WARNING – Fangirling! (grins) Oh, I know, bad Ely with the convenient interruption and all... but believe me, this was the only way I could get them to stop! Sheesh... (goes a trifle pink)

EDIT: Minor changes made so that this chapter fits with the changed content of the chapter before.

Chapter 36 – A Time to Breathe

Leaving the warm fug of the kitchens behind, Jen shivered a little, surprised as an unexpectedly chill breeze whipped around her and lifted her hair from her shoulders, whipping it around her head. Drawing her arms around herself, making sure she was grasping the cuffs of her sleeves so she did not expose her newly scarred forearms, she looked up at Valen, who simply gave her an enquiring look as he pushed his own hair out of his eyes and hooked it behind his ears.

Wordlessly, they moved off, with the tiefling leading. Following him, it almost frightened the half elf how easily – how comfortably - she now wove through the dark elven throng outside the tavern; how, in such a short time, she had become used to this most alien of places to the point where she did not notice the crushing, oppressive sensation of thousands of tonnes of rock above her head rather than open sky and the glittering, cruelly constructed black buildings so unlike anything ever seen upon the surface. For a moment, she reflected silently upon how she had felt the first time she had set foot into the city proper; that dizzying, almost overwhelming feeling of confusion and claustrophobia she had experienced at being trapped so deep underground – a feeling she realised, that, although not completely banished from her, was now nothing more than a mere tickle at the back of her mind. Glancing up, she allowed herself to include the tiefling that now strode by her side in her reflections; had he changed too? Although he still stalked with a curiously predatory gait and still held himself with a fierce, near incandescent pride, she realised with some surprise that he no longer frightened her the way he once had; that now, rather than an adversary, he had become someone she felt she could rely on... even trust.

A... friend, for lack of a better term.

Realising that he was leading her to the merchant's square, Jen began to wonder exactly where he was taking her, and for what purpose; at first, she considered just asking him, but something small and indefinable stopped her... for some reason, she had the distinct feeling that whatever it was, part of the game they were currently involved in meant that she simply had to follow his lead and trust his judgement.

At first, she thought he was taking her to somewhere within the city, but after a short while, he veered off, away from the market place and to a part of the city she had never been to before. Here, it was quieter and, for some reason, smelt of agriculture; that curious mixture of hay and manure that some found unpleasant, but she found oddly comforting, reminding her of her life back home. Still they walked, past rather more rustic looking buildings and a paddock filled with large bovine animals that looked like a curious mixture of buffalo and cow, until they came to a fence with a wooden gate located in its centre.

Offering her a small smile as he noticed her brows draw together questioningly, Valen unlatched the gate and waited until she had walked through. Up ahead was what looked for all the world like a pasture, bordered by huge, towering stands of mushrooms, filled with a soft moss that Jen guessed passed for grass in the Underdark. Shoving his hands deep within his pockets, the half elf couldn't help but notice that whilst nothing definable had changed about the tiefling's overall demeanour, there was nevertheless a hint of nervousness to this gesture; frowning to herself, she knew better than to question him, not wanting to risk him throwing up his cautiously lowered defences, and just followed him as he set off again, making his way slightly uphill across the field towards the stand of massive fungi.

Much to her surprise, there was actually a crudely cut path through the mushrooms, which Valen led her through, still silent. Once again, the tall, trunk-like stems and rich, organic scent of leaf mould and moss assailed Jen, and deep within herself she felt the first, sharp pangs of homesickness... but it was not an unwelcome nor unpleasant thing, but rather simply a lingering, half forgotten desire to once again walk through the meadows and woodlands of her childhood.

As her heart fluttered a little, it suddenly struck her why he had brought her here... why he had led her all this way in silence; so she had a chance to capture a little bit of her old, uncomplicated life amongst all the chaos that whirled around her. Feeling decidedly touched and more than just a little bewildered as to why he would do this, she smiled secretly to herself as she regarded his tall figure ahead once more, watching as he slowed to a halt and then stopped.

Gazing out in front of him, the tiefling waited for the half elf who had been dawdling behind him, lost as she was in her reminiscing, to catch up with him. Finally, Jen made her way to his side, offering him a small yet sweet smile and stood beside him once more, now curious to what it was he was regarding.

She was aware that they had been gradually moving uphill, but to what extent, she did not realise fully; gasping a little as her hand flew to her mouth, she looked out over the vista laid out in front of her, taking in the entire city of Lith My'athar, glittering and beautiful, the spire of the temple the Seer had enchanted glowing softly at its heart.

"I come here when I need to think," Valen remarked softly after he allowed her a moment to take in the sight before her. "Being up here... it reminds me of what I'm fighting for. It helps me put things into perspective."

Saying nothing for a long while, Jen glanced up at him, realising that he did not need her to comment; instead, she felt her gaze being drawn once more by the sprawling city below.

"It's... beautiful," she breathed in awe.

"It is," the tiefling agreed with a slow nod. "Up here, you can almost forget that it is nothing more than a cesspool of plotting and dark intrigue..."

The half elf turned to regard the Weapon Master in surprise. "I don't think I ever thought I'd hear that from you; I thought you would do anything for Lith My'athar, but instead, it sounds like you almost... resent it," she commented quietly.

Shrugging, Valen folded his arms over his chest. "I might defend the city and its inhabitants, but that does not mean I am blind to its nature, Jen. I have been dealing with dark elven kind for a long time now."

Seeing him unconsciously take such defensive stance at her observation, Jen couldn't help but smile where she once would have cringed. "How long have you been with them?" she asked lightly, carefully trying to maintain the rather more relaxed atmosphere that they had cultivated between them over the last hour or so.

"A few years," he replied after a long pause. Uncrossing his arms, he then sat down upon the mossy grass, loosely looping his arms over his knees, and studied his hands for a moment.

Sitting down beside him, the half elf drew her legs underneath her. "A few years? And you've been a Commander all that time?"

Offering Jen an abashed grin, the tiefling shook his head. "No... that was only recently." He sighed. "We lost our former Commander a few months ago, during a particularly nasty clash with the Valsharess' troops. As his Second, I had to pull back with the survivors... we lost a great many allies that day."

"I expect you would have lost a lot more if it hadn't been for you assuming leadership," Jen said tentatively. "I'm not surprised the Seer made you Commander after that."

After regarding her carefully for a long moment, the Weapon Master offered her a hesitant nod of gratitude and then fell silent, turning back to observe his surroundings once more as if unsure as to how to continue this line of conversation.

"They bring the rothe up here to calve, you know," he commented, changing the subject suddenly. "It's not the right season, though, so the ground is lying fallow right now. It's the closest thing we have to a meadow around here." He then offered her a small yet genuine smile. "I thought... I thought it might be something you'd appreciate."

"Really?" Jen asked with a smile of her own. "Whatever gave you that impression?"

"I don't know," Valen shrugged. "You just don't seem to be much of a city girl, I suppose..."

Lapsing once more into silence, they sat, lost in thought for a while, but, rather surprisingly, it was in no way uncomfortable; stretching his legs out in front of him, the Weapon Master continued to gaze over the city before he finally spoke again.

"Where did you go?"

For a moment, Jen was caught off guard by his question; not knowing exactly what he referred to, she shook her head a little in bewilderment.

"When you... died," he elaborated as he turned to her and caught her gesture of bemusement. "The Seer says Eilistraee couldn't find you to petition for your return, and so I just wondered... where did you go?"

Biting a thumbnail as she worked her way through her jumbled memories of the past few days, Jen shrugged slightly; although she knew it was inevitable that someone would ask her this question sooner or later, she just hadn't expected it to be him.

"I... I don't really know," she answered eventually, feeling curiously reticent to discuss what she remembered of the Reaper with anyone. "I just... woke up. There were lots of doors... then pain. A lot of pain. That's all I really remember. Not very helpful, I know... sorry."

Again, they fell into silence; this time, however, it was lacking the companionable edge of last time as the half elf suspected the tiefling knew she was lying. Frowning a little, it was plain to Valen that the half elf wished to change the subject, and so leaning back upon his elbows, he obliged.

"Where are you from?"

"What?" Jen replied bluntly, feeling a little off kilter at another sudden change of topic.

Valen offered her a small facial shrug. "Just curious. I realised the other day that although we've been travelling together for a while, I hardly know anything about you, that's all. You don't have to answer if you don't want to..."

Smiling a little to herself, the half elf hugged her knees close to her chin. "Well... I'm from the Heartlands," she replied. "A small village that no one has ever heard of - nothing special."

"What's it called?"

"Forestside. Because it's next to-"

"A forest?" Valen interrupted, a droll hint to his voice.

"Ahh, I can see your powers of deduction know no bounds," Jen grinned in reply.

"I have my moments," he replied, mirroring her grin. "What about your family?"

Giving him a slightly incredulous look, the half elf decided to humour his request nonetheless. "Father is in the local Guard... younger brother following in his footsteps... step mother is a housewife."

"Step mother?"

"Yes – my real mother died when I was young."

"Oh. Sorry to hear that."

Offering him a self depreciating smile, Jen shook her head. "People always say that, but you don't have to be. I don't remember her at all; I know, people say that there should be something; a smell, or something in my dreams... but there isn't. Not very romantic, but it's true. All I know is that she was an elf and my father loved her very much to the point where it's painful for him to talk about her."

"That must be hard on you..."

"No... not really. Of course, I'm... curious to know about her but I don't want to hurt Dad, so once he'd told me all I needed to know, I stopped bugging him about it." She smiled, but it was not a smile for the tiefling sprawled out beside her, but rather for her father. "He says that I have her eyes... but I'm pretty sure he's lying; when it comes down to it, hazel just isn't an elven colour." She then gave him an enquiring look. "How about you?"

"How about me what?" Valen asked, rolling on to one side and propping himself up on one elbow.

Uncurling herself, Jen leant back, mirroring the tiefling's more relaxed state. "How about your family?"

"Don't have one," he replied matter of factly. "Mother died when I was younger, never knew my father and if I have siblings, I don't know about them."

"Your mother died too?"

Valen nodded. "I was about seven... I lived in Sigil at that point. Mother worked for a demoness, but she was sick one month – because she didn't bring in enough coin, she was punished so severely that it killed her."

Regarding him with widened eyes, Jen looked shocked. "Oh, Valen, I am so sorry to hear that. It must have been awful..."

"No... not really. Happens all the time, to be honest; you just kind of live with it."

"It happens all the time?" Jen echoed, appalled. "Where on Toril are you from?"

"I told you; Sigil, the City of Doors. It's not on Toril. Haven't you heard of it?"

Shaking her head, the half elf shrugged. "I've heard it mentioned, but never really took any notice - nor interest - I must admit... but, considering what you've just told me, it sounds like a vile place."

Grinning, Valen tugged out a long-stemmed piece of moss and stuck it jauntily between his teeth. "No... Sigil's not vile; it's a beautiful, dangerous, exciting place, full of opportunity."

"I'm not too convinced..." Jen replied warily. "Sounds a bit rich for my blood."

"Says the girl stuck in the Underdark," the tiefling snorted in amusement. "No, you'd love it. When all of this is over... maybe I'll take you there, if you like."

Surprised at his offer, Jen shrugged one shoulder and fiddled a little self-consciously with the end of one the curls that tendrilled over one of her shoulders. "Maybe. Sounds like fun." She then cleared her throat a little nervously; feeling silence threaten to descend upon the pair of them again, the half elf pressed on. "What about your father? Didn't you seek him out after your mother died?"

At this, the tiefling just shook his head ruefully. "No, I didn't; I don't think that would have been a good idea, to be honest. I am under no illusions as to the circumstances of my conception; I wasn't a child born out of love, like you, but rather out of a transaction, or of violence." Noticing the look of open shock that wrote itself across the half elf's face, Valen smiled gently. "It doesn't bother me; truthfully. Cambions aren't known for their kind and gentle natures, after all. When it comes down to it, my mother didn't have to keep me; that she did says she must have cared for me, after a fashion."

"What... what happened to you after that? And what is a cambion?" Jen couldn't help but ask.

"I was a street urchin for a while – best pickpocket in the Hive, I hasten to add! - but it's not important," he answered. "It all led to me being press-ganged into joining the Blood Wars, and you know about that."

"... And cambions?"

Chuckling to himself, Valen shook his head again at her terminal curiosity. "They're half demons, Jen; where I get these from." He gestured to his horns and flicked his tail at her playfully. "I'm surprised you hadn't figured that out, you know..."

Blushing slightly as the tip of his tail grazed her leg, Jen had to sublimate a small shiver that suddenly tickled its way up her spine. "How should I know?" she commented a little tartly in mock complaint, trying to compensate for her unexpected discomposure. "We hardly have demons stalking our streets in Forestside, you know... it's unusual enough to see an elf or a halfling!"

"Indeed..." Valen replied slowly, giving her a strangely searching look. "I suppose I must look very strange to you."

Raising her eyebrows, Jen smiled inwardly as she recognised his blatant play for information regarding her opinions of him, not, she realised with some measure of secret delight, as a Commander or as a friend, but how she as a woman regarded him as a man. "Nooo..." she began slowly, cursing herself as she felt a scalding flush creep up the sides of her neck and spread across her cheeks. "Unusual, maybe, but that's not necessarily a bad thing..."

Falling silent and looking away from her to regard the city below them once more, Valen tugged out another blade of grass-like moss from the turf and started chewing upon it thoughtfully. As he fell quiet, Jen felt a slight pang of worry and her heart sink a little. "Have... have I said something I shouldn't"

Turning back to her, Valen narrowed his eyes at her in amusement. "No. Why do you ask?"

"In the past, when you went quiet, it usually meant I'd either said something, or had done something you considered stupid..."

"Is that what you think?"

"Well... you did tell me, on numerous occasions, that I was stupid and naïve and generally a waste of space..."

His smile falling from his face, the tiefling took out the blade of almost-grass from his mouth and sat up, his demeanour all of a sudden defensive. "I said I was sorry for that."

"Oh, I know – I... I'm not having a go at you," Jen started, a little too quickly. "Just, you know, when you go all taciturn, I kind of automatically assume I've said something to upset you."

Shaking his head a little, the Weapon Master drew his knees momentarily up under his chin before unfurling himself and turning to her once again; raising a hesitant hand, he allowed himself to catch her chin. "The problem wasn't with you," he murmured eventually, "it was with me. I... I'm a proud man, Jen – too proud, sometimes. To survive here, I've had to be. But I don't want to be a proud man; I want to be a good man... and I was not a good man to you. I've treated you appallingly, and, believe me, it is something that causes me much grief and regret; if I'm honest, I have no idea why you are even here - if I were you, I would have told me exactly where to go-"

Placing her fingertips over his mouth, Jen silenced the tiefling; deciding to throw caution to the wind entirely and feeling a little light headed as a small, detached part of her realised what she was about to do and despaired, she then leant forwards, removed her hand and gently lay a light kiss upon his lips.

His cerulean eyes widening in shock, Valen's first instinct was to jerk his head back; feeling him do this, Jen felt her insides turn to ice and her face ignite, ashamed that she had read his signals so incorrectly. However, this was quickly replaced by a sharp jolt in her stomach when, rather than leaving her in disgust, the tiefling snaked a hand behind her head and leant in to return the favour.

At first, his kiss was chaste, but as the tension that had been building to a near unbearable level between them for so long finally broke, Jen felt his warm tongue flick enticingly over her lips; feeling a deep, swooping sensation sink through her, she needed no encouragement to tilt her head and allow him to deepen his kiss as he ran a hand up her outer thigh, making her utter a small, involuntary gasp. Wrapping her arms around his neck as their tongues entwined, Jen allowed the tiefling to guide her backwards to the ground, when suddenly, without warning, he abruptly broke off his impassioned embrace and snapped his head around, as if he was listening.

Confused, the half elf drew her brows together. "What's wrong?"

"The Seer Calls... something's wrong. We have to get back to Lith My'athar."

"Oh."

Despite his sudden worry, seeing the bewildered, hurt expression flit across her flushed countenance, Valen ran a hand through her hair and, cupping her cheek with his palm, gave her a swift yet ardent kiss before standing up and offering her his hand, hoping that she would realise that it was not her that he ran from, rather his responsibilities he ran to. Accepting his proffered hand with a sigh, Jen nodded and allowed him to pull her upright before they both all but ran back across the pasture together, making their way as swiftly as they could to the glittering drow city below.

o0o

"What's going on?" Valen demanded, striding up to Imloth, his demeanour stern and uncompromising once again, all trace of his previous good humour now gone.

Marking his Commander's approach, Imloth had to physically stop himself from rolling his eyes as he saluted. "Where in the Abyss have you been?" he asked, a hint of complaint colouring his voice. "We've been looking everywhere in the city for you; in the end, we had to ask the Seer to Call you!"

"I am not on duty," the tiefling snapped, drawing himself up to his full height. "And I do not need to answer to you. I heard the Call and came here as quickly as I could. Now, report!"

Saluting again, Imloth nodded smartly. "Yes, Sut'rinos!" he answered briskly, not wishing to stoke his superior's rather infamous temper. "A patrol has been attacked; there were a lot of casualties, with a few possibly taken alive. The survivors have reported the presence of undead mainly, but by all accounts there were a good number of duergar and drow present too-"

"The Valsharess," the Weapon Master growled. "How close?"

"Only a mile or so. They're getting bolder."

Snorting in annoyance, Valen nodded. "Okay – time to scare them off. Gather an elite vzahaz and meet me by the city gates. Make sure we have access to at least one spellcaster, just in case." He then perused the gaggle of drow congregated around them. "Get a couple of Scouts, too – send them ahead and see if they can glean any more intelligence that might help us. I'll liaise with the Seer and prepare myself; give me half an hour."

Nodding back sharply, Imloth turned smartly upon one heel and began barking orders the the assembled dark elves as Valen stalked away.

"I'll go and get my things," Jen remarked as they moved off, finding herself having to resort to a curious skipping walk in order to keep with with him. "Do you know where they were p-"

"You're not coming," the Weapon Master said curtly.

"What?" the half elf asked angrily. "You said you needed spellcasters and Scouts; well, I'm both. I'm coming."

"No, you're not," Valen snapped back as he approached the outer doors of the temple. "You're going to stay here with the Seer."

"Is that an order, Weapon Master?" she quipped acerbically as they entered the temple proper.

Making their way across the outer lobby, the tiefling sighed heavily. "If it has to be. Jen; please don't argue with me, not now." He then paused by the door of what Jen guessed he treated as his office. "If this is the preclusion to a real incursion, I need you here to protect the Seer initially. If it isn't, the last thing we need is for the Valsharess to have any real confirmation that you actually exist."

"But that's ridiculous; the Valsharess knows I exist-"

"Yes, I know; but she hasn't seen you with her own eyes," Valen interrupted. "At the moment, this means we have the slight upper hand in the situation. Jen... please... just do as you're told this time. No heroics. Chances are this will all come to naught. Trust me."

Glowering a little petulantly at the Weapon Master, the half elf finally nodded. Smiling, the tiefling opened the door to a small room that smelt of cold ashes and armour polish before glancing around himself and leaning in to peck Jen quickly upon her cheek. "Thank you. Go and find the Seer; I'll be with you in a minute."

With that, he closed the door, essentially barring her entry.

o0o

Still feeling slightly sulky and more than just a little worried, Jen hurried across the outer lobby towards the centre of the temple proper, seeking out the Seer. As per usual, she was sat upon the throne-like chair located upon the central dais in the main room; this time, however, rather than displaying her usual calm, serene composure, she looked deadly serious – worried even – as she spoke to one of her priestesses in rapid drow. Spotting the half elf's approach, she stood and held out her hands; clasping in them in her own she inclined her head and forced a smile to grace her refined features.

"Jenalil!" she breathed. "I am so very glad to find you. For a moment, I was worried..." she shook her head. "But no. You were with the Weapon Master all along; I should have known you were safe. Have you heard?"

Sensing the Seer's anxiety, Jen nodded, now incredibly concerned. "Yes, I have... Imloth informed me. He said one of the Valsharess' troops has been sighted nearby, but he didn't really elaborate. Valen says he's going to take an elite battalion out to chase them away if necessary, and that I'm to stay here with you."

Looking a little surprised, the Seer nodded nonetheless. "That may be for the best... it has not been long since your miraculous return to us, after all." She then looked thoughtful. "Yes – you should stay here, just in case anything does go wrong. If the Valsharess is moving against Lith My'athar prematurely, we will need you to continue as soon as possible, and we still have much to discuss as to your next course of action."

Nodding, Jen heard the doors crash open behind her; snapping her head around, the half elf could only watch as two seriously injured drow were carried in to the temple by their comrades, who were shouting frantically for assistance. Gathering her skirts in her hands, the Seer all but flew down the steps that led to her podium; laying the two gravely hurt dark elves upon the marble floor, the largely uninjured drow stepped back and Jen felt her stomach turn a little as she caught a glimpse of what looked like pale, glistening ropes tumble from the stomach of one, the obvious result of an attempted evisceration.

"What did this?" she heard the Seer demand, but the reply the dak elf she had accosted gave her was too rapid for her shaky grasp of the drow language to handle; she guessed it was not good news, however, when the Seer's countenance hardened and her usually kind eyes took on an almost metallic edge as her priestesses began to busy themselves around her, kneeling beside the injured dark elves, preparing to cast powerful healing spells in an effort to snatch them from the cold clutches of death itself.

For a moment, Jen felt an almost surreal sense of juxtaposition; how could things have gone from being so calm – so promising – to this in the space of a few mere minutes? Watching as the blood from the casualties in front of her pooled and ran along the barely visible joins in the marble upon which they were lain, the half elf then shook her head, deciding to temporarily banish such thoughts; instead, she waylaid a passing priestess, and, after asking her how she could help, ran to fetch warm water and clean cloths alongside the other followers of Eilistraee.