* 54 * 7/26/12, 1/12/13, 3/4/13, 3/8/13

The rain finally stopped, but it was already the late afternoon. Most of the group had spent the day inside selling their wares to Uncus the merchant, chatting, and for some, even playing games.

Neeshka and Grobnar were playing with Ounce, who had been running around wildly on the floor ever since Neeshka relinquished hold on him. The small cat had taken a liking to Grobnar; the rock gnome was easy to jump on, even for the cat's young hind legs. Neeshka lavished Ounce with attention, but he seemed to be hiding from her in Grobnar's hair.

Lily was happy to see that Ounce was taken care of even when she wasn't the one doing it. Watching the three of them have carefree fun lessened the tension she felt in the back of her mind. Feeling a bit better, she went outside and took a whiff of the damp air. She could smell the fertile soil from the fields, and suddenly, she longed to go into the woods again. Tomorrow, however, the group had a Wendersnaven to find! Lily reflected on how she hadn't spent time with Grobnar for awhile, and vowed to change that with their gnome-focused journey the next day.

But first, she had a matter to attend to.

She made the now-familiar walk to the inn and stepped inside. This time, unlike in the past, she did a quick scan of the place, checking for any tavern girls. Sure enough, there was one; probably a civilian who marketed herself as a "merchant" until she dropped all pretenses inside the pub. Lily didn't see a problem with it, really; she was mostly just curious as to whether any prostitutes had come to offer their services in this particular tavern.

Lily marched to Bishop's room and knocked on the door. She heard the sound of a heavy clatter against wood and supposed that was the ranger setting his drink down. A moment later, the door opened.

"Oh," Lily gasped. Bishop's hair was sopping wet, as if he'd just taken a bath but nearly drowned himself. The bandages around his torso were soaked through, and she could see behind him that his cloak was in a similar state. His eyes looked...hopeful? Lily couldn't put her finger on it, but the way he looked at her – softly, with his head slightly tilted to his right – was different from usual.

"Um, can I come in?" She wasn't sure what to make of his unkempt state.

"Yeah."

Lily passed by him and settled on the chair to the right of his spot. The ranger had apparently been in the process of drying his hair, because he now batted at it with a cloth. Suddenly, he stopped and met her gaze. "What did you come here for?"

Lily sighed, starting to feel exasperated again. She ignored it to the best of her ability. "I wanted to tell you that Elanee has leaked what she saw to Ammon, but thankfully he came to me instead of the others."

Bishop pursed his lips and stayed quiet for a few moments. "Thankfully?" he finally asked. He didn't know that she also didn't want the rumor to spread.

"I don't really care if I'm seen with you, but I know it wouldn't please your tavern wench to know that you were trying to bait another female." Lily explained as she folded her arms across her chest, still feeling bitter about the night before.

Bishop's eyebrows furrowed. My tavern wench? As he had expected, she was getting the entirely wrong impression.

"I wasn't trying to bait you," the ranger answered defensively. "And I don't have a tavern wench."

"So hand-feeding me vanilla nectar while you gazed at me with that expression on your face wasn't making a move on me?" she teased in disbelief.

Bishop started to speak, but he quickly abandoned his thought.

Lily filled in for him: "Don't have a tavern wench, huh? That seems unlike you."

"Please. That one out there seems barely older than a teenager."

Lily laughed. "Oh, so that's why. Well, I'm sure you have to wait hardly a few more days and another'll take her place. We could even get some from Neverwinter if they're not to your liking."

Bishop was bothered by how serious she seemed when saying this.

"Anyway, I wanted to inform you about Elanee, but I also don't want you to kill her," she said, entirely serious. "I'm still surprised she told anyone, though, or was even watching, for that matter. It doesn't really make sense to me, but perhaps I'm missing something."

You are, Bishop thought. He wasn't sure how he wanted to play that card yet, though, and thus kept quiet about it.

Without warning, Lily got up out of her seat and made to leave. Bishop, confused, asked, "Where are you going?"

Lily turned back to him. "I just wanted to let you know about Elanee. I'm going back to the Keep." She continued to the door.

"Wait."

Lily faced him again, stopping in her tracks this time. "Yes?"

"Have you taken a look at your injury?" he asked slowly, concentrating, trying not to sound interrogating. The amount of effort it took to tone down his usual manner of speaking was almost disturbing.

The elf faltered. "What?" She had actually forgotten what injury he was talking about. After a second, though, it hit her. "Oh. No, I guess not."

Bishop sighed. "You don't know what's out there. Could've fallen on a stinger for all you know."

Lily stayed standing, nonplussed. "I... I guess so." She looked a little dumbfounded as to how to react.

"I can tell you what it is if I get a look," he offered.

Lily thought about it, and finally grinned a little. "Will you stop bugging me about it if you see it?"

"Yeah."

"Then fine," she laughed, her countenance slightly more at ease now. He seemed to really be making an effort. She walked back over and turned her back to him.

Bishop already had his gloves and bracers off and had left them on the table. Lily fixed her messy, bedhead bun of hair while he positioned himself, not wanting to obstruct his observation. The sun elf was dressed in a shirt and pants since there had been no quest that day; this conveniently made her wound a lot more accessible than it would normally be with her wizard robes.

When he was finished with his accessories, Bishop took a side of Lily's shirt in each hand and slowly lifted the material upward. Her smooth, tan skin slowly revealed itself more and more...and the ranger admitted to himself that he could see no imperfection as of yet, injury or otherwise.

A bit higher...

There it was. At the height of her navel, but on her back, there was a gash the size and shape of a large stone. There was another, smaller oval imprint above that, likely from a smaller rock.

"No residue from an animal, but you shouldn't leave this untreated, either. Heavy blunt impact."

"Well, with that kind of wound, I doubt wrapping it up would do it any good."

"No, but your back must feel stiff as a board."

Lily hmphed. This was correct: her back had been aching sorely ever since she woke up.

She suddenly gasped; Bishop's warm hand had settled on the larger injury, and he was pushing on it. Lily winced. "What...are you doing?" she asked between breaths.

"Stretching the muscles. Stay still."

As he worked on the same spot over and over, it grew used to his touch, and not only stopped hurting, but gradually loosened up. Lily was immediately thankful for some of the tension to leave. "That feels good," she cooed as her eyes narrowed.

He continued for a few moments. "Lie down," he said, though it was more of an offer than an order. Lily agreed and moved to the bed. She lied down carefully on her stomach, but even lowering herself to that position was an arduous task.

Bishop dragged a chair over to the bedside and sat down. He leaned over her and lifted her shirt again, placing both hands on her bare back and kneading the muscles there. Against her better instincts, Lily moaned suddenly. She was unsure about how this massage was turning out, but she had to admit to herself how good it felt. "Lower," she advised breathlessly.

The pressure moved lower to the small of her back, and her back arched downward slightly, cupping the ceiling. After that area had gotten a few moments of attention, he circled higher and massaged the areas lying above his starting point. "Yeah, there," she encouraged with vigor, her voice quiet but pleased. Bishop's strong hands felt so good ironing out the dull, aching tension from the impact that Lily had to force her lips shut to keep from crying out every now and again.

Bishop pushed his thumbs into the area just beneath her shoulder blades, gently at first, then harder. They moved in circles to encompass a larger surface area, and when he moved his kneading fingers up to where her back and neck muscles met, Lily couldn't help but moan again into the pillow. The ranger had expected her to have some neck tension, but not as much as he felt there; he carefully worked her lower neck over and then moved to her shoulders, and Lily grew silent except for a few soft exhalations now and then.

"Better?" the ranger asked simply. Lily nodded into her pillow, as her voice didn't seem to work at the moment.

But when Bishop took his hands off of her, she quickly gained it back: "Do all of my neck, please."

Bishop chuckled. "Don't think I can turn that way from this side of the bed."

"Then come up here," she commanded impatiently, drunken on the bodily relief, grabbing him by his chest bandage and lifting him to a leaning position over her.

Bishop felt himself being moved up toward her and smirked. "Where'd all this energy come from, elf?" He then sat lightly on her legs, supporting himself with his knees as he reached up again to her neck. He still had droplets of water on his skin, but the wetness dripping onto her back didn't bother Lily. She was far too distracted to be bothered by anything right now. The ranger squeezed her neck muscles in all the right places, and Lily was floored, her whole body relaxing more and more by the second.

"Bishop... That feels so good... Do more..." she pleaded with and encouraged the one who now had full access and control over her, despite what her rational mind may have thought about it.

Bishop breathed slowly in an attempt to calm his rapid heartbeat. She was moaning his name, over and over, and his hormones definitely took notice.

He leaned farther up and lowered himself over her form. From there, he continued his work on her neck muscles until he could no longer feel her tendons fight against him. Lily lay still, breathing quietly against the pillow.

Silence followed, and in it, Bishop slowly laid fully on top of her back, supporting most of his weight with his elbows and forearms. Lily breathed out in surprise.

The ranger sniffed the air near her warm skin, growing more animalistic by the moment. "I earned this, I'd say," he whispered victoriously, softly, teasingly, his nose against her ear.

Lily shook her head hard against the pillow. She should've known she couldn't get something for nothing from the Chaotic Evil ranger. When he settled his face in between her left shoulder and neck, she gasped, grabbing a fistful of the bedsheets. The ranger could feel his desire ramping up, and fast. He bit her neck lightly there, and Lily began to beg, feeling his strong, chiseled form against her back. "Bishop, please..." She started quivering, her breath rapid.

"This position is..." Unfair. Scandalous. "Bishop..." she cried simply instead. In response, he only bit her again, refusing to get off of her. He felt down her side to her waist, touching her bare skin there. Again he bit her, possessively this time, and again she begged. "Please, Bishop..." Her begging was driving him crazy. Bishop grazed her cheek with the side of his face, tickling her with his facial hair.

I need this...

No. No, I don't. I just crave her. I don't need her.

Bishop began fantasizing about what it would be like if he took it further, imagined her begging him to finish her. He imagined pounding into her writhing body as she moaned over and over, and over...and over... He started panting from the incredible thought, the extreme adrenaline rush. He had never been so driven wild by a woman's charm, had never been so flustered before.

I...

I do need it...

Too much...

He squeezed more of her pliable, soft skin firmly in his rampant desire.

Way too much...

Far too much for comfort.

Just then, he pulled his dagger out from the holder on Lily's pants and reluctantly slid off of her in one swift movement.

"Got it," he proclaimed, brandishing the knife as his breath caught in his throat.

Lily turned her head to the side and looked at him in absolute disbelief. She rolled over onto her no-longer-aching back and stared at him, her shirt rolling down and back into place. Then, she laughed. "Oh, is that what you wanted?"

The ranger looked at her like she was stupid. "You took it from me." But the smirk he gave her told her he knew exactly why she was reacting that way. Lily couldn't stop giggling, her frustration with him largely melted in the face of how incredibly…Bishop he was being. She still had a deep flush on her face, and it made Bishop's heart skip a beat. It also reminded him of the incredible sensations he had just very reluctantly foregone.

I had to, he tried to convince his aching body, one that was very angry with him now.

It was clearly not very pleased with him, as it chose only to pump adrenaline through his veins as he looked at the glorious sun elf before him.

How appropriate that her elven race fit the shine of her skin, and the radiance of her smile in that instant.