If the Five Lords themselves had convened with the intention of giving Rose whatever her heart desired, she'd ask for sleep before she even thought of salvation. Given a little recovery, she could save the world easily enough with her friends.

It had been a week or so since they'd all escaped Pendrago, and Rose had yet to get a good night's rest. Amethor's stupid iris gem certainly didn't help, what with its little vignette of hellionized babies… but mostly, it was this damn pact ring. In fact, it was cold enough that it was beginning to hurt. More than once, Rose lay awake far into the night, clutching her finger, wondering if she ought to just take the ring off—or if she even could.

…But maybe this connection hurt the seraph, too, and that possibility was more than enough to convince her to leave it on. Besides, if the seraph turned up and Rose had taken the ring off so she didn't notice, she'd never forgive herself. Still, it didn't make those nights any shorter… and Dezel didn't seem to be sleeping either. In fact, by the time the party spent their last night with the Scattered Bones in the Gaferis Ruins, he seemed about as fatigued as Rose.

"It's almost dawn," she mumbled, softly enough that her voice didn't echo in the ruined room; Dezel didn't stir, but a slight catch in his breathing at the broken silence told her he was listening: an exhausted half-smile tugged at the corner of her mouth at the sign. "I know you're awake," she added. "Why are you awake?"

He let out a resigned sigh, muffled by his hat, and lifted it up to open one eye at her. "Why are you?" returned Dezel. "I can't sleep if my vessel is awake, can I…?" He trailed off, evidently unable to find a real excuse, and closed his eyes again to avoid looking at her.

Rose couldn't suppress a tired grin. "You are the worst liar," she told him, stifling a quiet laugh that quickly became a wide yawn. "I think Sorey does a better job than you, actually. At least he has a script to stick to." She shook her head. "Honestly, how many times have I seen you sleeping while I'm on guard duty?"

Dezel snorted softly, turning his head to face her, and this time he opened both his eyes to look at her. Lightning shot through her, and she looked determinedly away; a blind stare shouldn't scorch her face like that. Either way, she was altogether unequipped to deal with his dryly asked question: "You watch me sleep?"

"No," hissed Rose, but felt herself flushing all the same. He couldn't see her, she reminded herself, but that didn't do anything to help. "I'm just saying, I know for a fact you can sleep while I'm awake, even if you don't. Besides," she added, unable to help herself, "looking at you is still a lot more okay than sneaking inside you and taking over. Like somebody did to me."

Dezel scowled at her, but his expression seemed a lot more uncomfortable than angry; his lips might have formed 'sorry', but he didn't say the word aloud. "What do you want me to tell you?" he asked eventually, letting out a long sigh. "I don't have a reason, and neither do you."

"I have a reason," Rose corrected him irritably, holding up her hand to display her ring. A frown flickered across Dezel's face, but he said nothing. "No nightmares this time, but I just can't sleep for too long before something kind of… reaches inside me, I guess, and wakes me up. Like flipping a switch," she added, pursing her lips. "I can't figure out how to flip it back fast enough to get any real rest."

Dezel nodded in understanding, and though he didn't close his eyes, they fixed themselves on the ceiling for long enough that Rose's eyes slid shut as she wondered whether she should try to rest once more. When he spoke, it was in a soft and almost sheepish tone, as if hoping she wouldn't hear him: "Anything I can do?"

The question was so unexpected that Rose frowned, and she turned to open her eyes and stare at him, caught off-guard. Not to say that Dezel was heartless, but openly asking to help seemed… unlike him. "What are you staring at?" demanded Dezel defensively, shifting in place, though he still regarded the ceiling intently. "You're my vessel, so I'm asking you if I can help. Because if anything happens to you, it affects me too—that's all," he added, too quickly.

His words sounded like an afterthought, a hasty excuse, and Rose grinned at him knowingly; he didn't have to work half so hard to justify caring. "Is that so?" she teased. "Because you sounded pretty embarrassed about asking."

"I thought you'd take it the wrong way," growled Dezel. "And you did. You're so predictable." He rolled over to face away from her, and she took a moment to observe the contours of his still-bare back before she realized what she was doing and tore her eyes away. "Try to sleep. The sun will rise in a few hours, and then we'll have to say our goodbyes."

Rose bit her lip at the reminder. They'd agreed early on to drop the Scattered Bones off here; she'd found herself wanting to wander the world with them forever, just like the old days, but they couldn't really bring them along on such a perilous journey—especially since it had been hell to balance her interactions with the humans and the seraphim. This was the best option… though she wished they could have found somewhere less enclosed, and less musty.

Clearing her throat faintly to dispel some of the dust, Rose rolled over once to halve the distance between them. "After everything you've done to me," she told him pointedly, "I wouldn't mind if you thought about someone other than yourself for once. I guess that's just wishful thinking, though," she added before he could respond, flopping onto her back with a somewhat exaggerated sigh, and fell silent.

Dezel stiffened, but did not turn around, perhaps because she was closer now, and facing him. "I—that doesn't mean—" he began desperately, the winds kicking up abruptly in panic. "It's not just for me! I thought you…" Rose could suppress a laugh no longer at the force of his reaction, and Dezel made a sound low in his throat like a growl. "Never mind," he muttered. "Why do I even bother?"

Rose's giggle turned into a feeble cough as the breeze stirred up thicker dust, and Dezel rolled over to face her at last. "Rose," he told her, his teeth grit. "If you let yourself die of a cold before we even get to the dragon, I will follow you into hell and carry you out again just so I can throw you back myself."

Shaking her head, Rose struggled to catch her breath. "D-dust," she managed, and Dezel frowned slightly an instant before his eyes widened in understanding, and he made a conscious effort to still the winds. He opened his mouth as if to say he was sorry, but Rose pushed herself to her feet: the need for air outweighed apologies.

"Gonna get some fresh air," she told him hoarsely, and Dezel got to his feet beside her, stretching and cracking his stiff back. Rose smiled faintly; ordinarily, the lack of privacy might have annoyed her, but it was actually touching that Dezel didn't give going with her a second thought. Regardless, the watch was unfortunately human, so she'd have to tell him they were both leaving.

Rose approached Talfryn cautiously, glancing back at the sleeping Sorey and Alisha apprehensively. "I'm going out with Dezel. Side," she added hastily, her eyes widening as she realized her mistake in phrasing, and she cursed her lack of sleep. "Outside."

Thankfully, Talfryn wasn't awake enough to notice… or at the very least, not awake enough to tease her. "Sure," he yawned. "Okay. No problem. Have fun." He waved at the entrance vaguely, then rubbed his eyes. "I'm beat," he added. "Is the sun up yet?"

"S-soon," Rose reassured him weakly, her voice breaking with the desire to cough again; she didn't want to wake anyone. "Not that we can see it. Wake Felice or something if you're about to conk out," she added over her shoulder, hustling outside so she could cough in peace.

As soon as she had finished clearing out her lungs in the open air, Rose shivered. Forget all that nonsense about the darkest hour just before the dawn; the coldest rain fell right before sunrise. Even as the thought crossed her mind, she sighed; this sleep deprivation was making her wax poetic.

Or maybe that was just her little thing for Dezel, which—incidentally—was still not okay. Couldn't she have put figuring that out on hold till this was all over? This was the actual least opportune time to be in love. "Sorry," sighed Dezel, drawing her out of her thoughts. "I shouldn't have…"

"Hey, not your fault," Rose interrupted, shrugging. "I shouldn't have teased you like that, all right? We're even." She sighed, staring at the sky; after a week of sleeping about half as much as she was supposed to, she'd gotten used to not really thinking about cause and effect. "Next time, slap me if I say something stupid, okay?" she asked eventually, turning back to Dezel. "Maybe that'll wake me up a little."

He only snorted, crossing his arms. "I'm not going to slap you, Rose," he told her firmly, but half-smiled reminiscently a moment later. "Ask Alisha, or maybe Edna if you're desperate," he added, shrugging. "Only girls can hit other girls. That's just how the world works."

Rose grinned at him. "Says an assassin to another assassin," she pointed out, hugging her arms to herself. "I guess killing doesn't count, huh?" she added, and Dezel pursed his lips as if genuinely considering it. "We should stop sleeping more often," she added, laughing. "It leads to some… um, interesting conversations."

Though Dezel scoffed, he seemed pleased at the idea nonetheless. "I'm told you can get the same results with alcohol," he remarked, and it took Rose a few seconds to realize the undercurrent of a suggestion in his words. She didn't realize she was smiling at him for several seconds, then shook herself out of her sleep-deprived stupor: something bugged her about his phrasing. What was it…?

Oh. "You're told?" asked Rose finally, standing on one hip. "You don't seem like the kind of guy to be, um…" She faltered, trailing off. She was pretty sure 'abstinent' was the right term, but she was just conscious enough to know that didn't sound like a good word to say when she could sense so much ambiguous tension and so many lowered inhibitions, if only because of the insomnia.

Dezel shifted in place uncomfortably. "I only tried it once," he told her, readjusting the brim of his hat. "Funny that one of my only clear memories is of something I don't remember at all. Lafarga insisted I find my limit before someone else found it for me," he explained. "I… don't remember much of that night. Haven't touched the stuff since." He paused, his next words a mumble as if he spoke to himself. "I don't like being out of control of myself."

"That makes two of us," joked Rose pointedly, and Dezel sighed heavily as if having been worried she'd say something like that, but didn't immediately leap to the defensive this time, nor did he apologize. Good; he was learning. The sooner they accepted that as a part of their past along the road to communication, the better; Rose bit her lip as she thought of her demand that he stand trial later. Did she have the heart to be the judge anymore…?

She realized, quite suddenly, that Dezel's every muscle was tense, and he seemed to be trying not to shiver. "A-are you cold?" she asked him apprehensively, guilt flooding her. He was always so sensitive to her needs, and she could never tell the first thing about what he wanted. As soon as she got some sleep, she'd have to learn to read him like the wind.

"If you'd gotten me a shirt like you promised, I wouldn't be," Dezel told her, but though his voice could easily have been annoyed, his tone was as sportive as hers had been: Rose grinned at him. Finally, they were learning not to take genuine offense at the small stuff.

"A simple 'yes' would have worked," she told him, grinning. "Come on, let's go back before they start spreading rumors." Rumors may not live long in so small a group, but they'd still be tough to work through… especially given that her temper had risen to rival Dezel's over the last few days thanks to her lack of rest.

To her astonishment, Dezel actually laughed. "You may be Sorey's Squire, but you're not tied to any of them like I'm tied to you," he told her. "If we don't like what they're saying, we can leave, and they know it." He paused, a gentle breeze brushing up and down her body as though he looked at her carefully. "Are you seriously worried they'll talk anyway?"

"I thought you would be," returned Rose, stung. "Aren't you the one who's living in denial?" she persisted, and Dezel shifted into an almost combative stance. "Didn't you freak out about five minutes ago just because of the implication that maybe you care about people other than yourself sometimes?"

Dezel glared at her, but there was something soft around the edges of his stare. "If I'm living in denial, then you are denial," he shot back, jerking his head aside as if unable to look at her any longer—though she knew he couldn't see her to begin with. "Since you're my vessel."

Rose crossed her arms, frowning. "But you can't actually live in me till our pact is… uh," she returned lamely, brought up short, and ducked her head, blushing slightly. Gods, how could she remember the word 'abstinent' and forget 'solidify' until it was too late to save face? It was only one more syllable…

Nonetheless, Dezel understood. "Point taken," he muttered, staring at the ground. "How's that ring treating you?" he added, raising his eyes to her hand and moving on from his concession at lightning speed: Rose marveled at how quickly he could change the subject when he needed to.

"Cold," she responded, realizing that she had been unconsciously holding her finger, and made an effort to let go. "I don't think there's anything that can really be done about it, though. The only time it ever felt any warmer was when I was using its powers, and I don't exactly have much cause to do that anymore."

Dezel rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Then we'll have to kill that seraph as soon as possible," he responded after a small pause. "So you don't have to wear the thing anymore." Rose smiled; he really was a lot more thoughtful than he cared to admit, if he was willing to kill their nemesis for the sake of her comfort in addition to his revenge.

Damn it; revenge. "Yeah, except didn't Zenrus say you shouldn't take your vengeance till the pact is settled?" returned Rose reluctantly. "I mean, I'd like to be alive to savor our victory, and if we turn into hellions, that'd be… less than possible."

"Right," responded Dezel, massaging his forehead in his hand. "I forgot about that. But the thing is, I don't think it's…" He hesitated, frowning at her, then shook his head. "No, never mind. That's stupid. Forget I said anything."

"I can't forget something you didn't actually say," retorted Rose, annoyed until she remembered suddenly that speaking of things left unsaid, she'd been sitting on that idea of being a Shepherd for around a month now… and she still had no idea how to make it happen. Maybe she should consult her seraph, since theoretically, he'd be her Prime Lord.

"Hey, Dezel," began Rose tentatively, before her usual reservations could get in the way, and he blinked at her; she didn't usually use his name if she wasn't annoyed with him. "Got room for one more secret in your head before we go back inside?"

Dezel raised an eyebrow in apparent surprise. "If you got yourself into another fling, I don't want to hear about it," he told her, his voice edged with an exaggerated sigh. "Other than that, yeah, I think I can handle whatever you throw at me. Shoot."

Rose's heart skipped a beat at the implication that he was jealous, but she swallowed her pulse and managed to scowl at him anyway. "You've been stalking me for years," she pointed out, tossing a playful glower in his direction. "If I told you I found another lover, you'd know I was lying."

"And here I was hoping I'd get to point that out," responded Dezel, a sharp and sardonic smile tugging at his mouth, and Rose echoed the gesture automatically. So he'd been joking after all; it was always so hard to tell with him. "Just get to the point."

Taking a deep breath, Rose mulled over the ways that she could possibly suggest a shift in dynamic as drastic as this. Eventually, she settled on making it relevant to him first and foremost, since he paid more attention to his personal interest than anything else: "How's Prime Lordship sound to you?" she asked cautiously.

Dezel blinked in surprise. "You want to be a Shepherd?" he asked in disbelief, sounding more than a little suspicious. "Don't you think we should make sure our pact will hold up first, and then figure out where to go from there? If you hellionize because our pact broke, you're going to be even harder to purify. And besides," he added, before Rose could say anything, "I won't forgive myself for as long as I live… which probably won't be more than a couple minutes after you fall, but still."

Ouch. Humor couldn't get a lot blacker than that. "It was just an idea," replied Rose, her heart sinking. If Dezel wouldn't go for it, she'd have to find some other way of supporting Sorey. "I just figured it'd be better for more than one of us to have the power of purification, you know?" she continued. "Sorey's already at full capacity, and I have high enough resonance that I thought maybe I could pick up some slack." She shook her head, wandering back toward the entrance of the ruins. "Sorry. I'll keep my secrets to myself next time."

"What good would that do?" asked Dezel crossly. "Never thought you were forgetful enough that I'd have to teach you a lesson you taught me first. Besides, the others might raise hell, but I think it's a good idea," he told her, and Rose stopped short, turning back in shock. "Sure, there are a lot of variables, but we've worked with less before. If you think this is what's best, then I…" He hesitated, raising his eyes to her face with a determined effort. "I trust you."

Somehow, Rose got the feeling he'd never said those exact words to anyone else before, and they struck her with all the force of something deeper. "Dezel," she responded gratefully, but cut herself off. What could she tell him? The words I love you too welled up in her throat, but she strangled them. That hadn't been what he'd said, and she'd rather not show her hand before the world was saved.

Dezel leveled his stare straight at her face, and her breath caught; she wondered whether he could hear the words she had not said. "I'll follow wherever you lead," he murmured. "Just don't bring me someplace stupid, because if anyone makes a joke about the blind leading the blind, I'm going to go back on my word and slap you anyway. Hard." He sighed, shaking his head. "Don't make me do that."

"Kinky," responded Rose before she could stop herself, though the word was thankfully obscured by a sudden yawn, and she swayed in place; Dezel's light fingers on the small of her back stabilized her, though she tensed at his unexpected touch. Relief flooded her as she realized that he hadn't understood her unfiltered word; she knew better than to think he could ignore it like this if he had.

Wordlessly, they descended quietly back into the thick and ancient air, Rose trailing her hand against the wall to support herself. What had been keeping her upright, anyway? Pure banter? But her increasingly fuzzier thoughts were cut off by a soft voice from inside: "Welcome back," remarked Felice; apparently, Talfryn hadn't been able to stay awake through the rest of his turn after all. "Have fun?"

"Wh-what did Talfryn tell you?" asked Rose, brought up short. She hadn't thought anything of it when he'd used the same phrase, but if they actually started thinking something was going on between them, instead of just teasing her for the hell of it now and again…

"That you were going outside with your boyfriend," responded Felice, raising her eyebrows, and Dezel turned to look accusatorily at Rose; she shot him a glare, trying to tell him it wasn't her fault they'd jumped to conclusions. "Why?"

"I'm gonna kill him," muttered Rose, her hands curling into fists, and Dezel crossed his arms next to her; she glanced over at him once more, gauging his response. He actually seemed more amused than anything, which would have been cause for surprise if Rose had enough room in her head for more than one emotion at a time.

"O-oh, was it supposed to be a secret?" asked Felice, wide-eyed, and raised her hand to her mouth as much to hide a small smile as to show her shock. "I'm sorry! I won't tell anyone."

Rose only shook her head slowly, too exhausted even to explain how wrong they were, and sank down onto her cot, pointedly avoiding looking at Dezel. But he sat down next to her, a respectful distance away; she could feel the air stir slightly, though he seemed to be making an effort not to let it get out of hand this time.

"If that's what they want to believe, you won't be able to prove anything," remarked Dezel quietly, though again, there was a small smile in his tone. "It's easier just to let them think what they want. Come tomorrow, it won't matter anyway," he added, and Rose smiled faintly at the truth of his words. The resonance barrier was hard enough to overcome without dealing with surreptitious glances full of meaning and subtle interrogation.

Maybe Dezel was right. The Scattered Bones could think whatever they wanted… and by the time Rose saw them again, with any luck, it would all be true. Curling up with a half-exasperated sigh, she closed her eyes in exhaustion; she only had another hour or two till daybreak. And, as much as she loved her family, she'd never been so glad at the prospects of saying goodbye.

*loooooooong sigh* Sorry for the hiatus, all! The semester was coming to an end, and you probably all know what final projects are like. I'll spare you the details, but hopefully I'll be able to quicken the pace somewhat instead of waiting a month between updates now… Your reviews may or may not have been the last little push that convinced me to finally get my ass in gear, so I owe everyone who left one a big collective thank-you.

Linake11: All separation was temporary, plus Dezel and Rose are still together, so everything's just fine!

lazycat66: I'm going the route that most people go if they want to get the bad ending, haha. That is, if the game lets you do it before The Incident happens in canon, assume that this version of the party has already done it. That means that the iris gem they just got is the second-to-last one they need, they've already restored Lohgrin's blessing, et cetera.

CWolf2: Oh, that's good! Yeah, Amethor is pretty terrible… I loved writing him, though. Too bad Rose killed him so soon. Maybe I'll write some random oneshot about him someday; I'm a sucker for underdeveloped characters with potential.

Straya: Haha, yeah, I suppose it's the road and not the destination and all that with regard to ships. I just hope you like that road, because we're still gonna be on it for a while. Hopefully getting ever closer, but one never knows… Anyway, thank you so incredibly much for continuing to lend your artistic abilities to my story! Everyone check my profile to see the latest work of art!

Thunder Explosion: Wow, thanks! High praise indeed. I hope I didn't ruin it somehow in the chapters between your review and the time you caught up!

Sado Nishi: Somewhere along the line, I think your review got cut off or deleted… but I saw more than enough to warrant my thanks! As always, compliments with reference to characterization are always accepted with gratitude, and I especially appreciate that you like the humor I can't help but include. That's something of a relief, actually; sometimes I wonder if it's inappropriate for the situations they're in. Either way, thank you so much!