"It's not denial. I'm just selective about
the reality that I accept."
~Bill Watterson

"You know what?"

Rolith raised an eyebrow at me, but I didn't flinch. Sure, it was a little irritating that he was intentionally sitting on my feet at the end of the bed, but it didn't hurt. It was just disconcerting, not being able to move my legs from the knees down. But then, he was visiting me in the infirmary, and he didn't have to… it wasn't like I was going to tell him to go away or get off, was I?

"What?" he drawled in response, and my lips tugged upwards a little further on one side.

"Did you know that I am suffering from pedal transient paresthesia?" I rattled off neatly, blinking as innocently as I could. As it just so happened, Sir Junn was passing by my bed at the moment, and he paused.

"… your foot's asleep?" he translated in confusion.

"Exactly," I replied as I nodded emphatically. Rolith rolled his eyes as Junn continued on his path.

"You know, if I thought it would help, I'd leave you in here for an extra week. Did you know that productivity outside the infirmary has improved by almost forty percent?" Rolith said in an accusatory tone.

"It's not my fault if I make things more interesting," I sniffed. "Oh, and before I forget, I had something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Something?" the Captain asked dryly.

"It's a very serious matter," I deadpanned. "It's a recurring problem, actually."

His interest piqued, Rolith sat forward a little. I did the same, propping my arms up on either side of my right thigh. I leaned in a little closer, like I was confiding a secret.

"I keep having this dream where I visit a nudist beach, but I wear clothes, and everybody's embarrassed," I whispered seriously. Rolith straightened, his face perfectly smooth.

Twisting around a bit, Rolith called to Sir Junn, "Doctor? I don't think a week will be long enough." When he turned back around, I was silently glaring at him, arms crossed. "Although, considering how you snuck out last time, I'm not at all sure that more than a week will make any difference."

"At last you realize," I muttered dryly. "I don't like staying in one place often…"

"I would think your first 'escape' from here would have proved that."

"Har har."

With no small amount of difficulty, I jerked my legs out from under Rolith, grimacing slightly at the tingly feeling as the blood rushed back into my limbs. I shivered involuntarily at the very thought of my own blood, and shook my head roughly. Exhaling lightly to blow my bangs out of my eyes, I gazed longingly out the window at the clear sunlight streaming in.

"Poor Tessa," I mentioned ruefully, tugging my right leg up so I could rest my chin in my hand. "She won't be exercised for a few days…"

"You've really bonded with her," Rolith observed, tilting his head a fraction. I smiled at him. Not an 'I'm up to something' smile, and not a 'only if you can catch me' smile. An honest, sincere, authentic smile.

"Contesse is easygoing, good-natured, and gives her all. And for all that opposites attract," I murmured thoughtfully, my gaze going back out the window, "She and I match up well. Those similar tend to bond, don'tcha think? Then again, the other relationships can be seen with both animals and people. Like for instance, the opposites attract, the love-hate, the working relationship, rivalmances—"

"I think my guy and I have a working one," Rolith said with a quick grin. I nodded confirmation.

"I've noticed. I've also noticed you both have really similar personalities—no-nonsense for the most part, focused on the main job until it gets done for the greater good, and will sometimes go out of your way to help. But also intensely loyal, brave, and strong-hearted," I rambled, shrugging every so often while I gazed out the window. Just like with other times, there was no filter on my brain at the moment, and anything was likely to come out. "Also willing to work for a good cause, but can be extremely pig-headed if you don't consider it a good reason. You also give what you've set your mind to your all. You're not often affectionate, and that can lead to appearing just a little standoffish, but you can appreciate the humor of a good joke, even if it's on you, and you're incredibly honest."

"You're making my horse sound like a saint."

I felt my cheeks get just a bit hot, and fixed my eyes on a corner of a pane in the window. Here's hoping he doesn't notice that I started off that small novel with a 'you both'….

In my peripheral vision, I saw Rolith shake his head slightly, his eyes glowing a bit. I cracked a nervous smirk, daring to switch my line of sight back to the Captain.

"D'you think Junn might let me out early?" I asked hopefully, glaring at him when he chuckled.

"Sorry, Calliope, doctor's orders supersede mine."

"That shouldn't be possible!" I exclaimed, immediately ducking my head when five pairs of eyes from around the room automatically shot to me as the source of the commotion. Well, their ideas are well-founded.

"But it is. And I need to get back," Rolith said apologetically, running his fingers through his hair as he stood. I gave the Captain the best puppy eyes I could possibly dredge up at that point in time, clasping my hands together beneath my chin for good measure.

"You're going to help me, aren't you, Rolith? Bestest friend of mine? Daddy of my horse's soul mate?" Even as I saw him hesitate, I knew he would cave. What I didn't know was the method with which he would 'help.'

"I can bring you a few of your painting things," he allowed. I did a quick fist pump. It wasn't as good as I had been hoping for, but it was pretty good, nonetheless.

"Make sure to get the brush, palate, the canvas under the sheet, and the actual paints," I chirped, flopping back.

"If that's your way of thanking me, you'll want to work on that."

"Bah, I've worked on it my whole life. I think I deserve a little bit of freedom right now," I explained cheerfully, using my hands as a comfortable barrier between my head and the pillow. "But… thank you." I said the last bit with a smile that was quirked a little at one corner. Lately, my smiles seemed to have been becoming a little crooked. It was odd… but it reminded me just a little of how the captain grinned when he was feeling mischievous—which wasn't often. But one side of his lips pulled up a little further than the other. Usually, it was his left that did this.

But no, I had no idea where I was getting it from.

"Seriously—thanks," I added as he turned to leave. Casting a glance back over his right shoulder, I could almost swear his eyes softened slightly and he nodded.

"Sure," was his only reply, but he meant it. Somehow, to me… it seemed Rolith could say almost nothing at all and still say more than most people I knew. There's Magiya rubbing off again, I thought with dark humor, not at all sure that the slender Mage rubbing off was a good thing. Her wry (and often derogatory) sense of humor was one-of-a-kind, and in the other two times that we had spoken, she had proven pretty thoroughly that her attitude was permanent—it hadn't just been a show that she and Artix had put on when we first met.

I'd never met someone more honest about what was running through their head, and I loved that I'd finally met someone who had. Both Rolith and Magiya were like that, and for me, it was a bit difficult to tell which had learned the attitude from the other. If I had to guess, though, just from his mannerisms… I would think that Magiya had softened a bit because of both Artix and Rolith.

And then I remembered that in the row of finished paintings stacked up to the right of the door heading out, the portrait I had done of the Captain was sitting very innocently in the row of completed paintings beside the door.

Rolith casually sauntered down the laid-stone hallway, absently counting the wooden doors set into the wall until he came to Calliope's.

ADHD at its finest, he thought with amusement. She absolutely has to have something happening, unless her mind's completely blown, and that's actually pretty often. Or when she's thinking about something. She always sees something like it's for the first time.

Often, the lady Warrior's boundless enthusiasm and humor was more endearing than annoying. And whether she liked it or not, she spoke to herself far more frequently than she noticed. A smile twisted his lips at the thought.

For instance, one time they had gone to the mess hall to grab lunch after a morning patrol. After throwing down food in a way that seemed contradictory to her athletic frame (and Rolith found it pretty sexy, to tell the complete truth), she had just propped her elbow on the table, rested her chin in her hand, then proceeded to completely zone out. A few minutes passed before Rolith had noticed she was muttering to herself completely subconsciously.

"What becomes of the broken-hearted?" she murmured. Her eyes were fixed in one place, but they were also just a little glassy, and it was clear her mind was thousands of miles away.

"Where'd you go?" Rolith had asked playfully, using the side of his index finger to nudge the underside of her chin to bring her attention back to Lore. Calliope had blinked a few times before actually focusing on him.

"I'm right here," she replied with a smile. The kind of smile where it was unintentionally pulled up more on one side than the other, and it made her eyes glow.

According to her wacky artist's mind, gray wasn't a color. It was what was left when all color was gone. So, by that logic, her eyes should have been colorless. But they weren't, he noticed. They were brilliantly sparkling, and the humor, admiration, and respect almost outweighed the sheer affection she felt for him as a friend.

And for some reason, that last thought bothered him a little.

Rolith shook his head once like a dog ridding itself of a fly, reaching out to grasp the door handle. He turned it and applied the light pressure necessary to open the door, and grinned boyishly when he saw the… artfully decorated state of the room. Small objects were scattered all around and on almost every available surface, and Rolith was willing to bet that Calliope didn't even notice the mess anymore.

With extreme care, Rolith grabbed the thin wooden palate and two of the several paintbrushes laying next to it on the table, and was about to gently lift the covered canvas when his gaze fell upon the row of paintings leaned against the wall, one against another against another.

Wonder what she's been painting? the Captain thought, and set what he had just picked up back on the table to kneel down, his curiosity getting the better of him. Armored fingers gingerly tilted the first one forward, inspecting it with an amateur eye. He didn't know much about paintings, but he knew what he liked, and he liked this one. Rolith recognized this—he'd stood there by the armory, staring up at the sky on more than one day. The small brushstrokes made the gradient smoother, and it looked just as he remembered. The colors were bright.

The next one in line was a woman. She looked to be around twenty, give or take a year, and it was clear by her face that she had seen most of the horrors of war, yet still managed to function properly. She had black hair with almost a blue sheen to it that was cut into a bob, and a wide face that reminded him of those native to Dragesvard. A thin white scar high on her left cheek stood out, livid even against her pale skin. But whoever she was, she was confident. He could see every emotion in her eyes, and Calliope had been the one to put them there, whether she was aware of it or not.

Rolith glanced through some of the others; a young man who looked a bit rumpled after being thrown from his horse, but not mad at his companion; a waist-up image of Maya looking back at the viewer, apparently just over a laughing fit judging by the red tint in her cheeks and the grin still on her lips; his bay and Contesse both standing hip shot, and Contesse's thick neck was arched around his bay's, and she was chewing companionably at the stallion's withers.

The next one caught Rolith a bit by surprise, but he admired the mastery of the artwork nonetheless. It had to have been on one of their many trips returning to the Keep, and it was right around sunset, because he had been staring straight into the setting sun. Calliope, with her painter's memory, had captured the way the light reflected off his armor and hair almost perfectly, but with just enough flaws to make it almost ethereal. Everything had been cast in a golden light with orange overtones, and it was clear that a great deal of effort had been put into this painting. A slight smirk twisting his lips, he gingerly set that one to the side with the others, before catching his breath at the last one.

The final one laying against the wall was possibly the best from the stack that he'd seen.

You know, aside from the vanity factor about the fact that it was his face staring out from the canvas.

It was clear as day that the most attention had been given to this one, and the idea of the painstaking effort Calliope must have put into it kept his fingers off of the painted parts of the fabric. Rolith gazed at the painting, perplexed as he locked eyes with his likeness that appeared to be wordlessly giving an order, even though his—it was so odd talking about himself in third person!—lips were shifted into a slight smirk. Each color was dulled slightly as it would be out of the direct sunlight, but still sprang out at the viewer's eyes. The impact of the entire piece was… pretty great, actually.

The real captain speechlessly replaced the painting against the wall, allowing the other frames to lean back to rest against it once more. It was slightly disconcerting for him, and the portrait, like so many other instances before it, brought back memories of nearly two weeks prior.

Rolith wondered… if she hadn't run at that precise moment, what might have happened? Would… would she have kissed him, or..?

And why had he wanted to kiss her? She… she was unique, to be sure, but… they were friends. Strictly platonic relationship. Yes, she deferred to him when it came to the way things would run, but in almost all else, they were equals. And they were friends. Rolith felt the tips of his ears get hot. What if he'd ruined their friendship because he'd let himself…?

He shook his head roughly. Calliope didn't like him like that. That's why she'd run… she'd fled, and when she had, her eyes were wide and her cheeks had been tinted. That's how she looked when she was embarrassed, he remembered a bit fondly, before remembering that the last time he let himself think like that, she had almost found out in a very extremely not-good way.

You idiot, he thought, shaking his head at himself again and rising from where he had been stooped on the floor. Knowing her, she'll be horrified and feel awkward when—if—she finds out. She'll try to settle the 'problem' the only way she knows how… by either dancing around it or by barreling through it. There's no midway for her…

Mind whirling with thoughts that had been buried for… well, for not long enough, the Captain carefully picked the items back up he had volunteered to fetch and exited the lady Warrior's quarters, lips set in a slightly nervous and grim line.

Funny… he didn't recall having eaten an entire bowl of crickets earlier, because that's what certainly seemed to be what was jumping around his stomach at the moment.

A bit of a shorter chapter, I know, but the dreaded Writer's Block has been trying to edge its way back into my life. Me being the stubborn mule I am, I'm not letting it, and am forcing myself to write. This may mean slightly shorter chapters, but hopefully I've covered a few things. :)

First day of school was Thursday, and I can honestly say that my Spanish/History teacher still hates me. :) Let the war begin. Senior year should be... interesting. xD

Reviews!

LiliacMoon: As a matter of fact, I have! :) Whenever I'm gearing up to write some DF I take a dip into the RA series, because the sort of setting is similar and it helps me get into the mindset. :) I can't believe somebody else loves the series who's cruising through DF! :D As far as the line goes, a friend of mine actually reminded me of that when I was in the middle of writing, and I decided to throw it in, wondering if it would attract any possible RA fans. B) It worked.

MusicalPoetess: Yus! *tacklehug* :3

If you've got questions or spot a typo, please don't be afraid to post reviews or PM me; I don't bite! ^^

See you next chapter, my freaky darlings!

Juliet