* 46 * 7/19/12

The animals, for a moment, were silent. Many had gathered in the trees to watch the two of them waiting for their meal to cook, but they all kept their distance. Humans were definitely not within their regular diet, especially not two this close in proximity to each other. That was just a Bad Idea.

The rabbit was almost finished, and Lily and Bishop leisurely reopened their shutters. Lily sleepily turned her head to her left and moved, almost nuzzling up under the ranger's jaw. Bishop wanted to clear his throat, but it would be impossible to hide this uncertain gesture from the elf. He tapped his fingers almost imperceptibly on the log below them, feeling a little uneasy from her closeness. Finally, he untangled himself from her relaxed form and stood up, not being able to take it anymore. Slightly irritated by how calm the position with her had made him feel, he went over to remove the rabbit from the spit with his gloves, all the while being careful not to turn toward her until his face lost some of its wonderment.

It wasn't a huge amount of meat for the two of them, so Lily planned on having the berries and leaves she got earlier as well. Bishop seemed fine to skimp a little on the amount he had to eat today. He took his dagger and skillfully cut the rabbit, putting the two halves on their own sticks and wordlessly handing one to Lily.

They waited for the meat to cool off and began eating. Lily was surprised: it was far more delicious than she'd thought it would be. She had had manually cooked meat before, but it was usually from her adoptive father Daeghun's kills, and he liked to add spices to the animal before they ate it together. It was perfectly fine without them, though, as she was now finding out.

Bishop was unequivocally at home, feasting on their own work and satisfied that he didn't have to trust some stupid servant that night to make his meal taste good. Besides short escapades between quests, he hadn't really been out wandering in the woods for any considerable period since he started hanging out at the Sunken Flagon, but the forest was comparable to ale in getting his senses drunk. He'd missed it.

The meal was warming Lily up, and for that, she was grateful. The fire had also partially dried her blouse, and the heat reached through to her bosom. It was as if she was sipping from hot chocolate. She felt happy, and nourished in a way she never thought possible from simple, basic food items. She sunk a hand into a pocket in her shirt and popped a coffee berry into her mouth between mouthfuls of rabbit. She was quickly reminded of the savory flavor, and ate another one.

When she had finished most of her share, she stopped and pondered about something that'd been bothering her for awhile.

"Bishop, do you mind traveling with us?" She'd tell him to be honest, but there was really no need. Bishop was blunt as a mace.

The ranger considered his words. "Can't say it affords me the same freedom I had when by myself." He saw her expression looking a little disheartened, and frowned. He thought, not wanting to be too harsh but not interested in censoring his thoughts, either. "It's not all that bad. Saw a lot of places I wouldn't normally go. Killed some things I've never encountered before." He took a bite of the meat, dismissing the topic as unimportant.

"But you did come along because of a debt, so I understand," Lily said.

Bishop's chewing slowed, and he stared nonplussed ahead at the ground. He looked to be lost in thought. He brushed it off quickly, though, feeling the pressure of her eyes on him, and his face returned to its usual indifference.

He took the last bite of the rabbit and threw the stick over to the side. He stood again and moved to where Lily had been sitting by the rock earlier. It was a taller rock than the one with water running over it; perfect for a seat.

Lily finished in short form and joined him by the waterfall. She stepped on top of the water rock and admired the long stretch of water before her.

Sweet silence and serenity.

Without looking at him, she suddenly asked, in a hushed voice, "What was your debt?"

Bishop huffed. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it." He didn't want to get into it.

At this, Lily turned around. She had a very odd look in her gaze. Was it...anger? Challenge?

She jumped down from the rock and walked behind Bishop, back toward the fire. His eyes didn't follow her.

Big mistake: she grabbed hold around him just above his elbows and pulled him backward with all her might, rolling to the side just in time as he was flung to the ground. Bishop crashed onto his back, the quiver over his shoulder digging into him. He only grunted, which wasn't satisfying enough for Lily. She straddled his stomach while pinning his arms down with her legs. Bishop smirked. Lily wondered why, then realized he could probably see her panties from this angle. The elf tried to hit him, but he grabbed a hold of the center back of her blouse along with some of her skin and pulled, tearing a slit in her top. She was prevented from landing her blow, however, and this small struggle gave him all the pause his body needed to finish pumping itself with adrenaline.

Much to Lily's chagrin, with Bishop being taller, his limbs were also slightly longer than she had estimated. Even with her on top of him, he was able to pull her backward and off of him with both arms from his current position. She landed on her back and groaned herself, but was obviously less tolerant of the blow than the ranger had been. Her opponent quickly got on his feet and stood over her, keeping his distance so she couldn't hit him in a sensitive area.

Instead, she dug into the ground with her left boot and tripped him hard from inside out, making him lose his support on his right side and fall. He caught himself with his arms, and Lily crawled away backwards and scrambled to her feet a safe distance away, trying to match the speed with which he had done so. She was still noticeably shaken from the hit to her back, and she unsheathed Bishop's dagger from her pants.

The ranger's eyes flared and he drew his own weapon, another dagger he kept on him ever since she had lent out his skinning knife to that weird little boy. Lily looked frightened and stumbled back a little over a small stone. She regained her composure and got into a defensive position.

Bishop, sensing her bluff, charged her, and she closed her eyes and launched herself backward into the stream, praying there weren't too many sharp rocks to break her fall. The ranger came in after her, landing on top of her. Lily's hair became soaked through, flowing toward downstream and framing her face.

They looked into each other's faces for a few agonizing seconds, taking in one another's eyes, skin, and lips as they breathed hard.

Lily felt the water rush over her shoulders. She hoped it was louder than the rapid pounding of her heart as she gazed into Bishop's captivating amber eyes. They were soft, and focused so intently on her in that moment that she almost gasped. But he had a very handsome face, so handsome that it was easy to forget that the Chaotic Evil ranger's motivations were always anything but pure. She kept on her guard.

But all he did was drop himself lower on his elbows, bringing his face to hover over hers, perhaps to intimidate her, she thought. Their lips were centimeters apart, and he looked so serious, so divided. This made her giggle. She tilted her head up the smallest distance to nuzzle her nose against his, disarming him.

Bishop couldn't help it. He smiled, and then even laughed for the first time since he'd been in her company. Her gesture did something to him.

He was so used to viewing women as merely wenches whose company was to be mostly avoided at all costs. They'd tried to get him to give them money, or dispose of someone for them, and had almost gotten him killed. But he began to realize he felt none of those things toward Lily; she had done nothing like the other women had. This felt more like pure innocence wanting to give him some affection, and for some reason, he allowed it.

His laugh told her the fight was over, and Lily relaxed. In the elf's eyes, Bishop's expression had lightened up almost magically in that moment.

The ranger suddenly reached in his pocket and pulled out something small, but vivacious in hue. Lily looked at it. It was a flower, a very pretty one at that, with white petals and a beautiful, yellowish center.

Bishop brought it up before her. He spoke softly, "Found this earlier. It's a vanilla flower. Blooms for less than a day out of the year." He put it on top of her nose, and she blinked.

Lily took a deep breath, and her whole body relaxed. It smelled heavenly.

"Tastes even better," he said, plucking a small petal off with his teeth and eating it.

Lily followed his lead, and immediately, her sense of taste was overwhelmed with sweetness. "It's so good," she marveled, savoring every second.

"Try the nectar, too." He opened the flower and carefully let a droplet fall onto her tongue.

And in that moment, the world around her, lying in the water with Bishop gazing down at her with rare, round golden irises, was absolutely perfect.

Their eyes locked and Lily touched him again, gently placing her hand on the back of his cloak. She wanted to bring him closer, hug him to her chest. She did, and Bishop breathed down lightly on her mouth, the sweet scent of vanilla on his breath. His eyes narrowed soothingly as a sudden impulse came over him, one he couldn't quite describe, and one that struck him as wholly unfamiliar. He touched the flower softly to her skin, bringing it very slowly down over her lips and chin.

A shuffling sound suddenly came from the trees to Bishop's right, interrupting their peace. Lily sensed it too, and Bishop reluctantly yet instinctively jumped to his feet, just in time to see a flash of green armor.

Shit, he thought to himself, slightly panicked. Of all things they could've seen...he'd much rather be caught nude and fornicating with some wench than laughing and smiling with Lily. He took a moment to think about what just happened, why he was so bothered by being caught. Then he glanced at Lily, finishing the nectar with a peaceful, faraway look on her face, and these worries melted as he simpered to himself.

And at that moment, Bishop's panic faded and made way for tranquility once more.

He grinned.