Ranvir spent the next week with Vasso preparing for his date. Each day after work, it was something new. Scouting locations, food, clothes. Ranvir had perhaps as little experience as Vasso in this field, though he never let it show to the young man. Instead, he tried to guide him as best he could.

It only took him a couple of days before Ranvir realized that anxiety might have grabbed Vasso by the throat and dragged him away. They were scouting locations for dinner and Vasso nearly attacked one proprietor when he questioned the teenager’s inquisition-like approach.

Ranvir did his best to disengage the two and pull Vasso back. He got a recommendation from Grev and set the reservation.

“That’s not fair,” Vasso complained, one hand digging through his golden curls. “What if they serve something she can’t tolerate? She might not like what they offer. Dad, it might be ugly. Or too pretty? What if the server’s handsome? Or too talkative.”

Needless to say, Vasso wasn’t coping well.

“Vasso,” Ranvir called his name a few times, before the teenager seemed to register it. “Do you really think Laila cares that much about any of those things? Is she not there to have a fun outing with you?”

Vasso fidgeted and looked down, returning to the state of the kid Ranvir met all those years ago. Quiet and uncommunicative. Finally, he shook his head.

“What about you? Do you really care that much?”

Another shake.

“So what is it that’s making you do this?”

Vasso turned slightly away from him and shrugged.

Ranvir snorted and leaned in closer to speak softly. “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me. But I want you to understand, there is a responsible level of planning and then beyond that.”

Vasso grabbed his shoulder and nodded, still not looking at Ranvir.

“How about you stay here tomorrow, or go to the orphanage? Do something that takes your mind off the date? Get some distance from it.”

Vasso gave him a pained look.

“Yes?”

Vasso opened his mouth, then let his eyes drop again and shook his head.

Ranvir sighed and pulled him into a hug. “You’re a good kid, Vasso. Frija and I love you.”

Vasso sniffed and nodded before pulling back. Ranvir tussled his hair, which earned him a scornful glare before he left.

----------------------------------------

On the day of the date, Ranvir and Vasso stood in the entry hall as Frija gave her blessings.

“You will have a good date,” she commanded, reaching up for Vasso’s head.

Awkwardly, he bent his curls into her reach. “Please don’t mess up my hair,” he said.

Frija, one hand raised to stroke said hair, froze. “Of course not,” she spoke as if talking to a simpleton. Instead, she cupped his head and planted a big wet “m’wah” kiss on his forehead.

Vasso straightened abruptly, scowling at her as wiped away the spit with the back of his hand. “Frija!” he hissed, but she was already hauling ass upstairs out of his reach. He pulled a napkin from his pocket and wiped both hand and head.

“She means well,” Ranvir said.

“I wish she meant to leave me alone.”

Ranvir gave him a dead stare. At first, Vasso ignored it, but glowing purple eyes had quite the penetrating quality when they needed to be.

“I wish you wouldn’t tease me at this moment.”

“Look on the bright side,” Ranvir said. “When she gets old enough to go on dates, you can return the favor.”

Vasso stuttered for a moment before grinning. “I can, can’t I? We ready?”

Ranvir didn’t leave him waiting any longer and snapped them away into a pocket-space.

Vasso wore a well-fitting brown woolen shirt and a clean new blue workman’s pants from Korfyi. The style resembled current Elusrian fashion, except they were made from his home plane. He wore two necklaces, the bronze symbol depicting the hammer and star of Apisaon. Behind it rested a translation stone. He could speak Elensk, but he wasn’t conversational yet.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Ranvir had just opted for his usual uniform, since he was the ferryman, not the entertainer.

They arrived promptly in his office and Vasso hurriedly made his way through the obsidian halls of the school towards Laila and Shiri’s rooms. Ranvir could hear his breath getting heavier as they approach despite not moving that fast. A faint prickle of sweat marking Vasso’s hairline.

He swallowed hard and lifted a gently shaking hand to knock on the door. His knuckles fell in a series of quiet bumps. Vasso cursed to himself. “Was that too quiet? Should I try again?”

Ranvir, having noticed Laila’s gasp when she heard their footsteps, shook his head. Moments later, the door opened, revealing Shiri.

“You’re here. Good thing I think Laila’s just about ready.”

Ranvir stifled a grin as Laila appeared around the corner, obviously waiting for her cue. Vasso swallowed audibly at seeing her. Blonde ringlets gleaming in the glyph-lights, perhaps even treated with something to give them extra shine. She was dressed in narrow skirts and a silk blouse. Straddling the line between pretty and practical, having been told they might have to walk outdoors where it was hot.

Ranvir appreciated it for the effect it had on Vasso, who was turning red and seemed like he might literally come bursting out of his ears.

“You look…” Vasso said, his voice weak despite having prepared a dozen lines. “Very pretty.” He sounded out of breath after those four short words. Laila hit her face behind her hand and giggled, blushing as well.

Ranvir exchanged a small smile with Shiri, who was wearing a more toned-down version of Laila’s outfit. Her red hair was pulled back into her usual bun.

She stepped closer to him, letting the kids have some space. “I assumed you were coming along as well,” she whispered. “At least to the capital.”

Ranvir nodded, deciding not to elaborate. She narrowed her eyes questioningly. “What does that smug look on your face mean?”

“You must be projecting. I’m not the one making faces.”

Shiri’s mouth fell open, shock writ large on her expression.

“Looks like they are ready to go,” he muttered, wrapping them in space, leaving a little threshold for Vasso to take Laila through.

“Oh, I’ll give you ‘making faces’ alright,” Shiri growled under her breath, though a playful light in her spirit gave away her amusement. To Ranvir’s surprise, it was mirrored by the pale blue light of his own.

Presently, they rushed off through the Liminal towards their first location. It was noon in Vednar, which meant little in terms of Korfyi's time since their days were longer. Today, it was close to the same time, around the thirteenth flare.

The space opened to the sounds of birds singing, insects stirring, the rush of water, and the sound of plants in rapid growth. Immediately, a sweet scent tickled their nostrils. All the greenery—including a lot of flowers—were constantly blooming, dying, and regrowing threw off their perfume.

The moisture in the air trapped most of the smell, dampening it to pleasant levels. Laila gasped as she stepped outside and saw the location. She grabbed Vasso’s arm, pulling him along as she turned all around.

The heat was billowing into the space, causing Shiri to let out a heavy breath. Ranvir and she followed the young ones outside, though they kept some distance.

“My job, I guess our job today, is to be enough of a presence that they don’t fully forget us,” Shiri said quietly, as she stepped outside. Ranvir grabbed her shoulders to avoid bumping into her as she suddenly stopped as well.

The Lake of Five Towers stood in all its majesty before them. The water was a clean blue that appeared so pure as to be ripped from the sky itself. Surrounding the crystalline waters were five spires of stone, rising hundreds of meters into the sky. Each tower was built in narrowing layers until they reached the top where a wellspring bubbled more water than a city used.

Ranvir and Vasso had come upon the location originally when they’d been going to see the Collegia in Chórofos.

It was supposed to have been the site of some ancient battle between Arkotasia, though who fought and when was unknown. It was well before even Bacenor’s, the oldest of the current lot, lifetime.

Already, Vasso and Laila were getting a fair distance from them, walking towards a bit of bare, plain grass. Since it was the Writhing and plants rapidly grew, they could not prepare the spot beforehand and Ranvir quickly retrieved the basket and followed them.

“I hope you packed extra,” Shiri whispered, elbowing him in the side. Ranvir rolled his eyes.

“Right, because I was just planning to sit awkwardly on the side and watch as they ate.”

She rolled her eyes but let him go. Ranvir stifled his expression as he approached.

“This place is so beautiful.”

“Not as much as you are.” Vasso blushed. Whether from the poorly constructed sentence or saying it out loud, Ranvir couldn’t tell. He simply tried not to judge the love-struck teenager too harshly.

“Your lunch,” Ranvir said, putting the basket on the grass next to them.

“Thank you,” they both said, flushing at his mere presence.

Ranvir ignored them and moved on, waving for Shiri to follow them to a nearby hill. Just far enough that even he wouldn’t pick up more than a stray word, while also close enough to be seen if need be.

His and Shiri’s lunch wasn’t packed in a basket with little platters, nor was it as fancy as theirs. He pulled out a blanket and handed her a sandwich. She glanced from the toasted bread to the dishes Vasso was pulling out.

“They are from the same place,” Ranvir said. “Try it.”

She sniffed it experimentally. While the idea of food between two pieces of bread wasn’t a new invention, it was rarer on Vednar than Korfyi or Belnavir. “Smells good.” she gave him a strange look, then took a bite out of a corner.

She let out a quiet sigh and closed her eyes. She sat in her own world for long moments, slowly chewing as sauce, meat, and vegetable came together in a heretical, yet delicious combination.

Ranvir was staring smugly at her as she opened her eyes. She flushed like she should be sitting on the blanket next to Laila. “I don’t want to hear a word from you,” she hissed, pointing a manicured finger at him.

Grinning, Ranvir pointed to the corner of his lip where a bit of sauce lingered. She narrowed her eyes at him and he lifted his hands innocently. Below them, Ranvir could see Laila feeding Vasso tiny mouthfuls of a similar sandwich.

“This has to be from Belnavir,” Shiri finally said. “Its too good to be anything else.”

Ranvir nodded in agreement, finishing a bite of his own religious-experience-between-two-pieces-of-baked-then-toasted-dough. “It is. I’ll show you where we got it from. It’s actually not that far from the bridge.”

Shiri locked eyes with him and for a moment, Ranvir’s stomach flipped and many colors and shapes bubbled up from his stomach.

Laila burst into fits of laughter, falling back on the blanket and kicking her feet. Vasso tried his best to wipe his face between his shakes of laughter. From the smear on Laila’s fingers, Ranvir assumed she’d sabotaged another feeding.

“They are cute together,” Shiri said.

“Sure are,” Ranvir agreed.