Rowan woke up, aching and euphoric, to the unexpected sound of birdsong. Her arm was draped happily over a purring Alena. Not wanting to wake her, she shifted slowly as she got out of bed, a task which proved challenging. Alena, and Rowan, to some extent, was a dynamic sleeper. Some would call her a restless sleeper, but there was an implication to 'restless' that Rowan couldn’t agree with; even with all her somnial animation, Alena was flirting with the other side when she slept.

While it didn't bother Rowan much while they were sleeping, the end result rendered the covers cowering in fear on the floor or twisted around them into something labyrinthine in nature. This time it was the latter, and it took Rowan a good ten minutes to untangle herself. Fortunately, Alena appeared to be mostly undisturbed by the kerfuffle, even as she rolled into the space Rowan had left behind.

Rowan’s first order of business was to collect the clothes that had been thrown off the night before. The simple change of clothes Avra had provided them after their adventurous carriage ride home made the task much simpler than it would have been with their dresses.

When Rowan opened the bedroom door, she felt two soft pillows push up against her back as Alena’s arms wrapped around her.

“I didn’t wake you, did I?” Rowan asked with a mix of concern and surprise. She could have sworn Alena was still in bed, but there was no mistaking the touch of her breasts, or the feeling of her arms around her.

“Nope,” Alena answered rather smugly, “I’ve been up for almost an hour?”

“Wait, what? How? I saw…”

“Me with my eyes closed? I was enjoying the moment. You’re adorable when you sleep, especially when you snuggle up against me.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

“Because I wanted to keep you close for just a little longer, and I knew you’d want to clean up after the mess we made.”

“Sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologise for wanting to be tidy.”

“But…”

“Don’t make me turn you around and kiss you into silence!”

Rather than give Alena the satisfaction, Rowan turned around and kissed Alena soundly. When they parted, Rowan asked, “Was that a threat or a promise?”

“Both,” Alena answered softly.

"I can do both," Rowan smiled. Alena had put an end to a potential downward spiral with one fell swoop, the remnants fading away into a pillow of fluffier emotions.

Alas, the innocence of the moment was ruined by the mischievous smirk that was growing on Alena's face, or more accurately, the response that followed.

"You can do both, can you?" she asked, somewhat suggestively.

"That's not what I meant!" Rowan protested, a touch of pink painting her alabaster cheeks.

"You aren't denying it," Alena teased.

"Well no, but…"

There was a hesitancy in Rowan's voice. Not because she thought Alena would have any issues with her sexuality, especially after she mentioned similar interests during their first night together, but rather because she wasn't sure if Alena was just teasing or if this was the first time it had come up and she was also curious.

Alena responded quickly to the hesitation, apologising for her behaviour. "Sorry, I shouldn't tease you about these things if you're not ready to talk about it."

"It's not that," Rowan assured her. "I'm just trying to recall if I've mentioned it before."

"I don't think you have?"

"Well, I guess now you know."

Alena’s mischievous smirk from before had softened into a smile. "I guess I do. Not that I'm complaining. Or surprised. And it does have some fun implications."

"Oh?"

"Well, you know?"

"Looking to expand already?" Now it was Rowan’s turn to do some teasing.

"Nooooo. I was just thinking it's nice that we have more potential overlap with our interests. In case we want to share?"

"So you're telling me no one else has caught your fancy?"

"No."

Rowan smiled, and Alena realised her mistake.

"I mean, yes. Well, kind of. There are other people I find attractive, but you're the only person I have feelings for at the moment."

"Oh? Tell me more?"

Alena was crimson with embarrassment at this point. When she failed to do much more than awkward stammering, Rowan delivered the final blow of her teasing.

"Would it help if I offered up a few examples of my own? I won't say names but one of the maids has a wild side, and she's a cutie to boot. You'd like her. Especially if you saw her doing what I did the morning of the ball."

Rowan then went on to give the impression that she was going to say more so that Alena could interrupt her. Quietly at first, she said, "The person you danced with before me at the ball was kinda cute. That is in spite of him making me feel seven different kinds of jealousy for dancing with you, and knowing I would have probably thrown a glass of wine in his face if Davra didn't push me to ask you for a dance."

Having been caught by surprise with Alena’s response, Rowan’s voice took on a more serious tone as she offered up her own reply.

"He was certainly attractive," Rowan admitted, "but I didn't feel the same connection with him that I did with you. After the escape, you were the first person I saw once I was lucid. Your face became a sign of safety and freedom. He didn't stand a chance. Not at the ball. It's going to take a fair bit for any potential new additions to our relationship to form the necessary bonds with either of us to become a part of this.

"With that said, we should probably table this discussion for now. I'm sorry for teasing you about this. It was poor form, especially with you already apologising for something similar."

"It's okay," Alena smiled softly. "I just wasn't expecting you to turn it back on me like that. And hearing you say that I became a sign of safety and freedom for you? I think my heart skipped a beat or three. "

A single loving tear rolled down Alena’s cheek, and Rowan leant in to kiss her. They held each other for a short while following the kiss until Rowan spoke up.

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"We should probably get ready. I still have my training, and we haven't had breakfast yet."

"Yeah. But can I get another kiss first?"

"You most certainly can, but only one. We don't want to get distracted."

"You mean more distracted, right?"

"Sure," Rowan laughed.

An impatient Alena soon put her laughter to an end as she grabbed Rowan’s face and pulled her in for the promised kiss.

*****

Tyris' training hall was absolutely jam-packed that morning. Not only did Seres and Amran make an appearance, but Alena had also managed to rope in her friends, and Tyris was in his element. Whilst his Gift wasn't one of teaching per se, it helped him excel in group activities, and he had honed it over the years with his time in the navy.

They started with a basic warm-up before moving on to a standardised set of higher-intensity exercises. Tyris kept his focus on everyone, analysing their strengths and weaknesses so that when the time came, roughly an hour in, he could give them a more personalised routine.

For Rowan, it was more of the same. She welcomed the familiarity of her routine as it allowed her to shift some of her focus to what Tyris had the others doing. It was interesting to see how everyone’s routines differed. Deilin’s routine, for example, was focused on helping her be more confident in her movements, with Tyris suggesting she seek out a more specialised personal trainer when she returned to Særis. Davra, on the other hand, practically oozed confidence as she flexed her surprisingly fit body. Tyris had her doing weight training to complement her already balanced form.

Were it not for the fact that Alena was just across from Davra, Rowan might have found herself staring at the golden-haired beauty. Instead, her eyes were drawn to her radiant lover and the very distracting exercise she was in the middle of. Tyris had her working on squats, and Rowan was half convinced that his reasoning was twofold. Obviously, he wanted to help Alena by suggesting an exercise that would be beneficial for her, but she also expected him to capitalise on her wandering eyes to catch her off-balance. Alas, her suspicions proved to be her very literal downfall as she overcompensated for a surprise that never came after hearing him moving behind her.

She took a few moments after that to centre herself before returning to her own exercises.

Amran was largely left to his own devices. He was already doing everything Tyris would have suggested he do and more. Talia did step in to offer some advice, however. Her experience as a doctor proved useful for reminding him not to push too hard with his recovery, lest his stoic enthusiasm set him back further. The advice might have come across as unnecessary to the typical outside observer, but Rowan knew how frustrated Amran had been since his injury. She had seen it bubbling through his typically muted expressions and level tone; a reminder that Stoics weren’t emotionless.

In stark contrast to Amran when it came to outwardly showing their enthusiasm, was Ædarik. With his failure to be of much help during his intended rescue attempt back at the Caves, he was adamant he wouldn’t fail again, which apparently entailed wanting to do everything Tyris could throw at him. It took Tyris asking him to start with a simple balance exercise so that he could get everyone else started before giving Arik’s enthusiasm the due diligence it deserved.

Seres was tasked with cardio and endurance training. Rowan was concerned at first when Tyris suggested it as she thought it would have Seres running laps outside away from everyone else, but he had recently acquired a series of machines from the Engineering Department of the Azure University that were designed to simulate hiking, distance running, and rowing without the need to actually move. Rowan’s relief from the revelation that Seres would still be training with them was short-lived, however, as Tyris needed her help getting the heavy machines into position.

“Consider it a test of your progress,” he said, a massive grin painting his face.

Rowan glared at him balefully as she finished her set, making sure to get in her rest period before trundling over to help him. His grin fell quickly when they actually started moving the machines. They had to be careful not to damage anything, and the weight wasn’t helping.

Rowan groaned as they shifted the lightest of the machines into position. “How did you get these here in the first place?” she asked.

“They were unassembled, and I had a team of ferriers helping me.”

“And you didn’t think to assemble them here?”

“I knew that if I did that, there would be a rogue screw just waiting to be stepped on.”

The admission had everyone checking they weren’t at risk of a surprise podiatric impalement. When the momentary panic passed, Alena offered a solution for the remaining machines.

“You could use rollers. That way, you only need to lift it a short distance to and from whatever you use as a platform atop the rollers.”

The suggestion had Tyris slapping his face and Rowan running over to kiss her. “You’re a genius, Alena!”

“I’m sure you’d have figured it out eventually,” Alena applied, blushing at the show of affection in front of her friends.

“Don’t listen to her,” Davra laughed, “she’s just being modest.”

“It’s not like she’s studying Engineering, Architecture, History, or Cultural Anthropology at the Azure University,” Ædarik added.

“You didn’t need to list all of them,” Alena protested, her face getting redder by the second.

“If Landras was here, he’d say Arik was jealous of Alena for being smarter than him,” Deilin said softly.

“I’m still finding my calling!”

“Enough!”

The command was short and to the point. Tyris had channelled the very essence of a drill sergeant to put an end to the bantering before it got out of control or someone’s feelings got hurt. When everyone fell silent, he gave them a moment to simmer before speaking again.

“Let’s return to training, shall we? Ashlin, I’d like you to work on cardio and stamina with Seres. Ædarik, with me. We need to discuss how you wish to proceed with your training.”

Ædarik snapped to attention with a salute as if he were a navy cadet. No one said a thing out loud, but they all wordlessly agreed that in spite of his gusto, Arik had figuratively shat himself.

While Tyris popped in occasionally to make sure everyone was doing okay with their exercises, the two of them were gone for the better part of the morning. When they did return, everyone was exhausted and ready to cool down. That is to say, the women and Amran were all exhausted. Tyris and Ædarik, by comparison, were visibly refreshed and free of sweat.

Rowan could tell she wasn’t the only one mildly ticked off by the situation, though her reasoning was probably different than everyone else's. She knew Tyris was just planning to chat with Ædarik to help give him focus, and it made sense to use the situation as an excuse to bathe, but they could have taken Amran with them so he wouldn’t be forced to bathe alone. Fortunately, her feelings on the matter were addressed when it was revealed that Talia would be giving him a medicinal bath to help with his healing.

With the focus in the room shifting away from general annoyance at Tyris and Ædarik to bathing, however, Deilin started shifting about uncomfortably. “I’ll wait until you’re all done,” she almost whispered as everyone got ready to leave.

Not knowing why Deilin was hesitant, Rowan spoke up. “It’s fine. You needn’t worry. The bath’s big enough for all of us.” She was trying to speak softly as she got the impression that Deilin was scared of her.

Davra followed up on Rowan’s ignorance by adding, “We’d be happy to have you, Deilin. You’re safe with us.”

Ashlin, Alena, and Seres also welcomed Deilin to bathe with them.

She was still hesitating, but she agreed to go with them. When they continued to welcome her, even as they stripped and started cleaning themselves, she smiled, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

*****

Once everyone had finished bathing, they sat down for lunch and an hour or two of relaxation. As nice as it was, however, the time was fast approaching when Alena and her friends would need to leave so that they could finish packing. With Amran set to depart for Særis the next day, he also left with them.

Rowan and Seres decided to stay a while longer instead. They knew that leaving would be an open acknowledgement that it was almost time to say goodbye, and Rowan, at the very least, wasn’t ready yet. The warmth she still held from her date with Alena and the knowledge that it would only be a short farewell helped burn away the grim seeds of depression before they could germinate, but goodbyes were always hard.

They stayed until dinner. They could have stayed longer. They didn’t need to.

Rowan was ready.

And she wasn’t alone.

When they got back, Seres informed Avra and her mother that she would be staying with Rowan in the Sunfall apartments for the time being. A room was already prepared.

They then spent the rest of the evening playing Ruun and other games until Seres started to drift off. Rowan made sure to tuck her in before heading to bed herself.

A familiar song lulled her to sleep. A familiar voice.

♫Hush now, little one

the day is won

Sleep now, little one

The sun is gone

Mama’s here

to wash away your fear

Mama’s here

to wipe away your tears♫

Even as sleep took hold of Rowan, a single questioning word left her lips. “Ma?”

Sleep well, my darling girl.