* 99 * 3/30/13

It seemed Lily wasn't the only one who felt for a drink that afternoon.

Khelgar, as the elf soon found, had been the culprit. Neeshka was still pestering him, even after the food was gone, and several plates lay smashed to pieces on the ground. Lily guessed that the dwarf had chased the tiefling in his partially-drunken irritation. Most of the party was still there from that morning and stared on in bemused silence, though Bishop was conspicuously absent.

Upon seeing their Leader, both Khelgar and Neeshka stopped and looked at her.

"Um...hi," Neeshka offered sheepishly.

Lily just sighed. "All right, everybody round up," she suddenly ordered.

"Eheh..." Neeshka chuckled nervously, thinking she was about to be punished. Those within hearing range gathered around Lily curiously. Casavir entered as well, standing by her side, and, for once, looking annoyed.

"I know you all are tired of being stuck inside the Keep, and what just happened proves it," Lily began with a nod in the guilty party's direction. "I'm glad you all stayed here with me when I was sick, but I don't want us all to get stir-crazy. So, Casavir and I have an idea."

"To prevent what Lily experienced from happening again, we must learn to fend for ourselves in the woods," Casavir filled in.

"In the dark," Lily added. "We'll start tonight." The paladin nodded affirmatively.

Elanee grinned. She thought that Lily and Casavir fit well together at the helm, dispensing information to the others. She could see the two of them working well together in more ways than one, to be sure. She also noticed that Casavir, for once, did not publicly refer to Lily as "our Leader", but had instead used her real name.

Interesting, she thought.

Really interestinggg, Neeshka pondered, a mischievous grin now stark on her face.

Khelgar, in comparison, looked baffled. "There ain't nothin' in the forest you can't swing an ax at!" he proclaimed loudly.

"Come now, Khelgar; there's still a reason to learn," Elanee responded, her face lit up. The druid was also elated because what they described was just her kind of thing. If it were a test, she'd pass with flying colors, though she reasoned the whole thing had been planned mostly for the benefit of the other teammates.

And just then, Lily smiled at Elanee. The druid was taken off guard, but returned a very kind smile herself.

"If you don't mind, Elanee, you will be leading us."

The druid felt honored. "Of course, Lily." She was very happy that Lily didn't seem at all perturbed by her presence anymore.

"Are you guys ready to get the hell out of here?" Lily asked to rouse them.

"Yeah!" some shouted, including Khelgar and Neeshka. Qara then punctuated the air with a "Finally".

"We'll leave in half an hour. Use it to get ready, all of you," Lily commanded. "No one will be left behind on this trip."

That was a first. The group had never done anything with all eleven of them together. It would certainly be a new experience...whether good or bad.

Lily was optimistic about it. Not only would she get to return to the woods (under the condition of being with everyone else, of course), but she'd be spending time with all of her friends simultaneously. She walked back to her room to change her clothes, still wearing the shirt and pants she had worn the day before. She decided on taking another white shirt with green slacks again, though these ones would be in much better condition than the ones she had worn days prior...

Lily dressed into the new slacks and moved to her shirt. As she lifted the material off of her, however, she caught sight of a small but bright object on her bedside table. "The vanilla flower!" she said aloud, throwing off her shirt and walking topless over to the small bloom to pick it up.

She thought of Bishop, and an idea came to mind. Of course. Who better to help show them the ropes of being in the forest?

She began making her way out of her room, then quickly doubled back before reaching the door and slipped her new shirt on first.