At Least They're Not Apples

[Zero]

Tesha was suddenly glad that her face was turned down, because her eyes began watering slightly. They were beautiful words, but it hurt because Kenneth had no idea what he was even saying to her. He didn't realize just how much the words meant.

Blinking away the moisture in his eyes she mentally kicked herself, telling herself to suck it up. "Honestly, I can't even think that you would be capable of doing something that would make me not forgive you. You're too sweet. Too nice. The day I stop forgiving you will probably be the day I die."

Pulling back enough to look up with him she forced a sly grin. "And you better believe it, Kenny. I'll always stand by you. You're stuck with me. You poor thing."

[GoblinFae]

"Well I think you're the unfortunate soul here Tessie!" he joked, squeezing her before letting her go to walk comfortably beside her. "Just don't go dying on me alright? I really like knowing I'm forgiven." Kenneth winked playfully. "Having something like that hanging over my head for all eternity would be horrible!"

[Zero]

"You're so right. Poor me stuck with a spaz like you. Don't worry about me, though, seriously. I'm brilliant! If anything I should be worried about you dying on me." Tesha had accepted the squeeze, and reluctantly let go of him as he pulled away enough for them to walk "comfortably", though she'd thought they way they'd been walking had been quite comfortable.

Now it was time to get back to normal. The sweet moment couldn't last. Forcing herself to smile, after a few moments she felt like she was smiling because she wanted to. Things weren't perfect but at least she had him in some form. "So how long until we get home again?"

[GoblinFae]

He smiled softly over at her. "You are brilliant," he breathed quietly. Yet the quiet moment was not meant to be and in a heartbeat he was flushing and shaking his head. "Well I can't say for certain. I mean that is to say we're not too far off course but we're not exactly on the right path yet? Maybe?"

Kenneth held his hands up slightly and hunched over while making a face before throwing his hands up entirely. "Okay fine," he admitted, "I have no idea! But really it can't be that bad. I mean I was only misdirected for a little while. Right?" He scratched his head, ruffling his hair as he muttered to himself, hoping they were not too lost after all.

[Zero]

A fleeting smile crossed Tesha's lips as he agreed that she was brilliant. Of course he agreed, it was true! Wow, what an ego. That only made her grin to herself. Well, when you were right, you were right. Rather than dwell on her over-inflated sense of self, she listened to Kenneth ramble with an amused smirk.

"Oh stay calm, Kenneth. Brennus will steer us straight. I was just wondering if we were going to make it back by dark or not." They were Shadow Rangers, they did not fear the dark or the night, but still, they did have to sleep. Adding another day to the trip wouldn't really put a damper on her mood in the slightest. It would only mean another night away from the Clockwork City - preferably under the stars.

[GoblinFae]

"Why Tesha? Scared?" he teased, sticking his tongue out at her while knowing differently. Of the two of them, Kenneth was definitely the more jumpy and ill at ease in the dark. Not having been raised among the Vigilant Shadows from an early age left him with a childhood fear of the threats that talked of the things that went "bump in the night."

"We'll be home in no time I'm sure! Though perhaps a bit late for supper," he added in a mournful lament.

[Zero]

"As if." Was the immediate reply, accompanied by rolling blue eyes. Tesha was a "pure" Vigilant. Not that she really understood why it mattered. A Shadow Ranger was a Shadow Ranger. They wall went through the same training and had to pass the same tests. Didn't they? There was no difference except that she had actually been born and raised in the Clockwork City where some others, like Kenneth, hadn't.

His comment made her huff softly, later for supper, bah! It didn't matter to her if they were late for supper, she'd rather be late for breakfast too. Oh well, goodbye hopes and dreams she thought sadly. Well, maybe there would be a night for stargazing another time. "I wonder what's for supper tonight anyway. I hope a good set of Fledglings is in the kitchen tonight, remember last week? Oh my shadows, those kids couldn't cook. Then again, we weren't exactly great either."

Tesha had hated kitchen duty with a passion as a fledgling.

[GoblinFae]

Kenneth grunted softly in agreement but made no other comment against the unfortunate Fledglings who had been set on kitchen duty last week. While he enjoyed a good meal, he too remembered the horrors of the kitchen and could find no blame with such a grueling and nerve-wracking task. He thanked every single one of his stars that he graduated from Fledgling status and no longer was stuck with risking everyone's lives with his cooking on a regular basis.

"Some of us still aren't any good at it," he ribbed back though, winking and nudging her with his elbow. It was no secret how poor a cook Tesha was despite her mother's best efforts to teach her otherwise.

[Zero]

It wasn't that she couldn't sympathize with the poor Fledglings, Tesha hadn't been a Shadow Ranger for that long, certainly not long enough for the memories of kitchen duty to have faded even a little. That still didn't mean she wanted to eat the cooking some of the kids in training were managing. If you could call some of it cooking.

When Kenneth nudged her with his elbow and gave a wink she grunted in reply. Nope, cooking was definitely not one of her skills. Her mother could cook great, but her mother was a regular homebody. Tesha was not. Her lousy cooking skills were no secret and she wasn't ashamed of the fact, but that didn't mean she was about to let that statement go unchallenged.

"Some of us are still better cooks than you." Okay, not by much.

[GoblinFae]

"Oh there are many that are better cooks than me! I have no doubt about that but at least I'm not as bad as you." Kenneth laughed as he stuck out his tongue and pulled a goofy face at her.

"Between the two of us it's a wonder we even survive missions away from home. We're as much a danger to ourselves as everyone else," he continued to joke. "Actually now there's an idea! Perhaps the next time we have to deal with infidels we could just invite them to dinner! Problem solved, everyone dies of food poisoning!"

[Zero]

"No way, you're just as bad as me, if not worse!" Tesha had no idea which of them was the worse cook, but she wasn't about to admit that Kenneth Kent was better than her at anything. It was just the principle of the matter.

She let out a light, airy laugh at his idea. It was all the funnier because it wasn't actually a horrible idea. "Oh shadows, this is why I only bring food that doesn't need cooked on missions!" Sure, jerky and crusty bread wasn't exactly the tastiest of meals, but at least she wouldn't kill herself with her cooking! "That or I bring someone that can cook."

[GoblinFae]

Kenneth gave a cry of surprise. "Aha! So that's why you insist on my coming with you! I am a glorified cook! Do you hear that Dizzy? Brennus? A cook! Years of Ranger training so I can return to kitchen duty!"

He shuddered jokingly but the twinkle in his eye gave away any feelings of repulsion and upset that he was trying to portray. He knew it was not the truth but was enjoying their camaraderie immensely. It was something Kenneth would not trade for all the riches in the world.

[Zero]

"Yeah, not even close." Tesha said with a roll of her bright blue eyes. "The reason I insist on you coming with me so often is just because I like having you around and we make a good team. I make doubly sure I bring enough provisions when you tag along. Or else we'd both starve."

Kenneth might not have been the smartest, fastest, or strongest Shadow Ranger, but she always could count on him in a pinch and he made her happy. So who better to bring? Plus they worked well together.

[GoblinFae]

"We make an alright team," he admitted modestly with a gentle smile. "We each have our flaws and our strengths that at this point in time mesh well together. Now if only one of us could learn to cook we might be able to take the world by storm!"

Kenneth laughed freely as they strolled along. "I suppose our poison meals will have to do for now."

[Zero]

"If one of us ever learned to cook nothing could stop us from world domination," she joked. Even Tesha wasn't that ambitious. She liked being a Shadow Ranger, the Vigilant Shadows had been her home, her family, and her place in the world from the moment she took her first breath. The rest of the world was inconsequential. Although...

"Hey Kenneth, do you think we'll ever have a Shadow Queen?" A thoughtful expression had taken over her features. There had never in all their history been a Queen instead of a King. It seemed grossly unfair to her.

[GoblinFae]

His head snapped to the side as he looked at her briefly in surprise before a wicked reply came to mind. "Why? Looking to apply? I don't think that'd go over well. You certainly aren't the settling in type after all."

[Zero]

No, Tesha didn't think she'd actually like being in charge of the entire Vigilant. Too much work, and too little time to get away from the Clockwork City. That she wasn't the settling in type wasn't the point though.

"Are you implying that I couldn't do it?" She hissed, eyes narrowing as she studied him with an almost deadly calm. Even if she was too young and too impulsive for such a position of power, she wasn't about to let someone think she couldn't do it.

[GoblinFae]

"Not at all," he replied calmly, not even realizing how close he was to a possible ass-kicking. "I'm implying my dear friend that a woman of your fire would not do well in captivity. I know you Tesha, you long for sunlight and fresh air. You would go stir-crazy locked indoors while buried under stacks of papers."

Kenneth shook his head quietly. "Perhaps one day we will have a queen but I do not think she will be you. You are far better suited be the fierce warrior guardian than the diplomatic and political queen. But," he sighed, "you never know. Perhaps we will need a warrior queen one day."

[Zero]

Damn him for making sense and for knowing her so well. Paperwork and politics, could there be a worse way to spend your time? Tesha grunted softly, not wanting to admit he was right. She would go stir-crazy if set to such a mundane task. Maybe in a few hundred years the spitfire young woman would have settled enough for such things, but for now she couldn't fathom a life that didn't involve the thrill of dangerous assignments that took her far from home.

"Shadows willing we'll never need a warrior queen." She mused softly. During the battle of Blood Moon she had been very young, just old enough to begin training, and so had been kept safe far from the fighting. Tesha had seen the aftermath, though. It had been a huge tragedy. Sighing with a hint of frustration, she shook her head. "You're right that it wouldn't be a good life for me, but I could do it! I just wouldn't want to."

[GoblinFae]

Kenneth nodded his head quickly in agreement. "I have no doubt of it, my friend. You are indeed a woman to be reckoned with. I would not be surprised if you had paired up with Aunt Rowan to learn the ways of the woman warrior. She is one of the greatest warriors I have ever known," he stated with deep pride, glowing on his face and in his eyes.

"Given a century and I still would never be half as great as her. Tesha was your father of the Vigilant when she arrived? Now that I think of it, she's never told me why she came. I wonder if perhaps if Tershal knows."