Heroes of Veritas: Bardic Inspiration (Book 2)

Chapter Five: Ranja Ternt Sanga

By the time the party made their way back to the guild hall, Elise was already in full flow - arranging recruitment ads, figuring out where to find or source crafting materials that they would be needing, all while the hearty stew she’d prepared for dinner bubbled away on the stove top under the watchful eye of one of the guildies who had developed an interest in raising their cooking skill. Learning from her actually increased their experience gain, which made it a win-win for both of them.

Much to her disappointment, Astredian had said nothing when she breezed in through the front doors, other than to give her the lay of the land when she asked how she could help - though she could tell from the way that he’d looked at her that he found her change in both demeanor and style refreshing. It would have been inappropriate for him to grab her manfully and kiss her in front of the guildies, but there was a small part of her that wished he had. He could at least have complimented her new gear set; that wouldn’t have been inappropriate, right?

Luckily, lots of compliments came her way as soon as Ichigo, Mercenades, and Echo caught sight of her. She’d just finished copying her recruitment ad posters, and had a stack of them in her arms, but this didn’t take away from the amazed look on Ichigo’s face when the party approached her.

She was wearing a pair of snug leggings with red and white stripes down one leg, and a pattern of yellow stars set against navy background down the other. She wore a billowy white shirt that dipped down in the front just enough to show off the goods without being too blatant about it, and was cinched tight at the waist by a brown leather underbust corset. A navy blue velvet capelet hung artfully over her shoulders, connecting in the front with a gold clasp shaped like a firefly. It glowed faintly with some kind of power, though at first glance they couldn’t tell what kind. On the back of her capelet was embroidered a beautiful golden dire beaver; much finer than the one Elise had done herself on the back of her white cape. Though no one would ever tell her how bad it really was, she knew that when compared to her new cape, it looked like a child’s first crayon scribble. 

“Ellie!” Ichigo exclaimed, his eyes going wide as he took her in. “You’re back. I mean, obviously you’re back, ah-ha!”

“Hot damn, girl!” Mercenades said, rushing over to get a closer look at the swirling hilt of the shiney new rapier at her hip. “Is that...a legendary weapon?”

“It’s exotic, but it can be upgraded into a legendary weapon.” Elise said, grinning.

“Your lute is also a precursor to a legendary item, n’est-ce pas?” Echo chimed in, though his face was impassive as ever. “Does this mean you’re not a ranger anymore?”

“Well, aren’t you so sharp you could cut yourself. Yes, I’ve cross-classed. I’m now a troubadour.” Elise nodded, then tilted her hat up a bit as she smiled sheepishly at her friends. 

It was made of the same blue velvet as her cape, and adorned with a long plume and gold ribbon, and pinned at one side by a golden button bearing the troubadour class symbol - a lute and rapier crossed. 

“I’m so glad,” Ichigo said, taking one of Elise’s hands between his two. “You have been dearly missed.”

Mercenades dispensed with the formal mood by pulling Ichigo and Elise into a hug. Before he could escape, Echo got pulled in as well. Elise laughed as Mercenades gave them a hearty squeeze, though Ichigo only wheezed, his tail lashing out at the sudden, expected physical contact.

“Ok. You’re making it weird now.” Echo said, pushing Mercenades face away from his with a neatly manicured hand when she started nuzzling his cheek.

The tanky barbarian released her captives with a laugh of her own, and tried to ruffle Echo’s hair, but he deftly dodged her meaty, callused hand.

“Anyways, now that y’all are here…” Elise said, coughing a little.

...And before they knew it, each member of Elise’s party had been given a stack of flyers to distribute. Their excitement at their reunion fizzled a bit at being immediately put to work, especially work that would take them back outside after a half day of running around. But, well, it was difficult to frown into the face of a woman who was so smiling with such unbridled enthusiasm.

“I promise we’ll catch up when you guys get back. We’re making beef vegetable stew with cheddar biscuits and strawberry rhubarb crumble for dessert.” Elise said, her green eyes gleaming. “At least you’ve got something to look forward to when you get back.”

The newly minted troubadour had a little bit of room to breathe after sending the party off, and decided to check on Astredian. They’d barely spoken after their initial meeting that morning, and she felt a little nervous heading up the stairs to his office. A young female guildie was leaving his office as she reached the landing, and she felt a mild twinge in her chest. There was nothing suspicious about the cute blonde cleric, who waved cheerfully at Elise as she passed. She knew there was nothing going on, but some part of her was a little worried that after ignoring him for two weeks that Astredian might have given up on her. Maybe it was just her, but he’d seemed a little cool to her that morning.

She swallowed a little, standing in front of the office door, wondering if she should knock first. Elise didn’t normally knock, but the office door wasn’t usually closed either - unless Astredian was in a private meeting or it was outside normal hours. This was sort of her quarters too, though, right? She’d sort of moved into his quarters before everything went down, and they were planning to build a home together so…

Before she could make a decision, the door opened and Astredian poked his head out, looking like he was going to call for someone; probably his secretary. He nearly bumped heads with Elise, who leaned back to avoid getting struck.

“Ack-!” Elise exclaimed. For a moment, she thought she might fall backward onto her ass, having been caught so off guard. Then, she felt the light pressure of a hand on her back, and realized that Astredian had caught her.

The troubadour blushed, and gulped nervously at her precarious position. He could drop her, or have just let her fall if he was really pissed at her. Instead, Astredian smiled at this, then leaned in and kissed her - and Elise realized that everything was going to be just fine.

Astredian’s day had just gotten much better. Just when things were starting to get mind numbing, and he was going to call Hattie for a fifth coffee - despite telling her to ignore him if he asked for another - Elise appeared at his door. He smiled at the adorable flush of pink that colored her cheeks when he caught her as she tipped backward. Figuring he might as well take advantage of the situation, he then dipped her back for a dramatic kiss, and was pleased when she hummed a soft moan against his lips.

The past two weeks had been stressful, sad, and deeply frustrating. He knew that it wasn’t him - it was her. That even though they needed her, she needed space - and trying to force her back when she wasn’t ready would have done nothing but drive her further away. He was glad to have her back, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t hurt that she’d run away from him again. He thought they’d gotten past that, but realized now that it was an ongoing thing they’d have to work on.

Even so, he didn’t want to hold a grudge. He wanted to be the understanding partner that Elise deserved, and right now he was hoping she wanted a little stress release as much as he did. From the way that she’d clutched at his shirt and smashed her lips needfully against his it seemed that she did. After a long, passionate moment, he straightened up.

“I know we’re busy today,” the paladin started, rubbing his thumb gently across Elise’s cheeks as he looked into her eyes, which had a hungry look to them. “...But, how about a quickie?”

Astredian stepped back into his office, and Elise stepped forward after him, the hungry look in her eyes only growing hotter when he licked his lips, and prodded gently at the spot where she’d nibbled his bottom lip moments earlier. She shut the door behind her, and smirked as she turned the lock shut.