* 103 * 4/1/13, 4/24/13, 4/29/13, 4/30/13, 11/12/15

Neeshka positively shrieked in delight, and Qara started laughing with her mouth wide open in pleased disbelief. The two of them made cat calls and the sorceress couldn't stop slapping her knee in her excitement.

"This is really happening right now, like, for real," Qara howled.

Elanee's words had been cut off by the girls' sudden outburst and she now stood with her mouth open in silence, facing Casavir and Lily kissing. She was still standing between both separate parties and suddenly felt very uncomfortable to be doing so.

Zhjaeve knew this would happen.

Khelgar, for once, had a big smile on his face at witnessing the two of them. "Finally," he let out, then made an embarrassed face and covered his mouth. Neeshka and Qara just kept laughing. Their enthusiastic reactions made him continue: "I knew the lad'd win her over." Zhjaeve looked perturbed at someone else using her line.

For Lily, this kiss was different. The urge had simply...hit her, inexplicably. It wasn't because she was lonely, nor did she feel neglected. She had simply but a moment before gazed at him with curious, absorbing green eyes. She wondered about what kind of man he was outside of battle as well as in, about whether he had anymore secrets that tugged at his very soul. His character was then of the utmost interest to her, and though that had always been the case, never had she been lost in thought about it so much as she was a minute before, entranced by his mesmerizing, mighty, ever-prepared stance – a solid, unbreakable stance that made Lily understand why the gith had called him the Katalmach, a name for a warrior who loses himself in battle. She now kissed that warrior with many emotions flooding her being.

Does this...mean something? she asked of herself, overwhelmed both by Casavir's essence and the emotions it now invoked in her. To her confused dismay, Casavir felt her change in demeanor, too, and as soon as he sensed this, his kiss became so passionate, focused, and loving that it made tears start to well up in Lily's eyes.

It was overwhelming.

Casavir… No... I... I don't... She almost panicked, but couldn't; her whole being refused to let her move. Feeling so much emotion from him in this one kiss rooted her to the ground.

After many more seconds, they at the center of attention broke their lips apart with the smallest of sounds, and the two remembered where they were, as well as whom they were in front of. Casavir, caught, looked very languidly to the party behind Elanee, hoping against hope that if he moved slowly enough, they would not be there by the time he faced them fully. But they were. He let go of Lily – though he made sure it wasn't quickly enough to possibly hurt her feelings – and absolutely could not make eye contact with any of them. He sheepishly stared anywhere but at anyone who stood staring at him.

Still, he savored the sweet taste of fresh strawberries he had come away with from Lily's lips. Strawberries, he thought, were his new favorite berry.

Lily, still under the intoxicating influence of Casavir's lingering kiss, faced them all with a manufactured, triumphant look on her face, though on the inside, she was still terribly confused.

Qara interpreted this coy look from their Leader to mean it probably wasn't the first time they had kissed – after all, wouldn't Casavir be more surprised? – but that it was the first time they had done it with everyone being present. She smirked smugly.

"What were you saying, Elanee?" Lily inquired coolly, acting as if nothing had happened, mostly for her own sake. She had to first figure out what had just gone on before verbally acknowledging that it ever happened.

Elanee didn't even remember. "Nevermind, let's just...move on," she said after many silent seconds, continuing the trek deeper into the woods. The others followed her wordlessly, but with plenty to say in their body language as Lily, Neeshka, and Qara bantered back and forth about what just happened without ever opening their mouths to speak. Casavir was too busy staring strictly at the grass as he walked to try and interpret what they were "saying". Khelgar and Zhjaeve tried not to make it harder on the insanely embarrassed paladin by avoiding looking at him as they moved.

"Well," Elanee started again after a few unbearably tense minutes, "It's about time you all learned how to use a bow," she said, chuckling nervously. She wanted to permeate the thick, emotional air and get everyone focused again.

Lily grinned. This was just her type of task, a perfect distraction to get her mind working again. She wondered how Casavir and the others would fare, though, some of them being used to heavier weapons and others used to only staves. She worried the least about Neeshka; the able, maneuverable rogue surely knew how to shoot a bow.

"I will be teaching you all one-by-one before we separate into our groups. The rest of you can watch knowing that I will instruct you individually when it is your turn." The wood elf brought out two bows from her bag, as she and Bishop were the only ones allowed to have any extraneous items on them besides the communication mirrors.

Lily immediately spoke up. "Elanee, can I use one while you teach someone with the other?" She couldn't help her impatience; knowing how to do this already made her eager to show off a little.

"All right, but I will need to have it back before we split up."

"Okay!" Lily grabbed the bow and an arrow and immediately got into position. The position itself was invigorating, especially given how much time she had spent away from the outdoors. If she honest, it had felt like aeons; so much had happened since. Elanee fumbled with resorting the contents of her bag and closing it. The others thus turned to Lily just as she fired a test shot at a tree.

Lily smirked. Almost dead center.

Casavir's lips parted. His body filled with a warm feeling again as he was pulled back out of his daze with one shot of her arrow. He had no idea their Leader could handle a bow as well as her usual magic weapons. He was impressed.

"Yikes, Lils. Where'd ya learn that?" Neeshka asked confusedly.

The elf did a mock curtsy. "I have my ways," she answered cryptically. Qara had a knowing grin on her face. It didn't take much guesswork to figure out where – or whom, rather – Lily had learned archery from. The realization didn't strike Casavir or the others, though, and the sorceress wasn't about to spoil their Leader's fun.

Lily couldn't hold it back; her pride temporarily spilled over and she declared, "Would anyone like to learn from the elven master?"