* 59 * 1/13/13

The sun elf wizard caught up quickly with the paladin in his room. "Casavir, wait," she requested. The knight took a moment to compose his distraught features, then turned to face her. "Yes, my lady?"

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I am fine, my lady."

"Now you're the one lying," Lily teased, but immediately afterward realized her slip. Crap... He doesn't know I was lying about today... She wanted to hit herself in the face, but that would make her faux pas even more obvious.

But Casavir was preoccupied, struck as if by a bolt of lightning. He was lying. Why was he lying?

"I do not feel well," he corrected himself.

"You were fine earlier. Until Bevil," she mentioned.

Casavir balked at her observation. He stayed silent.

Then: "I am happy you are reunited with a long-lost...friend," he managed.

Lily eyed him. "Why the hesitation before 'friend', Cas? You don't think we're more than that, do you?"

"Are you?" Casavir asked bluntly, much out of his character. He quickly tried to cushion this with, "Forgive me, my lady." But he was tremendously curious.

She looked him in the eye. "No. Bevil and I are good friends, but we're not together."

The paladin made a quiet but thorough sigh of relief, and – almost immediately – his countenance returned to normal. "Forgive me for inquiring so bluntly. It was not my place."

"Why did you, then?" Lily ventured lightly. She wasn't upset, but her inquisitiveness shone plainly on her face.

Casavir was again nonplussed. "He...seems like a trustworthy companion, as you said. He would certainly be more worthy of you than..." the paladin trailed off.

"Than Bishop, right?" Lily finished for him, sensing his hesitation. Swallowing, Casavir nodded.

Lily took a good minute to look at the man before her. She thought on how he probably just wanted the best for her. He always did.

Suddenly, she moved behind him, and the paladin followed her inquiringly with his gaze.

"May I take your pauldrons off?" she innocuously asked.

Casavir didn't know what to think. Instead of assuming anything, he simply said, "If you would like." He reasoned that she probably just wanted to see how heavy they were out of curiosity or something.

Lily undid the straps underneath his arms that held his shoulder armor on. She carefully removed the weighty shoulder-pieces and set them off to the side of the room. To his surprise, however, she immediately spoke again: "And your plate armor?"

The paladin's breath caught in his throat. "If...you would like," he repeated, far more unsure about her motives this time.

She would. She proceeded to undo the binds of his chest armor and set it off to the side as well.

"Sit," she offered, gesturing to a nearby chair.

Casavir sat, still not knowing what to think, or say. Then he felt Lily's hands upon his shoulders. They began kneading him there, focusing on where his shoulders met his neck.

Casavir, upon feeling her touch kneading out his tension, let out an involuntary groan. "My lady?" he asked, trying to cover his wordless outburst. He couldn't even describe it, how it felt to have many kilos' worth of armor off, how it felt to be relieved of such tension, and how it felt to have Lily doing it. Her elegant fingers felt like a light pattering of rain on his shoulders in how they pushed gently into his tense muscles, cleansing them of all their stress. He wished he could feel her touch fully through his shirt.

"Shh," she replied, continuing to massage his shoulders.

Casavir stiffened, concentrating hard on the feelings and sensations she was providing him. Finally, he stopped asking questions and closed his eyes, letting go and surrendering to the attention...