smirks. "Well, that is certainly a little bonus for this job. I wonder if there are any more left?"

Cideeda grins toothily, perking her furry ears, and slowly walks around the different patches of up turned dirt. "Let me check."

Pauses in thought, Dretphi lifts her head up from studying the truffle and surveys the ground in the area. "Has anyone seen tracks?"

Sotalia motions over to the edge of the forest nearby and waves her hands out to a muddy section of dirt. "Yeah, but they've all been trampled over so many times. And, I don't know what I'm looking for."

Quickly stepping over to the patch, Dretphi kneels down and glances over the deep split hoof impressions in the soil. Her steely gray eyes widen, and she sits upright, searching the area. "WAIT. These are..."

Cideeda's furry ears perk towards a noise coming from the stirring brush, and she points a claw tip over. "Hey! Over there..."

The team readies themselves, waiting for the confrontation. From the bushes, a relatively small dire boar casually pushes through and walks out onto the pathway, sniffing the air. A powerful snort later, the dire boar stares right at the team. Trotting over wagging his tail, the young dire boar constantly grunts out a series of low, happy oinks. Dretphi's immediate recognition of the dire boar piglet guides the rest of the team's recognition. She kneels down and holds her arms out towards the large creature. The massive piglet walks up to Dretphi and enjoys the petting and scratches. In between the attention, he sniffs blatantly around Dretphi's side pouch. Cocking his head to the side in astonishment, Bach blinks dumbfounded. "Holy shit. That's the same dire boar piglet?"

Sotalia cautiously approaches, leaning forward, and studies the creature, slowly shaking her head. "Gods. He's gotten BIG. His spines and tusks have grown a lot."

Dretphi retrieves a bag of trail mix from her side pouch, pours some into her hand, and watches the large piglet easily gobble it up. She pets the mane and back ridge of the young dire boar, smiling happily, and explains cheerfully. "Yes! The mother is doing an excellent job at raising them. Well fed. Well cared. Well protected. He is growing fast."

Sebastian blanks a moment and slowly eyes the area with growing suspicion and unease. "Speaking of the mother... Where is she?"

An emerging wave of concern washes over the team, and they start nervously eying the outskirts of the area. A loud, echoing crack sounds out. A large protellow plant in the distant forest topples down into a peace shattering crash. Through the dense trees on the horizon, a magical glow illuminates the outline of a gigantic creature and several other smaller critters surrounding. The dire boar piglet finishes up the trail mix in Dretphi's hand. He perks up his ears and sniffs the air. With a final few happy grunts, the large piglet trots off enthusiastically towards the radiant figure in the forest.

Nodding slowly, Sebastian points a thumb over his shoulder at a path, awkwardly grinning. "You know, I don't think we should intrude on this family outing."

With a similar consensus, the team gathers themselves. Cideeda plucks out a few more truffles and rushes over with an entrepreneurial grin. Dretphi empties out the rest of her trail mix in a neat pile, gazes happily at the dire boar piglet trotting over to his mother, and rushes over to the rest of the departing team.

---

Swiftly sneaking across the grasses in the small gaps between stretches of dense forest, Deedri darts behind a large tree, pressing her back firmly against the trunk, and waits. Her furry, tufted ears flick around the serene background of the surrounding woods, and she closes her auburn eyes, concentrating. A minute later, she eases out a long sigh of relief, her ears drooping down. Stepping out from the cover of the large tree, she stares down her prior path, squinting down the distance, and slumps the tension out of her shoulders. She draws in a long, relieved breath, and slowly shakes her head, mumbling to herself. "Lost them..."

The transparency coating Modoran fades off, and he smiles with a nod. "That you did."

Deedri's tail puffs out, her shoulders tense, and she springs up straight and rigid. Pivoting around reflexively, she glares right at Modoran. Recognizing Modoran, her fair face warms quickly, and she relaxes, exhaling. "Thank the gods. It's just you."

Modoran grits his teeth briefly, holding his hands up, and awkwardly smiles with an apologetic tone. "Sorry... I did not mean to scare you like that."

A sly smirk appears on Modoran's dusky bluish gray face, and he perks an eyebrow with a chuckle. "You did pretty good at losing them. Once the camera crew lost you, I led them the opposite direction with one of my illusions. They still have not quite figured out how to tell the difference yet."

Deedri's ears droop lower, and she slumps her shoulders. "Good. I just had to get away from the constant interviews and them asking every question in the world..."

Punctuating her words, she rocks her head between her shoulders. "Again... And again... And again..."

She derisively rolls her auburn eyes and visibly cringes, shaking her head of tied back multicolored hair. Resting her hands on the waistband of her shorts, she gazes at Modoran curiously and pries. "What are you doing out here, by the way?"

Modoran blinks briefly, nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders, and glances around at the scenery. "Well, it was a nice day, so I decided to sneak out. When I saw you doing the same thing, I decided to help out. And well, now I am here. So... Have not really thought about it much further than that."

An uncomfortable curl at the corner of his mouth twists his smile at Deedri, and he plays off the nervous energy. Smirking at Modoran, Deedri laughs lightly, furrowing her brow. "Were they pestering you about that bow?"

Rolling his dark blue eyes, Modoran rubs the temple of his head and nods begrudgingly. "Yes. I do NOT know what part of, I just found it and used it, they do not understand. Gods. I just needed to do something other than wait for some crew member to pester me for action shots with it."

Deedri narrows her eyes, twisting her mouth, and groans. "Well, at least Veevi is distracting them for the most part with her new outfit."

Tilting her head to the side, she smirks. "Have you told them about the Terra Priest symbols on it?"

With a tight, guilty smile, Modoran shrugs his shoulders and grins with a playfully dismissive tone. "NAH. They are big time show producers. I am CERTAIN they know all about the current Evuukian political environment and will be able to plan the episode accordingly. There totally won't be any backlash."

Lifting an ill-humored brow at Modoran, Deedri smirks, keeping a snicker to herself. "Oh. I'm sure..."

The two stand in the small, shady avenue between dense patches of trees in the peaceful quiet of the forest. A minute passes, and Modoran squirms out some discomfort and raises his voice over the quiet. "Hey. Um... Deedri? I have a question to ask you."

Deedri meets Modoran's gaze, perks her furry, tufted ears up, and blinks with a smile. "Sure. What is it?"

Mustering up his will against a surge of awkward tension, he gazes at Deedri. Modoran partially grins, fighting to maintain his nonchalant exterior. "After our show contracts are over at the end of this season... I was wondering if I could spend more time with you? Go out and do things together."

He swallows hard and nervously laughs. "You know, maybe share more nice moments together? Especially ones that are not in the middle of bad situations..."

Blinking blankly, Deedri tilts her head slightly, her eyes wandering through the rush thoughts in her mind. A puzzled expression emerges upon her fair skinned face. Anxiety shakes up Modoran's exterior confidence, and he squirms slightly, verbally backpedaling against awkwardness. "Uh, um- If you're not- Um, ah..."

Revelation crashes upon Deedri. Her auburn eyes spring wide open, her furry, tufted ears perk straight up, and she reflexively gasps. Struggling for her composure against an overwhelming wave of excitement, she smiles brightly and gazes right up into Modoran's dark blue eyes, fighting back the disbelief. "R-Really? I mean, I didn't think you'd- Well- Ah..."

Hearing the delighted surprise in Deedri's voice, Modoran watches her voice shy away, her blushing at the new attention, and smiles warmly. "Did not think I would what?"

Biting her lower lip, Deedri averts her gaze briefly in embarrassment and eases out a guilty sigh. "Well, I'm a fvalian and-"

Modoran softens his gaze upon Deedri and smiles with a genuine, assuring tone. "That does NOT matter to me."

Deedri straightens her posture, anxiously holding her hands, and cocks her head at Modoran. "Really?"

Stepping forward, Modoran lifts his hands underneath Deedri's and smirks, easing her grip onto his fingers. "Yes. Not all the houses support that dated ideology. In fact, my family tends to support it as part of their business."

He glances off to the side and wrestles with a smirk. "In an unadvertised capacity."

Lifting an intrigued eyebrow, Deedri cracks a slight grin and tightens her hold of Modoran's hands. "In what capacity is that?"

Modoran fights a goofy smile and snorts lightly. "Well, my family owns a bunch of different motels, hotels, and resorts... That unofficially specialize in unofficial couples wanting their privacy. Especially, from the prying eyes of other evuukian houses. Or, their own. We do not judge. Hence, why there's no central brand to identify them."

With Modoran's words, Deedri's mood brightens further, and she gazes warmly up at him. Pondering to herself a moment, she curiously lifts an eyebrow and flicks her ears thoughtfully. "Okay. So how do you know all about this stealth stuff?"

Modoran grins with a nonchalant shrug, chuckling. "I learned all that from my dad. He was with a mercenary group that specialized in remote surveillance and spying. Turns out his skills were very useful in keeping tabs on people that would bother guests... And convincing them to leave."

A flush of shyness fills his face, and he struggles against his awkwardness, putting forth an endearing tone. "Anyway... I mean, really... How could I not like the beautiful young woman, the accomplished medical mage, and the wonderful, strong will before me?"

Firmly grasping Modoran's hands, Deedri gazes at Modoran, perking up her ears, and slowly wags her tail. Moments of a quiet exchange later, she works an eager question out of her. "So... How long have you felt this way about me?"

Modoran presents a sly smirk. "Well, I think it started right after you threw me onto the grass during that one demonstration."

Deedri's furry ears spring up, her auburn eyes open wide, and she wonders in disbelief. "Really?! But... Why didn't you say something sooner to me? I mean..."

She bites her lower lip briefly and glances off to the side. "I've been kind of paying attention to you for... a while... now..."

Wrestling down embarrassment and pride, Modoran releases a long thoughtful sigh. "I don't know. I did not think you would want anything to do with a house-less evuukian that is practically an ex-con by some."

Shifting her grip upon Modoran's forearms, Deedri smiles with a sly twist, meeting his gaze, and presses her claw tips gently, leading him down. "Well, THAT doesn't matter to me. Anyway, I'm a public school medical mage. I'm not that high class."

Staring into each other, Deedri and Modoran's faces gradually move closer, Modoran leaning down. Popping up on her toes, Deedri swiftly closes the remaining gap and presses her lips against Modoran's. The two weave their arms into an embrace of the other, holding the kiss tightly. The simple affection heats up. The two maneuver each other, maintaining the connection with the surrounding surge of intensity. Modoran rests his hands behind Deedri's waist, and she grasps behind his shoulders. In midst of the passion, Deedri's hand slips onto one of Modoran, briefly confusing him, and slides his hand down upon the backside of her shorts. Modoran barely manages a guilty perk of his brow, his expression blanking into surprise. Five claw tipped fingers firmly squeeze onto his butt, and an eager giggle sneaks out from Deedri.

Minutes later, she two ease their faces away from each other, both panting in a daze. Modoran summons up enough composure and smiles at Deedri, chuckling quietly. "Well... Uh... I definitely think we have something we should both explore..."

Wagging her long, fluffy tail slowly with a lazy sway, Deedri lovingly gazes up at Modoran with a guilty smirk. "Uh huh..."

Grinning slyly, Modoran shrugs shoulders nonchalantly and sighs. "Well... We will take it at our own pace, when we are able. I think we can manage that, somehow."

Nodding in agreement with tinges of disappointment, Deedri parts a hungry smirk. Stepping up upon a large tree root, she pops up on her toes, tightens her hold on Modoran, and presses her lips against his for another kiss. Sudden momentum shifts her balance upon the moss covered tree root, and she slips. Deedri tilts backwards, pulling Modoran down with her. Reflexively, Modoran twists himself under, shifting Deedri over him. With an unceremonious thud, the two land upon the thick grasses.

Blinking back to awareness from post-tumble confusion, Deedri finds herself safely in Modoran's arms. She tilts her head up, watching Modoran shake off the stun, and asks concerned. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?!"

Modoran lifts his head up from the grass and smiles nonchalantly at Deedri, chuckling softly. "Yeah. Soft landing really. Are you okay?"

Pushing herself up, Deedri gradually realizes her current positioning and resettles with a devious grin forming on her face. "Yes. Are you comfortable?"

Lifting an intrigued brow, Modoran glances to either side of him and rubs his back against the ground. "Yeah. This patch of grass feels nice."

Leaning down, Deedri lets her multicolor braids fall forward and rests her hands upon Modoran's shoulders. "Good."

Kneading her claw tips gently, Deedri lowers her face close to Modoran's, her tail unconsciously brushing upon his leg. "Are you still comfortable?"

Modoran smiles, gazing into Deedri's auburn eyes. "Yes."

Tilting her head and closing the gap for a kiss, Deedri mutters. "Good."

---

In the living area of the ranch style house, Bach eases back into his dining room chair and rubs the fatigue out of his eyes. "So, how did that one turn out?"

Aristespha narrows her glowing violet stare upon a tiny, thin sheet of magical cloth, and carefully adjusts it on the examination pad with gentle flows of energy from her fingertips. She studies the material and gradually nods with a satisfied smile, commenting over toward Bach. "Very well done. I would have to test it further and properly sterilize it. But, I think I could put this to use."

Wincing his eyes firmly closed, Bach flutters them open to a faint blue glow and shudders his head. "That's good to know. But, gods dammit... That just takes so damn long to make."

Blinking out the illumination in her eyes, Aristespha quirks her amused brow and smirks. "Now you understand why they have dedicated enchanted tools and other devices to make it easier. Even experts in crafting these magical materials with assistance have to take their time. Hence, why it is so expensive."

Bach stretches out his arms behind his back, rolling his neck around, and yawns into a groan. Relaxing his shoulders, he tilts his head and focuses upon a spot on the tabletop, dropping his hands on either side of the area, and grimaces indecisively. "I think I got one more in me. Just really wish I could figure out the trick to do this. Feels like I'm missing something."

Aristespha carefully lays out the small energy sheet upon a treated wax paper slip and layers a protective film on top of it. "Possibly. But, I truthfully do not know what that could be. A whole industry has been trying to refine those processes for years. Even as slow as it is, it is unbelievably better than what it was."

Drawing in a long breath, Bach sighs out with an agreeable tone, readying himself, and narrows his brightly illuminated blue eyes. Wisps of flow travel down Bach's arms and condense in a slowly forming, tiny magical matrix. Aristespha rests the packaged magical material into the metal medical container. Watching the sluggish progress on the forming, diminutive sheet of energy, she glances over and spots the pressure plate puzzle resting near the corner of the tabletop. With an intrigued grin, Aristespha tosses her long, silvery blue hair back, pulls the device over, and focuses her attention upon the challenge.

Concentrating on the energies swirling through his hands, Bach briefly grits his teeth through fits of frustration and sighs out his disappointment. The magic solidifies upon the growing, thin sheet one minuscule section at a time. Cocking his head to the side, his brightly glowing blue eyes stare out distantly, and Bach's fingers slightly twitch in reflexive patterns. Streams of flow split from the main paths and form into complex mechanical shapes around the task. Minutes later, the progress continues, tediously. The magical machinery dissipates, and Bach frowns with an annoyed grumble. Squinting tightly at some ethereally distant target, Bach's intense stare eases, hints of discovery rising to the surface. He lifts his head back slightly, an uncertain intrigue overtaking, and his attention refocuses upon the condensing flow between his hands.

Concentration turns fully inwards, Bach's exterior distances from his awareness turning inwards. The magical flows surge down his arms, and sections of the energy sheet materialize simultaneously. With each second, the magic solidifies faster. Bach's brightly glowing blue eyes dart rapidly around, sorting through intangible chaos.

Moments later, Sebastian's ethereal form phases swiftly through the wall behind Aristespha, and he glances around, concerned and bewildered. Turning his attention towards Aristespha, he relays his worry. "Um, dear? You aren't doing any weird magical tests or anything? The sword is resonating with something strange nearby."

Pausing from tackling the puzzle, Aristespha lifts up her head and glances around in confusion. "No, Sebastian. Bach and I were just working on making the same magical materials we have been-"

Settling her gaze ahead, she lowers a scrutinizing stare upon the rapidly forming magical sheet and widens her violet eyes in a mix of astonishment and fright. "That's way too fast- Bach?"

Bach continues without acknowledgement. Craning her head low to the table top, Aristespha peers up into Bach's blank expression. "Bach?! Are you listening to me-"

Her concern spiking sharply, she watches faint sparks of white flash in the centers of his brilliantly blue illuminated eyes and faint prismatic energy veins spreading around his eyes. Without hesitation, she grasps hold of both of Bach's wrists and yanks them away from the forming magical material. Moments later, Bach's eyes flutter and dim to normal. Gradually, he pulls himself out of a groggy, hazy stupor and recovers to some semblance of consciousness. Meeting Aristespha's stare, he verbally fumbles around, dumbfounded. "Huh... What... Oh, shit... Did something happen?! Is everyone okay?!"

Wincing in pain and bowing down his head close to the table, he mutters out. "Oh gods, what did I do..."

Aristespha releases Bach's arms, easing out nervous breath, and firmly inquires. "What do you last remember doing?"

Rubbing the temples of his head, Bach cringes, squirming around in blatant discomfort, and collects himself enough for an answer. "I... I was just focused on forming the flows... As fast as I could. Then, I thought about trying to do the process in parallel a few times."

Pausing to breathe and wince, Bach holds his head and rubs his eyes. "It seemed to work... After a while it felt easier. Things were... easier to follow?"

A flood of worry emerges upon his face, and hints of panic trickle out. "Oww... Oh gods. I hope I didn't do something really stupid. Did I fry myself out or something? Fuck. My head hurts."

Checking him over with glowing violet eyes, Aristespha shakes her head with a gentle smile. She stands up from her seat and steps around the table with a reassuring tone. "No. You just pushed yourself way too hard, in a way you, strangely, have not done before. We will have to talk about this later, but first..."

She grips the back of Bach's chair, pulling it back with his cooperation, and helps him up. "Let us get you over to the couch, and put on some mindless show on the TV. I will brew something that will help."

Leading Bach to the couch, Aristespha eases him down. Flipping through the channels, she pauses on one show and glances back towards Sebastian, motioning his attention to the screen. He studies the show briefly and gives a quick nod, hovering closer. Bach blinks hard, shaking his head, and mutters through the pain. "Oh gods... I'm sorry. I should really be more careful with stuff like that. Shit. Damn. I'm such a moron. Oh, I should have known THAT was a really bad idea... Fuck..."

Sebastian focuses his worried gaze upon Aristespha. Noticing the unease in Sebastian, Aristespha glances between the brothers and presents a calming smile, shaking her head. "Bach, you will be just fine. You just found some limits to observe and new pitfalls to avoid."

Aristespha gazes lovingly at Sebastian, and she leaves through the hallway archway, mouthing. "He will be fine."

Wading through a wave of relief, Sebastian floats over next to brother and coaches Bach through the emerging regret and self-doubt. "Hey. It'll be okay, bro. We just got to be a little more careful next time. And well, you know what to avoid next time."

Bach aims a weak glare over to Sebastian, groaning out his defeat. "Fucking hell of a way to find out. No. Couldn't have read something to avoid this. No. Had to go head long into it like a dumbass."

A wry grin appears on Sebastian's ghostly face, and he chuckles ethereally. "Well, I remember someone saying that about me a bunch of times."

Narrowing his meek aggravation, Bach sighs loudly, rolling his eyes. "First. Fuck you. Second. You TOTALLY deserved hearing it the many, many times I told you that."

Sebastian maintains his ill-humored smirk and shrugs his shoulders, accepting fact. "Oh yeah. No arguing with you there. But, it's good to know we have so much in common."

Aristespha walks in from the hallway with a bottle in one hand and paper packets in another. Stopping next to the couch, she smiles comfortingly towards Bach and sighs. "So that you will stop beating yourself up, most medical mages experience similar issues. With the detailed, fast, and complicated processes required to work magical flow for our purposes, pushing yourself too hard is almost expected. Every medical mage will brush against that limit at some point."

She lifts an accusatory eyebrow at Bach, presenting a stern frown, and lowers her voice. "But most medical mages do NOT know the variety of strange magical tricks that can accelerate them right into the proverbial wall face first without knowing it."

Grimacing, Bach releases an embarrassed whine and averts his gaze. Aristespha shakes her head and resumes her smile, donning a gentler tone. "I have some ideas of what exactly transpired, and we will discuss them. But, I am going to brew this remedy. And, you need to watch something mindless on TV to distract you."

Nodding in agreement, Bach settles upon the couch cushion, easing out a strained breath, and meekly states. "Thank you, Aristespha."

With a simple acknowledging wave of her hand, Aristespha walks past the dining table into the kitchen area. Sebastian turns his attention to the screen and points out the start of a crafting demonstration show to Bach. "Huh, I always wondered how those were made."

Bach and Sebastian idly listen to the theme music and narration upon a backdrop of industrial assembly videos.