Waking up in the guest bedroom, Riley found she was fully rested. She had been traveling for a few months, and she hadn't slept on a bed this comfortable in ages. With the sun peeking through the curtains of the room, she yawned and got up. Doing a set of stretches to get more limber, she thought of the conversation she had with Rabica yesterday.

When Telvin had gone to go see if Carol had awoken, Riley and Rabica hit it off. Rabica was happy that Riley was interested in her son. She had feared her son would be alone without love, and he was becoming a loner. Now that Riley was a potential match for her son, Rabica broke out in stories of her son when he was a child.

By the time Telvin had returned home followed by his step-father Oracis, Rabica had Riley laughing near nonstop at the antics Telvin had got up to. The mood became a bit more subdued at dinner however, as Telvin kept up a dour expression most of the meal. The only time he broke the frown was when he looked at Riley and smiled.

After dinner, Telvin and his parents had a long discussion on what he had found out from Carol. Riley meditated in the guest bedroom provided by Rabica. Unfortunately before she had a chance to speak with Telvin again, he went to bed. So she went to bed herself. Finishing with her morning stretches, she found a set of towels she could use for the bathroom, along with a few toiletries.

Heading into the hallway, Riley could her some movement happening downstairs. Across from the guest bedroom was Telvins room. Knocking on the door, she found it opened slightly and she could see that he was still sleeping. Slipping inside, she took a look over him, it looked at if he had a fitful sleep. The bed was a mess, and he was lying awkwardly.

Leaning down Riley kissed him on his mouth. Waking up, Telvin kissed her back and said "Morning, this is a nice way to wake up."

"Course it is, next time it's your turn." Riley said chuckling. "I think your mom is awake."

Telvin took Riley's hand and squeezed it. "Probably, she likes to make everyone breakfast."

"I'm going to go take a shower." Riley said leaning down and kissing him again.

Kissing back Telvin said "Thank you for waking me up."

Riley grinned and stood, heading to the door and said "Your welcome, maybe I'll wake you up another way sometime." With that she left the stunned half-elf and walked to the bathroom.

Fairly small for a bathroom, it had a small shower on one side, and a small counter mirror top. Undressing she put her clothes on the hook and stepped into the shower. Finding that she was taller then the shower head, she grunted and turned on the hot water.

Borrowing some of the soap provided she began to clean herself and rinse out her dreadlocks from the dirt collected from her travels. While she was doing that a message came from Jack. "Hey just checking in on you for the day. How are you doing?"

Riley replied, "I'm doing okay, Telvin seems a little stressed, and I'm also a little concerned about the situation with Mianda."

"I think you have it in full control. If you need help, just let me know. I am planning to go on a expedition in a few day's and would appreciate you and Telvin's help." Jack said.

Riley asked "Where is this expedition going?"

"Up near the northern mountains. Most of the distance is on roads and based on the average speed of the wagons; I estimate it will only take ten to fifteen days of travel." Jack said.

Thinking for a moment Riley asked "Are there Orc tribes near there?"

"They are farther north actually. But it is at the edge of the Kingdom of Kesten and the Wildlands of the north, so you may encounter a few Orc traders." Jack said.

Riley nodded and said "I am interested. I will let Telvin know of your offer. Will you be paying us? Or is this be ordered by you?"

"Paying you actually. I think this is an opportunity to increase your strength. I won't step in to help you, treat me as a weak noble who has hired you as a bodyguard." Jack said.

"Very well, I am always up for a challenge." Riley said.

Jack replied "I will get back to you with more information. Have a great day."

"You too Jack." Riley said.

Returning to her shower, Riley thought about what she and Telvin were having. From her past history of failed relationships, she didn't want to rush it, yet she felt she was falling fast for Telvin. If she had less control, she would have pounced on him this morning.

"Slow down Riley; you have to go slow." She said to herself.

Finishing the shower, she turned off the water. Using the towels, she made sure to completely dry her dreadlocks and scrubbed her body down. Wiping the mirror from the steam, she took a look at her face. Using a toothbrush, she cleaned her tusks. Riley still felt a little self-concious about them, it's the one feature of her face that she disliked the most.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed away the bad memories coming up, and she focused on what she wanted to do today. What she wanted to do the most of all was spend the day with Telvin, especially if she was going on a mission soon. She might not get another chance before it came.

Getting dressed, she checked her appearance one last time. Riley thought maybe she should pick up some makeup next time she went to a city. Sighing Riley headed out and downstairs, where she found Rabica in the kitchen placing some plates of food down.

"Good Morning Rabica." Riley said.

Rabica looked at her and smiled "Morning Riley, did you have a good sleep?"

"I did, thank you for offering me the guest room." Riley said sitting at the table and took a bite of the meal.

"It's no problem. I'm just happy that my son came home, and I'm also happy that you came as well."

Riley nodded and asked "Where is Oracis?"

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"He went off with the hunters of the village. They are doing a patrol, to make sure there are no more of those freaky monsters around that Telvin fought with yesterday." Rabica said.

Riley said "Yeah, I would not want to fight one of those by myself." She took a sip of a orange juice, when Telvin came downstairs, his hair was still damp and messed up.

Approaching the table, he greeted his mother and sat down to eat next to Riley. "Where is Diasne?" Telvin asked Rabica.

"That silly girl rushed over to Petele right after eating. Speaking of Petele, I invited Carol to bring Mianda over today to bake some cookies with me. I would like to get to know your half-sister." Rabica said.

Telvin frowned and said "Hey that isn't confirmed yet, make sure you don't go say anything to her."

"Of course I won't. I was actually thinking maybe you should take Riley out to lake and catch some fish for dinner tonight." Rabica said winking at Riley.

Telvin missed the signal between them and said "I think I can do that. Did you want to go with me, Riley?" Telvin looked at her.

"I would love to." Riley said. "I've always loved fishing, sometimes the only meal I had while as a mercenary was what I could catch from the occasional stream or river."

Rabica smiled and said "Great, your fishing gear is in the front closet."

After they had finished with breakfast, Telvin picked up two baskets from the kitchen and picked up his fishing equipment. Heading out, they followed a trail out of the village. Telvin looked at Riley and said "Hey before we head to the lake, I would like to show you a favorite place of mine."

"Sure." Riley followed him.

They went down the trail till they came to a large rock, then Telvin turned right and led her a few hundred feet into the woods, when they came to several trees with large colored fruits hanging from their limbs. Telvin picked one and used his knife to cut it open and handed it to her smiling.

Riley took the fruit and bit into it, and found it's juice squirted into her mouth. It was perhaps one of the best fruits she had ever tasted. "This is amazing."

"Yeah, there is an orchard of these trees nearby, but these trees are totally wild. They seem to grow better here compared to the ones in the orchard. The fruits are better as well. I used to come here once a week to pick a few fruits." Telvin said opening the basket and picking some of the largest fruits and putting them into the basket.

Riley asked "Why do you think that is?"

"The nearby trees. The direct sun is tough on these fruit trees. With these nearby trees providing some shade, they are less stressed and grow healthy." Telvin said running his hand along the branches of one of the trees.

Reaching out, she took his hand into her own and said "That's amazing. How did you figure this out?"

"By studying the trees. On the times I had to go out to clear out my head, I noticed that the leaves of the trees in the orchard suffered compared to the wild trees. The sun is strong, sometime it burns what it looks at." Telvin said.

Riley hugged him and looked down at him saying, "Perhaps they just need something taller to provide a bit of shade."

Telvin reached up and brought her face down and kissed her. They spent a few minutes just embracing one another, before they parted. "This is just the entrance to what I wanted to show you." Telvin said.

"Then lead the way" Riley said smiling.

Telvin continued into the woods with Riley following. As they went, Riley could hear a faint roaring in the distance. "That's a waterfall for the lake were going to be fishing at." Telvin said, pushing aside some branches.

In front of them was a towering tree. There was a hole in the bottom, and she could see it led to a small hole in the tree. Telvin carefully took a look inside and said "It's clear, it's been a while since I've been here. Got to be careful no animals or monsters take it as a den."

The entrance was a bit tight, but it widened out a bit inside. On the walls she could see various drawings painted on the walls. They were of childish designs and were quite old. Riley asked Telvin "Is this where you hung out when you were a kid?"

"Yeah, when I lost my temper, I would come here for a bit to calm down. I took to drawing to pass the time I was here." Telvin said.

Riley traced some of the paintings with her finger, mimicking how Telvin must have painted them when he was a kid. Smiling she said "Thank you for sharing this with me."

"Riley, I want you to get to know me. Because I want to get to know you, better." Telvin said.

Looking at Telvin, Riley asked "What do you mean?"

"It's clear we are attracted to one another, but I want to make it official. I am courting you, Riley. I want to pursue a relationship with you." Telvin looked at her seriously.

Riley's heart skipped a beat, and she was at a loss for words for a moment. "Are you sure? I mean, we just met the other day and..."

Stopping her, Telvin said "We can take it slow, so we can fully explore these feelings we are having. I just wanted to let you know how I feel about you."

Riley took Telvin into a hug and said "Me too."