((So the Daja & Lark thing is not a very popular pairing whatsoever... but hey, that's half the fun of writing it, and coming up with reasons for it. Not something everyone can do, so I say yay me for trying.))
Daja awoke to a sunbeam playing cheerfully across her face. "What?" she asked groggly, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. The sun never entered Lark's room until after eleven, and Daja never slept that late unless she was completely worn out. Her muscles groaned in protest as she stretched out, reminding the Trader that she was sore from all the work she had done in the forge the previous afternoon. The slightest hint of a blush tinged her cheeks as she remembered what she had done upon returning to Discipline cottage. That had done absolutely nothing to soothe those muscles. "Worth it though," she muttered as she pulled on the fresh clothes that were resting on the back of a chair. "These are new..." They fit better than any of her previous clothes had and there was something about them that brought a pair of familiar golden-brown hands to Daja's mind. She smiled.
"I see that you found your new outfit," Lark remarked as Daja emerged into the Dedicate's workroom. A smile formed on her cat-like face in response to the one already on the Trader's. "I made it this morning while you were sleeping, I figured that you could use a few after the wear and tear the others got during our travels. You'll be getting more by weeks end."
"Thank you," Daja said simply, leaning down to kiss Lark's forehead before seating herself cross-legged on the floor. It looked as though Lark was going to work on those outfits, so Daja had every intention of making small repairs on things that needed them. Frostpine had told her to rest, but he hadn't said that she needed to keep away from all work. "Does any of your jewelry need to be repaired, Lark?" She had several ideas for a new piece to make, but fixing old items came before making new ones in her mind. It was something that had been taught to her by not Frostpine, who had taught her so much of her work ethic, but Lark herself.
"Actually, yes there is a piece that does," Lark said, pointing towards where a small satchel sat. "There's a necklace in there that I bought while we were in Janaal. The clasp seems to be loose and it always comes undone. If you would be willing to fix that for me, my smith-mage?" Daja nodded and reached for the satchel, pausing as what Lark had said registered in her mind. She called me her little smith-mage, the Trader thought, unable to keep a small smile off her face. She's never called me her anything before... Smiling like some sort of fool, all her dark thoughts of the previous night burried deep enough to not be a bother to her, she exchanged a flirtaious glance with Lark before beginning to go through the satchel.
"This necklace?" she asked after several moments, holding up a very finely-crafted gold-link necklace upon which hung a frosty emerald cut to resemble a lark in flight. "It's beautiful..." She could feel magic in the gem, some stone mage had put a lot of time and energy into making this.
"Yes, that one," was Lark's absent-minded reply. She had gone back to her current project, her mind seemingly distracted by it.
Daja turned the lovely creation over in her hands, marveling at its craftsmanship. "Lark... there's nothing wrong with this necklace," she said, frowning slightly as she was completely unable to find a single thing wrong with anything. "It's perfectly made, and the emerald, there's stone magic there as strongly as I've ever felt it."
"Oh, did I say there was something wrong with it?" Lark asked, looking up from her project. Her dark eyes were sparkling, and a smile was tugging at the corner of her mouth. "What I meant to say was would you give it to me?" She held out a slender hand, palm up, the smile in full bloom. "Oh don't look so sour about it, Daja, you know that the only person I'd ask to fix something of mine would be you. If it ever needed it."
"You could have just asked me to get it in the first place," Daja mumbled as she crossed the room to drop the necklace into Lark's hand. "No need to be all vague about it."
"But this way is more fun," Lark replied, holding the necklace up as she looked at Daja. "What do you think of it? You have made jewelry before, so your opinion is a valid one."
"I think that it is one of the most gorgeous things I have ever seen," Daja replied, reaching out to touch the emerald. "Even more beautiful than the living metal trees that I have made, and that is an accomplishment. I wish I would have known who you bought this from, so that I could have spoken with him or her."
"Mhmm." Lark caught ahold of Daja's hand, turning it over so that her palm was facing up. "I knew that you would like it, Daja," she whispered, her dark eyes locking with the Trader's. She let the necklace fall into Daja's hand, closing the young woman's fingers over it. "I bought it for you, as a reminder of our journey..." The Dedicate looked away, her voice even quieter. "And of me."
"Lark..." Daja was amazed. No one had ever given her anything this valuable. And not only was it valuable by how much it cost, but the meaning behind it was more precious than anything else. "I don't need something to remind me of you, because I could never forget." She touched Lark's cheek with her free hand, a little surprised by the wetness that she found there. But then, it wasn't so surprising, for the Trader realized that her own eyes were beginning to tear. "Hey, don't cry, I'm very grateful for this."
"I can't help it," Lark admitted, looking up. "They will be back in a few days, and that is going to be hard. Rosethorn will know the moment that she lays her eyes on me, and it is going to hurt her. I don't want to hurt her, but it's going to happen. Someone's ending is not going to be happy."
Daja squeezed her eyes shut. This had been exactly what she had been hoping to avoid over the next few days. "Lark, I don't expect all of this to stay the same," she said quietly, unable to keep the pain out of her voice. "I know what Rosethorn is to you, and what you are to her. And no matter what happens in the end, I'm never going to forget just how much you've come to mean to me." I can't believe I just said that... the Trader thought, a feeling of shame washing through her. "Just let it happen as it will, that's what I plan on doing. For the next few days don't think about it. Just think about enjoying what we have while we have it." With trembling fingers she brushed one of Lark's short curls. "Okay?"
Lark nodded, her dark eyes shining when Daja finally opened her own. "You'll wear this necklace forever?" she asked, sounding like a little girl. "No matter what happens with either of us?"
"Of course I will," Daja said, slipping the fine link chain around her neck and hooking it. The frosty emerald lark came to rest at the hollow of her throat. A strange feeling washed over the Trader, one of complete warmth and happiness. "Oh Lark," she whispered in wonder, leaning her forehead against the Dedicate's. "This truly is the most wonderful gift I have ever been given. I could never think to not wear it."
"I am glad you like it, Daja," Lark replied, reaching up to cup the Trader's face in her hands. "Because I have never bought anything like it for anyone before."
Despite what she had said earlier, Daja could not help from asking, "Not even Rosethorn?"
There was a smile on Lark's face as she said, "Not even Rosethorn." The cat-faced woman leaned across the few inches seperating the two to kiss Daja gently, pulling away after only a few moments. At Daja's sound of dissapointment she smiled and rubbed her thumb across the Trader's lips. "Not right now, my sweet, you do need to get some rest. Frostpine will be most displeased if his favorite helper is completely exhausted when she is supposed to be resting. You said yourself that you have an idea for a new project with the living metal that comes from your hand. So you work on that, I'll work on your new clothes, and we'll pass the day in restful silence." The kind smile turned to a more wicked one. "Tonight, however, tonight is a different story."
