Series Placement: The following Shard takes place between Fragments 89 and 90.

"As long as we don't get close, we'll be fine, right?"

"Hey, I'm wary too, you know? My teacher catches us and…"

"We're both dead. Yea. So let's not get caught and live to see the sunrise."

Yet, the two hidden heroes were still going through with this rather dishonorable act. Neither could deny it though. After a lifetime of bravery, to result to hiding in spirit form, wrapped with a concealment cape… Yea, this sneaking around stuff never suited a Celtic legend. Maybe Achilles was more comfortable with it since he had hidden amongst a court for so many years, but definitely not Cu.

But, the lancer's curiosity was overflowing, and sometimes you just have to feed the monkey… or so Tyler sometimes said.

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Shard 44: Glimpse From Afar

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They'd snuck in through the far wall of Salon de Marie, and it wasn't hard to find the souls of their interest. This late at night, they were guaranteed to be the only ones. Cu had heard these late-night meetings were becoming common; Achilles too. Neither doubted it. What evidence would they have to believe so?

Their teachers got along very well since they first met. Perhaps too well. Their conversations could last hours, and over the weeks Cu was almost positive they'd grown even longer. Would two immortals run out of things to talk about? Even he, Diarmuid, and Angra often ran out of small talk while fishing…

Nevertheless, tonight, like every other night, the two teachers sat at the salon's bar talking quietly. Not an echo of their voices flew through the empty salon. That wouldn't do… The students were hoping they could hear something from afar, because getting too close was far, far too risky.

If what Achilles said about Chiron was true, he had an incredible six sense with his students like Scathach did… they'd be detected in a heartbeat.

"I guess we can only wait and see," Achilles mentally called, and Cu agreed. There was no way in hell the two like-minded friends were risking the approach. "Teacher sure looks happy though."

"Hm. Mine too…" Cu mulled back as he stared intently at his teacher. It had taken some getting used to, but Scathach had certainly warmed up to Chaldea; He was glad. Really glad. The jaded gloominess had mostly lifted, and after Chiron's arrival, it seemed far more destined to be sidelined in the back of her mind.

How could that not make Cu curious? Maybe it was Gabrielle and Medb's teasing, but the gears certainly began turning. Where once uninterested eyes barely picked up on clues, now they seemed to pour over every little peculiarity involving his strict teacher. And, with much certainty, there was much to be gleamed.

For one, while Chiron was still dressed in a usual set of slacks and a collared shirt in some corresponding color combination, his teacher was far more dressed down. Cu had seen Scathach wear her room robe outside on rare occasion, but wearing it to this late-night meeting prodded at the mind. The wine bottle and glasses they were sharing added fuel. Her lingering stare, even as he turned away briefly to the bar top, threw gasoline onto a grease fire.

But above all, her smile seemed rather… cemented. Content. Free. Not an ounce of cynicism or exhaustion marred her beautiful face as they began talking again about… who knows what. If he hadn't known better, she'd have been like a matured woman who'd found her soulmate.

Would that be far from the truth? Two immortals… er, one immortal and former immortal? Had her beliefs and interests shifted further more? Cu sure hoped so, especially with what he saw.

The lancer instinctively looked beside him, but Achilles was no where to be seen. Like him. Cu wondered if he was pouring over the little differences he saw in his teacher too. Did he see something similar? Was his heart just as lighter after doing so?

Cu stared back to Scathach let a warming chuckle loose. It rang like a birthday song rather than a funeral choir, and plucked at strings within. He felt himself smirk as his own gaze lightened. She seemed so much freer and calmer than any time he'd ever seen her… but his eyes were keen. Not all was… perfect. Ideal.

"They're definitely happy, but…" Cu began quietly as his smirk faded a bit. "Hey, uh. Are you noticing any tinge of annoyance or frustration in your teacher?"

"…Yea. Teacher's a bit… disappointed? A bit irritated too." Well then. So it wasn't just a fleeting look that dared to mar Scathach's content aura. Something was amiss, and for her sake, Cu hoped it wasn't anything damning coming from Chiron. Dare the lancer say, with all he's heard and seen to this point, Achilles' teacher is likely the best chance Scathach has to a fitting, undying companion, whether something more or not.

So what could…

"Setanta." The sudden edge of her voice and the sharp spike of his name was worse than feeling Gae Bolg tear through his chest. The dread mounted. The gears spun, and his thoughts clicked confirmed. "Stop hiding back there."

'Oh. Oh shit. OH. SHIT… So that was it!' He had to wonder if Achilles was feeling the exact same thing.

"Achilles. You too." Well, he probably was now. At least, Cu thought? Chiron's voice was calmer… but maybe that calmness was a knife on its own.

Together, the two students materialized at the far side of the ballroom beneath one winding stairs to the balcony. Like deer in the headlights, they quickly glanced to each other, then back at the two approaching teachers. They were kindergartners before the principal. Except there were two… and one sipped gently on her wine to quell some of her now palpable irritation.

And then Cu felt it again. The dreaded wave of doom washing over him, just like his younger days. A herald for the Scottish teacher's punishments as she mulled the options quickly. Cu swallowed the boulder in his throat, and did all he could not to shake. Ever brave, ever defiant against the odds, Cu's everlasting confidence collapsed faster than Spartacus poking a Jenga tower.

"…Uh… We can explain…" Cu chuckled nervously as he glanced to Achilles for support. The mighty rider was also stunned to sheepish silence and an apologetic stare. Glued to the gaze of his own teacher, Cu dared a quick glance. Chiron was so very calm and had a small smile, but his arms were crossed. Feeling the air over his familiar teacher's aura… Nope. There was no mistaking it. 'To emanate such disappointment and impending dread with such a calm demeanor… Chiron is really something!'

Cu's dread snapped tenfold when Scathach's tiny, devilish smirk appeared. The same kind that showed only before a worthy battle, or a sinister 'training regime for the day' that would amuse her. "Then you can explain after your punishment. I thought better of you than to eavesdrop."

"You too, Achilles. I'm afraid I can't let this slide," Chiron scolded lightly, in such a sharp contrast to his own teacher's. But, wow, the sheer power and anxiety-inducing promise such calm words carried…

After the two students glanced to each other, Achilles found his voice. "…We're sorry, teacher. Teachers… What will you have us do…?"

"Obedient and apologetic. That's a start," Scathach mused as she shot a curious gaze to Chiron. She sipped her wine gently, and the two stared at each other quietly. Had it been any other situation, Cu would have wondered what they silently traded in unvoiced tongue. They found their answer soon enough.

A moment later, Chiron turned back with a smile. "We had a long disagreement earlier about the direction of our training plans."

"Our results are similar, but our methods differ. So neither of us are… wrong," Scathach admitted, with a tiny amount of begrudging surrender. Ah, the pride of Celtic legends is not so easy to overcome; Well done, Chiron. "Even as the chosen training leads, we can't agree to pick one over the other. We remained in disagreement."

"Until now," Chiron finished, and Cu was quickly coming to understand that Chiron's sickly-sweet smile could carry different weights. The color was already draining from Cu and Achilles' expressions as Chiron and Scathach shared another amused glance. Then the archer sentenced them. "So, I offered an alternative: We narrow down the best of both methods and combine them into a new one. An untested regime that could put even heroic spirits through their paces."

"You're going to test our first iteration. Meet us on the training grounds at the crack of dawn, or suffer a worse fate," Scahtach declared without room for argument. Again, she merely sipped her wine, eyed the sheer dread on the students' faces, then turned around. While she sipped her wine, her free hand gently brushed against Chiron's arm in a motion to follow. "Let's go, Chiron. Our notes are waiting, and the wine grows warm."

After a content but apologetic smile, Chiron quickly walked to her side, and they fell into another relaxed conversation.

One that went completely unheard by the crushed students, too far numb to hear the amused laughter chasing after the teachers' retreat.