Thane had made quite a haul on this trip, considering the weight of the sack of gold coins Charsi had given him in exchange for some of the magical items he had found. It had been a good day indeed. If he was going to put his life on the line day in and day out for these people, then he was at least going to make a tidy profit doing it. He liked to think of it as his retirement fund. When this job was done he hoped to have enough money to buy a nice house with a small lab so he could study his craft, hire a couple of servants, find a wife… He smiled to himself as he wondered if Meize would be interested. Damn, but the girl was growing on him fast.
Wasn't it just the other day he was ready to lock her in irons to keep her in town and out of the way? Then he came across her lying in the mud. He'll never forget the anguish in her voice calling him to stop. When he thought about the whole thing later he realized that she really would have drowned in that mud when her strength gave out. And he couldn't stop kicking himself for being such a cold jerk.
Now he found himself hurrying to see her. He had kept back a piece of the treasure Cain had identified for him, and he knew she'd love it.
He was just about to pull back the flap on their tent when he heard a tantalizing splashing sound. Manly curiosity got the better of him and he gently eased back a corner of the flap just enough to peek in. He was rewarded with the sight of a glistening, tanned leg stepping out of the tub. His gaze traveled up the curve of her calf, the lean length of her thigh… "OUCH!"
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kashya stood there behind him waving a javelin. "I knew you were a jackass, but are you a pervert too? Can't you see the privacy sign above your head? What is it with you and your other testosterone-loaded partner? Give the poor girl some space!"
Thane stood up, rubbing his bruised skull. "It's just…"
"Go!" She commanded him, pointing to the central fire.
He had to explain himself and save at least a little honour. "I'm not…"
"GO!" She swung the javelin at his head again.
"All right!" He threw his hands up in surrender and started towards the fire, but he changed his mind and stalked off to find Gheed and try his luck on a few items instead. Probably not a good idea when he was so angry, but it was something to get him away from here. He could hear Kashya behind him calling into the tent that there was nothing the matter, Meize should enjoy herself, she'd rousted out all the rats.
Oh, he was never going to hear the end of this debacle.
Sure enough at dinner, several thousand gold pieces later, everyone was staring at him. Or at least he was sure everyone was staring at him, and every whisper and every giggle was about him, and it was giving him a twitch. He grabbed his bowl of stew and loaf of bread and sat down at the fire. Martenus and Meize soon joined him, but they sat a little ways away, Meize hiding on the other side of the paladin.
They ate in silence for several minutes, and she refused to look at him.
He finally couldn't stand it anymore. "Oh, come on, guys! It was just a misunderstanding."
"Silence, wretch." Martenus held his fork up in front of the necromancer's face as if it were a wall between them. "You owe the lady an apology."
"But I didn't do anything!" Thane wined. "I was just going to our tent when Kashya accosted me."
"She said you were clearly peeping."
Damn you, Martenus. You're clearly trying to win her to your side, aren't you. "Well, I had to see if it was you or Meize before I went in, right?"
"She said you were drooling."
"Wh… bu… ya…" The necromancer was out of excuses. He had to save this somehow. "I'm a man, damnit! When a lady splashes in a tub, I just have to look. And don't tell me, holy man, you wouldn't have done the same thing." That's when something Kashya had said about 'him and his partner' clicked. "In fact, you did look."
Martenus jumped out of his seat, his bowl of stew spilling everywhere, and his honour clearly offended. "I most certainly did not! I am a gentleman."
"You did too. Admit it."
"How dare you imply such a thing!" The paladin roared.
"'Cause it's the truth!"
"That's it, dead man, you're going down!" The two warriors suddenly locked themselves in a fierce grapple. Thorns was cast, Amplified Damage was intoned...
Kashya forced herself between them. "Enough! I caught you both peeking into the tent while she was bathing, you're both perverts, end of story."
Hesitantly, they both turned to look at Meize, who had a flicker of flame dancing on the tip of her finger.
They fell to their knees before her. "Oh, god. We're so sorry." "Please forgive us." "Don't hurt me." "So very sorry." "Didn't see a thing, honest." "Not a thing!"
Thane shoved Martenus over. "Liar, try and get me in trouble, when you did the same thing."
And the wrestling match resumed until Kashya broke them up again and sent them to opposite sides of the fire for a time out.
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It took all evening, but they had eventually groveled their ways back into her good books. Meize still wasn't sure which one she was more disgusted with—Thane for admitting he looked, or Martenus for not admitting he looked. Oh well. Privacy was only a nice theory with the three of them living so closely together anyway. And, when she got over her anger, she realized that in a backwards way it was kind of a compliment.
Thane came into the tent just as she was about to crawl into her blankets.
"Knock, knock." He shyly laughed. "Is it safe for me to come in?"
"I'm always up for more groveling."
"Actually," he twisted his hands together nervously, "it's the reason why I came to find you earlier, before… all of this happened." He sat down close to her. "You can't imagine how sorry I am."
"I know. And I'm not angry anymore."
"Good, then you won't throw this at me." He reached into his pocket and pulled out an amulet. "I found this on the countess, and I thought you might want it. Cain says it helps replenish life and helps protect against fire. He said it was quite special." He took her hand in his, dropped it into her palm, and closed her fingers around it.
He didn't let go of her hand, and she could feel herself blushing. "Th… thank you."
"Meize, I…"
"Knock, knock!" Martenus called from outside an instant before he stepped through the flap. He looked at them sitting there for only a short moment before he grabbed her hand that Thane had quickly relinquished and hauled her to her feet. "Akara says there'll be a meteor shower tonight. Let's go watch." And without another word he pulled her out of the tent and out to the outskirts of the camp.
She had just perched herself up on the fence, getting her bare feet out of the cold grass, when Martenus pointed out a meteor to her. It really was beautiful. She couldn't help muse to herself the idea of pulling down one of those meteors as a weapon.
She shivered with cold in her thin shirt, and he put his arm around her.
"Better?" He asked.
Suddenly Thane appeared on her other side, placing a blanket over her shoulders. "Insensitive buffoon."
"That's it…"
And their private war resumed.
Neither of them noticed Meize slip away. Oh, Goddess. Is this what I get when they finally notice I'm here? It was far more peaceful when they just ignored me.