"Gods above and below, I don't believe it," Pyle said. "Is it bad?" she asked, touching her ears. As soon as she reached the apex of the top curve of her ear, she stopped. "W-what happened?" she asked. I walked up to her, and examined the changed shape. Her ear was still very much human in its general shape, but they eventually came to a rounded point like one of the dwarven folk's did. However, seeing as how they didn't stick out as much or as far, what came into my head next made the most sense.
"I think you're a half-dwarf, Meliss," I said softly, a smile growing on my face. "I'm a what?" she asked, touching her ears again quickly. "Dwarves were once prominent figures in the world, being masters of crafting and weapons alike. They were often known to develop fighting techniques on the fly, after noticing their opponents' weaknesses, allowing them a bit of an advantage, since their height was usually an issue," Thorn explained, his gray eyes turned into little more than slits on his pristine complexion, as a bright smile showed on his face. "What do you mean by they were…" she stopped. "O-oh… oh, gods above. But my Pa never had pointed ears, at least not that I could remember," she said, scouring her memories of him.
"Do you remember him ever wearing any kind of jewelry on his ears?" Pyle asked. Meliss pondered this question for a moment, then nodded her head. "He had small, golden hoops hanging off his ears, but I always thought that it was just a dress-code thing for his job," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Apparently, your father didn't want it to be known that he was a dwarf. I don't know the reasoning for it, but it seems to me he was hiding from something," Pyle continued.
I watched as Meliss' expression dropped slightly, trying to piece together the information she just received. "I don't know the reasoning either, but I'm not afraid to show off my newfound heritage. In fact, I would like to ask Thorn to teach me a little bit more about this culture while we train," she said, her pleading eyes shifting over towards him. "I'd be more than happy to train you and teach you what I know of dwarven culture, though my information may be a little outdated, just so you know," he replied warmly.
I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a tinge of jealousy.
"In any case, your combat prowess finally makes at least some sense now," Pyle said, almost as if he noticed my reaction and tried to change the subject. "There is still much I would like to ask about your father, but I suppose that can wait for another time," he continued. "I'd be glad to share any knowledge I have of him," Meliss responded with a nod. "Good to know. I'll be looking forward to hearing about it," he replied, turning away from us and pulling Thorn aside.
I walked up to Meliss, that slight tingle of jealousy still floating in my stomach, though I couldn't exactly pin-point why I was feeling that way.
Am I just being insecure? I asked myself.
Meliss must have noticed a twist on my expression, and immediately put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm deafened by the sound of the gears turning in your head," she began, a worried look strewn across her porcelain face.
"Yeah, sorry. I'm just… overthinking things. Probably…" I said, trying to sound less perturbed than I actually was. "Is it because I would be spending more time with someone who is far more handsome than you are and talking about my past with him?" she asked with a sarcastically blunt tone as she elbowed my side. I was stunned by her question, but I recalled she had a lot more experience in these matters than I did. "I… yes. Was I really that easy to read?" I asked, feeling the blood rush to my face. "Like reading a children's book plastered on a castle wall," she replied with a wry grin.
"I'm sorry. I guess my inexperience is getting the better of me," I said, admitting my own weakness. "Oh, don't worry about it," she said playfully. "I know how it feels. Trust me," she said, her tone a little more serious than before. I could feel there was more to her words than she was letting off, but again, I recalled the fact that she had much more experience in these matters than I did. "You know I do," I said, feeling the wall I had apparently put up crumbling to the ground.
Let those thoughts go, Thoma, I thought in an attempt to calm myself down.
Thorn must have heard my thoughts from Pyle, because within a few seconds of me thinking those words, he walked up to us. "Thoma, I would like to extend my previous invitation to Meliss to you as well," he said plainly. "Wh-why?" I asked, mildly confused. "Well, now that you've mastered the second stage, you'll be going off to Caegwen to train with Anwill soon, won't you? It would be good to know some of the basic customs and courtesies before your arrival in the next few weeks," he said suggestively.
Are all elves socially inept? Ahhh, shit. I'm not ready for that conversation just yet, I thought, wondering how Meliss would feel.
Sure as shit, her face contorted into a frown at the thought of me leaving for an unknown period of time. "Ah, yeah. It would be good for me to know some stuff before I make another mistake like I did with you," I smiled nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. Thorn nodded, and also picked up on Meliss' emotional state. "Anyway, I'll be waiting to instruct you both. I have some other matters to attend to right now," he said, giving us both a short bow and walking speedily away like a child who has accidentally lit something on fire.
"Meliss, I-..." I began. "Don't worry about me," she cut me off. "I'll be fine, I'm just… still wrapping my head around having to lose you for a few months, maybe even a year? How long do you think it will take? You mastered the second stage pretty quickly, right? You should be able to get the third now that you have better insight into mana manipulation," she began to rattle off.
Even my inexperienced ass can see what's going on, I thought.
"Oh, shush," I cupped my hands around her face, and pulled her in for a kiss. I could feel the tension in her body leave a little bit. "I'll learn it as fast as I can and come right back to you, okay?" I said as confidently as I could. "Damned gnomes cutting onions," she said, wiping away a tear. "I'll send the best knights to get them," I said, my hands still cupped around her face as I stared into her eyes. "Fuck, I'm going to miss you," she said, hugging me tightly. "That's the first time I've heard you curse," I said more proudly than I had intended. "Shut up, dummy," she retorted, her voice muffled by my shoulder.
After a few moments like that, and not without more than a few pairs of eyes and ears witnessing the exchange, we pulled apart, heading to the showers to clean up. I opened the door for her, and just as I was about to follow behind her, I once again heard footsteps behind me. "Thoma," Ed's voice came from somewhere behind me.
"Hey, Ed. What's up? Is something the matter?" I asked.
I don't know what crawled into his soup, but something has been eating at him since even before the counter attack on Coltend, I thought.
He shuffled his feet briefly, and I could see his hand twitching from nervousness. "Can… can we talk for a minute?" he asked.