Mouse’s body twisted. His chest deflated, and the towel began to fall. He desperately grabbed at the towel, missed, then snapped his hand out and covered Felix’s eyes. “No!”

“No?” Felix asked.

“T—towel, the towel fell,” Mouse mumbled. His voice came out too deep, and he quickly forced it into a falsetto. He grabbed Felix’s head and turned it back around to face forward. “Close your eyes! Don’t look.”

“O-oh. Sorry.” Obediently, Felix turned forward.

Mouse ducked and grabbed up the towel, quickly wrapping it around his chest to hide himself. Dammit. Of all times for the wild magic to wear off, now? I don’t have the voice-change potion, I don’t have any of my padding, I’m not wearing anything. Dammit, Brittany! I know you had no idea—even I didn’t—but it’s still your fault, somehow!

He closed his eyes and gestured, willing up magic to cast an illusion.

As though it had been waiting, the blight lunged at his magic. Pure darkness wrapped around the moonlight and tainted it to black, then twisted through his veins, sharp as a dagger. Mouse crumpled in on himself, quickly killing the spell. Pressing a hand to his chest, he took short, sharp breaths against the pain. Okay. Okay. That’s a no go. Oh, I’m so fucked. I’m so fucked!

“Mouse? Are you okay? Your voice sounds funny. Are you hurt?”

“No,” he said honestly.

“No?” Felix whipped around.

“Don’t look!” Mouse shouted, slapping a hand over Felix’s eyes again. I can’t let him see me like this!

Felix frowned, his brows furrowing against Mouse’s palm. “I can’t help you if I can’t see you.”

Mouse hesitated. “I’m fine. Just… don’t look.”

Felix reached to his towel. “What if I covered my eyes?”

“Then—that should be fine,” Mouse said, nodding. It won’t fix my voice, but at least he won’t be able to see. Maybe I can fool him for long enough to extricate myself.

Ripping off a piece of the towel, Felix wrapped it around his eyes and tied a knot at the back of his head. “Is that better?”

“Yes. Much better,” Mouse replied. He kept the towel high, just in case. I can’t be careless. He might be able to see through that. But it should be at least a little obscured, in which case, the towel might be enough to fool him.

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Felix stood, hands out to guide himself. “Er, should I wash your back?”

“N-no need, no need,” Mouse replied.

“We came here to relax. Let me ease your burden,” Felix said, grinning a bit.

“Throwing my own words back at me? How childish,” Mouse replied, grinning back.

Felix reached out blindly, flailing for Mouse. “Come on. Isn’t it tradition to return the favor?”

“How would I know about human traditions?” Mouse replied. He took Felix’s hand and guided him toward the springs.

“Mouse, you’re being unfair.”

“Am I?” It’s probably fine for him to touch my back, but if he starts getting handsy… not that Felix would, but still, I don’t want to take a risk for no reason. He’s perceptive, too. He might notice some small difference in my body compared to the me he’s used to. Like the lack of softness, or how wide my shoulders are without the padding on the rest of my body to make them look smaller.

“You aren’t going to let me, are you.” Shoulders drooping, his bottom lip sticking out just a little, Felix managed to give Mouse puppy dog eyes while his eyes were hidden behind the blindfold.

“Nope,” Mouse replied, steeling his heart against the vicious attack. You can’t coerce me so easily! I won’t give in!

Felix sighed. “Next time.”

“Next time,” Mouse agreed easily. There won’t be a next time.

At the edge of the water, Mouse drew Felix to a halt and bent to reach a hand in. “Ooh, it’s hot. Nice and warm.”

Felix paused and took a deep breath, the same as Mouse had earlier. Tension melted off his shoulders. “Feels like home.”

“Better than home,” Mouse replied dryly. Home is freezing cold and sparse with magic, not cozy warm and thick with it.

“What is your home like? I don’t think I’ve ever asked,” Felix said.

Mouse guided Felix to sit at the edge of the water and slide his legs in, then guided his legs to the seat just under the edge of the hot springs, deep enough to sit chest-deep in the water. Following Felix, he sank into the hot water and let out a satisfied sigh. Steam welled up all around them, thick in the air. “Home? Home is cold. Icy cold, and snowy. Our castle isn’t fine like your palace. It’s very functional, all stone and ramparts, guards on every corner and bristling with weaponry. We have to dress ourselves, hunt our own food, and keep our own spaces clean. I’ve already—that is, my brother was sent to the frontlines at a hundred and twenty, barely old enough to call himself an adult. The blight is at our door, and we can’t forget it. As few moon elves are born, any loss on the battlefield hurts our entire race, and deeply. It’s not like here, where no one seems to feel threatened at all, and the blight seems to be treated as some half-forgotten boogeyman.”

Felix sat silently beside Mouse, head bowed. “And here we are, enjoying ourselves. I… feel like I should be doing more, somehow.”

Lazily, Mouse lifted a hand out of the water and waved Felix’s worries away. “We fight so people can enjoy life. This is—this is what we wish, earnestly. Though I would like if certain human princesses would stop trying to pin every crime on my head due to my race, when it’s me and my kind who keep her spoiled ass safe from blight.”

Felix bit his lip, then sighed. “I apologize for Sabelyn. She… she has a difficult place, for someone with her ambitions. It doesn’t excuse her, but…”

“Oh, no, no. I understand. Some people are just assholes,” Mouse said.

Startled, Felix jumped, then laughed. “I don’t think I’ve heard you cuss before. Not as Mouse, anyways.”

Mouse laughed. “I guess you feel like a friend, now, not an Emperor.”

An earnest smile lit Felix’s face. “Really?”

Mouse scruffed his wet hair and laughed. “Really.”