"Knock knock," I spoke aloud as I rapped my hand against the doorway, making my presence known for Lulu's sake more than anything. Brushing the curtains aside, I enter the workshop, greeted by the familiar sight of her hunched over another experiment.

"Hello… leave the materials at the door…" She half-murmurs, not fully paying attention to anything other than lord knows what's in the flask she seems to have been putting her utmost concentration and magic into.

I sigh, clearing my throat to get her attention, but that doesn't seem to get her attention. I simply walk around the shop, taking a peak at our projects as I move to her. Looks like another shipment of the distilleries came in, albeit left next to the door. Hm. Other than that, I can see several of our projects bubbling away, with… another guy in the corner? He's wearing that familiar copper mask and hood, the mask itself adjusted to show his actual face, and right then and there I recognized him as the same albino I worked with during the slime hunt. It seems he was also working on the lab work, albeit a fair bit more aware of his surroundings. I gave him a nod, and he gave me one back in understanding. Though I couldn't read his face, I could at least tell he was just as concerned for Lulu's health as I was starting to be. I didn't even know lizardmen could get circles around their eyes.

I pat her on the shoulder, getting a startled yelp from her, something I only made sure to do once her hands moved to her actual note paper instead of one of the various flasks of fluids.

"Ah- er, Nolan! I thought you were out training the warriors to use crossbows?!" She exclaimed, her tired eyes briefly going cross eyed before focusing in on me.

"I was… I figured it was flowing smoothly enough for me to take my eyes off it and check in on other things… are you doing alright?"

"I-I'm fine!" She stuttered, her voice cracking. "Just been spending more time focusing on Marscha's lessons, nothing to interfere with my work!"

I squint, carefully drinking in her features. Slumped posture, dark circles, sounds like she hasn't had a glass of water in a hot second. Yeah, that sounds a little familiar.

"Crusch… how much sleep have you been getting?" I asked warily.

"I've been getting enough!" She half-snaps, though I can see she herself isn't certain. I look at her, and look at the other lizardman in the room as he gives me a shake of his head in the negative, before making me shake my own head with a sigh.

"Alright, time out," I say, picking Crusch up by her torso. She squeaks and struggles briefly, but as I settle her over my shoulder she tightens up and freezes. "I don't care what you say, I can see something's up Lulu, and I ain't letting that fly. You're snappy, your voice is cracky, and you got bags under those eyes. We're filling your belly up with a hot meal and getting you into a bed roll for some R&R, am I clear?"

There's a blustering, incoherent sputtering noise that comes out of her mouth, making me roll my eyes and pick her off my shoulder to look her in the eyes.

"Am. I. Clear?"

Her tired eyes, though circled, still held a degree of energy and some exhausted form of panic. She gulped, meekly nodding. "... y-yes…"

I sigh, rolling her back onto my shoulder. "H-hey, I can still walk you kn-"

"Nope," I interrupted, carrying her over one shoulder as I grabbed the things I was looking for. Two bottles of much needed bribery for Zuko once I get this one some rest. I stuff them both into my jacket pockets, heavily thankful this thing has been serving me well over the past few months. "I can tell from a glance you could stand to rest your legs for even a minute. Just enjoy the ride, Lulu, I won't let you expend any unnecessary energy"

I sigh, turning to the lizardman that had yet to speak. "Ah, sorry if this is rude but… what was your name again?"

"Er… Hashi"

"Right, Hashi… can you do me a solid? I know I've seen you going to and fro from the elder huts every now and then, so I'm sure you can deliver the message but… can you let Zuko know I'm gonna be by in a minute? I've gotta get the girl some proper care first though, bit of an emergency"

"Er, uh… sure…" He muttered just loudly enough for me to hear, seemingly distracted by something he was watching. If it weren't for me being more concerned about Crusch at the moment, I'd have taken the moment to ask. As it stands though, I've got too much on my mind to be overly concerned.

"Thanks man, I owe you one. Lemme know if ya need anything," I spoke, and with that I tipped my hat.

Stepping through the curtain, the late evening autumn breeze kisses my face, something that makes me smile. I know the poor girl probably can't stand it, so I hasten my steps.

"Honestly girl, you need to take better care of yourself. You can stand to take some time off from the lab, it ain't gonna burn down going a week without you y'know. I can always convince some poor sap to help out with the work in there if need be"

She shuffles slightly, and it's only now that I realized she might've been uncomfortable on my shoulder. "Er, you're alright back there are you? Just wanna make sure you ain't getting sore on me like this"

"N-no, nothing like that!" She squeaks. "You're more than… comfortable for me…"

I can't help but raise my brow at the odd tone of that. Still, maybe she's just tired. Lord knows that I know what sleep deprivation can do to the brain.

"Well, still, I doubt that's the best spot back there in the world to be talking from," I replied, reshuffling her into a bridal carry. "Better?"

Her response is to suddenly tighten her hood around her face, leaving her muzzle slightly poke out with a 'meep' and a nod. I sigh, but at least she's more comfortable. Honestly, if it weren't for all the exercise I was getting these days, I probably wouldn't be able to even do this without issue. Helps she's a little scrawnier than some of the other lizardmen.

I peer through the village, enjoying the twilight as I step along moist dirt path. I can't say for certain I know everything about this world or what 'month' it is here, but I can safely say this feels like an appropriately crisp temperature for fall. Something I've missed, considering Ohio's menopausal climate these years… er… I suppose that 'these' years are relative now…

I laughed, lobbing another dirt ball at one of my brother's friends. We didn't have a whole lot of money, and what few toys we had weren't the most suitable for rough play, but by goodness did we make do with whatever we'd find in the more wooded parts of the park. Stick-fights, zombies, you name it and we played it. The weather was perfect for it too. Not so cold that we weren't getting sniffles, but not so warm that we would start sweating from all the rough play. I received a pelting from the side that made me huff out in surprise, forcing me to shout out the strike.

"Hit!"

As I waited for the team 'medic' to come revive me in my position, I felt a little proud. I know I've seen them using those old walkie talkies I fixed up with some earbuds. They're learning to work together to take my 'team' down.

I've never been prouder of my little brothers, even as one of my few actual friends rolled up with a lacrosse stick we pulled out of the garbage to lob an absolute missile and sniped him in the bushes.

One of the few times I actually felt almost human, a pure echo of laughter sounding from everyone involved.

That was a… rare moment, where I didn't feel like an alien with others. I really didn't have many actual friends at the time that I could say were worth spending time with, most were out of social convenience. Even with my books and my little 'games' I played on my own, loneliness was a maddening thing. Most of the people I knew in my earlier days I'd sooner spit in the face of now, but there were some, few and far inbetween as they were, that were good friends. A shame I could never keep in touch with them, always moving to and from, never easy maintaining contact with a semi-nomadic lifestyle.

My ear catches some murmuring from Crusch, though I wasn't able to hear it due to a pick up in wind whipping through the road. "Sorry, what was that Lulu?"

"N-nothing…"

I sigh. Not sure if it's a good thing she's starting to take after me now.

As we make our turn, being not that much farther from her home, I started to notice the stares. If I looked directly at them, they'd look away or play it off, but occasionally I caught sight of some whispered words and expressions that varied from grimaces to confusion to chuckling. I'm… not blind as to what this looks like, and I know it's going to mean damage control later on my part, but… ah, I think I know what's happening.

Now that I think about it, Crusch's behaviors around me and what I'm doing are starting to line up with certain… fascination for me. Borderline schoolgirl crush, which is kind of part of the problem. She's young enough to be a schoolgirl. At least, I think so? I know she was an adult come the lizardman arc but she always did come off as the 'young hero thrust into power' kind of trope. As for how old she actually is right now… that's going to have to wait for when we're in privacy. Speaking of which, we've come up to the house at this point.

I brush the curtain aside and squint my eyes in the darkness.

"{Darkvision}" I mutter, everything enveloping in that magical outlined glow.

"O-okay Nolan, you can put me down now," She spoke meekly. "T-thank you…"

"Alright, I hope you know this is going to be a little more than some rest and recuperation. Because I'm starting to think that we need to talk," I spoke firmly, placing her down on a seat at the table. I then proceeded to pull out one of the bottles I was originally planning on gifting to Zuko. Elderberry Brandy. With a quick ruffle, I brandish my knife and pop the cork out, pouring it into what was usually a tea cup. I didn't care, because I was going to need it soon. I thunk the knife into the wood of the table along with the bottle, and grab said cup.

"{Frostbite}" I murmured, chilling the wooden cup as a slight layer of frost lined it. Small ice crystals formed and floated in the brandy, and I took a sip. I winced slightly at the tart kick, but it was certainly better than some of the cheap options I've had back gome. The brandy was pretty good for a first batch though, I'll give it that. It's no moonshine however, Gampy's brew could double as floor polish and go-kart fuel while still tasting sweet as pie. Never did figure out how the man could do it.

I then pour another drink, though in a smaller amount, and slide it towards Crusch. Normally I wouldn't do this, but I'm at least familiar enough with lizardman customs to say that there isn't necessarily a restriction on giving a teenager alcohol.

"You want it chilled?" I ask. She shakes her head, and doesn't even bother to take the cup. I sigh at that.

"I'm not giving you booze because I want to you know. It's to help your ass get some proper rest sooner, and I can't think of any better way than a glass of brandy to soothe the nerves and muscles"

She hesitantly looked at the cup, and took a sip from it, blanching at the taste. That at least made me chuckle, though it didn't completely lift the mood for the sensitive topic that was coming. As much as I didn't want to touch, I needed to be an adult here and do so. Of course, I needed to approach this with caution, and my nerves were a little frayed after going several months without something to act as a proper relaxant. Hence the brandy.

"So, Lulu…" I begin, chewing my cheek as I consider my words. "I'll admit, that as much as I've learned from your people, there's still so much to learn here. As such, this is why I've deigned it necessary to sit down with you and talk about these… subjects"

"O-oh, I see?" She asked.

I swirled my brandy in its cup, watching the crystals float about. "One of those subjects happens to be about… relations of a certain kind"

Her breath hitched. Yup. Confirmed it right there. I fight the urge to sigh, as any form of negative reaction could make this whole thing sour quickly. I take another sip, admiring the flavor a second time. Hmm… there's a faint metallic tang, not unlike blood. Might have to find a way to fix that in the distillery, long term metal poisoning could be an issue.

"Though I cannot speak for these lands, among my people and country we had very particular rules and guidelines pertaining to relations. So strictly ingrained they were that even breaking one of the more minor rules could cause one to be an outcast with a target painted on their backs, nevermind the more serious ones. Quite frankly, I actually agree with these rules quite a bit, considering how much sense they make. Wisdom and maturity are both necessary to make a proper decision, rather than to allow oneself to be molded and twisted by others with more malicious intent in the relation to be controlling. That's exactly why it's looked at so militantly, no room for errors, and it's one of the few cases where guilty until proven innocent by mob mentality is… admissible. Not necessarily condonable, there's still laws and regulations to follow in those cases, but understandable nonetheless. Thus I need to ask… when is a lizardman considered an adult?"

There it is, the big bombshell. The major issue when it comes to interspecies stuff in general. Most folks don't really wanna talk about it, but if you think about it it gets a little dark. Certain morally dark questions like 'could a three hundred year old elf be considered a pedophile if he copulates with a thirty year old woman?' type of deal. Confused sirens, and all that.

"O-oh, ah, well…" The lizard girl mumbled, gathering her thoughts. "It depends, really. Er…"

She scratched her neck in thought, claws running along the pictograms of her neck.

"A simple, solid answer is necessary. Wisdom, maturity, and age are all factors," I spoke, a slight grimace briefly cracking through. Maybe this was a mistake, maybe I shouldn't have acted on my damn impulses and gone to someone like Marscha instead to get the answers I needed. In for a penny, in for a pound unfortunately. No way to turn back time.

"Usually… around fourteen or fifteen years of age?"

Huh, kind of like in dungeons and dragons.

"I see… and as for how… young you are?"

"Sixteen," She spoke with more confidence, and to which I actually sighed out, unable to hold it in any longer.

I downed another gulp of brandy and rub my temples, feeling the brief wave of a headache get dulled down by the warmth growing in my chest. Lord give me strength. They'd be considered teenagers indeed, something I can see plain as day in the mannerisms of the lizardmen her age. Todone too, but that kid's a different story.

"Alright… another one of those rules, well, less of a rule and more of a heavily enforced social stigma, is age gaps. I don't suppose there are any considerations among the lizardmen if there were, say, a ten or even twenty year gap between two 'partners'?"

"I… can't say there are?"

Figures. To be expected really, they're still tribals at heart. Something I know I can't fully change by the time Ainz and Co. get here, especially since I need to start learning more about their traditions and histories. I mull her answer over in my head some more, contemplating my next step. Then, a thought came. Not necessarily a nice one considering I hate beating around the bush, but I needed to buy time to gather my thoughts. And hopefully find a polite way to say no by then.

"I'm going to level with you, Crusch," I say tentatively. "I hate beating around the bush or leading people on, it normally leads to disaster. Only reason I've even been doing it up to this point is because I'm legitimately stumped on how to approach this. You're… well, you're as young as the baby brother I've changed diapers on. And that leaves a bit of a mental blocker for me when… talking to people that are younger than myself"

"O-oh…" She muttered with crestfallen eyes, looking down. Fuck, that actually hurts.

"That said," I continued. "I fully know that doesn't erase the… enamouration you seem to have. So, I'm… going spend some time meditating on this. You will have an answer soon, but this is something that is going to take some time. Eh, your people have a… festival around this time, yes?"

"... Yes?" She asked with a brief twinkle. Shit, I may have misstepped considering I don't even know what the festival's even fully about. I know it's like a last hurrah before winter kind of deal, but I really need to do some research.

I breath out deeply, giving a nod. "I'll give you my answer by then. I will be completely honest, I don't believe my thoughts are going to change one bit, but I will at least take that time to consider whether or not I can… push those mental blockers down enough to see you as what you really are. A wonderful young lady more than deserving of the love of whatever suitor she may find"

She seemed tentative at that. "It's… not because I'm a lizardman?"

I scoffed, shaking my head at that. "Nah, It ain't because you're a lizardman. I just got a thing against young pups, hun. I guarantee among my people you'd be a real knockout. At least, for the ones that were a bit more open about their dating options"

Let it never be said that the Lusty Argonian Maid didn't exist for a reason.

I do the stupid thing and gulp down the brandy, wincing at the burn and taste. Definitely going to feel that in an hour or two. As I place the teacup down and blow hot air through my lips, I roll my shoulders and recork the bottle with a thud from the butt of my knife.

"Er, listen Crusch, the point of this whole talk was because I didn't want you overworking yourself, alright? And I don't want you to do that if you think it's going to get my attention in some way. Which, I mean, it kind of did, but not in the way you were looking for. Can you promise me to take a little more time off from working your bones off? At least from the labs for a bit?"

She seemed hesitant at first, almost as if she wanted to refute, but eventually her internal struggle relented to the side she needed most at the moment.

"Very well, at least for now," She mumbled.

I breathed out again, this time in relief. "Thank you Lulu, seriously. I know this isn't something you wanted to hear, but I do see you as a good person. And honestly, considering how Zaryusu's wagging his tail around you, I can see that at least it won't be hard for another boy to come sweep you off your feet"

She blushed and muttered to herself, something I couldn't fully hear. Something I didn't need to though, as I doubted that was my concern.

"Anyways, I figure it's best to take my leave. I still need to meet up with Zuko, we have a few things to speak about, and I've got some brandy I need to deliver to smooth those talks over"

I finish rustling my jacket on and pocket the bottles. I give a two fingered wave to the girl and make my way out before she stops me.

"W-wait!" She blurts, grabbing my jacket. I turn to look at her, a little surprised. "How long have you… known?"

"Honestly? I didn't figure it out until I started carrying you through the village. The looks we were getting kinda made everything click into place"

She gawked briefly at that, and I laughed. "Honestly girly, what'd I tell you about me hating to lead folks on? I say it when I see it, I ain't some all knowing wise man y'know?"

Crusch briefly chuckled at that, before stowing that away and decking me lightly in the ribs. I laugh again, planting my hat on her head. "Tell you what, I'll see you in the morning to check up on you. Finish that brandy and get some rest, doctors orders. Make sure you drink plenty of water too, don't want you getting a hangover. I'll come back for the hat, my way of making sure I'll come, yeah?"

She nodded, adjusting and tipping the hat. And I gotta say, cowgirl Crusch never really crossed my mind until now, but it's definitely a cute mental image I'm stowing away for later. I finish my goodbyes and step outside, buzzed and chilly as I look through the dimly lit roads of the village. Honestly, I feel like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. After dealing with that, there's no way anything else that comes my way could be more stressful than dealing with that.

Nolan Potts, Human (Karma: 70 [Neutral]) [20/24 Spell slots used]

Classes: Brawler (6), Ranger (3), Druid (5), Clothier (3), Translucer (1). Total Level (18).

Spells (Druid): Frostbite, Entangle, Create or Destroy Water, Guidance, Jump, Cure Wounds, Dust Devil, Protect from Poison, Hold Person, Spike Growth, Lesser Restoration, Water Breathing, Darkvision, Sleetstorm, Ice Knife, Lightning Arrow

Spells (Ranger): Animal Friendship, Speak to Animals, Ensnaring Strike, Conjure Animals

Items of Note: {Humble Beginnings}

Party Members are as follows…

Member One: Todone, Son of Kodrotti, Toadman (Karma: -10 [Neutral])

Classes: Toadman Warrior (9), Brawler (9), Martial Artist (1), Total Level (19).

Member Two: Yulg (Karma: 50 [Neutral])

Classes: Goblin Marauder (1), Brawler (8), Warrior (4), Cleric (1), Total Level (13)

Member Three: Crusch Lulu of the Red Eyes (Karma: 50 [Neutral])

Classes: Awakened Elder Blood Lizardman (1), Druid (6), Spirit Shaman (3), Summoner (1), Scientist (2), Total Level (13)

AN: Hey hey people, another chapter. Sorry I ain't posted in a month, kinda had my creative juices drained for a sec there, work's been keeping me busy enough that I needed different ways to decompress. That said, I am back, and I'm sorry if the convo between Crusch and Nolan is upsetting due to the nature of it, but as it stands I felt like I needed to be dealt with sooner rather than later. With that said, I'm back and still having fun with this, so don't expect me to drop off the face of the earth just yet. Up next, the cover art was done by a quite frankly skilled friend of mine that unfortunately didn't want me advertising her. Personally feel like she could use it, but what can ya do? Alright, now for the reviews that came in on the last chapter's coattails.

Hackslashbash: Looks like you got your wish lol

BlazarKaiser: Cocytus, named after the River of Wailing in the underworld according to greek mythology. And yeah, those two are probably some of the very few people in Nazarick that aren't completely heartless. Same goes for Sebas. I don't trust the twins though, fuck them kids

Castroso LuxNo: Too long indeed XD. Seriously though, love your little synopsis, though I'm sorry to piss on your shipping dreams of Lulu x Nolan.

Ace: Glad you're apart of the party. Hope you enjoy the ride, cause it's gonna be a long one.

Anyways, cheers you lovely folks, I'll see you in a bit