Lucien sports a charming grin as he wanders into the Exiles Manor that evening. He had just come from seeing his mate again, and having those small yet effective conversations were giving him life these days. He immediately smells the delicious scent of stew, and it makes his mouth water as he walks toward the kitchen. As he enters, he sees Vassa stirring it in a large pot, and Jurian beside her, taste-testing, an arm wrapped loosely around her waist.

Upon hearing him wander in, the arm quickly pulls back, and he whirls around as if caught in the act.

"Lucien!", the man exclaims. "We—I thought you were spending time with your mate tonight."

Lucien smirks devilishly and inclines his head towards Vassa politely. "I did. We are taking things at her pace. We have centuries to revel in each other's company. Though a couple of us are not so lucky..." He references Jurian and Vassa's humanity as he strides over to the pot and also takes a taste.

"Mmm, this is divine, Vassa."

She grins beautifully. "Thanks. I know that we have all had a rough go of things for a long while and I figured that it would be nice to have a hot meal and to simply relax. I wasn't positive you'd be back tonight, but I assumed so. As for Tamlin...", she pauses. "Well, I know he's trying his best to heal and despite the circumstances, I thought that it would be nice to extend an olive branch to him. I know you two have made up in no uncertain terms, and he's still in rocky waters mentally."

He nods slowly and sighs, running a hand through his equally red hair. "Yeah, is he here?"

Jurian shakes his head. "No, he usually leaves with you in the morning and comes back around dinnertime, sometimes later."

Vassa stirs the stew again before turning the stove off and leaning against the counter. "Nobody can heal if they don't have a support system. No matter his wrongs, they are in the past, and everyone with a good heart deserves a chance at redemption. He's been nothing but polite to me, and I can see the sorrow in his face. I've seen faces like that before. When I was back in the mortal lands. Even as Queen. My younger brother Valen...I took him in when our parents died, and he never got used to royal life. The pressure would get to him. The criticism even more so. He would act out as a means to feel free even when he never truly was. He never got the chance to be who he wanted to be because I never gave him the chance", she whispers. "I saw the signs and I ignored them...and then he—he was gone. By his own hand. There's nothing I wouldn't do to go back in time and help him", she says softly. "But if I can prevent another person from going down that path by showing them an ounce of kindness, I plan to do so. Regardless of faults."

Lucien watches as Jurian's hand twitches slightly at his side, itching to hold the red-headed woman; to comfort her.

"That is very noble of you."

She nods and turns back to her cooking, Jurian looking solemn next to her. Lucien tilts his head in the direction of the living area and he follows him there.

"You know you don't have to hide anything from us. Me and Tamlin. If you have feelings for Vassa, I encourage you not to waste time. As mortals, yours are limited, plus...you seem good for her. You have changed immensely yourself. Everyone deserves a fresh start, and now that you're human, nothing is preventing you from being with her either."

"Now, Lucien, you know we are simply...how do the mortal children say...frenemies?", he smirks. Vassa and I have been under each other's skin since we met. Not to mention she knows all about my cruel-natured past."

"Again, it seems as though fresh starts have made anything possible. You may have even been resurrected with, dare I say it, a heart, Jurian", he faux gasps.

Jurian flinches a bit and Lucien chuckles.

"Still disgusted at the thought that you could be mortal and have empathy? Or is it simply vulnerability you're still so terrified of?"

Jurian seems to growl as his voice deepens. "You know what I have suffered, fireling. I don't take lingering threats of war as an invitation to attach myself to more weakness."

"You see that's where you are wrong. I have come to realize that love is not a weakness, but a strength. Especially with Vassa's...daylight situation at the moment."

"That's part of the reason I can't. Or shouldn't. Also...I'm too broken for someone like her. Regal and cheery and optimistic. I'm the exact opposite. I am a brute soldier whose skills include deception and being heartless. I have lived more centuries than you have."

"And now you have been reborn as a mortal. A gift for someone like you. This time you only get one short mortal life to make the right decisions for the good of yourself and everyone around you."

Jurian grumbles and crosses his arms.

"Am I wrong? Aside from your sharp mind and tongue, you are powerless now. You can't hurt anything but feelings."

"Alright, you can stop with the fucking ego hits, sparky."

Lucien chuckles and shrugs. "All I'm saying is to go for it. See how she feels. Her curse is being worked on, and I am confident there will one day be a solution. Hopefully sooner rather than later."

"Possibly. Now let's eat. I'm starved."

"I am too."

Vassa grins brightly as she brings out the pot and dishes them some stew. They both thank her and begin to dig in between light conversation when Tamlin trudges through the door soaking wet. Smiles turn into looks of concern.

Tamlin runs a hand through his hair, pushing the damp golden strand back from his face as his green eyes raise to look at the tableful of diners.

Vassa pops up and rushes to the hall, grabbing a large towel. "Gods! What happened? It's not raining."

He swallows and looks at her with appreciation as she tosses the towel over his shoulders, too short to drape it over. Pulling it around his body, he shudders. "I went for a swim."

Lucien immediately knows where and why, inclining his head at him and patting the bench next to him. "You must be hungry then. The stew is still hot."

"Quite. Uh...thank you", he nods to Vassa, then to Lucien, his eyes casting a glance at Jurian as he awkwardly situates himself on the bench.

"Of course", she replies. Jurian reaches over and ladles some stew into a bowl and slides it over to him. They all dig in and Tamlin is the first to speak up again.

"We received some imports today. For the Spring Court. More materials...there is a large housing facility project being started as well as the rebuilding of the homes that were burned. Half of them are nearly ready for the reveal. I'm hoping the residents will want to come back from Summer...but that's only a hope at this point after...everything."

Lucien squeezes his shoulder. Regardless, the court will thrive again, and eventually, they will see that it will be better than it's ever been."

"You have unshakeable belief, Lucien."

"I have no other choice. Prythian has suffered for long enough and it's time for everyone to heal and take a step back to realize what's important. We have one more war on the horizon. With Cauldron blessings, it won't be as bad as the last three, but despite the bad, we need to look forward to the good, or else we have nothing."

They all mumble their agreement and finish their food. Tamlin gets up first, putting his dish away. "Does anyone mind if I shower right now?"

Vassa smiles. "No, they're free."

"Thank you."

Lucien furrows his brow. After a few centuries with the male, he can tell when something is grating on his mind. Following him, he blurts out "Something is irking you and I'd like to know what it is."

"Lucien", he mumbles in warning. "I'm cold from these wet clothes. That's all."

"Bullshit, Tamlin."

"I've seen the strides you've taken towards healing, but I can also tell there's something else you aren't revealing. I've lived with you for a few centuries I know your tells."

"I'll tell you when I'm ready. I'm still trying to—to figure it out. Whether it was something I made up in my grief or if it was truth. And I am not so sure I believe the male that I was during the war enough to say it's truth."

Lucien's golden eye hums softly as he looks at him in disbelief. "If what is the truth?"

"Not now."

"Tam."

"Lucien!", he snaps. Pausing for a moment, he takes a deep breath. "I'm not ready to speak of it yet. Not until I'm sure. Alright?"

Lucien nods. "Fine. Uh, how was your swim, then?"

"Nice."

"Still thinking of her?"

"Sometimes. It's—complicated."

"Understandably."

"Do you?"

"Think about Jes...yeah. Sometimes", he smiles slightly. "It's complicated though because Elain is my mate, and I'm finally moving on. I'm trying to focus more on that than the past now."

"Exactly", Tamlin breathes, ringing out his tunic into the sink.

Suddenly it dawns on him and Lucien gapes. "Wait you...you didn't find your mate did you?"

Tamlin scoffs, but shifts from foot to foot anxiously. "No..."

Lucien raises an eyebrow, eyes wide. "Tamlin."

Letting out a frustrated growl, he tightens his grip on his twisted shirt. "Possibly. I don't know yet. That's why I need to figure it out."

"Wow...I mean—wow, after everything with Feyre..."

"Which is well past since there was zero hope once she was officially a part of that court", he grumbles, still with a bit of resentment.

"You're still angry, though."

"Angry about her leaving and finding her mate...", he trails off. "...it happened in the worst way but after a few years...anger isn't the residual feeling anymore. She didn't choose her mate, unfortunately. But angry about what she did to my court? Absolutely. I think that'll always bother me, especially as long as the effects and backlash of that are still being felt. One day I'll move on, but today is not that day. It's fine if she wants to avoid, grovel, and blame me for all of her problems. Whatever. I'm used to being the fucking scapegoat, I have my entire fucking life. But it is not okay to hurt my people in her quest for whatever twisted sort of revenge she was hoping for against me. I'm hoping her horrific decision was due to her age and some sort of desperation to get back at me for trying to protect her the wrong way. Because just thinking of how she caused this on purpose sickens me. Enrages me. So am I angry? Yes. For my court and for my people that are still displaced. But even more than the anger, I'm hurt. I'm...blighted."

Lucien sighs and swallows thickly, catching the reference of Feyre being a new sort of blight with her mate. "You think she's a nuisance to Prythian?"

Tamlin scoffs. "No. I think her new entitlement is a nuisance. She changed all her core values and inner self when she became that oversized bat's mate. She changed so much so that the people she had sworn to protect, even from something as minuscule as yearly taxes, she had destroyed without a second thought, and she would boast about it and do it again if she had a redo. THAT is the blight. Her newfound coldness. No doubt something she inherited from Rhys through their bond. The Feyre who fought for all of us against Amarantha—", he pauses, his voice getting quieter. "The Feyre that was a protector and pinnacle of morality...that Feyre died Under the Mountain. When she came back here, the ghost of that Feyre lingered before it faded away leaving this resentful one. That ghost lost the fight between her heart and her mind long before I overstepped. I know that maybe if I had tried harder, maybe if I hadn't been terrified to even utter a word of what was happening to either of us—maybe that ghost would have won out. But we will never know because Rhys /is/ her mate. I never was."

Lucien's gaze goes down to his shoes, knowing the bit of truth to that.

"Before you say anything, Lucien, believe me, I know I wasn't a good male or a good High Lord in any sort of the word when we came back. I know I made my fair share of fuck ups. But you know that I did everything I could to protect her and to protect my people, even if the paranoia caused me to overstep. I admit that. But I would never go to Rhys's home—to Feyre's home— and destroy their people. I would never go to the Night Court and rip their army to shreds physically the way she did to mine mentally. And the fact that she even convinced you to flee...I-I had given you a reason to be angry at me, to resent me, to hate me. But our people respected you too and you also left them in the dust. I now know that you did so to be close to your mate, and I am understanding that with how complicated everything was you made a fast choice, and you chose yourself. As you should have."

"I fled because of Ianthe, Tam. She was sadistic and twisted and predatory. It was absolute hell living anywhere close to where she was, especially after Calanmai. So when she tied me up and threatened to rape me again and Feyre came to the rescue...I realized I had to choose my own happiness for once. I told Feyre I was going with her, it was my choice. I don't regret it, even now, The only thing I regret is not ending her myself. And not making you see what she had turned into over the years. I know that you like to see the best in those you call a friend, and she did use her status as a priestess to fool us all...but the subtle changes in her behavior...you were so busy with Feyre and Calanmai and then Under the Mountain, you didn't really have the capacity to notice. I should have made you aware, and for that I am sorry."

Tamlin hangs his damp tunic over the sink to dry and runs a hand down his face. "Everything changed so fast. Too fast. Like the worst case of whiplash."

"It was an entire mess. Everything went wrong and the results are still being dealt with. But you have to focus on yourself now, which you've been doing. I acknowledge that. If you do have a mate, you're going to have to be in the right headspace to be able to deal with everything that entails. Which is the exact reason I give Elain the time and space she needs. And she has been wanting to see me around more often in a natural way as she heals. I wouldn't ever force my presence on her, but I do let her know that I am here for her and around if she ever feels the need to speak or need me for anything. You should try and at least make sure the bond is real before you decide anything."

Nodding, Tamlin sighs. "I know."

Lucien nods and motions towards the hallway. "I think we are all fraternizing for the night, so I'll be around if you need a chat. And if you want space, I respect that too." Turning, he goes to walk away.

"Lucien?", Tamlin calls after him.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks..."

He nods, hearing the heaviness of the word as he returns to the sitting room where Jurian and Vassa are, not surprisingly, bickering about something again.