A rising sun was a symbol of hope to many. Even animals bowed to its primacy, as could be heard by the nearby rooster's crow, and the chittering of grasshoppers outside. But for Kelvin Hoover, who had been awake long before it's rising, the sun meant that his work on the front lawn was over, and that there was hunting to be done. At least that is what usually happened.

Instead, he marched with slight bounce to his step, and tried his best to keep a smile off his face. He wasn't so big a man as to be a giant, but he was certainly brawny for an elf. He credited such things to a wonderful amalgamation of blood.

Being born in the most Northwestern settlement of Leo proper (between Leo, Caliph, and the largely independent dukedom of Strumhanden.) The Hoover family was a great clan of all different cultures and races. They were however, largely farm and hunting folks. There wasn't much else to do in such a strange climate. Hot summer winds from the west gave to scorching temperatures for much of the year, while winter would descend from the north in a cold fury.

But now it was autumn. A temperate time that was perfectly comfortable to walk and see the country in. It was just what his patient needed. And as he approached the door to the small guesthouse, Kelvin straightened out his hair, and took a deep breath. But just as he was about to open the door, he thought better of it. Instead he knocked on it, and from behind the door came a woman's voice. In pain, but also surprisingly casual and perhaps even bubbly.

"Come on in, just dying here."

Kelvin pushed the door open and found his patient sitting on the bed: Long auburn hair, probing amethyst eyes, and a statuesque figure in military regs covered in recently cleaned bandages. She didn't seem a good fit for this little guest room. It was comfy enough, but he still felt bad about keeping this woman here. She was certainly tall enough for a bigger room, and her armor and sword took up even more space. So he thought he might as well bring up the issue again, since she was still groggy and not able to argue with her usual acuity.

"You know, my offer still stands. I don't mind sleeping here while you take the main house."

"I said no the first time. What makes you think I'll change my mind now?"

He pointed at section on her back that she was favoring.

"That knot in your back."

"...Yeah, maybe."

She grunted a little, feeling not bothering to hide the pain she was in. Upon seeing this: Kelvin didn't even try to hide his satisfied grin, but he maintained a gracious tone.

"Would you let me help you with that?"

"Well you've helped me this far. What are you going to do?"

"Just a bit of home medicine. My father was the only doctor in town, and he had to work with what he could."

The dame knight raised an eyebrow.

"That didn't really answer my question."

"A massage. That's all."

She looked at him with suspicious eyes, and he at her with innocent ones. So she cautiously began to turn around.

"If you think it will work."

"I do."

So he got on the bed as well, and rubbed his hand together with some therapeutic oils before asking a final time:

"You ready?"

She gave him a thumbs up, and he started. Upon only lightly touching her, there was a grimace of pain from the auburn haired dame.

"Damnit!"

"I barely started."

"It still hurts."

"Well, hold on tight then."

It took a few moments of pained cries and grinded teeth...but eventually, the knight's breathing returned to normal, and she relaxed into the treatment.

"Kelvin?"

"Yes Babs?"

"You're a farmer and a hunter, but your dad taught you all of this?"

Kelvin smiled, even as he started digging in a little more with his dexterous hands.

"As much as he could. He died before I could go to actual school though, and the family needed money now. So I hunted."

"How come I haven't met your mother yet?"

"She has her own duties on the edge of town, and they keep her very busy. Can you flex your shoulders upward?"

Babs did so, and Kelvin made a few swipes beneath the shoulder blades, before setting his hands down.

"You can put'em down now."

"Thanks. I feel a lot better."

Babs made a few practiced motions with her arms, and then turned back to her doctor with a warm smile.

"You really know your stuff. There anything you need around here? Maybe wrangling ornery cattle or something?"

Kelvin laughed.

"This isn't that kind of country. But there is one thing you can do for me. Spend the rest of the day in the main house, relax, and don't go vampire hunting again."

"I won't. I killed them all anyway...right?"

"As far as I know. But I meant what I said, so listen to your fake doctor's orders."

Babs rolled her eyes, though she still smiled.

"Yes sir."

Babs started packing up a few things, before Kelvin stepped in to help her. She protested a bit, but then remembered how horrible her back felt just a moment ago. So it was with some wounded pride that she allowed Kelvin to take some of the load from her, even as they entered the main house. It was a nice as you could expect of a country home just below the class of gentry. Spacious, furnished in mostly woods and furs with some shrines to the gods and little souvenirs from different family members. Right now, all Kelvin could think was that it was too big for just one person. Babs had a different opinion.

"It's beautiful."

She looked at all the knickknacks and furnishings with a pleased expression. Kelvin still couldn't shake his feeling of embarrassment though.

"I hope you like it. I know it's not a palace."

"Please, palaces are overrated. All the jewels are where they don't need to be, and all the personality gets taken out for the sake of saying: "I'm important". You can't live in a place like that, or feel comfortable. It's not a home. But this place? This place is a home."

There was blush to her cheeks that matched Kelvins, and she raised up a disarming hand as she smiled and babbled nervously.

"For you I mean. I would never presume to say that this is my home and not yours or...something."

"I understood you...and I don't mind if you make yourself at home."

Babs relaxed a little, and wore that same tender smile that she seemed to favor.

"Well then. I guess I will."

Kelvin felt something rise in his throat, a great weight. This woman before him was very singular. But he didn't want to seem like he was taking advantage or being "creepy" in his admiration. Before he could say anything though, he felt a sudden pang of tension in his neck. Yet he was used to this feeling, and bore it with some silence.

"Well, just make yourself home Dame Knight. I have an errand to run and I'll be right back."

"Is everything alright."

Those amethyst eyes looked at him yet again, and this time with something he'd never thought he'd see in them: worry.

"I saw you tense up a little. Are you hurt?"

Kelvin promptly shook his head.

"No. I just need to get check in with a friend in town. She gave me a few things that helped with your treatment and I have to pay her for the trouble."

Babs stood up from her seat.

"Let me do that. I didn't know you had to pay to help me out."

"It was no trouble, really-"

"Then it won't be any trouble for me to help you out too."

There was no malice in her eyes, and that worry was gone in place of a very familiar confidence and determination, which was no less entrancing then the other traits Babs had. Knowing that he would never win this argument, and not wanting to argue in the first place: Kelvin simply smiled and offered a hand.

"Very well. Take my arm."

"I don't need to-OW!"

Babs clutched her left hip, but managed to steady herself before she fell. Kelvin smiled again.

"Sorry, I don't think I could hear that over-"

"Alright-Alright, I get the point. I'll take your damn arm."

So leaning on his shoulder, and him bracing for her rather great bulk, Babs and Kelvin marched out the door and walked towards the town of Arrowflight...a rather dramatic name for a very typical roadside town. It was however a clear beneficiary of an excellent trade economy and the variant cultures that dwelled within and around. Caliph spires, Leo houses, and one great stone town hall of Strumhanden make, were the hallmarks of the town.

The people weren't half bad either. They were just as patriotic as any other citizen of Leo, but far out in this place, surrounded by mountains and rivers, there wasn't much hint of war or dissent. The baron of the small town was very much of the same cut as his people. And was at this moment building an addition to the great stone church in the center of town. He was a shorter man, of both elven and human blood, with a lean figure and several scars covering his chest and back. When he turned from his work to see Kelvin walk with Babs on his arm, the baron called out and ran to them.

"There you are! I was wondering if you two had gotten lost in your own house."

Kelvin always liked talking to his liege lord, he was far more gregarious then many of his peers. Babs seemed liked him too.

"Nice to see you up and about Baron Litegate. It's even nicer to see you working. I bet you're an inspiration to all of your tenants."

The baron beat his chest proudly.

"I spent money, clout, and no small amount of time to get this church approved. I might as well spend some sweat too."

"I wish more people thought that way."

"Any man who cannot bear the same weights as those he leads has no business leading. But, that's just idealism talking. We owe you a great debt, Dame Knight, for rooting out that coven of vampires. I've heard from many of my peers that they're starting to become a nuisance in the other northern Baronies and Counties."

This brought a concerned look to Babs' face, and Kelvin felt her muscles tense up. The same tension was also present in her voice.

"How? What's going on?"

Litegate shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not sure, but rest assured I'll look into it. And perhaps you'd be willing to help me?"

Kelvin had remained silent out of respect for rank (Both Babs' and Litegate's), but he felt he needed to protest...gently of course.

"We should talk about this in more comfortable circumstances. Maybe inside the tavern?"

Babs nodded.

"Yeah, I think I need to sit down for a while."

Baron Litegate smiled and gently punched Kelvin in the shoulder.

"Our amateur doctor strikes again huh? Well I won't argue with him. I will talk with you soon, and the first round will be on me of course."

They thanked him, and went into the rather busy tavern. The construction project had brought in a lot of workers from across the barony. So there were a lot of thirsty customer giving business to this grand old building, which was decked with hunting trophies and weapons from the era of feudal wars and crusades long past. But these days there were only farmers, hunters, and all people of this rural and only just tamed country. Yet no matter their class, every person had the same reaction when Kelvin and Babs walked in.

"There they are! Our saviors!"

There was a great deal of cheering, and an equal amount of nervous smiling from the knight and her doctor. But they knew the people didn't mean anything by it, so they accepted the praise gratefully before Babs raised a hand to calm them down.

"I'm really grateful for how much you've made me welcome these past few days. Who knew killing a gang bloodsuckers would get me some clout."

There was some light laughter, before Kelvin set Babs down at a seat by the window.

"But I really just want to have a quiet drink, and maybe some breakfast. So is it alright if I sit out some of the social talk? At least for now?"

There were murmurs of "of course" and "that's fine with us." This was enough to satisfy Kelvin who once more felt that pang in his neck. Only this time he could feel the impulse start to cloy at his head too, like his brain was trying to ooze out of its skull. But he just closed his eyes, and bore the pain. Then he made sure Babs hadn't seen anything, which she had.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Well...I'll tell you about it later. I can promise that it's nothing that I haven't dealt with before."

"I'll hold you to that promise."

"I figured. Now I just have that errand to run, I think you'll be comfy till I'm done."

"Wait a sec..."

She reached into to her belt and found that there was no pouch there, which surprised her.

"Damn, I must have forgot my purse at the house."

"What a coincidence, I didn't forget mine."

Babs frowned at that.

"I told you I wanted to help pay for it."

"You paid enough with that bite. And you can pay me more by doing like I asked, and taking it easy."

"Alright fine, go do whatever."

Kelvin nodded. but as he left, Babs reached out and grasped his hand in a gentle fashion.

"Hurry back. Alright?"

She looked up at him with such an expectant and hopeful face, her amethyst eyes capturing both torch and sunlight. It was such as sight that Kelvin couldn't catch himself.

"Do you know how beautiful you are?"

And there it was: out of his mouth. He couldn't take it back. He expected a laugh, or perhaps some kind of insulted fury. Instead he received a very serious and curious look.

"No. Tell me."

Kelvin wasn't much of poet, and he had other tasks at hand. So he kept his smile, and placed his free hand on Babs' own, as she was still holding him.

"When I get back."

"Fine."

She let go at that point, and looked imperiously off into the distance. But as Kelvin walked out the tavern doors, he caught a glimpse of Babs smiling. Once he was out the door though, and heading towards the small cloister dedicated to Kar-Salkoth, Kelvin felt a little nervous. He couldn't believe he had actually won Babs' interest.

There had been some flirting maybe, and they had been physically close since he had been her doctor for the past few days but for things to actually go like this...it was wonderful and terrifying at the same time. Yet there were many things she didn't know about him and she probably had a few secrets of her own...how would that work out? Kelvin shook his head and kept on walking.

There was no reason to be thinking so far ahead into an unknowable future. For now he should just focus on keeping his head from splitting open, and edging away from the screaming that so often afflicted him at night. He thought on this, just as he came to the outskirts of town, at the border of Strumhanden. The air was still warm here, and everything as typical and formative as the rest of Arrowflight.

Except for the Cloister. For whatever reason, the Monks of Kar-Salkoth had decided to put an outpost in this little town. Any questions about their motives were dismissed by the money they gave to the barony and the usually competent protection of their guardians. The building was a grand mess of coalescing blades that rose from the ground into a claw-like appendage that reached towards the sky.

There was only one "door", if you could call it that. A shimmering field of ice that did not part or melt for its guests and dwellers. This was demonstrated by the armored guardian who merely passed through it. Kelvin had never liked the look of the guardians. They were tall but slim constructs of fibrous metal twisted into a vaguely humanoid shape. There was no visible magic animating them save for the symbol of Kar-Salkoth emblazoned on their twisted heads. But it cast no glow, nor spark of energy. It simply sat there, a burned lines in the form of a great "0."

Kelvin thought it a curious choice of symbol of the hidden god of knowledge. Yet despite such thoughts, he knew better then to delve too deeply into such questions. So he pressed on and passed by the largely benign eldritch construct. Like many times before, he slipped straight through the field, it's material clinging to and then sliding over him. It was an unpleasant feeling, and he always felt as if the strange substance was impacting his breathing.

But once he passed over the threshold, the substance allowed him passage, and he gazed at his surroundings with a minor discomfort. The Cloisters' inner bounds were much more...alive then the outside. Metal amalgamated and twisted within just as it did without, but the shifting was shifting. As if it was pumping iron blood through a twisting vein. Such were the passages and courses of this pulse that the way through the cloister was a varied and confusing excursion

Yet Kelvin knew the right path through this strange mass of breathing artifice. So he walked by strange fountains of purple ichor, armories containing even more guardians and weapons of alien make, and many an initiate of the priesthood on his way. Finally he came to the strangest sight within the entire complex: a plain doorway. He knocked on it quickly, not wanting to linger anymore then he had to, and from within came a cultured and ladylike tone.

"Come in my dear."

He opened the door, and entered into the room. A large personal quarters with both a waiting room, office, and bedroom. It was also furnished in a disarmingly conventional manner. There were even rugs and carpets of warm and earthy hues. And seating at a couch, clothed in clean gray robes with floral patterns of black, and the "0" insignia on her shoulders pads, was a woman that Kelvin knew was of some middle age. Yet even with her mature build and tone of voice, her silver hair streamed beautifully along her right shoulder, and there was not one wrinkle or crease on her face. Her eyes though, were light blue, almost grey looking.

There was also a clear air of fatigue within their depths, as if she had seen more than any person ever ought to. But she had a warm and pleasant smile, and her voice retained that matronly tone.

"You are later than usual. What's her name?"

Kelvin smiled as he rolled his eyes.

"Is it really that obvious?"

"I believe a mother knows her son, and that old widow like myself knows something about love."

Kelvin nodded, and kissed her on the forehead.

"You don't look a day over thirty mother."

"I wish I believed that. Now, tell me about this young lady. Is it that young woman who came into town and sliced open those vampires?"

Kelvin sighed in annoyance, even as he sat down at the chair across from her.

"If you must know-"

"Indeed I must."

"...yes. I have spent some time with Dame Barbara Corsange. But I had to come here."

His mother nodded, and cracked her knuckles before extending her hands.

"Well, lean forward. I wouldn't want to keep the dame knight waiting."

He did so, leaning forward in his chair while his mother placed her hands on his head. There was no burst of light, only a strange humming sound. And while that happened, Kelvin felt the familiar pain in his neck and head stream across his entire body. It was a familiar pain so he was able to bear it, if only for a little while.

But this time, the pain didn't ebb away. Sounds and tastes began to overwhelm Kelvin, and his thoughts started streaming faster than he could comprehend. He couldn't even cry, as sadness, anger, and elation passed in an ephemeral fashion as well. He knew deep down that it couldn't have been more than a second of time passing, but somehow, time passed at a slow and grinding pace in this moment.

Then it ended. For his mother's hand was felt impacting across his cheek at a high speed. It hurt, but it was just enough of an anchor to bring Kelvin back into reality. His breathing was hoarse, and sweat was dripping all across his face. Most disconcerting of all was the troubled and concerned look on his mother's face though.

"I've never seen this happen before...Kar-Salkoth refuses to aid you."

"What?"

His mother was nearly frozen in confusion, and some horror.

"I know no other answer."

"How can that be? Dad gave up everything for him. "

"There is only so much that any life can buy and I suppose that...I suppose that my lord has decided that my husbands, your father's life has bought all it can."

Kelvin fell back into the chair, not crying but only one step away from it.

"How? Dad spent his entire life being a doctor, a man of science and research. And he always offered his success up to his god and owned the failures...what the hell is going on?"

His mother was growing angry now, not at him, but clearly at the situation.

"I do not know...but I can try and find out. In the meantime, perhaps you should remain sequestered for awhile. Or maybe..."

Her voice drifted off to some place that Kelvin knew all too well.

"No, I can't."

"You've done so much good for the town, and the barony as a whole. If you just gave them a chance, I know they wouldn't make you regret it."

He looked up at the shifting ceiling without much hope in his heart.

"It's not just them mom."

"If she's worth a damn she'll give my boy more than a surface glance."

"I hope so."

His mother leaned forward and took her hand in his.

"Take it from an old veteran my love: be honest with her. Gentle, but honest."

"Was dad that way?"

Mother bit her lip for a moment.

"Not at first, and to be honest, neither was I. But love isn't something you understand right away. You have to work at it."

"Doesn't sound very romantic."

"Besides syphilitic poets and the terminally single: who says that love is always about romance?"

Kelvin blinked a few times before turning to his mother again.

"Not you apparently."

"Love is about mutual sacrifice and commitment. And I do mean mutual. If both of you aren't willing to let somethings go and pick a few things up: You have no business with each other."

Kelvin's eyes widened a bit.

"That's very strict."

"That's how you were made my dear."

"Please, no more-"

"I don't think your father expected me to be as aggressive as-"

"Thank you. I get it. I will go talk to her."

She planted a kiss on his cheek, and then sat back on her couch and smiled.

"That's my boy. Go get me some grandchildren."

"I will certainly do my best...I still don't think I'm ready to tell someone, anyone about this."

"And you never will be. Not until you try it."

Kelvin turned his eyes to the ceiling once more, as if trying to pull down some kind of divine aid with his gaze alone. But after a few moments, he got up, bid goodbye to his mother, and left the office. He trudged through the cloister once again, a little slower and more despondent.

His head began to hurt more, though he knew it would pass after a while. Yet he went to his next task with some trepidation, comforted only by the less traumatic parts of his Mother's advice, and by the fact that he himself had promised Babs that they talk about all this. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Once out of the cloister, and back in the core of town he found himself staring at the doors of the tavern...and he didn't know what to do with himself.

He looked towards the window where Babs was sitting and saw her talking with Baron Litegate. That made things awkward. Talking with her was one thing, talking with her and spilling his little secret to the Baron was another matter entirely. But he knew that they were both expecting him, so he marched in with heavy feet, took a deep breathe, and went over to the table.

"Sorry for being late, my appointment took longer than expected."

Baron Litegate took another swig of his drink before talking.

"Think nothing of it Kelvin. I was actually leaving."

"Oh. If I kept you waiting then I-"

"No you've been fine. I just have another meeting with the builder's guild. Apparently they have contracts with someone in the Dantean Republics, and these people take issue with us using local labor in place of their "special" contractors. I aim to put a stop to that nonsense. Regardless, I'm sorry to leave, but I hope to see you soon."

Babs nodded gracefully, while Kelvin bowed...though his eyes never parted from Babs' own. He'd seen that look on a woman's face before, and he knew that she knew that something was wrong. Still though, he wanted to talk about these things in his own way and at his own time. So Kelvin just sat down and smiled, while the tavern maid asked for his order.

"I'll just have some salted pork, maybe some light beer."

The girl nodded and said she'd be back presently. Which left Babs and Kelvin in something of a standoff. Kelvin didn't want this to last though, so he just relaxed his seating, and began.

"Remember when I said we'd talk about what was troubling me?"

"I remember some other things too."

"Oh yeah...Well let's take one thing at a time. Alright?"

"Mmmk. It's little early for a deep dark confessions isn't it?"

She was smiling while she said it, so Kelvin half-heartedly reciprocated before speaking again. This time trying to ease into his task as cautiously as he was able.

"I have an affliction. One of the mind."

Babs took this in with an uncharacteristic stoicism.

"Alright. What kind?"

"You have to understand that...it's not something I talk about openly."

"Take your time, you know better than anybody that I'm not going anywhere."

That gave him some comfort, so Kelvin continued.

"I get a pain in my head, and then my mind begins to race faster than I can keep up, and my feelings go the same way. It's very hard for me to keep myself from going through the extremes of emotion...I can be jubilant one moment, or hateful and sad in the other...without any reason or context. None that anyone, even me, can see at any rate."

Babs looked at him for a few moments, with some expectancy in her eyes. Finally though:

"Is that it?"

"Excuse me?"

"That's what you get? You don't think people are meat? You don't want to harass them in the streets?"

"No. No I do not."

Babs shrugged, and smiled gently.

"Okay. All I hear you saying is that you have a problem, and you need as much help as anyone else to deal with it."

"You don't think I'm weird? Or some kind of freak?"

Babs looked at him with a dead serious expression, it was actually quite intimidating.

"I'm a knight. I hunt down monsters, serial killers, and all kind of depraved nobles and creepy mystical heresies. You: are not weird."

"Oh...wow. That's actually quite a relief...maybe I should have thought about that..."

"No I get it. I have some embarrassing secrets too."

"Such as?"

Babs shook her head.

"Oh no. Just because you told me yours doesn't mean I have to spill mine."

"Come on, it's only fair."

Babs mulled it over, then rolled her eyes and leaned forward.

"I like to fight, I get a rush from it. And sometimes that scares me because I think I'll get carried away and hurt someone I don't want to."

"Have you?"

"I did in training, but not since. You remember I talked about Miranda? She helped me a lot."

Kelvin took this in, his eyes and face fixed in an understanding expression.

"I see. But you haven't hurt anyone who didn't deserve it since right? And you've saved quite a few innocents in your career. I think you've made your baser instincts work for you and everyone else...and that's far more impressive than simply being perfect."

Babs took a swig from her cup and smiled.

"I know some angels who'd argue with you about that."

"They are welcome to it."

They talked on a little more, and then the crowd from the construction came in and the tavern became quite noisy. Kelvin and Babs decided that they weren't really in the mood for such a noisy place, and left. She still leaned on him for support, and he readily gave it. Knowing that just a few moments ago, the situation was quite reversed. But Babs wasn't quite ready to go back to the farm yet.

She hadn't gotten to see much of the town during her battle with the unholy creatures of the night. So Kelvin, not once complaining about lugging her around the not at all small town, took her all over. They went to the new tailor and seamstress shop, where more conservative and efficient Strumhanden attire was shown off against more colorful but no less practical pieces from Caliph. There wasn't much in the way of gaudy luxury, but perhaps that was what Babs and Kelvin liked about it.

The couple who ran the shop was nice as well. The seamstress was an elven woman of average height from Strumhanden, and very insightful yet also soft spoken. The man was a tall Orc from Caliph, who was not at all shy about sharing his opinions on all things no matter how important or trivial. They even talked Babs and Kelvin into buying one ensemble each.

Babs left the shop wearing a slim dress of violet and black. As the tailor said that such color suited the look of her hair and overall demeanor a little better. It was hard to find one in Babs' size but both the tailor and Babs were determined, so eventually they got the fit right.

The seamstress had a much easier job with Kelvin. A dark brown leather surcoat with matching pants and even a hat with a wide brim. They had just the right sizes for him, and he walked out with quite a smile on his face. So with their new ensembles, Kelvin and Babs walked through town again. They even visited weapon shop.

Nothing they had there compared to Bab's own equipment of course, but the owner was actually willing to learn a few things from this distinguished dame. Who eagerly shared a few trade secrets.

"So if you're buying from Caliph, buy steel from the trade routes along Nuqtat Alramh. It'll be a little longer between shipments, but it'll be cheaper and better quality. Also less chance of it getting robbed."

"I'll take that under advisement madame."

The shop owner turned towards Kelvin.

"You're lucky to have a woman like this on your arm Doctor."

Kelvin looked up at Babs, who looked back with an expectant stare. She was clearly waiting for his response. He gave one.

"She lets me know that every day good sir."

There was a light elbowing from the woman in question. But being a country man, and no physical slouch, Kelvin was able to take a little love tap...if only just.

The day was finally getting late, and Babs' wounds were starting to ache again. So the two of them walked back home, huddled a little closer than they were before. It had been a wonderful day. And Kelvin wanted there to be another one like it. Yet he didn't know how to say that. And being still very conscious about his condition, and surprised that the worst of it hadn't taken hold yet, he let out an audible sigh and laid bare his fears.

"I can't promise that it will be like this every day."

"And I can't promise that I'll always be around town. I guess I could ask for a permanent transfer to the barony but-"

"I'd like for you to do that."

Babs didn't look at him, but her grip tightened a bit, in a gentle fashion.

"Really?"

"Yes, I would. You asked me how beautiful you are...well I don't know, because I don't really know you except for what I've seen over the past few days. But what I have seen makes me want more, and I'm willing to do whatever I need to get there. Even though I don't what that is yet."

There was a momentary silence, and then Babs finally said:

"I don't think I know that either."

"Well, I'm okay with that."

And that was there day and evening. They finally came back home, crawled up by the fireplace, and fell asleep lying next to each other. Much more came after that, and even with her long absences, and his occasional fits, there were still many days like the one they had before, and better still...two children came later: a beautiful boy and a headstrong girl.

But that only lasted so long, and that loss is another story for another time.

So closes "A Natural Awkwardness", A Tale of Caminus and Yishu.