On the Beach of Dreams

[MadEmperor]

Grav's mother shook her head vehemently. "You've worked hard enough for one day, dearie. You two just enjoy the comforts of home, okay?"

She rose to her feet and practically snatched the empty plate away before stacking up the others. "I'll be right back with that pie."

Grav chuckled as his mother left the room. "Honestly, I'm surprised she let you help her that much."

[DragonSong]

Kiara released her plate reluctantly, thanking Grav's mother even as she did what she was told and took her seat back at the table.

"She's wonderful," she murmured, sounding both wistful and bemused. "Grav, your home is wonderful."

[MadEmperor]

Grav sighed happily and leaned back in his chair. "Thanks."

"I guess I have taken this for granted. Honestly, I don't know why I was in such a hurry to leave. I just... needed to know who I was without all this, I guess." He shrugged. "Or maybe I just wasn't meant to stay in one place."

[DragonSong]

Her expression softened and she reached over to touch his hand lightly. "I get that," she murmured. "Even when I was a kid--when I still had Mum--I wanted to be moving. I didn't mean that you shouldn't want to leave, it's just..." She glanced around, smile quirking up on one side. "This is a really nice place to come back to, is all."

[MadEmperor]

"It really is." Grav smiled, taking her hand in his. "I know I'm lucky to have it."

"Even knowing that I might have had a more privileged upbringing if things happened differently. I'd rather have this than all the baggage that comes with that. I probably wouldn't have met you either."

[DragonSong]

She snorted a bit and nodded. "Can you imagine? I tend to steer clear of Connlaoth as a rule--y'know, fire magic and all. Plus the dragon." She nodded out the window at Kit. "You certainly wouldn't have been slumming it in middle-of-nowhere bars in Serendipity."

[MadEmperor]

"If we did... do you think we'd have gotten along? I mean, if I was a bit cluelessly full of myself, imagine how bad Noble Grav would be." Grav shuddered at the thought.

He cleared his throat and, in his best impression of a nobleman, said, "Unhand me, knave, or my father will have your eyes!"

[DragonSong]

Kiara made a noise that was something between a laugh and a groan and leaned over to shove his shoulder. "You do remember I kidnapped a nobleman's son, right? What makes you think you wouldn't get the same treatment?"

Granted, that had been to save that particular lordling's life. But...she couldn't help thinking, musing on...what might have been different. She had spent so long just surviving, just making sure that she and Kit stayed safe. Would she be different, if she'd never met Grav in that tavern?

[MadEmperor]

Grav chuckled, smirking. "What? You don't think I could take you in this hypothetical life? I'd still be me, and with actual formal training."

[DragonSong]

"Oh, Puppy." Kiara smirked and propped her chin on her hand. "You can't take me now." Her tone was light, teasing, and there was a particular glint in her eye that was straddling the line between flirtatious and challenging.

[MadEmperor]

"Well, someone's asking for a sparring match." He grinned flirtatiously. Catching the possible metaphorical meaning of the statement just as his mother returned, he turned beet red. "N-no, I mean..."

"I feel like I walked in on something," she commented with a small grin.

[DragonSong]

"You still owe me one," Kiara shot back without thinking, and then promptly went as red as he had when his mother returned. "I, ahhh, I mean, after the lich and all—"

She cut herself off quickly, eyes widening. She...hadn't meant to bring that up so casually. Or at all. Wincing, she mouthed, Sorry.

[MadEmperor]

His mother nearly dropped both plates of pie. "Excuse me, the what?" she asked, eyes wide.

Grav chuckled nervously. "We--well, we--ah... sorta... fought a lich. Well, okay, in our defense, it wasn't quite there yet!"

Kit, let Kia hear this: Absolutely do not mention that we almost died!

His mother glared at him, frowning deeply as she put down the plates. "You promised me that you wouldn't do anything bloody suicidal."

[DragonSong]

Meeting Grav's eyes through the window, Kit huffed and nodded to indicate he had connected their links.

"It wasn't!" Kiara cut in hurriedly, embarrassed that she'd inadvertently brought the topic up and anxious to smooth it over. "I mean, it was, ah, rough, but we were fine! The town even had this little festival thing and made us guests of honor, it was really nice."

[MadEmperor]

"Yeah." He smiled fondly at the memory. "It was great."

More seriously, he said, "Besides, if we hadn't stepped up, a lot of people would have died. We couldn't let that happen."

His mother's expression softened a little. "Was there really no one else?"

"They had sent a rider to Arca for help, but the lich's undead had broken through the previous night, and it was only going to get worse. We really didn't have a choice," he answered.

She sighed. "You... did the right thing, sweetie. I don't what else I could have expected you to do in that situation. You aren't the type to abandon people when they need you, and I wouldn't have you be. I just... I worry, you know?"

"I know, mom." he smiled softly.

[DragonSong]

"To be entirely fair...he also, sorta, thought the ascendent had me," Kiara murmured, hoping to further clear Grav in his mother's eyes. "The stupid thing was really, really good at illusions. It pretended it had grabbed me, and..."

She trailed off with a shrug, glancing at him. She smiled softly. "Like you said, ma'am. Grav doesn't abandon people when they need him."

[MadEmperor]

"Well then, it seems you have earned pie after all." His mother smiled softly. She placed the plates before them. It smelled amazing.

Grav took an eager bite and leaned back with a groan of pleasure. "Oh my gods..."

[DragonSong]

Kiara made similar noises of delight, nodding emphatically around her own bite. It was very good. "Thank you," she managed to say when she remembered to slow down and swallow. "This is amazing, Mistress Caviin."

[MadEmperor]

She beamed happily. "I'm glad you like it."

"And please," she chuckled, smiling, "enough with this 'Mistress' talk. Call me Imira."

Grav, meanwhile, was too busy enjoying his pie to converse.

[DragonSong]

Kiara found herself suddenly blushing a bit; with a nod and a smile, she tried cautiously, "Okay, Imira. Ahm, thanks."

Kit huffed, and Kiara suddenly laughed, standing to cross to the window and hold out her plate so the dragon could flick his tongue out to lap up what was left of the pie on her plate. He rumbled contentedly, eyes narrowing to pleased slits like a sleepy cat.