Chapter 3

Almost

Sorey'd just finished dispatching the last wolf hellion when he heard it.

Even if he had been dozens of yards away, Sorey would've still heard the sound of Mikleo's exhausted words. The shepherd whirled his head around in time to see his much-loved companion collapse into the desert sand, his normally pristine appearance disheveled and dirty. In a flash, Sorey was darting towards his side, the voices of his worried teammates falling on deaf ears.

"Mikleo!" Sorey half dove, half knelt next to the fallen water seraph. Quickly, Sorey picked him up slightly in his arms, staring into his pretty face. Even now, the seraph's eyebrows were scrunched together, and he looked absolutely miserable.

There were no visible signs of injury, more than likely he was just passed out from exhaustion. Sorey had to get him out of the heat, and immediately.

Wordlessly, Sorey hauled him up and nestled him in his arms, turning around to find Lailah once he'd risen from the sand.

"We have to get him to town! He's too overheated. I'll carry him!" And with that, he started to head out as fast as he could towards the direction he knew the town was in.

No one argued, and there was no more talk about setting up camp. Mikleo clearly needed more than that. He needed to be inside a legitimate building, with a cool rag on his face and a fan blowing cool wind onto his overheated body. He looked like a wreck, and because he took such pride in his appearance, and always appeared crisp, cool, and clean, the other's started to feel the same anxiety as their shepherd. Mikleo never liked to worry the others, and so, if it came to the point of him passing out, then they knew he was truly in some trouble.

They all hurried. Moving fast through the sand, it was Lailah that held her hand out to Mikleo's forehead as Sorey carried him. And when she touched his skin she winced.

"He's burning up…" she said. Normally Mikleo's skin was smooth and cool to the touch, being the water seraph that he was. And so, to feel him warm was alarming.

As the group ran, Zaveid led. And when the next hellion arose, he let out a furious roar.

"Get the fuck outta our WAY!" Thrusting out his hands, a blast of wind shrieked forth, pummeling into the single hellion and sending it flying. The group never even slowed down as the sand settled behind them. And Lowgrin, which had indeed only been a mile away, started to come into view within ten minutes.

"There it is!"

"He'll be fine. He just needs to get out of the sun."

Sorey was immensely grateful for everyone's help. And there was something about Zaveid's angry outcry towards the hellion that was very...well, it made Sorey like him a little more than before. Not that he'd disliked Zaveid. It's just that there was something refreshing about seeing him care about something other than women and their scantily clad boobs.

The shepherd hurried on, carrying Mikleo as carefully but as swiftly as possible. With their hurried pace, he too was definitely feeling the effects of the heat and the sun. Sweat dripped off of him. He was sure he didn't smell that great...but all that mattered right in that moment was making sure Mikleo was safe.

They reached the threshold of the city, and once there, Sorey was...instantly underwhelmed.

"Oh my..." Lailah said, putting a delicate hand up to cover her mouth, her own slim eyebrows furrowing in concern.

"There's...only tents," Sorey said, looking around in hopes of spying a place where they could take care of Mikleo.

Zaveid, who'd quickly dashed forward to scout ahead, thrust his hand up in the air from several tents ahead and waved to Sorey.

"Hey! Over here, your Shepherdness," the wind seraph said, still as cocky as ever.

Sorey and the others scurried forward to see what it was that the wind seraph had found, only to be met with the sight of a middle-aged woman in front of a...very small tent. Is this the inn?

"I'm sorry, but is this a good place where we could get out of the sun and rest?" Sorey asked, trying to be polite as possible. Mikleo would be proud.

The inn keeper, indeed was standing in front of a tent. But it seemed it was all anybody in the town had. At the very least it was a nice, large, sturdy looking tent. And it was also situated in the shade of a very large stone tower that rose up in the center of the town. It already felt cooler simply by being out of the sun.

But at Sorey's question, the older woman's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"We?" she questioned. Looking around, she didn't see anyone other than the odd young man standing before her. And if that wasn't weird enough, the young man held his arms out in front of him as if he was carrying something large and heavy. But nothing was there.

"I, uh…yes," she responded, not wanting to lose a sale. After all, money was tight for all of Lowgrin these days, and as an innkeeper at an inn no one wanted to visit, she could hardly have cared how weird a customer was. Putting on a smile, she greeted Sorey.

"Welcome to Lowgrin Inn! It's not much, but we have the largest and newest tent in town. And we have very comfortable beds inside, not just sleeping bags. The canvas our tent is made out of is very thick, blocking out both heat and light! It's perfect for weary travelers coming in from the desert."

It only took a second for Sorey to realize his mistake. In his rush to get Mikleo the care he needed, the shepherd had forgotten a couple of important things: for starters, he forgot that other people couldn't see his seraphim companions. He may have been on the road for several weeks now, but old habits died hard. He'd lived his whole life with the awareness of the seraphim, and that meant that sometimes, Sorey forgot that others hadn't been brought up with such awareness.

Secondly, he forgot to introduce himself. Most of the time, people remembered the legends about the shepherd - although not always - and that meant they'd remember the legends of his ability to see the seraphim.

Mikleo often had to remind him of these things. But, of course…he couldn't do that right now.

"That's perfect," Sorey said to the lady, at least wanting to keep his manners. "And I'm sorry for not mentioning it before. I'm the Shepherd. One of my seraphim companions needs shelter from the heat...well, all of us could use a rest, really," Sorey said sheepishly.

And at that, the older woman's eyes widened. She, like everyone else in all of the land, had indeed heard of the shepherd. Even those who didn't know the tale previously, knew it now. Ever since Sorey pulled the sword from the alter in Ladylake he became the number one topic of conversation. People had seen what he'd done during the war. They'd seen him defeat a dragon on the battle field. And everyone in all the towns he'd previously visited had seen or heard things about his seraphim. Many people had even seen objects move, or seen the seraph's artes.

And so, eyes opened, the inn keeper quickly stepped aside and quickly gestured to the open tent.

"Oh, please forgive my rudeness! I'd heard the new shepherd was young, but I never imagined! Oh but you are wearing the garb of the shepherd too! And you…are you carrying one of the seraphim? Is she ok? Oh! Please come inside right away! Let me help in any way I can!"

Edna snickered, "She."

"Oh! Um, thank you," Sorey said, moving inside as soon as the nice lady gestured for them to come in - and purposefully ignoring Edna's snicker. "And yes, he's severely overheated. Mikleo is a water seraph, so…the desert heat affected him more than some of the others," Sorey explained, quickly moving towards the bed farthest away from the opening of the tent, since that seemed like it'd be the coolest place for him. Sorey gingerly laid him down on the soft-looking bed, before turning back towards the nice inn keeper who'd followed them inside.

"Thank you for all of your help. Do you have anything we could put some water in? A bowl perhaps? I just need to get him cooled down," Sorey asked, his green eyes full of worry. It'd be easy for the woman to see that although he was doing his best to be polite, the young shepherd was quite worried about his companion.

Lailah headed into the tent too, standing on the other side of Mikleo's bed. She placed a hand to his forehead, noting that he was most certainly still quite warm. Being the motherly sort, she felt she needed to do something to reassure Sorey.

"He'll be fine, Sorey, I know you'll take great care of him," she said positively.

Sorey turned his head slightly towards the fire seraph. "Yeah...thanks Lailah," he said softly, even as he bounced on the tips of his toes in eagerness to take care of his Mikleo.

The inn keeper believed in Sorey right away. After all, she saw the human shaped indentation appear on the bed when he laid down the seraph he said he was carrying. And then the young shepherd turned and looked at the nothingness off to his side and thanked someone she couldn't see or hear. He wasn't crazy. This was real. And that meant there was an angel in distress lying on a bed in her modest inn! And what was more was that there were clearly other seraphim in the room too.

"I will bring some water immediately!" she said earnestly. "And please let me know if there's anything else I can do for sir Mikleo." Quickly, the woman hurried down the long tent and back out into the sun.

Edna snickered again, "Sir."

The group waited in silence. There wasn't much to say and they were all worried. But luckily, the woman had hurried as quickly as anyone could and a few moments later she returned with a large bowl filled with ice water and a cloth.

"Here," she thrust the items out to Sorey. "Anything to help."

Sorey said his thanks, but then asked for some privacy. The inn keeper, eager to please, hurried back out of the tent, reminding him yet again that she'd do anything she could for him and his party.

The innkeeper is so nice, Sorey thought to himself, even as he turned towards Mikleo's prone, exhausted form laying on the bed before him. The shepherd sat down on the bed next to Mikleo, gingerly placing the bowl and cloth on the nightstand right next to the bed for easy access. Then, he leaned forward and brushed the bangs off of Mikleo's pinkened forehead.

He's so warm, Sorey thought. It was a shame he was getting to touch Mikleo's hair under these circumstances. Typically, he wasn't allowed. Not ever since that one time he'd incorrectly cut the seraph's hair.

I don't know if he'll ever get over that, the green-eyed youth thought, before turning his attention towards Mikleo's shoes. Those needed to come off.

He carefully unzipped the pair of boots his companion was wearing, before yanking off his socks too. They were sweaty, but Sorey didn't particularly care. If it was him, he'd want his shoes off. It couldn't be comfortable if one's feet were still sweltering.

Once that was done, Sorey turned his attention back towards Mikleo's head. He carefully removed the golden circlet off of his forehead, placing it in one of his pouches on his belt for safekeeping, before taking the cloth and soaking up some of the cool, refreshing ice water. Then, he wrung it out a little, folded it up, and brushed Mikleo's face with it, careful to keep his bangs out of the way.

"It's okay, Mikleo. I'll take care of you," he said softly, before dipping the rag back into the water, this time placing it carefully on the seraph's forehead and leaving it there.

Maybe this will do the trick, he thought to himself, wondering if there was more he could do for the other youth's beautiful skin. Would he sunburn? Mikleo had always been so beautifully pale...what would happen now? Would it heal? Was there something he could put on his skin to make it better? He wasn't sure.

In seeing how tenderly Sorey took care of Mikleo, it was Lailah that turned to Zaveid and Edna and said,

"Let's go out and explore the town. There isn't anything else we can do for Mikleo here."

And Edna, who'd known about the two for longer than she'd let on said,

"Yeah. We should give the nerds some space."

Zaveid, still appearing completely clueless, looked to the other two.

"You mean like scrounge up some info on the iris gems and the malevolence in this area?"

"Oh, yes." Lailah agreed easily.

"And see some hot desert babes!"

"Uhh…that too I suppose…"

"We're invisible! They won't even know we're here!"

"Let's not cause trouble for Sorey, Zaveid…"

"Aww alright. I'll behave."

The group turned to head out. But before they did Lailah turned and gave a little wink to Sorey. Then the three seraphim were out of the tent, leaving Sorey and Mikleo alone.

Sorey was grateful that Lailah sensed his need to be alone with Mikleo. He turned and gave the fire seraph an appreciative smile, before looking back to the bed where Mikleo laid.

It only took about five seconds of silence for Sorey to lose his composure.

His eyes drew dark, and his mouth twisted into a pained frown.

"Mikleo..." he said simply, his voice soft but full of worried emotion. The shepherd reached out again, brushing back the seraph's bangs from his forehead with a feather-light touch.

"Just please...be alright."

Sorey sat with Mikleo in silence, but only for a few moments. For after only a little while of resting in a cool shaded area, with cold water on his face, Mikleo started to stir. He let out a quiet groan, and his white eyebrows furrowed together in discomfort. Of course, as soon as Mikleo started to stir, Sorey leaned over him eagerly, his green eyes lighting up with anticipation.

"Mikleo?"

In hearing Sorey's voice, Mikleo turned his head, letting his white bangs fall across his forehead where the cloth rested. Then, his violet eyes weakly fluttered open. He blinked once, then fixed them onto the worried shepherd. Right away a tired smile spread over his face.

"That face doesn't suit you…"

Sorey's expression lightened with relief, and a bit of humor in it too, now that Mikleo was awake.

"You had me worried. What was I supposed to do?" the shepherd asked, leaning forward on the bed and propping himself up with his elbows, so he could be closer to the seraph.

"And besides..." and he took the damp rag from its resting place on the seraph's forehead, and dipped it back into the ice water, rang it out, and gently placed it back on the seraph's forehead.

"You're worth being fussed over sometimes, Mikleo. You worried over me when I slept in Ladylake for those three days, right? Now it's my turn to take care of you."

Mikleo chuckled softly.

"I suppose that's true. Maybe I passed out on purpose to get a little revenge. Make you worry for once…"

Sorey didn't know how much he liked that thought. But he knew Mikleo was just being silly. The seraph was teasing him...as was his way. And so, Sorey knew better than to take it seriously.

"Well," he said, leaning forward again until he was propped up on his elbows, very close to Mikleo now.

"Your devious plan worked. I've been fussing over you ever since it happened," he confessed.

"…" At first it looked like Mikleo was trying to come up with another retort, but slowly, the smile on his face started to dwindle away.

"I'm sorry," he suddenly said instead, glancing away from Sorey. "I've been trying to become stronger ever since we started our journey, precisely so that you would never have to worry about me, and so I could be an asset to you, instead of a burden. I don't like…I don't like seeing you troubled."

Sorey listened carefully. And since he was given a serious response, he took a second to formulate his own. He wanted to get this right.

"Mikleo..." he said, reaching out and taking the seraph's hand, cupping it gently in his own gloved ones.

"You are strong," he reassured. "You're the strongest seraphic artes user we've got on the team. You're even stronger than Lailah. But we were in a situation that couldn't be helped. The desert...it's just not your element. And that's okay. That's not your fault," Sorey stated, meaning every word of it.

"You're not a burden, Mikleo," he said, squeezing the seraph's slender, pale hand in his own stouter, tanned one. "And it's okay to need help sometimes…right?"

Mikleo kept his gaze on Sorey, and for a second, he just wanted to take in his earnest face. It was Sorey's sincerity and genuinely sunny disposition that were some of his favorite traits about him. And as soon as Sorey spoke to him, he knew how he had to answer. Smiling softly once more he said,

"Of course." And then he just couldn't help himself and added, "Like that time I had to carry you throughout the streets of Ladylake and back to the inn." He chuckled. "All the humans thought you were floating through midair."

Sorey grinned sheepishly, not daring to let go of Mikleo's hand.

"I bet they were thinking some pretty strange things alright," the shepherd agreed, glad that Mikleo wasn't looking as down as he had been a few moments before. "I can't imagine what that would look like..." And his green eyes darted upwards, as he tried to place that image inside of his mind. It only took a second for him to chuckle a little himself.

"I'm forever grateful for that," Sorey said. "I hope I wasn't too heavy..."

"I hope I wasn't too heavy," Mikleo retorted. "You had to travel much further distances with me." And it was clear that Mikleo just knew Sorey had carried him. There was no question, even though Zaveid was bigger and stronger.

"Of course not!" Sorey said immediately, wanting to quell whatever idea that might've lodged itself inside the seraph's head that he was anything but perfectly lithe and perfect.

"Although, even if you had been bigger, I think I could've handled it," Sorey said with a hint of teasing in his voice. "You're not the only one who's gotten stronger," Sorey said. He wasn't as flashy as Zaveid, so he didn't show off his arms or shoulders, but he didn't feel like he had to. That was Zaveid's style, not his own.

Mikleo picked up on Sorey's subtle boasting. But it was done in such a tasteful way that he didn't quite mind. Besides…Sorey had also managed to compliment him in a similarly subtle manner. Mikleo had to admit that he quite enjoyed it.

He's trying to impress me, he thought in amusement. And he had to admit, that realization excited him. And he liked that Sorey was trying to make him look favorably upon him very much.

Is this…flirting? He suddenly wondered. And although he and Sorey had certainly been interested in one another for quite some time now, several years in fact, they had always been in Elysia. Being at home, their little village of seraphs was small. Far too small to get away with much of anything. And it was also Gramp's domain. Everyone knew everything there was to know about everyone else. And although their seraphim family had always been supportive, it was impossible to allow a budding romance to bloom when there was a family member every ten feet. The only time they could ever get alone was when they were exploring the ruins.

It was always so much fun to explore the ruins together. And it was always so nice to have it be just the two of them. But…they were also both huge nerds. Sorey and Mikleo alike got far too excited about exploring and history, and conversing about the ancient times of Asgard to give themselves the chance to develop anything personally between them.

But now…out on the road, away from home…Mikleo had started to feel more and more of the inklings he had for Sorey back at home. And he felt like he was finally ready to try out something a little different than their usual vanilla relationship. And Sorey…he'd been acting just a little differently too. Maybe being away from home and out on their own was doing some good. But of course it was still difficult because they now traveled with a party of three other seraphim. There were still prying eyes everywhere they went. And so, even though he'd felt something stirring within him, now was really the first moment they'd had alone together.

Mikleo knew right away that they were on the right track. He knew because Sorey's simple flirtatious sentence had made his heart beat just a little faster. And he knew because he immediately felt the need for more of it. He wanted to do whatever was most natural, and right now, that meant responding in kind.

Shifting in bed, Mikleo pushed himself up on his elbows. Then carefully, since he still wasn't sure how well he felt, he sat up. Sorey was still holding his hand, and now they were face to face and at the same level, their noses perhaps only an inch or two apart. Mikleo removed the cloth from his forehead, laying it in the bowl beside them. Then he turned and looked Sorey directly in his spring green eyes.

"We've both gotten stronger," he said. "And we've both grown so much. We're not kids anymore. And I think our dream to make a world where humans and seraphim can live together is growing and changing too."

Sorey wasn't entirely sure what exactly Mikleo was talking about, since such subjects like dreams could be so ambiguous, but...at the same time, his heart felt like it knew the truth behind the seraph's words.

He felt a tug from somewhere inside when Mikleo spoke, and he found himself aware of how close Mikleo was. And how nice it felt to be holding his slender hand in his own.

"Yeah..." he agreed, his lips curving up in a smile, "I think it is," the shepherd agreed simply, his green eyes sparkling with happiness and amusement.

Maybe...it's not enough for us to just live in the same world together. Maybe...it should be, humans and seraphim should be able to have...something more, together, Sorey dared to think.

It would be a lie if he ever said he hadn't thought about what it'd be like to kiss Mikleo. He'd thought of that for a long time. But being in Gramp's domain, with everyone always around the two of them...Sorey had always felt like they were being watched. It just hadn't been a good place to foster anything further between them.

But now...now they were away from all of that. And now, maybe...something more could happen.

The world is our oyster...or something, Sorey thought, even as he studied Mikleo's face for clues as to what the seraphim was thinking.

It was almost maddening sometimes how simplistic Sorey could be. It was one of the traits Mikleo liked best about him. There was something so refreshing about his innocent naivety, but at the same time there had been moments when that trait of his made Mikleo want to scream or bang his head into a wall. This was one of those moments.

Still, despite how his answer made him want to hit him, it was still somehow sweet. And Mikleo didn't think he imagined that something in Sorey's leaf green eyes. He got it. Mikleo could see that Sorey understood, at least a little bit of what he'd said.

With Sorey being who he is…I'll have to be almost shamefully direct with him. But…I don't know if I have that in me yet. We're both so new…and I don't even know what it is I'm looking for. All I know…is I want to try something more.

He suddenly felt nervous, and his heart was beating just a little faster again when he even thought for a second about what it might be like to be direct or to try and voice these thoughts to Sorey. Being direct like that…just wasn't his style.

But Sorey's so slow. He'll need me to spell it out for him…

But when Mikleo thought about it yet again, the pounding in his chest grew worse, and he knew he couldn't ever say something so obvious. And so, a quick displeased frown cut through his face and he let off a 'tsk.' Lifting his chin and closing his eyes the way he did when he was agitated or annoyed, he glanced away.

"You're so simplistic. Sometimes it drives me crazy."

For a second, it looked like Mikleo was struggling with something. And then, he was displeased.

Sorey didn't understand.

He blinked his green eyes, looking confused.

"...Huh? I...did I...do something?" Sorey asked, tilting his head slightly to the side, his face full of innocence and naiveté. And he had no idea how cute Mikleo thought that confused look actually was.

The shepherd looked to the side, clearly trying to think of what might've transpired without his noticing, but he couldn't figure it out.

"W-well...that's...probably true. But...it's also the part of me that you like the most, right?" he asked teasingly, his green eyes brightening again now that he wasn't so confused.

Because he might not understand why Mikleo reacted the way he did, but he knew that Mikleo liked him. And he could respond to that.

A quick pink color came to Mikleo's cheeks when he was called out on his liking of the annoying trait he just pointed out. But he wondered if he was lucky enough for it to not be noticed due to his sunburn.

"I-I like other things about you! At least things better than that!" he cried. But in his indignant rush to defend himself from liking such a displeasing trait, he didn't realize that he admitted to liking far more about Sorey than he'd meant to. And as soon as the sentence left his mouth, his blush grew far worse.

"I-I mean…I…"

Sorey felt his heart give a sudden lurch, and just like that, he felt his shoulders tense and his heartbeat increase.

He wasn't as aware of his blushing tendencies as Mikleo; as such, he had no idea that he was sporting one now too.

"Y-you do? Like...other things too? Hahaha, wow, um, like what?" Sorey said, before grinning dopily.

"I mean, 'cause that's good, because..." but Sorey couldn't seem to find the words in him to continue.

Because what? Mikleo stared at Sorey, his pink-purple eyes suddenly huge. For a second, he thought Sorey was going to say with words something they've known for years. But…Sorey, like himself, didn't seem like he was ready. And so, both young men stopped and Mikleo found that they were both simply staring at each other with bated breath, their hearts pounding away.

Mikleo was suddenly aware of how stupid both of them must have looked. If anyone walked into the tent, like say, one of their friends, they'd both be caught red-handed: or…red-faced.

He knew he had to answer, or at the very least, say something.

"I…y-you already know the things I like about you," he almost accused. "And you know what I think of you."

And in saying those words, Mikleo suddenly started to calm back down. After all, his words were true. It was silly to get so upset and flustered, after all: they both already understood how important the other was. They knew that they loved one another, deeply. And no one was more important to them than the other person. This had been true for as long as Mikleo could remember. And so there was nothing to fear. There was never anything to fear with Sorey. The only trick now, was figuring out how to grow into that love outwardly.

But this is Sorey we're talking about. This is us. And nothing's ever been too frightening or too hard when we do it together.

Mikleo sighed. His color in his cheeks fading away once more, he looked to the person he'd loved since childhood. His violet eyes deep, he locked gazes with Sorey once more to try yet one more time.

"And I know how you feel about me." Very calm this time, he continued. But not before squeezing Sorey's hand just a little more tightly. "I've been thinking, ever since the battle in the basin…I've thought…that maybe you and I should-!"

"Hey! Mikky-boy's awake!" Came Zaveid's loud, obnoxious, grotesquely interrupting voice. And as he ran into the tent all smiles, Mikleo immediately let out a loud, almost painful sounding groan followed by a sigh. Tearing his hand away from Sorey, since he certainly didn't feel like dealing with coming out to Zaveid just yet when he was already dealing with so much, he lifted his other hand and put it to his head, appearing very much as if he suddenly had a pounding migraine.

"Thank God you're ok!" Zaveid cried as he reached the bedside. "We were so worried about you little man!"

Mikleo couldn't helped it, the interruption was so ill timed that he felt like dying. He groaned all over again.

"Kill me now…"

"Ooo! That bad huh? Headache from all the sun? Want me to punch it outta ya?"

"Yes. Punch me back into unconsciousness…"

Lailah and Edna much more cautiously entered back into the tent. And Lailah at least had seen how the boys had been holding hands and quickly pulled apart when Zaveid entered. A deeply sympathetic look came over her face.

"I told him you probably weren't awake yet Mikleo. But he insisted on coming back here to check on you."

"Yeah! Good thing I did! Cuz he is awake! I told you!"

Edna sighed, "You're the worst at reading the mood…"

Everything calmed down as soon as Mikleo responded. Of course Sorey knew what the seraph liked about him. And vice versa. They knew each other so well...so of course there was nothing to be nervous or embarrassed about. They both knew...how important and irreplaceable they were to each other.

Sorey cherished the feeling of being so close to his companion. And nothing was better than when Mikleo gripped his hand a little more tightly. When the shepherd realized he was trying to tell him something, Sorey unconsciously sat up a little straighter, his eyebrows rising and he listened.

He's...been thinking? About something, since the battle in the basin?

But before Mikleo got a chance to finish, Zaveid burst in...and Sorey suddenly found his hand empty and a little colder than before.

Mikleo had pulled away.

Even as easy-going as Sorey usually was, he was still a little miffed that Zavied had interrupted something so important. Mikleo had been so close to finishing his thought...and Sorey really, really wanted to know what he was about to say.

The shepherd sighed, his bright green eyes a little more downcast than usual, as he looked away. The expression was only present on his face for a moment though, before he looked back to Lailah.

"He's definitely awake, and I'd say feeling better," Sorey said, before looking back to his disconcerted love interest. "Right, Mikleo?"

Mikleo was feeling better: physically. But at the moment, emotionally, he wanted very much to cast the spell he'd just learned to disappear. But even though he had the ability to disappear, whereas others did not, he knew casting such a spell now would be an admittance of what had just transpired. And if he did that, the other seraphim would know. And he certainly didn't want any of them too deeply involved in his business with Sorey.

And so, he sat up a little taller, squared back his shoulders, lifted his chin, and faced the others as he normally would have. Wearing as normal and stoic a face as ever, he responded,

"I'm fine," he confirmed. "Just a little overheated. Sorry for delaying the journey."

"I'd say you sped the journey up!" Zaveid said. "We ran that last mile here and you were only unconscious for a few minutes."

"All the same," Mikleo, for the first time since he woke up, actually looked at himself and his appearance. Once discovering the discrepancies, he began fixing them. As dutiful and diligent as ever, he brushed some dust particles off of his shoulders. Then, lifting both hands, he ran them through his snowy white locks, smoothing them back into place. Within only a second or two, he appeared as crisp and clean as always, even with his blue outer coat still unzipped halfway. He wasn't fool enough to bring it back up, even though he wanted too. Overheating again wasn't an option.

Looking around the room, he spotted his boots near the foot of the bed. Pointed to them, he looked to Sorey,

"My boots please," he requested in a business like way. But as soon as he did, it was Lailah that stepped forward, looking worried.

"You can't mean to head back out already," she said. "Surely you should rest at least a little longer."

"Well, we've made it to Lowgrin, which had been our goal from the start," Mikleo said, looking to the fire seraph. "Maybe I'm not ready to go trouncing around through any ruins yet, but we just wanted to walk around town and gather information on the iris gems and the malevolence in this area, right? I can certainly handle a leisurely walk around town."

The change in Mikleo's attitude was instant, but understandable. He didn't want anyone else seeing him vulnerable or emotional. That's just the way he was.

Truthfully, Sorey sort of liked that about him. He was so...proper, but passionate, and to-the-point. He didn't mince words, and he could handle situations ten times better than what people assumed.

Still. Sorey was sorry to see him have to revert to his 'public face'. He'd liked the conversation that they were having. But...that would have to wait until later.

The shepherd was quick to react when Mikleo wanted his boots. He fetched them for Mikleo, along with a fresh pair of socks from one of the bags.

"I'm okay if you want to take a look around. I'd like to see what's in Lowgrin, too. I haven't had a chance to see everything yet either," Sorey said. "If," he said, offering the socks to Mikleo, "you start to feel dizzy or overheated again, we can just come back here," he said in a placating way. "The inn keeper was really understanding, and she knows that I'm the shepherd, and that you guys are with me. She's already offered her help if we need anything. I'm sure she'd be okay if we had to come back later."

Truthfully, he wasn't sure if Mikleo was physically one hundred percent ready just yet. But Sorey knew that emotionally, he was done. He needed a change of scenery. Sorey would back him up on his need to get out of the tent.

Mikleo's face remained stoic on the outside as he said "thanks" and took his shoes from Sorey, but inside he was smiling. Sorey always knew when to back him up, and he never treated him as if he was anything less than strong and capable. Well…except that one time at the start of their journey. But they had already worked through that painful argument together.

Pulling on his boots, Mikleo then stood up from his bed on a pair of perfectly steady feet. Sorey handed him his circlet, which he put back onto his now dry, white forehead. Despite Sorey's worry about his skin, Mikleo appeared as if he'd be just fine. After all, Seraph's healed much quicker than humans, and an injury to them would disappear perhaps in a day if for a human it would take a week. Mikleo's sun burnt skin was already starting to look a little more like it's natural color than before.

Mikleo gave himself a nice, long, drink of water. Although seraphim technically didn't need food or drink to survive, it was certainly refreshing and cooled him off considerably. Then after offering some to the others, they were set to go.

The group emerged from the tent, and when the inn keeper saw Sorey, her eyes lit up.

"Does this mean everything's alright? How is seraph Mikleo?"

As always, making sure Sorey didn't forget his manners, and also making sure he was heard by the human who couldn't see him, Mikleo elbowed his childhood friend in the side.

"Thank her properly. And tell her we're grateful for her help."

Sorey almost chuckled out loud. It was nice to have Mikleo there by his side, reminding him how to properly communicate with other humans. He may be human, but that didn't mean he always knew what was proper or polite. Of course, the shepherd had a feeling that even if he knew good and well how to respond, Mikleo would still be there, reminding him of how to act.

The green-eyed youth turned his attention back towards the inn keeper, and gave her a polite bow.

"Mikleo is feeling much better. Thank you so much for asking, and for everything you've done," he said, righting himself once again. "We're so grateful for your help. You're a life saver!" And he gave the older woman a big grin, his eyes crinkling up in happiness.

His gratitude was sincere. That's just how Sorey was.

"Oh how wonderful!" The inn keeper said, clearly relieved that the seraphim of water was ok. Then, turning her eyes away from Sorey, she searched the areas to both the left and right of him, but of course couldn't see Mikleo or the other seraphs.

"Seraph Mikleo, and all of the shepherds other companions, please know you're welcome here any time. Come and go as you please."

"Thank you."

"Thank you," they said automatically, even knowing she couldn't hear them. Then, once they said their goodbyes, they were off to explore the town.

For a while, all they did was speak to the locals to gather information. They found out very quickly that the ruins Sorey had been speaking about before in the desert were still known about by the locals. The Gangaren Ruins were said to be north east of the town. But of course, like with any ruins, they were warned that there was still plenty of danger there. By speaking with just a few more people, they also discovered that this seemed to be one of the sources of malevolence in the desert area. The other seemed to be stemming from an old abandoned town in the North West. Some of the locals said they saw a ghost or monster in the abandoned village.

"It's a fairly long way off, maybe a day's journey, but there's an oasis along the way that would allow you to rest," is what they were told when Sorey inclined about the hot desert conditions along the route. Mikleo, knowing perfectly well why he asked such a question, said nothing as he crossed his arms over his chest and glanced sourly off and to the side.

Finally, after talking to most everyone they could find and learning about the new area, they reconvened near the center of the tiny tent town.

"So what do you think?" Mikleo asked.

"There's two locations for us to visit," Lailah reiterated. "Although it's late in the day and we should start off fresh tomorrow morning, a decision still needs to be made about where we should head first."

Mikleo let a small grin play over his pale lips, "Well, I think Sorey already knows my vote."

"Sure do!" Sorey said with a quick nod. How could he not know? Because he also wanted to visit... "The Gangaren Ruins!"

And then he turned to look at the water seraph. "This'll be so great! There's no telling what we'll find in there," he said.

Plus, it'll give you more time to relax. A trip to the ruins, somewhere where there won't be a lot of sun for a while, sounds better than an entire day's journey through the desert.

Sorey turned towards the rest of the group, eagerness shining in his eyes.

"Lailah, Edna, Zavied, what do you guys think?"

Just because he was the shepherd didn't mean he wanted to ignore everyone else's wishes. What the rest of his team thought was important, too. And so, if the others would rather find the abandoned town first, then he'd listen to that and act accordingly.

Edna was the first to speak, "God help us if we prevent these two super nerds from seeing their precious ruins. I vote for the ruins too, simply for the fact that I don't want to hear them whine about it for an entire days trek through the desert."

Lailah giggled, then gave her answer next, "I've already told you Sorey, I'm with you no matter what you decide. As long as you're working toward your own answer."

Zaveid let out a 'tsk' and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Guess I'm the only one who wanted to see this monster first before the ruins. But of course, as Edna said, what do you expect from these guys."

"We're in agreement then," Lailah said, folding her hands together. "We'll rest up first, then head to the ruins tomorrow."

Mikleo couldn't quite hide all of his excitement: ruins were ruins, no matter where they traveled. And all of them were fun and interesting to explore. And what was more was that of course, it was one of the things that made Sorey and Mikleo feel closest to one another. And so, the grin that spread across his face was quite noticeable. Edna was the one to point it out,

"See. That goofy grin on Meebo's face is proof enough. If we'd kept these freaks away from their ruins they'd be crying about it for days."

"I'm allowed to be excited," Mikleo defended. "And I wouldn't cry about it. I have more grace than that."

Sorey threw both of his arms up in celebration.

"All right!" he whooped, excited that everyone was on board with going to the ruins. Either they were being really nice to him and Mikleo, or they truly didn't want to deal with their whining through the desert.

"He really does," Sorey said in response to Edna's comment. "Mikleo never cries. Even that one time when I..." But then Sorey stopped himself, suddenly looking sheepish. Maybe he shouldn't tell the others about the hair cutting incident. It was the only thing he'd ever done that had made the seraph truly upset and angry with him.

"I mean, Mikleo is just...really good with handling things. He's always got a good control on his emotions." And then he smiled a little funnily, clearly looking guilty about something, but trying to hide it as best as possible.

"Anyway! Let's see what we can eat around here! I'm definitely hungry," he said, hoping that no one would ask what he was about to let slip.

As soon as Sorey opened his mouth, Mikleo shot him a hard-core warning glare. His violet eyes were nearly flashing with danger, and it was clear that he knew exactly what Sorey had almost let slip. But of course, it was too late. Zaveid: king of 'being-in-your-business' was already at their side as fast as the wind. Leaning in over Sorey, his eyes were aglow with curiosity.

"Ooo! Ooo! That time when you what?" He asked, looking like a child in a candy store. "What did you do?" And then, before Sorey could even stutter, Zaveid turned his eager gaze to Mikleo. "What did he almost do to you?"

It was Edna that let out the sudden "PHHT!" snort of amusement. And judging by her face, her mind had just gone into a very racy place. When Mikleo saw her expression, his cheeks started to burn.

"Shut up! It wasn't like that! You can wipe that smirk off your face Edna!"

"What was it like then Meebo?" She asked, her smirk only growing, for clearly she'd found an easy way to wedge herself up underneath his skin. And now, Zaveid was looking back and forth between Edna and Mikleo, a look of confusion entering his curiosity.

"Like what now?" Blinking, he tried to take in what was happening around him. "Is something going on here that I don't get?"

"Let's keep it that way," Mikleo said spitefully, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away from everyone while sticking his nose in the air.

"Hey that's not fair! Why does Edna know something I don't? Don't you guys trust me? Come on, let good ol' Zaveid in on all your secrets!"

"As if!"

And it was clear poor Mikleo was truly starting to get worked up about things. And seeing it unfold, Lailah, always playing peacekeeper, stepped in once again.

"Mikleo, Edna only teases you because you make it so easy for her. And Edna, there are certain things that should be off limits, even for you. Mikleo is sensitive about certain…things."

"What things!?" Zaveid cried, almost hysterically.

"Nothing's off limits for me," Edna replied sourly. "I say what I think."

Uh-oh, Sorey thought. Looks like I accidentally opened a can of worms. The youth's green eyes filled with guilt and also confusion, for he wasn't sure how to fix the situation.

And of course...now Zavied wanted to talk about 'things', things he and Mikleo weren't ready to talk about. And Edna had made a racy comment.

Sorey blushed, and while he appreciated Lailah's efforts at trying to step in and help, Sorey felt like he had to say something himself and make it better.

"Sorry guys, but...let's let it drop," he tried. "I shouldn't have said anything, anyway. And besides, I really am hungry." As if to emphasize his point, his tummy made a particularly loud growl in agreement. Sorey had the grace himself to look embarrassed.

All the seraphs fell silent for a second, until Lailah said, "The shepherd has spoken. Come on everyone, let's do as he asked." Turning, she looked to Edna, who sighed and opened up her umbrella to rest on her shoulder.

"Fine. I'll stop teasing Meebo…even though it's so fun. Besides, we have to take care of our human. They have to be kept well fed you know, or they fade away."

Mikleo scoffed and it was clear he was still bitter. And something about Edna's comment about Sorey fading away made his shoulder's stiffen, "Everything is such a joke to you…"

Lailah, who seemed to understand something the others didn't, walked up beside Mikleo, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok," she said reassuringly. "Edna said she'd stop. Let's just focus on getting Sorey some food."

Mikleo was quiet for a hesitant second, but then looked to Lailah. Once he met her reassuring smile, he nodded, even though he didn't really look all that reassured.

"Alright." Turning so he didn't need to face Edna, he instead put all of his focus on Sorey. "All the inns at the previous towns had menus. But I'm not sure about Lowgrin, considering the inn is a tent. All the same, it wouldn't hurt to ask. Also, I have a feeling the inn keeper wants to let us stay for free. The very least we can do is pay for our meals when she offers those for free too."

Well, things seemed to be a little bit more normal than before. That made the shepherd relax in his boots.

"Right," he said, meeting Mikleo's gaze with his own. "She's been more than generous; we'll definitely have to pay her for the meals, if she has any," Sorey said, before turning and heading toward the tent.