"A battle tournament?" Nooj raised his eyebrow as Lucil hashed out the details of his time away, "How exactly did that pan out?"
"Oh it was marvellous, Sir! Lady Yuna graciously accepted the challenge and even I got to face the Gullwings in a battle."
Nooj tensed.
"You fought all three?"
"Why of course! They were fierce competitors, even after so many battles!" Lucil clapped her hands together, "It really was a battle to remember! Of course markmanship is to be admired but I have never seen someone wield a sword quite like that! But, of course, you must have seen it too-"
"Excuse me?" he snapped testily, visions of leather and metal thrust to the forefront of his mind. If Lucil noticed his tone she made no comment, simply inclining her head towards the observation deck.
"Your battle with Vegnagun," she said calmly, "It must have been something to witness."
Nooj thought of taut muscles under pale skin, of the glint of the moonlight on a sword during a midnight war. So long since he had watched her openly during battle, only when he and Gippal had felled Vegnagun's torso had he risked watching her. She still stirred the same feeling in him. Pride. Excitement. His face burnt with humiliation and he thanked the low light in the Youth League headquarters for hiding the flush he felt creeping up his cheeks.