Lindon hated to admit it but he really needed these moments. Sitting around a makeshift table beside a roaring campfire was Akura Grace, Akura Pride, Naru Saeya, the Maten sisters, and himself. Their impromptu team dinners were the only moments where Lindon could truly make himself relax in between worrying about the Uncrowned King Tournament, the Dreadgod Battlefield, and his own advancement. He had been working himself to the bone for weeks, acting like he was still in Ghostwater hopped up on the well. His movements felt jittery, his body stung from a million little aches and pains, but most of all he was just tired. Sitting here with his team, eating together, and talking about nothing of real importance helped soothe and maintain him.

Which was why Pride's piercing gaze and laser focus was not welcome.

Lindon looked up to try and meet his eyes but Pride looked away suddenly, and gave a slight nod to Naru Saeya that Lindon almost missed. She sat up straight and cleared her throat, looking in Lindon's direction hesitantly.

"So… Lindon. It occurs to me that I don't really know much about you, aside from being Eithan's apprentice and adopted family member, would you mind sharing a little bit about yourself?"

He was caught off guard by the sudden interest from Naru Saeya. He didn't think he had spoken more than three sentences to her in their entire time together, but he remained polite. "What would you like to know?"

Naru Saeya's eyes flickered towards Pride and then back to Lindon. "Oh I don't know… Where do you come from? What's your family like? Any secret children? What sort of hobbies do you enjoy?" Half the table made a choking sound and stared at her. [Wow they're all looking at her like she just sprouted wings and flew off-wait no that's a terrible analogy.]

"Um." Lindon began, deciding it was best to ignore that third question. "I hail from a land in the western Blackflame Empire, a place called Sacred Valley. My family is… nice, although I haven't seen them in a few years. I have a sister, she's back in Sacred Valley with my parents. And I don't really have many hobbies-I spend a lot of time training."

Akura Grace snorted in laughter. "A lot of time, he says. More like every waking moment. I had to practically drag you out of your forge."

Lindon smiled sheepishly. "Apologies, I have a habit of getting...absorbed into my projects." A collective sound of agreement came from his team. That was no secret.

"Is your sister also a lost Blackflame princess?" One of the Maten sisters inquired.

Lindon gave her a puzzled look. "Er, no. Why would she be?" The other Maten sister groaned and patted her sibling on the back. "Please, excuse her, she believes in too much gossip. She seems to think you're a lost member of the Imperial Blackflame family who was hidden away for safe-keeping."

"H-hey! It was just a question!" The other sister whined. [You should really learn their names. Not only is it rude to keep referring to them as the 'Maten sisters,' but it's also terribly confusing]. Dross had a point. He waved at the two of them reassuringly and stopped their bickering. "No, no. It's no problem at all. I just learned the Path of Blackflame, I have no blood connection to the former ruling dynasty. In fact, my clan back home practices an illusion based path called the Path of the White Fox. That's what my family uses." As he spoke he noticed that Pride was growing more and more irritated by the tangent they had done on, consistently trying to make covert gestures towards Naru Saeya who finally cleared her throat and spoke up once more.

"You know, Lindon," she tapped her emerald painted fingernails on the smooth wooden table carved from wind mandra and spoke in a calm, even placating tone, "in many cultures in the Blackflame Empire it's normal and even customary to get married and have children as soon as possible. It's nothing strange, nothing to be ashamed of."

Lindon nodded in polite agreement with her words for a few moments before he realized she was clearly referring to him. The chunk of meat he was gnawing on fell down to his plate and he took a rapid swig of the water in his mug, suddenly feeling a lump in his throat. "Well I-I wouldn't know about that. There's never been…" He trailed off.

"Really? There's never been anyone? I'm surprised, I would have thought the girls in your clan would have been all over a prodigy like you." Naru Saeya continued.

"And the children?" Pride cut in aggressively.

"What kind of a question is that? Why would Lindon have any children?" Akura Grace spoke up on his behalf, slamming a fist that shook the wooden table dangerously. Thank you, Lindon thought to himself. But then she stiffened and gave him a sharp look. "You… don't have any secret children, right?" I take that back.

"Of course not!" Lindon said, trying to beat down the embarrassed flush that had broken out across his face. "I left Sacred Valley when I was 15, when would I have time to have children? And for that matter why would you even suspect that I did?!"

"15." Pride muttered. "So you've been travelling with Yerin for…8, maybe 10 years?" He shot Lindon with an accusing look. "A lot of time for something to happen."

"Just how old do you think I am?" Lindon asked, exasperated. He had always known that his height combined with his...intimidating…features often made him look much older than he really was-but this was absurd!

"22." Naru Saeya said immediately.

"21." Akura Grace chimed in.

"23" The Maten sisters spoke up at the same time.

"25." Akura Pride said in complete seriousness. "Maybe 24." He amended as if he was being very generous.

Lindon put his head in his hands and sighed. "Do I honestly look that old to you?"

"Well certainly your underlord transformation shaved a fair number of years off your appearance…" Naru Saeya said in a tone that suggested she was reconsidering her answer after seeing his reaction. "Really it's your skill in the Sacred Arts that makes me think you're older than you appear."

Lindon shook his head and then jabbed a thumb towards his face. "I'm 18." He was met by a series of disbelieving faces. "You should know this!" He gestured to Naru Saeya. "The Blackflame Empire has a record of my age along with my rank."

She looked sheepish. "Well… I've been busy, I haven't really looked into you as much as I perhaps should have. But that's good! Right? No illicit children." She gave Pride a meaningful look.

"Yes, of course, I knew it." Akura Grace nodded and her body relaxed with obvious relief.

Pride was still giving him a strange look. "Good, good… Then the age difference with Mercy isn't as bad as I thought…" He muttered to himself but Lindon could hear. He didn't know what that was about but at least everyone else seemed to have relaxed and returned to eating.

"Honestly." Lindon smiled at all of them, thinking about how ridiculous the questions were. "Did you all really think I had children at 15? I don't think my wife would approve." He laughed at his own joke, thinking of the vision Suriel had shown him all the way back then of what his life in Sacred Valley would have looked like. Two pairs of haunting, violet, Akura eyes widened and bore into him like beams of blackflame. Akura Grace's fork snapped in her hand.