Author's Note: Given how heavy the story arc with the mirror-gates and whatnot were, I decided that it would be cool to have a chapter that's more lighthearted and fun. So, I give you Smoke and Kailyn. I hope it lifts your spirits and gets you in the feels. :)

P.S. Firebending Master came up with the title, so...yeah. Thank you. I think. LOL

"Hello, Kailyn," Tomas greeted as he made his way to her.

She sat on a railing obstructing a sharp fall to the next step in the vast, inverted pyramid, her arms crossed, her balance on the narrow balustrade perfect. After Tsai Bing had grudgingly fed the Earthrealm Champions under the scrutinizing glare of Lord Fujin, the warriors had scattered like exopterygota in all directions. After spending every second of the last several weeks together, they needed their own time. Kailyn understood, and had spent much of her evening sitting on this railing avoiding people while studying the bustling marketplace below. Part of her wished to explore it, but she did not dare go without Fujin there to protect her; the Cryomancers were clearly unhappy that she was there and allowed to walk free as it was, and she wanted no trouble.

"Greetings, Tomas Vrbada," she said as the Enenra approached, her eyes never leaving the bustling crowd at the bottommost level of Mòhé. As much as it shocked her, she found that she did not mind his company, and in fact was somewhat glad he was there. Up until now, she had felt fairly bored. Perhaps he would not mind escorting her to the marketplace.

"Look, miláček, you can stop using my last name," he smiled, sitting down on the railing opposite to her. "You really don't need to stand on formality with me."

Finally, the Tetrach looked at him. "Speak your mind, Enenra, and tell me why you are here," she commanded. "Is there something that you want?"

"Yes," he said as he winked at her, now crossing his own arms. Kailyn immediately scoffed at that, and she rolled her eyes before looking away once more. She suspected she knew what he meant – he wanted her – but he was sorely mistaken if he thought she would give him the Tetrach's kiss simply for his flattery.

Her long silence prompted him to continue and hastily, he said, "Actually, I can't sleep, Kailyn. Kenshi and Bo'Rai Cho are catching up on sleep, Kabal still hasn't woken up from his nap, and Fujin ran off with Tsai Bing. Kuai Liang and Anya still aren't back. I'm a little worried about them, to be honest. So I can't sleep. You're the only one left to hang out with. Not that you're last on my list of desirable people to spend time with. Truth be told, I really don't want to spend any more time with Fujin than I have to. He-"

Now she cut him off. "May I ask you a question?" she asked.

Tomas smiled. "Of course."

"Why are you acting this way towards Lord Fujin?"

"Acting what way?"

Kailyn sighed. "You act as if you are jealous of him."

He scoffed. "No, I don't."

She looked at him pointedly. "Your breath quickened and you averted your eyes. These signs suggest you are lying to me."

He lifted an eyebrow, now smiling brightly at her. "Touché, miláček," he said, grinning. Gods, that smile! So maddening and so endearing at the same time…No! she snapped at herself. He wants you to lose focus so he can trick you and make fun of you again.

"I would know the answer to my question," she pressed.

"Well, I'll tell you what," he began, glancing at the people in the marketplace far below. "If you answer my question first, I'll answer yours."

"But I asked first!" she protested.

"Do you want to know or not?" Now Tomas cocked his head with another one of those handsome smiles, looking at her expectantly. He did not even have to try to get under her skin.

Kailyn narrowed her eyes and inhaled deeply as if to brace for impact. "Very well. What do you want to know, Enenra?"

"How did you and Fujin have a kid together?"

A small giggle escaped her and now she cocked her head. "I assumed you understood how children were conceived, Tomas Vrbada. If you do not, I am not explaining it to you. I am not your mother, and I am especially not your father."

He chuckled, his cheeks flushing slightly red. "No, let me try that again. I know how it's done. I mean, how did you wind up doing that…thing…you have to do to conceive a child?" Tomas stumbled over his words, forcing down a grimace. Clearly, the thought bothered him, and it almost amused her. "I mean, what's the appeal there? Did you like the way he blew into your ear or something?"

Now it was her turn to blush. She felt her eyes bulge out in surprise and she quickly looked away, stifling a nervous laugh as she slid off the railing uncomfortably. It was not the way Fujin blew into her ear, exactly. It was the way he had pulled her into his arms, wrapped them firmly around her, and then gave her the first real kiss of her life. He had pulled out all traces of wind from her lungs, and it had left her feeling dizzy and lightheaded, but in a sensual way, a way that created a sharp cluster of needles centered near her groin. Her hands, in response, had promptly burrowed beneath his shirt, and she had felt pleased when they touched his strong, taut stomach muscles beneath it. Then she had let her hands drift around and massage his back firmly as he had continued to suckle on her lips…

"That is not an appropriate topic of conversation, Tomas Vrbada," she admonished, the memory of that night now spilling into her mind unchecked.

"Hey, I'm Captain Inappropriate if you haven't already noticed," he agreed, also sliding off the railing. Then he caught her by the wrist to keep her from running off. "Come on, I'm curious. Were you like, role-playing? Was he acting like the god and you were one of his homesick temple priestesses? Or was it that bizarre Hydromancer mating ritual of yours?"

Kailyn sighed and then shook her head. "There is little to tell," she lied, pulling free of his grip, thinking now of the way Lord Fujin had circled behind her to slowly slip off her bodice, all while kissing the curve of her neck into her shoulder. "I was chosen to lay with the Warrior Chief, Anluan, in what you call our 'bizarre mating ritual.' He is our greatest male warrior after King Henryk, so the pairing made sense to everyone. Everyone but me, that is."

"You didn't want to go through with it, I take it?"

"Of course not!" she explained, thinking about the heated argument with her mother for the briefest of seconds. "He is arrogant and unkind. He has already sired many children but cares very little for them. Furthermore, he is a half-brother to Rain." She spat at the mention of the traitor. "That is not the sort of man I want a child with." Now she thought of Anluan, that ever-present smug expression on his face, no different than the demi-god. The mere thought of him touching her, especially after the way Rain had tortured her, made her skin crawl. "All of the women," she continued, "especially my mother, could not understand my reluctance. He is handsome and strong and fertile. He has never failed to impregnate a female."

"Oh," Tomas said softly. The declaration seemed to have made him even more jealous.

"On the eve of the ritual, I was terribly vexed, so my mother sent me into the forest to hunt for many healing herbs and animals because her stores were running low, and I have a gift for finding what she needs." That was only partially true. Her mother was sick of listening to her complain about her lot in life, and wanted to get rid of her for a few hours. "There, Lord Fujin found me. He helped me find the best specimens for my mother. But before we could return to Tlachtga, a rare storm hit, and the path back became unsafe to travel."

Kailyn paused, her eyes looking off into the distance, lost in memory.

Outworld was always dim, but in that storm, all light had vanished so that she could not even see the tips of her fingers. The Wind God had taken her by the arm and led her to the closest shelter, a small cave in the side of a shrubby hill, using his powers to build a fire. From the light cast by it, she had been able to see large drops of warm water pummel the land, and she heard the steady roar of wind through the long-dead willow trees.

That she had been soaked to the bone made no difference to Lord Fujin; he had pulled her to him and kissed her, and then circled around to unfasten her clothes. Kailyn remembered that at first she had resisted him, the memory of the dungeon belonging to Rain dominating her thoughts. But as soon as her flat belly was exposed, and the Wind God had slid his hands over it and pulled her into him, nibbling on her neck from behind, she could not help but relax. He was not Rain, she had had to remind herself. He was a friend to the Hydromancer people. He was kind and benevolent and would never hurt any of them for any reason. And furthermore, if he wanted her, then who was she to defy him?

Not that she wanted him to stop. Every second he touched her, the more her blood boiled and her body ached for his to slide inside her; these were feelings she did not understand and had never felt before so she was slightly afraid, but it did not matter because he had made all her worries about Anluan disappear. When Kailyn had felt him walking them slowly towards the fire, she let him while she enjoyed the pleasant tingling that surged through her blood. Then he had carefully lowered her onto the blanket of leaves littering the cave floor. They were much softer than she had expected, though they still crunched as the two began to roll through them, frantically kissing and gently biting at each other, and he plunged inside her, making her cry out in pleasure she had never fathomed could feel so good while he rocked back and forth, calling her name and moaning, the world outside a million miles away…

"Kailyn?" Tomas asked, jarring from her thoughts.

She nervously laughed. "Oh, yes, well, we found refuge in a cave, and before I knew what was happening, we were laying together."

This time, Tomas could not hide the cringe, but the uncomfortable, disgusted face he made prompted the Tetrach to laugh. If he did not want to know, he should not have asked. "The next morning," she continued, "Lord Fujin brought me home. My mother was angry with me and thought I had run away. I told her what had happened, and she examined me, confirming that I was with child. She was more furious with me than she has ever been. But not as furious as Anluan. You may not know this, Tomas, but I am to the male Hydromancers what he is to the females. That Lord Fujin had impregnated me before he could dealt a serious blow to his ego, and he was humiliated."

Jealously, the Enenra said, "As far as gods go, Fujin's not that impressive. Anluan couldn't have been too embarrassed."

"My mother called off the mating ritual in a very public announcement. You see, the Elder Gods had willed Anluan and I to mate, and Lord Fujin had singlehandedly upset their decree so he could take me for his own. So actually, Anluan was very humiliated."

Kailyn smiled at the memory. The men had chuckled at his expense, and the women, save for Catja and Adaia, had praised her for finding an even stronger male to father her child. Her union with Lord Fujin had thoroughly emasculated Anluan. If it had accomplished nothing else, that would have been enough to make her happy. But it had also given her Morgan, the light of her life, and it had given her the sense of feeling love for someone else as well as being loved in return, if only for one night. She regretted nothing about her unsanctioned dalliance with the Wind God.

"So…" Tomas began, clearly unsure of how to proceed, "are you two still together?"

"No," Kailyn sadly shook her head.

"Why not?"

She breathed deeply to calm her emotions, swallowing them hard so they stayed buried deep, at least as far as Tomas knew. "He was only visiting Tlachtga because he was mourning his argument with Raiden," she explained. He had dropped in unannounced and stayed much longer than normal, downtrodden and depressed, but the Hydromancers had not cared about his visit because he helped them and did not meddle. Much. Kailyn thought of Anluan again and how Fujin had interfered, almost in answer to her prayers. "He was the only one who listened to me when I said I did not want to lay with that arrogant worm. And truthfully, I think he only laid with me out of pity to save me from a fate I did not want," she confessed. "And then, I think he only stayed with me after Morgan was born to keep my mother from pairing me off again. So far, it has worked. My mother has left me alone."

"Why did he leave?" Tomas asked, intrigued more than upset now.

"One day, Lord Himavat came and told him to return to Earthrealm as well as to his duties. Lord Fujin agreed that it was time to go, and he asked me to accompany him, but I refused."

Tomas cocked his head to the side in puzzlement. "Why?" he wanted to know.

"Because I did not believe he loved me as I had grown to love him," she said. "And I was certainly not prepared to leave my home, my mother, and my warriors for someone who did not care for me as much as I cared for him. I did not wish to become one of his many temple priestesses, as you call them."

That memory had made her sad. Fujin had practically begged her to reconsider, insisting that he wanted her and Morgan both to be an integral part of his life in Earthrealm. But she just could not bring herself to believe he was sincere, even though a vague sliver felt certain that he told the truth. Still, she stood her ground and refused him, and he had finally conceded defeat, slinking away with damp eyes and sloping shoulders.

"He has not returned to me since then," she finished. "The first time I saw him since then was the moment he brought you three men into Tlachtga." Now Kailyn focused on Tomas, her dusky lavender eyes piercing his cybernetic blue ones. "I have answered your questions truthfully," she announced. "Now, answer mine. Why are you acting jealous of Lord Fujin?"

The Enenra jumped as if startled from his thoughts, and then he faintly smiled as he patted her on the cheek. "Because I'm not sure he doesn't love you," he replied.

Kailyn felt her face flush red, and she began to melt. But then, she remembered his bet with Kabal, and the hardness took over once more as her eyes sharpened to steely daggers. "Flattery will not win you the Tetrach's kiss, Tomas Vrbada."

Now his expression changed to one of annoyance. "I am sick to death of the Tetrach's kiss!" he snapped. "I'm over it. Stop talking about it already." He paused, an idea filling his unnatural blue eyes. "Better yet…"

With that, he buried his hands in her loose yellow curls before he pulled her mouth to his. Shocked and angry, her hands found his wrists and clamped down, trying to pull away. How dare he kiss her without her permission? At first, she kept her mouth closed and refused to kiss him back. But, his lips, to her surprise, were soft and almost sweet, and they tenderly, not forcefully, pressed into hers. Through them, he sensed agitation with her, but also desire, and…adoration? Before she even knew she had fallen victim to his spell, she had relaxed and opened her mouth to receive him, and she let her hands drift to his shoulders, her bewildered eyes closing as warmth and pleasure coursed through her in equal measure. She was not sure how long they stood there nibbling, sucking, and probing, but when he finally pulled away, she found she could not breathe.

"What was that for?" she panted, acutely aware of how breathless she felt.

"Nothing," he said in all seriousness. "I just thought it was time to get that out of the way, and for you to get a taste of your own medicine. I'm done jumping through hoops to earn a kiss from you. Well, now it's my turn to make you jump through hoops for me."

Kailyn cocked her head in confusion. Her cheeks were flushed red and her lips were hot and swollen. Her body still tingled unbearably and demanded Tomas fix it with his touch, so silently indicating her desire for more, she anxiously reached for him. But now, he smirked and batted her groping hands away with his cybernetic arm.

"I don't think so, miláček," he teased.

"But, I do not understand," she replied. Why was he suddenly pushing her away?

"Poor Kailyn," he said as he now cupped her cheek. She involuntarily closed her eyes, enjoying the tiny currents of energy speaking to her through his fingertips. They warmed her face and made her feel good all over. "Did you really think you were the only one who could play hard-to-get?"

Her eyes immediately snapped open as he transmitted his intent to her mind. "Why would you want to play games with my feelings like that?" she hissed.

"To teach you a lesson," he stated simply. "I wanted you to know how it feels to want someone so badly that it aches inside every second you don't get it because that person ruthlessly withholds their affection from you." With an ornery smile, he tenderly stroked her cheek, tracing a path to her lips. "What I just gave you? That was my version of the Tetrach's kiss, miláček. It will tide me over for a while. At least long enough for me to make it back to Earthrealm where I'm sure more than a few women would love to kiss me. But you? Well, I hope you thoroughly enjoyed it because that is the very last one you're getting from me!"

Tomas smirked one more time before he started sauntering away with his hands clasped behind his back, and the sight filled her with rage and hatred. "Fujin kisses much better than you!" she yelled in desperation, even though that was not entirely true.

With an obnoxious grin, he whipped around. "You're a li-ar," he sang in a mocking voice. "I hope your memory of it and your newfound interest in me don't keep you awake too long tonight, můj sladký anděl." Then he put one hand on his hip while the other waved and wiggled his fingers, and he mockingly batted his eyelashes.

"You have an overinflated opinion of your effect on me, Tomas Vrbada!" she cried, lying again. She had no clue how she found the air in her lungs to shout, or the poise and self-discipline not to cross her legs to fight off the fire burning between them.

"Saying my name so authoritatively won't make me kiss you again, miláček," he teased. "But it is kind of cute."

In much the same way Morgan did when she pitched a fit, Kailyn screeched and stamped her foot. "I hate you!" she wailed in desperation.

"Oh, no you don't," he said dismissively. "You're just angry because you're not getting your way. You're used to having the upper hand. You don't like someone having control over you. It's okay, miláček. I understand."

Now Kailyn roared, and the guttural scream that emanated from somewhere deep in her throat accompanied a water whip that she sprayed from her hand. It lifted Tomas into the air and easily yanked him face-first towards a nearby balustrade. He slammed into the wrought iron with a pained groan, his body slumping like a doll as water broke apart and sprayed everywhere, but even though he surely felt great pain from her attack, he burst into crazed laughter as he staggered to his feet.

"Getting rough with me," he panted, "as much as a turn-on as it is, will not earn you another kiss, She-devil."

Kailyn screeched again, this time marching to him before throwing an enraged punch straight at his face. Tomas blocked her, and then a second, third, and even fourth time. On the fifth time she attacked, he blocked her arm and then turned his cybernetic hand over, grabbing her to yank her closer. Before he could utter another joke, however, the Tetrach furiously drilled her hard-toed boot into his crotch. The smile blessedly left his face and as his cheeks immediately turned a brilliant vermillion hue, he instantly collapsed to his knees. Good. She hoped the kick had hurt, and bad.

Before he had even recovered from the shot, Kailyn had moved to knee him in the face, but evidently, the Earthrealm Champion had the presence of mind to aim his kunai spear at the ground between her legs. The weapon plunged into the rock several feet behind her, forming a taut trip line; with a still-pained groan, Tomas shoved into her legs just enough to knock her over the wire. With a startled yelp, the Hydromancer fell onto her back, but still holding the cloth on his shoulder, she pulled him with her. A loud grunt escaped her as he immediately landed on top of her.

"Okay, okay," he panted hard. "If you want me that bad…"

"Get off of me, you inbred vermidax!" she barked as she shoved him off her and scrambled to her feet.

Tomas, now dripping wet and struggling not to vomit, was slower to rise. "You…you are entirely too much fun, Kailyn," he breathed. "While I'd ordinarily ask to play with you a bit more, I don't think I could now if I tried."

"You are dreaming if you think I would want to 'play' with you," she growled.

"It's okay, miláček," he chuckled. "I know you're just hurt, and when we're hurt we always lash out at the ones we love. I forgive you." With that, he began to limp away.

With a whimper of defeat, the Tetrach slumped against a nearby support pillar, and a moment later, a small, uncertain voice escaped her. "Tomas?" she softly called, unaware that her head was drooping.

"Yeah?" he asked as he turned around again.

"Why me?" she wanted to know. She choked down her tears. She would be damned before she cried in front of him. "Why do you insist on making a fool of me like this? Was our first encounter back in Tlachtga so terrible that this was the only way you could get even with me?" Now she looked up, her eyes glassy with moisture. "Why me?" she whimpered. "Why are you so desperate to put me in my place?"

And now a rare look of shame crossed his face. It was something she did not expect. "Oh, miláček, you've got it all wrong," he said as he hobbled to her. "I like that you set such high standards. I like that you're a challenge, that you won't just let me win. It means that when and if you do decide to keep me, I'm something special because I know you don't let just anyone have you." He rested his hands on her shoulders and his forehead against hers, and she felt the gesture oddly comforting. "You're smart, and funny in your own way, and an amazing warrior. So you deserve the very best, and not some jerk trying to conquer you."

Kailyn pulled away at that. "Is that not what you set out to do when you made your bet with Kadeem Kabal?" she asked, her voice dripping with deliberate skepticism.

Tomas nodded his head and sheepishly stared at his feet. "Yes," he admitted. "I was a jerk. I just didn't know it at the time."

"You imply that you have changed," she said. "Why? What changed you?"

He smiled that maddeningly beautiful and ornery smile again. "Well, miláček, let's just say that someone very near and dear to me may or may not have decided he likes you, and likes you more than enough to get himself into some serious trouble."

The Tetrach knew what he meant, but she looked at him suspiciously as she took a step back. She did not trust him, or his intentions. This had to be yet another of his ridiculous tricks to make fun of her again. But she knew of a way to tell for sure.

"Tomas?" she asked softly.

"Yes?"

"May I touch you with my powers?"

He wrenched his face in confusion and cocked his head to the side. "Why?" he asked. "You've already touched me and seen inside my head."

"That was different," she replied, and it was true. "That was an accident and I was not trying to see everything. I saw only a few pieces. I would like to see the entire picture."

He smirked now. "But why?"

"Because I need to know if I can trust you," she told him.

Tomas shook his head no. "I don't think so, miláček."

She scowled. "Why not? Are you not trustworthy?"

"It's not that," he replied. "If you want to know the content of my character, you're going to have to learn it the same way we mere mortals do. You're going to have to talk to me and get to know me the old-fashioned way. You're going to have to make a leap of faith."

What he said made sense, but the thought of trusting him on blind faith scared her. "I do not know how!" she yelped.

He sympathetically sighed. "Look, Kailyn, have you seen me do anything good? Anything not selfishly motivated?"

She thought about it. "You saved Morgan from being trampled by the caballus in Tlachtga. Annalise also told me that you tried to ease her suffering when Quan Chi tortured her."

"Very true," he nodded with a smile. "I wish I could've done more to help her. I wish I could've stopped Quan Chi to begin with. But unfortunately, it was not in my power to do so at that time." He sighed. "Anything else?"

"I also know that you tended to me when I was unconscious after my fight with Queen Sindel, and I understand that you threatened to start a war with the Cryomancers if they did not let Annalise heal me."

"That I did," he beamed proudly. "I kind of like having you around, I don't care what Kenshi says about you."

Kailyn frowned in confusion. "I…I do not understand. What…what did Kenshi say about me?" She tried to think if she had offended the blind swordsman somehow. She did not think so. He had always been cordial towards her, and she had always paid him the same respect. She did not know what she could have done to make him speak ill of her.

Tomas merely laughed at her. He said, "Oh, don't worry about him. Listen, the point is that I may not always succeed, but I always try to be a good man. Even my jokes are attempts at making everyone else's life happier, including yours, missy."

"But all those times you were kind to me, you were merely trying to win my Kiss," she pointed out.

"Wrong," he argued. "I wasn't. Kabal and I's bet was that I could earn a Tetrach's Kiss inside of a month. Well, miláček, my month ended two days ago, before you got hurt and before the Cryomancers found us. So I lost the bet. That means-"

"That means you were genuinely showing me kindness by taking care of me," she deduced. The revelation made her happy, and she flashed a rare smile.

"Very good!" he praised her, also smiling.

"But that also means you must now dress like a Falcata warrior," she told him.

Tomas inhaled deeply. "Yeah, well, about that," he began, scratching his downy white hair with a sheepish smile on his face. "Your uniforms have more meaning than I realized when I first made that bet. I don't want to be disrespectful to you or your people, so I'm not going to do it."

Kailyn lifted an eyebrow. "Then how will you repay your debt?" she wondered out loud.

He gently smiled as he reached out to finger one of her loose curls. "I kind of thought I should let the Tetrach decide my punishment," he said. Clearly, he expected her to ask for a kiss.

But she had something else in mind. "Then I would have you let me look into your mind," she said with a smile.

Tomas burst out laughing, and she almost did too. "Oh, bravo!" he beamed at her. "Well played, miláček. Well played. And that is why I like you."

Kailyn felt herself glowing in pride. "Well?" she urged.

With a knowing smile, Tomas stepped close to her and rested his still-human hand on her open palm, his eyes never leaving her eyes. With a somewhat arrogant smile of her own, she cupped his hand and covered it with her other, holding it tightly in both. Then her eyes slowly closed. Her first impressions were shallow, barely cutting through the surface. She sensed him studying the faint spattering of freckles on her nose, finding them adorable, feeling an overwhelming urge to kiss her nose because of them. She almost grinned at the compliment he did not even know he had issued her – in some strange way she could not explain let alone understand, he knew exactly how to make her feel extraordinary, a cut above the others even as he teased her – but she forced her face to stay smooth and expressionless so he would not know that she appreciated it.

And then she was plunged deeper and found herself inside of his every thought. Time flipped backwards and she found his memories of their flight from Bandiagara, and how terrified he had felt when he thought the river had claimed her.

The clock wound further back and there were strange people holding him down while Kuai Liang straddled his chest to get him to stop thrashing. She heard the Cryomancer speak in soothing tones: Tomas. Tomas! Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Nobody's going to hurt you anymore, okay? Nobody's trying to automate you again. Trust me, my pr̆ítel. Do you hear me?

Time flowed backwards further, and Tomas was not himself – he was a monster in black and gray armor. He stood on the precipice of a large mountain gorge as a man carrying several squirming, screaming girl babies in a wheelbarrow approached. Another monster fitted in yellow armor stood by him, and without so much as a word, both began throwing the girls off the edge one by one. He paused, ever so slightly, as he held one in his gloved hands. Ava, she heard his voice call her. She belonged to him. His daughter. Coldly, ruthlessly, unaware of what he was doing, he threw her to her death. She exploded upon impact at the distant bottom, the rocks painted with her dark, sticky blood. You really should kill me, Tomas whispered through Kailyn's head, his voice trembling. I deserve to die.

A crazed blur of images entered Kailyn's mind then in no particular order. A war-torn city called Prague under siege by evil men in black, his mother hiding with him in the attic when the soldiers merely passed by their old house. Nights on the street spent in frigid discomfort, fingers shoved into his armpits going numb, stomach empty and hurting. Souls cowering in terror as the demon with the silver eyes passed them, his body made of flame and smoke. A woman named Ilsa feeding him when he came to her for scraps. Halsey finding him hiding and taking him to a faraway Temple in the mountains. A Grandmaster quite literally beating him within an inch of his life. A thousand more images were Kailyn's for the taking, and she absorbed them all, hungrily devouring them and making them a part of her forever.

Finally, she let go. "Oh, Tomas," she said in sorrow and a touch of pity. "Your life has been so hard."

He smiled and shrugged. "It hasn't been that hard," he half-heartedly joked, though she knew he was lying and covering his feelings to seem stronger than he really was.

"No one would ever have faulted you for ending your life," she said. "But rather than choose that end, you have strived to overcome it. You work to bring others the joy you did not feel."

"Yeah, well…" he trailed off and shrugged. "That's me. The class clown."

She paused, and for the first time in their discussion, he dropped his head in somber grief. But Kailyn was not about to let him feel sorry for himself. She lifted his chin with her finger and forced him to look her in the eye. "The people who feel the most pain are the ones who laugh the loudest," she declared. "I thought you were just a simple fool. I am sorry, Tomas. I am the fool. You are a much better man than I ever gave you credit for. So I am proud to call you my friend," she said in all sincerity.

Tomas looked at her for the longest moment, his strange blue eyes studying her intently, his face an expressionless mask. Through his skin, she sensed that he was trying to decide what to do; he was unusually lost for words and actions. But then the need to kiss her quickly sprang up and he impulsively began to lean closer, and she closed her eyes and tilted her face upwards to meet him because she found that she needed it too.

"Kailyn!" a new voice barked at her then, prompting her to jump. She quickly turned her head to the left and saw Fujin standing nearby with a look of fury etched onto his face. "I wish to speak to you, Tetrach. Now."

As he said it, Kailyn realized that her hands were still tightly intertwined with Tomas' and there was no doubt in Fujin's mind as to what it meant. But it mattered not to her. She liked the feel of the Champion's hand cupped in her palm; through it, she sensed his sudden annoyance with the Wind God for interrupting their moment. She understood. She felt similarly and wished she could see where this conversation would go, and what his kiss would be like now that he was not teasing her. With a half-smile, she looked directly into Smoke's unnatural blue eyes, vaguely wishing she could see the original silver.

"We shall continue this conversation later," she declared in a soft voice little more than a whisper.

The Enenra smirked and laughed softly beneath his breath. "Well, I should certainly hope so," he replied as the brief temptation to kiss her again filled his thoughts, even with Fujin watching and surely ready to smite him. Then, he slowly pulled his hand away and she walked towards the Wind God, unable to pry her attention away from the ornery Enenra who had begun to melt her heart.