Winter 4994, 30 Aoimoth

Once everyone was through the gate -and the diamond dissolved into glittering dust- Shon turned back to the Mage, arching an eyebrow at the man while Lily said plainly, "So? Where's this Ragther guy."

The Mage grinned, and Shon closed his eyes, turning away before the man finished answering, "SIR Ragther will meet with you tomorrow morning."

Ryuuko flew from Shon's shoulder to Lily's as the woman growled, and Yua said, "Calm down, Lily. At least we got a free gate out of it."

Shon handed his papers over to the Guild receptionist while Tuth joined in the efforts to soothe Lily's temper, "It's a power play, don't let them win." Tuth was right, and Shon was sure Lily knew it. He also strongly suspected that the only reason Lily wasn't countering with more snark and less snarl, was because she was still feeling angry over the guards digging through his bag.

"I do NOT work at the Guild's, Temple's, or anyone's, beck and call." Lily snapped at the Mage, "You said 'time was of the essence,' and yet we won't even be seen until tomorrow?" Ryuuko hissed its agreement, though that made Shon roll his eyes. The pseudodragon didn't know why Lily was upset and was just playing along for effect.

"Lily," Shon spoke calmly and gestured for the clerk -who was looking at the newcomers nervously. She humphed but pulled out her papers to hand to the young Mage, who wrote everything down quickly while Tuth and Yua continued trying to calm her,

"And now we get a free room," Yua said, once again trying to appeal to Lily's frugality.

"And it really doesn't matter when we came, just that we came faster than walking," Tuth argued.

"I know that," Lily hissed under her breath, "He caught me in a foul mood, that's all. Let's just get to an inn, and I'll be back to normal in the morning." Ryuuko whistled its agreement.

The Mage came up beside Tuth and handed over his own papers to the clerk, saying, "You will stay here. There are very few rooms available in the city with the refugees in residence, and this way Sir Ragther can meet you bright and early."

"No," Shon said flatly, turning for the door, "We'll go to the Church," They were the ones who made the request, and as such, he would report to them first.

"Sir Ragther-" the Mage started,

"Should know the procedure." Shon interrupted, thinking, He can walk to the Church as easily as he can here. If they wanted to play power games, Shon wasn't above obliging when the protocol was on his side. Ryuuko chirped happily, and Lily let out a pleased little snort, brushing against Shon as she passed, heading for the atrium.

It took Shon and Lily a while to register as visiting Sorcerers with the primary attendant at the main entrance. Once they did, they left to find the city sleeping and deserted except for the occasional patrolling guard -who almost always stopped them to demand their papers and destination.

The city had implemented a curfew within its walls due to the number of refugees camping outside them. Even the enlisted were stretched thin and tired, working double shifts with half the usual number patrolling the streets. Though that duty was still better than those assigned to patrol the border of the encampment outside.

With no walls to keep the monsters at bay, the Temple Paladins and enlisted spent nearly every night -and some days- fighting off bands of draken and drakwalves that would gladly stalk the plagued and displaced citizens who couldn't fit inside the city without spreading more sickness.

Lily walked close to Shon as they followed the silhouette of the Church of Soliel's sweeping spires against the night sky. He could feel the tension easing from her as they moved through the eerie silence. More than once, she leaned over to brush the back of his hand with hers, though she never reached to take it. They were on mission now...

Once they reached the Church, Shon led them around the side. "Um..." Tuth started as Shon took them through the back alley as if he'd been here a thousand times before and knocked on an unassuming door.

On the other side, a baby began to squall. Yua looked around nervously, asking, "Shouldn't we-?" only to be interrupted when the door opened. The crying intensified as a thin older woman holding a bundled baby on her hip appeared. Shon had never seen someone who fit the descriptor 'willowy' so cleanly in his life. Her skin was wrinkled like bark, and she looked about as ready to snap at them with the same sharp sting as whip-like willow vines blown in a heavy wind.

"Alms are passed out at dawn at the main..." the matron trailed off as Shon bowed to her, then held out his orders.

"We are here from the Temple of Hengist." It was the only explanation needed, and the woman stepped aside to let them pass.

"Better late than never," she sighed. She led them to a private serving room with a table and chairs. Shaking her head, she said over the baby's continued crying, "The Abbot is out at the moment. Working with the Church of Lune to try and find the soul of the young man taken two days ago. He'll be back by morning." She looked them all over with a critical eye and added, "This is all of you?"

Shon nodded, and the woman sighed again. Shifting the baby on her hip, she reached for his orders and tried to shake them open with one hand, then shoved the infant at Shon with a frustrated, "Hold this."

Shon fumbled with the screaming child, shifting its blankets to help shield it from his cold and looking pleadingly at the others. Yua held up her hands and stepped back while Tuth turned all the way around to pretend to examine one of the tapestries on the wall. Lily finally smiled and came forward but didn't offer to take the child. Instead, wiggling her fingers to pretend to tickle it. Ryuuko jumped from her shoulder over to Shon's and sniffed at the baby's ear, though even that didn't get it to stop screaming.

"Rub his gums..." the matron muttered as she read through Shon's orders and reached for a quill on the table, "He's teething, and we're out of spirits..."

Shon looked around again. Seeing no help forthcoming, he stuck an icy finger in the baby's mouth. The infant bit down -hard- and stopped crying. Ryuuko chirped in success as if it had been its doing.

"Well, look at that!" Yua called, "Seems we've found a job for when you retire."

"I hope you've at least washed your hands..." Tuth added from the side.

The matron sighed yet again and signed the orders before taking a seat at the table and rubbing her temples, "More has come to light since you received your orders, Staff Sergeant. But I'm afraid I'm not the one to tell you. You'll have to wait for the Abbot and Temple tomorrow." she looked up to see the baby chewing on Shon's finger while Lily tickled it and her voice softened, "You're good with him."

Yua snickered, "And a good thing too. The way you two have been going at it, you'll have your own little army in no time."

Shon could feel the blush rise in his cheeks, but the embarrassment of her bluntness was overshadowed by its implication. The Ranger noticed, "What did you think was going to happen, big guy? Don't tell me you don't know how babies are made."

"Oh, gods..." Tuth breathed, "Lily as a mother?" he sounded horrified, but a grin twitched at the corners of his mouth until Lily reached over and smacked him across the chest in a very Velona-esk fashion.

Yua laughed, "Don't worry, we can get her some moonweed tea while we're here. No need to start family planning just yet."

Lily shrugged and went back to tickling the baby, "I wouldn't mind..." Shon's jaw fell open, and she looked up to smile at him directly, "Eventually. If it's with Shon." Ryuuko purred.

Shon had never in all his life considered or even imagined having children. Lily went back to playing with the infant, and the baby reached for Ryuuko's twitching tail. He felt his heart speed up and imagined the little one with golden hair.

To create an actual life. A little person. With her...

"Oh no, you don't." the matron stood and took the infant back. Shon flinched, the baby had caught Ryuuko's tail and pulled the dragon with it, causing Ryuuko to dig its claws into Shon's flesh until it could twist free. The matron continued to chastise him, "Do you have any idea how many children we get here because adventurers don't know how to keep their dick's in their pants? Until I see a ring on that young lady's finger, you'll be staying in separate rooms."

She glared at Shon, who could feel his blush rise to its full glory while Yua laughed and pat his back, "Hear that? She's all mine for now."

Lily's shock at the matron's declaration turned to a wicked grin as Yua tossed an arm over her shoulder, but she said, "We can get rooms at an inn..."

"Not this late you can't," the matron said, "And most are full up anyway. Even here, all the medical beds and private rooms are taken by the critical cases of refugees. You'll be staying in the children's dorms."

Lily let out a disbelieving and disappointed whine, Ryuuko chittered angrily, and Shon sighed. Yua gave Lily a little shake and let her go but said, "Cheer up, I don't bite. Hard." Which at least made Lily giggle again, "Shon will just have to content himself with his drawings and memories."

"Where..." Tuth started to ask, but before the matron could answer, Shon ran his hand through his hair and said,

"Down the hall, three doors down. Boys on the right, girls on the left."

The matron studied him while the baby stuck its entire fist in its mouth to continue chewing, "You've spent time with the Church before..."

"I grew up in one," Shon answered, scooping up his orders and returning them to his bag. All the layouts were basically the same—something about divine geometry.

"Then you know exactly why the rules are in place." The matron said, turning away to hold the door open for them, "I'll let the Abbot know you're here when he returns, and he will see you in the morning."

Shon nodded, and Ryuuko twittered. With one last look at Lily's disappointed face, he led the way down the hall to the dorms to sleep with the other orphans.

***

The dorm was just like the one he lived in for the first thirteen years of his life. A single long room with beds on both sides, the oldest slept closest to the door and the youngest closest to the window. There were three empty beds at the farthest end, and Shon took the one beside the window -where the light from the moon shone through the glass to illuminate his journal as he wrote.

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Tuth snored, but lightly, and once Shon finished his log and sketch of the matron's disapproving face, he turned back a few pages to those that had distracted the guard on the bridge.

He'd resisted drawing anything too overtly lude but couldn't resist everything. The arch of Lily's back as she pressed into him from below, the smooth lines of her muscled abdomen, and the gentle curve of her waist to her hips. The trail of her scales as they twisted around her soft skin. Dipping from her neck to behind her shoulder, reappearing to loop around her right breast before disappearing again, only to return from her left to circle her belly button before going back again to spiral down her right leg where it split into three points again on the top of her foot.

'I wouldn't mind... Eventually.'

Shon swallowed. Around him, parentless children slept. Did Lily really understand what it would mean to be a mother? He saw again her flashing anger on his behalf and closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall of the orphanage dorm. Maybe not, but that didn't mean any child of hers would know anything but love and devotion from someone like her.

But with someone like him? Shon thought of Master Veon-Zih and his own childhood. And of the man Shon was now... He imagined a little boy with golden hair standing at Lily's side. And behind them... Someone else. Ryuuko hissed. The image started to shift, but before the child's eyes could change from dark blue to pale, he opened his eyes and shook his head. It was still too much to hope that she would want him that much for that long.

We'll finish this mission, visit the Masters, and take another... Shon thought, One day at a time... It was the only way he knew how to live.

***

At dawn, Shon awoke alone. Or mostly so. Ryuuko was curled at his neck as usual, and the soft breathing of many young lungs filled the long hall-like room. Tuth snored in the bed across from him, and Shon moved as quietly as he could to slip on his boots and change his shirt.

Even ten years after outgrowing the Church, Shon's feet made their way to the courtyard without needing to think about it. The only difference between the Church he'd known and this one was the central focus of the courtyard. His had held a great oak that grew to reach for the sun, and this one held a fountain that bubbled fresh water to catch and refract the sun in a multitude of golden ripples on every wall and pillar.

Ryuuko gave a happy whistle and jumped from his shoulder straight into the fountain, splashing him in the process. Shon growled but knew better than to retaliate. The dragon's wings were more than capable of scooping up vast amounts of water if he did.

Instead, he moved out of range, and just as he did every day since he was ten years old until he'd hit maturity at thirteen, Shon performed his drills alone in the courtyard. Until Lily came to join him.

This time, she didn't ask if she was interrupting and instead took out her staff to do her own drills by his side. As they had every morning since coming together again. When she finished, she leaned on her staff and watched him, waiting until he finished one form before moving on to the next and saying, "I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching you."

"You could join me," he answered with a grin he hadn't felt since the previous morning. It was easy to forget he was on a job with her here alone.

Lily snickered, "But then I wouldn't be able to watch," she countered. And she did, for a little while at least, before doing some minor tumbling drills of her own until Shon finished. As they worked, the morning bells rang, and Shon could hear the priests and children stir in the halls as they went for breakfast -though none came out to join them in the morning chill.

Shon sheathed his sword, and Lily looked around the still-deserted courtyard. She walked closer to him, holding her hands behind her back, "I suppose the rules of this house hold as true as those of the Temple, don't they?" she asked.

She'd asked... As she came closer, Shon reached forward to grab her chin and tilt her head up towards him, "Some of them..." he answered, bending to kiss her.

"Ah-hem!" the matron cleared her throat loudly from the door to the chapel. Lily groaned. "I don't see a ring on that finger." The matron chastised. Shon closed his eyes. All matrons were the same the kingdom over it seemed.

"I have many, actually," Lily answered sweetly, but Shon raised a finger to rest over her lips while the matron scoffed.

"The Abbot will see you now. Your companions are already on their way to his office. I assume you know where it is?"

Ryuuko whistled and launched itself -dripping- from the fountain to soak Shon's shoulder as he nodded and turned Lily towards the chapel. They walked up a set of stairs tucked away at the back, and the little dragon passed from Shon's shoulder to Lily's as he held the door open for her to enter.

The office was almost all windows, floor to ceiling on the east and west walls with skylights in the roof so the light of Soliel might shine in no matter the time of day. Behind a large desk sat a small aged man with tired eyes. Across from him, Tuth and Yua waited, already present and seated.

"So it's true..." the Abbot said sadly as he looked them over, "They sent a Sorcerer... Though I suppose they didn't know at the time..."

Lily tilted her head at the old man, and Shon arched an eyebrow, though he didn't know if the Abbot was referring to both of them or just Lily. "Is there a problem with that?" Lily asked while Ryuuko chittered on her shoulder.

The Abbot shook his head sadly, "I pray not," he sighed. Then explained further, "A Sorcerer was reported missing three days ago. The Lady Raina was a Sorcerer, and it seems more were taken before-"

Behind them, the door opened again. Shon turned as the newcomer said sternly, "She is a Sorcerer, Abbot. Take care with your words." The Paladin of Horsa wore a crisp high collared uniform that was a dark mirror to those worn by Hengist Paladins -primarily black but with red accents and ruby buttons. His dark chocolate hair was cut regulation short, and his gray eyes flashed at the Abbot despite his calm tone, the chain of his flail clinking menacingly at his hip.

Ryuuko hissed from Lily's shoulder, and Shon took a slow, calming breath no one would notice. The knight took his time to look over each of the companions, starting with Tuth and Yua, then Lily, then finally Shon. His lip curled, "A child, a forest woman in a city, a Sorcerer for bait, and a soldier... I suppose more couldn't be expected from Hengist." He spoke the god's name like a curse, and Ryuuko hissed again.

Lily rolled her eyes -apparently less snappish than yesterday- and just said, "Well, if you don't want us, we can leave. I have better things to do, you know."

But if she expected to make the Paladin lose his temper, she was mistaken. The knight sneered, "Oh? And what say you, soldier?" He turned to Shon, "Is that the limit of Hengist's honor?"

"Sir Ragther, please," The Abbot stood to try and diffuse the situation, but Shon tilted his head up proudly, defiantly.

Yua cleared her throat, "The Abbot has already informed us of your understaffed situation, Sir Ragther. We're here to assist unless you can afford for us to leave." Even with all her teasing on the road, it seemed Yua was purely professional on a mission. Shon's respect for her rose. He watched Ragther, gauging his reaction.

The Paladin stiffened, and Shon could see his lips work in silent prayer as his hand tightened on the files at his side. With a simple nod, Ragther walked forward and placed the stack down on the Abbot's desk. The Abbot sighed and leaned back in his chair to rub his eyes while Ragther spoke, "Someone has been kidnapping Sorcerers." he said sharply, pointedly looking at Lily again, "If this is beyond you, or beyond the risk you're willing to take, then say so now and waste no more of my time."

Lily took a seat with a huff and crossed her arms and legs while Ryuuko jumped from her shoulder onto the desk to sniff at the files, "I'm not a normal Sorcerer."

Shon nodded and moved forward to stand behind his chair -not wanting to sit while the Paladin still stood. He arched an eyebrow at the stack then at the knight.

Tuth took the file from the top of the pile, "How could someone even begin to take a Sorcerer without someone noticing? Were they all sealed?"

Ragther actually seemed to relax, just a little, and shook his head. "None of them were. And none of them are dead. Though we can't say the same for their familiars." he looked down at Ryuuko. The pseudodragon looked back up at him with a little chirp. He shook his head again but added, "Though the Guild has assured me that the chances of ALL the missing Sorcerers surviving the loss of their familiar is nearly impossible."

"How far back do the cases go?" Yua asked, leaning forward and taking the bottom of the files.

"We have searched back ten years."

Tuth nearly choked, and Shon glared at the stack as the Mage rambled, "Only ten years and this many? All unsealed? The Sorcerer population is less than one percent of the total population and only a fraction of those gain clearance. Even in a city this size-"

"They were commoners." Shon interrupted, shifting his glare to Ragther, "They only noticed when a noble was taken."

The Paladin finally bristled, "We do not divide our investigations by status as Sorcerer or not, soldier. This is a large city, and considering the refugee crisis, many, mostly not Sorcerers, have been reported missing."

"But that was only in the last year..." Yua said absently, not looking up from her folder.

Ragther stared down at the pile of files, but his eyes seemed to be looking far away, "Sanoloa strives to grant clearance whenever possible... Ever since Raina awoke..." He closed his eyes for a moment then opened them again to look at them all. "The Lady Raina took over training new Sorcerers ten years ago when she earned her own clearance and has even sponsored many the cost. We suspect that might be why she was taken."

"Oh?" Lily perked up, scooting to the edge of her chair and taking a file off the top, "We definitely need to find her then, don't we?"

Ragther's jaw tightened, and Shon narrowed his eyes. Ragther seemed to be under control for the most part, but Shon suspected there may be some emotional attachment here Ragther wasn't telling them. The Paladin snapped at Lily, "You didn't think so before?"

Lily didn't bother looking up and just shrugged, "You said it yourself. Many have been reported missing..."

"The Lady..." Ragther started,

"I don't care," Lily said shortly, closing her file with a snap and looking up into his glaring gray eyes without blinking, "If you expect any of us to care about someone we've never even met before, commoner or noble, your best bet is Shon," she waved a hand over her shoulder at him and dropped the file back on the pile while Ryuuko twittered with pride, "I'm only here because he is."

Ragther's eyes shot to Shon, who stared back, expressionless. The Paladin's lip twitched in a sarcastic grin, "And he is here under orders." He looked around at the party at large while Ryuuko crawled from the desk back onto Lily's shoulder and up to her head, "If I can't count on you to assist to your full capacity, then you are a liability, and I will have you out of my city before the sun reaches noon."

That sealed it. Ragther was emotionally invested in this beyond his pride as a Paladin of Horsa. Shon's deep voice broke the silence, "Who is she?"

Ragther glared, "The Lady Raina is the daughter of the Duke of Sanoloa, whose family has served Horsa for-" but Shon arched an eyebrow at the man. Ragther's chin tilted up proudly, but he got the point, "She's my sister."

Ryuuko whistled long and low, and Shon nodded, reaching for Lily's abandoned file. It held the name and a rough drawing of a woman as well as her data as a Sorcerer on the first page—a water Sorcerer with a snake for a familiar. The following pages contained more information on her address, family, and frequent contacts that had already been questioned, as well as her last sighting two weeks ago. He nodded again in approval. Ragther had used the time they'd spent on the road to gather this information. So their lack of gate access hadn't just been a power play.

Ragther cleared his throat, "I have two guards who can escort you around the city to the last known locations of each victim."

"It'll be faster if we split up," Yua said.

Ragther nodded, "Very well. The most recent was a refugee. I can tell you are a fire Sorcerer..." He eyed Lily's hair and scales, but instead of commenting on them, said, "you should be resistant to the disease many of them carry. The Sorcerer will accompany me-"

"My name is Lily," Lily interrupted, standing. She looked around at the group, then tilted her head at Shon and held out her hand, "Shon?"

Shon shook his head and closed the file. He used it to gesture to Yua, then to himself, then nodded at Tuth towards Lily. Ryuuko whistled and made to jump from Lily's shoulder to his but stopped halfway and nearly fell when Shon shot it a quick mental command. Lily helped the pseudodragon up before it could dig its claws in too deeply, and Shon sent a silent plea to the beast. Stay with Lily, send me anything important.

For once, it didn't argue and wrapped its tail loosely around Lily's neck. Lily reached up to pull the tail free with one hand but pet it with her other. Ragther seemed to be under the assumption that Ryuuko was Lily's familiar, and Shon was more than content to let it stay that way. She couldn't, and wouldn't, hide what she was, but Shon thought it better that as few as possible knew him for a Sorcerer. Especially considering the nature of the victims.

Lily pouted at the assignments but sighed with another shrug and moved for the door. Ragther passed her to hold it open and said, "We will meet at the Temple after-"

"Nope," Lily answered as she passed, stopping to turn around and grin. "Shon isn't going into a Temple of Horsa if there's an alternative, and I know the perfect little restaurant, with some amazing spiced fish I've been dying to return to."

Ragther looked like he wanted to argue, but Yua interrupted him, "Sounds fantastic. Give me the name, and I'll find it."

"This is-" Ragther tried again, but Tuth said,

"I hope we can at least get something for breakfast while we make the rounds."

Ragther gritted his teeth, "The Temp-"

"It's decided then!" Lily announced, clapping her hands, "Let's go. I'm hungry." She spun on her toes and skipped down the stairs, Tuth and Yua following close behind.

Ragther turned to Shon and looked him over, then said, "You have surprisingly little to say, soldier..."

Shon picked up the pile of files and passed the Paladin in silence, then said only, "I don't waste words." before following the others down the stairs.