Fritz sat up and stared at the hooded figure behind the rattling glass. He met Sid's bright blue eyes and smoothly slid from his bed, then crept to the window. Lighting flashed, and thunder rumbled overhead. He unlatched the window and opened it an inch, the wind outside howled and he spoke into the night. His words were lost, blown away.

  Fritz signalled his intent.

  "Window is warded. Meet you downstairs. Backdoor."

  Sid nodded once and leapt from the roof.

  Fritz quickly set off, quietly making his way from his room, down the stairs and to the backdoor. He opened it and she slid into the hall, brushing by him. She stood there soaked to the bone, her dripping cloak hanging off her like a wet sheet. He wanted to embrace her, but he held himself back. Something in her eyes warned him that she didn't want to be touched. He could understand that much.

  Sid set her bow and quiver aside, then removed her cloak and began to wring it of water, the trickling stream splashed onto the stone and down the hall's drain. She was wearing a brown coat, and under that a ragged shirt and battered, torn trousers held up by a belt of white scales. Fritz handed her a towel and she dried her hair, staining the white cloth with streaks of grime. She looked wretched and smelled worse.

  Fritz wrinkled his nose. "You stink of old blood."

  "Not something you should say to a Lady," Sid said gruffly.

  "Thought you weren't a Lady," Fritz replied.

  Sid shrugged.

  "What do you want?" Fritz asked. "Did the Nightshark forget something?"

  "No," Sid hedged. "It's nothing so urgent."

  "If it's not urgent, go clean yourself up," Fritz said. "We have a bath. I can have it made ready for you."

  "Is that really important now?" Sid asked wearily.

  "I insist," Fritz said. "We have soap, which you need, and I'll get you some remedies and grease for your face too."

  Sid hesitated, though when she met his unwavering gaze, she nodded. "I'll use the showers outside if it's all the same to you."

  "There's a storm," Fritz argued.

  Sid shrugged and Fritz could see a haze between them, a wall of stubborn will she had rebuilt around herself, stone by stone.

  "Wait here, I'll be back," Fritz said with resignation.

  She shivered, then agreed. Fritz gathered what he promised from his room and when he returned he handed off the bundle. She left.

  He waited for her in the hall, tapping a foot and trying to stop himself from pacing. So many passions stirred within himself, fleeting feelings and deep longing alike. It was hard to keep his head straight and mind on task. He wondered why she was here. Was it to ask for help? Was it to blame him for the cut she had taken in his place? Was it to profess her love?

  That last one was a fanciful notion. But Fritz couldn't help but think of what he'd do, what they'd do, if that was the reason.

  There was a rapping at the door and Fritz was forced out of his wild thoughts.

  He let Sid in and she handed back his umbrella and what she didn't use of the bundle. There was something added to the assortment of small objects. A small, worn, leather-bound journal that Fritz immediately recognised as 'The Observations.' He was relieved to get the Technique back, and was about to thank her for returning it when he was distracted by the clean scent of soap that clung to her.

  He stared as Sid dried her hair, roughly rubbing at the wet brown until it brightened into blond. It was longer now, almost hanging past her delicate jaw. Fritz supposed it must have been the mana-dense meat they had eaten together in the Sunken Spire that had caused it to grow so quickly. She let her fringe fall over her thrice sliced cheek, hiding it from view.

  Sid had changed into the spare clothes he had given her, they didn't fit her very well. The blue cloth of the shirt, patterned with pale scales, billowed slightly around her waist and arms, and the black trousers were slightly too tight to be proper. But the new attire was a definite improvement to the rags she had been wearing before.

  The more he looked, the more he saw that she hadn't been taking care of herself. Sid had a bruise on her collarbone that seemed to spread up her shoulder and her hands had collected some small cuts and grazes. The dark circles around her eyes were deeper. She had been fighting the gutters this whole time and was still standing tall. It worried Fritz, yet he he respected her steel and found her beautiful all the same.

  She signed to him.

  "Talk here? Safe?"

  Fritz shook his head, both in negation and to clear it, and motioned for her to follow him up the stairs. She did, and soon they were in his room.

  He pulsed Awareness and searched the dark corners. Then he listened. There was nothing but the storm outside. He lit the lantern on his bedside table to give them some light to see by. Not that they needed it with their Awards, but the low flame did lend a warmth to the room, easing his nerve.

  "We should be okay," Fritz said, sitting on his bed. "Can't sense anything awry."

  Sid nodded, standing in the centre of the room.

  "This is nice," she said and it sounded like an accusation. "Warm and dry."

  Fritz shrugged, imitating her dismissive gesture.

  Her stomach rumbled, but it was quickly overshadowed by the rolling thunder. He opened the drawer of his bedside table, picked out one of the fruits he had stashed in it and held it out. It was an old habit to hide food and one he wasn't likely to break.

  "What's this?"

  "Blood lime," Fritz said. "Found it in the Mer Spire. Eat it, it's mana dense and you're starving."

  Sid looked like she wanted to argue, but her eyes were as ravenous as she was. She sat at the end of his bed, took the fruit from his hand and bit into it.

  "Mmm," she groaned.

  The sound sent a pleasant shiver down his spine.

  "Watch out for the seed," he warned as she tore into it.

  She nodded and he sat in silence as she ate voraciously.

  "It's tingly," Sid said frowning. "It's not a poison is it?" She added suspiciously.

  The words hurt Fritz, but he let them go. Who wouldn't be wary of such a thing? Apart from Bert.

  "No, just some strange property," Fritz said. "Even if it were a poison, you would be protected. Your bones are the same as mine."

  She nodded, relaxing her stiff shoulders.

  "Got another?" She asked when she had finished the first.

  Fritz smiled and handed her another two.

  She ate them gratefully.

  When she finished her third blood lime, Fritz spoke.

  "I'm sorry."

  "For what?" Sid asked. "For giving me new clothes and feeding me delicious fruits?"

  He motioned at the three cuts down the left side of her face.

  "That. One of those belongs to me," Fritz stated.

  Sid smiled grimly.

  "It's fine. It's just a scratch," Sid said. "Makes me look more fearsome, and it could hardly make me any uglier."

  "You were never ugly," Fritz said.

  Her pupils went wide, her back stiffened and she stood, stepping away and taking a place by the doorway. He watched her settle herself, leaning her back on the wall, she wiped sticky juice from her hands with a pocket rag.

  "That's not why I'm here," Sid said.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  "Why are you here then?" Fritz asked, concealing his disappointment.

  "I came to ask for your help. You offered it before and I need it now," Sid stated.

  "What do you need?" Fritz asked.

  "I'm to climb the Mer Spire in the coming week," Sid explained. "'She' says so. She has bought a spot in a Guides Guild Climb for me."

  "I see," Fritz said. "What do you want me to do? Come with you? Watch your back?"

  "No, not me. I'll be fine," Sid said. "It's.. it's the people in my territory I'm worried for. I promised I'd protect them. And now I'm being sent into a Spire. I won't be back for something like two weeks. Without me there they'll be taken, or killed, or-"

  "They'll be preyed upon," Fritz said, acknowledging the ugly truth.

  "Yes," Sid said.

  "And you want me-"

  "And Bert-" Sid interrupted.

  "And Bert," Fritz allowed. "You want us to hold your territory for you?"

  "Yes, keep them safe," Sid stated.

  "Why didn't you ask 'Her' to help?" Fritz asked.

  "This is a punishment," she said, scowling. "She didn't like finding out I lied to her. I think this is her way of telling me there are consequences worse than a couple of cuts. As if I didn't already know that, keenly."

  Fritz nodded. It made a certain sick sense to show her that everything could be taken away on one of the Nightshark's whims. Giving with one hand and taking with the other.

  "Protect them, please, Fritz," Sid asked.

  Fritz hesitated, he considered how much of his finite time to train and learn would be impacted by Sid's request. How much potential power was he giving up for a promise he made deep in a Spire? His Dusksong roiled at the thought of abandoning his oath and spat at him while the world greyed around him. He found himself agreeing with the strange faerie magic and set to do what was right.

  "You call, I answer," Fritz said solemnly, regal notes playing about his tone. Dusksong hummed along righteously.

  Sid looked like she was going to cry, but she coughed instead, and croaked out, "Thank you."

  They sat and stood in silence for some awkward seconds. The window rattled from the wind and a flash of lightning lit their faces brightly for a moment.

  "I should get going. I've already been too long away from my territory," Sid said gruffly.

  "Before you go. I have gifts," Fritz said, standing up and striding to his closet.

  "Gifts?" Sid asked sceptically, shuffling her shoulders.

  "Yes, hold a moment," Fritz said, finding the Treasure quiver he had stored in his pack. Really it should have been down in the vault, but he had been waiting for a moment just like this.

  He handed her the empty, dark leather quiver.

  "It's nice, but I already got one of those," Sid said, glancing over the Treasure, then holding it out so he could take it back.

  "Activate it," Fritz said.

  Sid hesitated, then stared in surprise as a bow slipped out of the leather as if it were sliding out of mud. She caught it before it fell and looked at the bow with wonder.

  While Sid was temporarily mute, Fritz explained, "The quiver can store a bow and up to three arrows within. And the bow itself can be Activated to make it as hard as Adamant."

  Sid's mouth moved, but she couldn't speak for some moments.

  "Fritz, I can't take these. I can't repay this." She tried to hand the Treasures back, but Fritz stepped away holding his hands up in refusal.

  "I insist. They'll be useful on your Climb," he said. "And if it makes you feel any better these weren't rewards from a chest or anything so clean. A Krakosi Raider hunted me down in the Mer Spire and these belonged to him. In fact, you could be doing me a favour in taking them. His team wouldn't be too pleased to catch me lauding them around."

  "A Krakosi Raider?" She scoffed, smiling as if he were telling a joke. "Am I supposed to believe that? Really?"

  "Yes," Fritz said, setting his features seriously. "He almost killed me. Almost killed us all."

  Her face fell and she looked to the Treasures again, more thoughtfully.

  "So it's a danger to carry this around?" She asked, hefting the quiver by its strap.

  "Only in the Upper Ring. I think," Fritz hedged.

  Sid's face was conflicted, but eventually, she took the Treasures, storing the bow away with an Activation.

  "Thanks," she said softly, slinging the quiver over her shoulder. "I'll find you something good in return."

  "It's a gift, there's no need for that," Fritz said.

  "I insist," Sid replied a sly smile sliding onto her face. She winced as the expression pulled on three angry cuts down her cheek.

  Fritz smiled in sympathy.

  Again they stood in silence, each waiting for the other to speak.

  "Oh, I almost forgot, there's one more gift," Fritz said, crossing into the closet again and lifting a wrapped package.

  "Fritz, stop. It's already too much," Sid protested.

  "Last one, I promise," Fritz said handing her the bundle.

  "Fine," Sid said with some resignation, taking the gift from his arms. She pulled away the cloth and gasped. The sound was mostly lost in thunder.

  "You remembered such a stupid thing," she whispered, the walls of will around her shaking, stones tumbling. A torrent of dammed emotion poured from her shaking form.

  Sid glared up at Fritz, her gaze wet at the edges. Though she frowned as deep as he'd ever seen, she sniffed and a tear spilled from her eye. That tear reflected the glittering sheen of the moonsilver breastplate in her arms. She pulled the gift close, pressing it to her chest.

  "You can't do this to me," she growled, wiping at her eye with a shirt sleeve.

  "Do what?" Fritz asked, genuinely puzzled at her reaction and sudden fury.

  Sid dropped the breastplate on the carpeted floor and stomped straight up to him. She looked like she wanted to strike him and raised a fist to do so. Danger Sense remained silent, so Fritz stood still.

  "You can't make me love you," Sid declared.

  She swung, but her fist slowed and softly slammed on his chest. Fritz barely felt the impact.

  "You can't make me weak. You idiot. You arsehole. You bastard," she said, lowering her gaze and beating out her argument on his breast. Three soft thuds, each in time with her heart.

  "I can't be a bastard, my noble parents were wed," Fritz said, unsure what he was meant to say to such an outburst of raw emotion. "However, I concede to your other points."

  Sid choked out a laugh. She stared up at him, eyes wide and weeping. In that moment, Fritz noted he was taller than her by a couple of inches. Then he forgot what he was thinking when she seized him by the collar and pulled his face to hers, roughly pressing their lips together. Her mouth still tasted of blood limes and tingled from the touch.

  Fritz's heart raced, he wrapped his arms around her. She was warm. Another flash of lightning lit the room, a boom louder than any previous shook the floor. Sid pushed Fritz away, hard, causing him to stagger and fall. He caught himself on his bed and got to his feet as she turned away.

  "What are you doing?" He burst out, annoyed at the rough treatment and the breaking of their too-short embrace.

  Fritz strode forward and gripped her shoulder. His Danger Sense flared, a sudden ache in his shoulder told him he was likely to be thrown. He foiled her attempt to grasp his arm, spin then toss him to the floor. Sid tried again. This time Fritz was ready and stopped her before she could even start to turn. They struggled.

  The flurry of movements and maneuvers left them face to face, both scowling, both forgetting what they were even fighting over. They pulled and pushed, grunted and grasped. For a moment they stopped and stared into each other's eyes, panting slightly. Lightning, bright white, illuminated them. They rejoined their battle.

  The wrestling took on a more passionate bent, their hands stopped reaching for wrists and arms and instead sought to tear away clothes. Sid pulled Fritz's head down to hers, he held her close and they locked lips. Fingers gently slid over bared skin, shirts slipped to the floor. Belts and trousers followed. They tumbled, stumbling, falling into bed.

  Thunder rumbled and the rain pounded, drowning out their voices.

  ---

  Fritz awoke. It was an odd way to wake. There was a warm spot beside him, but it now lay empty. It was still dark and the rain still heavy, dawn had to be a couple of hours away.

  There was a soft shuffling and heated whispering, which is what had roused him. He peered a half lidded eye at the pale back of Sid. He could count the bumpy ridges of her spine and almost see the outline of her ribs as she buttoned her trousers and fastened her snake-scale belt.

  "You idiot," Sid hissed to herself. "Idiot, idiot, idiot."

  Fritz didn't move, watching her as she slipped one scar-marked arm after another into her shirt's sleeves.

  Sid crept to the door slowly. Wincing, she stopped and let out a long breath. She began to move again, nearly tripping on something by her feet. Sid stared at the quiver on the ground. With a sigh and a muttered curse, she bent down and took it. She was about to leave, again, when her eyes fell upon the moonsilver breastplate sitting just by the door.

  She lay her hand on the metal relief, running her fingers over the gleaming image of a stormhawk with wings spread wide worked into the front.

  Sid smiled and it was lovely.

  "Keep him safe," she whispered, pulling away her hand and leaving the gift behind.

  Sid glanced back for only a heartbeat, looking to where Fritz lay, her bright blue eyes full of something indescribable. It could have been longing, it could have been pain, but it couldn't keep her standing there. She turned and slipped through the door. It closed with a small, desolate click.

  Fritz was left alone in the dark. He could have revealed that he was awake, could have questioned her, asked her why she had to leave. But he knew why. They'd had that conversation before. They both had paths to tread, and for now those roads were set apart. He had expected her inevitable flight to hurt, but it didn't. If anything he felt glad. Glad that he knew more of her and her feelings than before, and knew that this was not some one-sided fascination.

  The realisation elated him, though it wasn't all joy. There was bitterness, there was fear, there was regret, but that was the world. He embraced the giddy lightness, the great relief and the satisfaction of certainty their meeting had afforded him.

  Fritz yawned. The day had been exhausting, not just the recent night. He turned, forcing himself not to follow Sid out into the dwindling storm. Though, in the comfort of his mattress, it wasn't too difficult.

  Soon he slept.

  ---

  When Fritz strode into the dining room, he felt like he was walking on clouds. Sure, there was that pang of sadness, that minute ring of melancholy he attributed to the way Sid had left him behind last night. But it was suffocated by his delight. The passion and gentle affections they had shared eclipsed any other emotion easily. Nearly humming, he decided to embrace the warmth rather than the cold. Just for now.

  Those of the team gathered at the table looked up at him, smiling in greeting, then frowning as they took in his expression.

  "You look smugger than usual," Bert claimed. "What happened?"

  "I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Fritz lied, beaming as he helped himself to some bread and butter. "I just endured a terrible ordeal, at the hands of... a notorious crime lord, and I'm glad it's over."

  "That must be it," Rosie said. "I'm glad you survived too. It would have been bad if you died."

  Bert stared at him, narrowing his eyes suspiciously as Fritz jauntily buttered some bread.

  "I don't believe you," Bert said.

  "What?" Fritz demanded in mock indigence. "Are you calling me a liar?"

  "I am! A thrice cursed one," Bert accused.

  "Bert's right," George said. "There's something different about that smile."

  Fritz smirked, hoping it looked mysterious rather than just annoying.

  "Does it matter?" Lauren interrupted. "Can you tell us more of your meeting? You were rather vague in your answers last night."

  "Some of it, not all," Fritz said. Then he went into an explanation of his new duties, limitations and time restraints. Bert slunk away, leaving him to answer any questions they still had on his own.

  "Not allowed to Climb?" Cal asked. "For how long?"

  Fritz shrugged. "Until they think I'm ready."

  Lauren nodded.

  "Is this likely to affect our training?" George asked.

  "No, I still have yet to find a tutor anyway," Fritz said. "I have one last name to try. Though finding them is going to be an exercise in frustration."

  "Why?" Lauren asked.

  "Apparently, they have no home of their own and travel between the inns and taverns in the Upper Ring," Fritz said.

  "That must be expensive," Lauren said, seemingly calculating the costs of such a life.

  Again, Fritz shrugged while he thoroughly enjoyed his breakfast.

  "What's their name?" Cal asked. "We can all look."

  Fritz swallowed down the wonderful bread and was about to speak when Bert burst into the dining room.

  "Fritz! You horned hound!" Bert cried, slapping Fritz on the back and almost causing him to choke.

  Fritz glared up at the man's wide grin.

  "What?" Fritz said.

  "Guess what I found when I searched your room?" Bert asked smugly.

  "You searched my room?' Fritz asked indignantly.

  Bert ignored him.

  "What did you find?" George asked, leaning forward conspiratorially as many of the team did.

  "It's actually a matter of what I didn't find," Bert stated. "The Raider's quiver was gone. Which means, Fritz here, gave it away."

  "Gave it away? To whom?" Lauren asked.

  "To an Archer," Bert theorised. "And we only know one Archer. Don't we, Fritz."

  Fritz grimaced, he was still eating breakfast and already his nightly rendezvous was being brought to light.

  "This is hardly a conversation for the dinner table," Fritz said trying to forestall his friend.

  "Was it that mysterious Sid?" Lauren asked.

  "It had to be," Bert said smugly. "I bet he gave her the Deep Quiver. And then he gave her the Treasure."

  The whole team chuckled, choked or laughed at the vulgarity.

  Fritz's face threatened to blush, but with an application of Focus and Control he was able to smooth his features into a pointed smile.

  "Must you?" Fritz asked blandly.

  "I must," Bert said.

  "Good for you, Fritz," Rosie said, punching him on the arm.

  "I can't say I'm happy you gave away the quiver," Lauren said. "No matter who you gave it to." She added with a teasing smile. "Though I'm sure you had your reasons. And it wasn't as if any of us could use it well."

  "Yeah," Cal agreed. "But we could have traded it for something else."

  "We still have plenty of other Treasures, Techniques and even Seeds to sell and trade," Fritz pointed out. "There's no great loss."

  "Fair enough," Cal said, dropping most of his disgruntlement.

  There was a moment of awkward quiet while they ate, which George broke with a cough and a question.

  "So, when do we start our search for the tutor?"

  "Tonight."