189 CLXXXIX. | 'O, ravenous flower...'

There were certainly a lot of people around. Surely, there had to be a good man here somewhere. It had been months since her last real relationship. Frankly, she was getting a bit desperate, and she knew it. Going this long without a boyfriend was just ridiculous. At this point, she was prepared to lower her standards quite a bit.

But wow. Maybe she wouldn't have to.

Just wandering around this underground castle for half an hour or so, she'd already seen scores of men. And not the pampered-looking types that she'd grown accustomed to seeing in Steccat. Sure, they didn't exactly look like movie stars, but there was a certain... something to them that she had rarely ever seen before, something she was having trouble articulating to herself.

A realness, perhaps? A heaviness in their presence. A sense of importance in the way that they carried themselves. Not self-importance, no. Not smugness. She'd seen that plenty of times before. This was like... an importance of intent.

Men at work.

Yeah. That's what it was. These were men with missions in mind, with tasks that needed doing.

And, damn, was that hot. She could feel herself getting flustered just being here.

She needed to calm herself down. Madison Reach had never been in this type of environment before, and it was a bit overwhelming to say the least, but it certainly wouldn't be good for her if her potential beau saw her like this, drooling over every eligible bachelor in sight. While she wouldn't necessarily mind a jealous man in the right context, this was not that context--not before a relationship had even begun.

She'd come here with Gina in order to see Roman, but knowing what she now did of Gina's feelings for him, Madison decided not to intrude on their bonding time. Hopefully, Gina would be able to take advantage of the circumstances, but Madison wasn't getting her hopes up. The poor girl seemed a bit repressed when it came to these things.

Warrenhold was a strange place, though. She'd of course been preemptively informed of the "uneasiness" that the castle could cause, but it was still taking some getting used to. But then, maybe she'd be able to find herself a dashing gentleman to help her feel safe again.

She'd taken notice of several candidates already and had been attempting to stealthily learn their names. Eager though she was, she didn't want to overplay her hand. She was still alone in a crowd of strangers, after all.

To that end, however, things were unfortunately not going so well. When she went to the banquet hall in the big dark tower where everyone was conglomerating, not a single one of the hunky guys there bothered to approach. She could see them looking her way, but none of them made any moves.

So what the hell?!

This always worked back in Steccat. She could just go to a night club, sit at the bar, and wait to be approached. Granted, it had led to meeting a lot sleazeballs, but there'd been some nice ones in there, too.

What were they waiting for? Were they intimidated? They didn't look intimidated. If anything, they were kind of glaring at her. Like they were suspicious of her or something. But that couldn't be the case, right? What sense would that make?

What the hell was wrong with these Rainlords?! Argh!

She'd heard about them in passing before, but she didn't really know much about their lifestyle or culture. She'd hoped to change that over the course of a conversation with an interesting gentleman, but that was looking less likely by the minute.

Maybe there was something wrong with her, she wondered. Maybe she was dressed inappropriately in their eyes. She wasn't showing any cleavage and barely any thigh, but maybe that didn't matter to them. She seemed to recall hearing something about the Sandlords having an ultra conservative culture, so maybe the Rainlords were the same way?

Dammit. She hadn't been prepared to take the initiative here, and seeing some of the disapproving looks she was getting, now she was no longer sure that she even wanted to.

Maybe it was a bad idea to go off on her own. Maybe it was just the artificial "uneasiness" getting to her. Whatever it was, she was beginning to feel uncomfortable. And undesirable. And depressed.

It wasn't like she was perfect. Maybe they could just see right through her. Maybe they could tell what a phony she was, how insecure she was.

Ugh, and now she was starting to think about her ex, about all those terrible things he'd said about her, about how much truth had been in them.

She'd been trying to quit drinking, but now she really wished this place had some damn alcohol. Why didn't it have any, anyway? Did the Rainlords have something against that, too? Or was it the local lord's fault? Whoever was to blame, she would've liked to give them a piece of her mind, right about now.

"Excuse me," came a distinctly masculine voice from behind her.

That alone was enough to make her perk up and turn. Her breath caught at the sight of the chiseled jawline on the incredibly tall man standing there. She tried to say something, but her words couldn't find her mouth--or even her mind, for that matter.

"What are you doing here?" the towering man said. His expression was noticeably flat and not at all welcoming, but Madison was still too stunned to be bothered by such things.

He was exactly her type. It was like he'd walked right out of her imagination and into reality in order to sweep her off her feet. That was what he was here to do, right? Oh, dear sweet Cocora, please let that be the case.

The man seemed to become mildly impatient, however. "Do you have some business here? Are you a guest?"

"Oh!" she said, finally regaining herself. "Yes! I'm a guest!"

"Of whom?" he asked.

"Ah... G-Gina and Roman? My name is, er--" She caught herself. She was supposed to be in hiding, after all. A part of her wanted this prime specimen of a man to recognize her--maybe even tell her that he was a fan--but it was probably for the best if that didn't happen. There was still a chance that he would recognize her name, though, so she should take steps to avoid that, she felt.

"Your name is...?"

"My name is Madison," she decided to say. It was a common enough name, she supposed, so long as she omitted the latter part of it. Something about this guy's face told her that he wouldn't have any idea who she was even if she did tell him her last name, but it was better to be safe than sorry. She forced herself to smile and held out her hand daintily. "And what is your name, Mr. Giant?"

For a moment, the man just stared at her.

Madison just maintained her smile and her composure. It was best to confront uncomfortable situations with as much charisma as could be mustered, she'd always found.

But maybe that only worked in Steccat. This gentleman here wasn't looking too impressed with her, at the moment.

At length, however, he did eventually say, "...My name is Dimas. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Huh. Those words were significantly more courteous than his expression implied.

Madison allowed her smile to turn a little mischievous--a trick she'd perfected in one of her earlier films. "Is it a pleasure?" she said teasingly. "Is it, really?"

Dimas made no response.

Oh crap, time to clarify. "Ah--it's just, well--I've noticed the looks everyone has been giving me. It doesn't quite seem like I'm the most desirable girl at the ball, if you take my meaning."

Dimas threw that same flat expression around the banquet hall before returning it to her again. "They are concerned that you might attempt to kill someone," he said.

Madison laughed and touched Dimas' arm. It was a strange joke, to be sure, but Madison had heard worse. She could easily 'magnify' how funny she found it--for the man's sake, of course. Men always seemed to love that. Hell, so did she, honestly.

Dimas' face did not change in the slightest, however.

Madison's mirth died rather abruptly. "Wait, are you being serious?"

"Yes."

She looked around the room another time, suddenly even more conscious of all the people observing her now. "What?!" she said, lowering her voice while still heightening its urgency. "Why would they think that?! I'm completely harmless! I'm less than harmless, even! I'm harm-negative! Like, mathematically or something!"

Dimas just cocked an eyebrow at her.

Well, that was a slightly different response, at least. She tried a frown--hopefully a cute one. "...You don't think I'm dangerous, do you?"

"I have not decided yet."

"Seriously? What about me could possibly hurt anyone? I mean, I know I have eyes that are to die for, but that doesn't count, right?"

And again, Dimas made no response.

Madison's expression tightened. What was with this guy? Couldn't he tell that was a joke? Oh shit, had it not sounded like one? Did he think she was an arrogant bitch, already?

"I-I was just joking," she felt compelled to say. "I'm not that full of myself, just so it's clear."

"Mm," was all Dimas had to say, apparently.

Agh, this was going terribly.

She had to try something different. Maybe he would want to talk about himself. "So, uh, what brings you here, Dimas? How'd you end up in a spooky place like this?"

"...It doesn't matter," said Dimas.

Well, crumb. She should've known better. Men hated talking about themselves.

Well.

Most men.

She'd known many exceptions, certainly, but Dimas here didn't appear to be one of them.

She liked that, though. Damn, did she like that. A boyfriend who wasn't in love with the sound of his own voice? That was basically her ideal man, after the repeated dumpster fires that were her last few relationships. Peace and quiet without all the loneliness that usually came with it? Where did she have to sign?

And sure, maybe Dimas seemed a little scary, but that was just a preliminary thing. She didn't know anything about him yet, really. And... if she was being entirely, horrifically honest with herself... she found that scariness kinda hot, too--so help her. She'd never dated anyone who seemed genuinely "mysterious" or "dangerous" before.

Not from the beginning of the relationship, anyway.

Dimas also seemed like a gentleman, though, curiously enough. So she wondered if she could attack him from that angle.

"Well, ah... would it be too much trouble to ask you to show me around?" said Madison.

"...I am not very familiar with Warrenhold, myself."

A meek woman might've gotten discouraged by that response. Not Madison, though. "Perfect!" she said, grabbing Dimas' arm. "We can explore it together, then. That's even better, right?"

Dimas just kind of stood there, looking down at her on his arm as if he were assessing a rash and trying to decide if he needed to take medication for it.

At least, that was what it seemed like to Madison. Honestly, she wasn't accustomed to seeing expressions like that--certainly not from men. She'd seen a lot of other things from them. Eagerness, confidence, anger, even timidity and desperation--but this?

This was pretty new to her.

She was becoming more determined by the second to not let this one get away.

But she couldn't be too aggressive, either, she knew. A hunk like this probably liked to do most of the work himself. And she still didn't know much about him, of course. There were still a lot of deal-breaking obstacles that could crop up any moment now.

She decided to release his arm and take a step back toward the empty bar behind her. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just very excitable, sometimes."

"...It's fine," said Dimas, as gorgeous and expressionless as ever.

Madison gathered her courage and went straight for the first big thing that she needed to know. "Yeah, well, I'm sure your wife wouldn't appreciate some strange woman hanging all over you, right?"

"...I'm not married."

She resisted the urge to leap into his enormous arms. "Oh," she said with forced calmness. "Then... does that mean you wouldn't mind exploring this castle with me?"

"...Sure."

She contained herself with just another smile. Bubbly and cheerful was one thing. Psychotically happy and clingy was another.

"Oh, you're just terribly sweet, aren't you?" said Madison. "Thank you for humoring me. I'll try not to be too annoying--I promise!" She knew that fishing for compliments was an old and very well-known tactic, but that didn't mean it couldn't still be effective, especially against strangers. People who knew her well would doubtlessly show no mercy in calling her out on that, but she was betting that the mysterious gentleman in front of her wouldn't mind.

"Not at all," said Dimas. "It will be my pleasure."

Madison didn't even have to force her smile, this time. Sure, maybe Dimas didn't have the most receptive tone or expression, but somehow, she still felt like he meant those words.

Ah, but that could've just been her wanting him to mean them, she knew. She'd certainly made that mistake before. She wanted to be smarter than her past self.

They exited the banquet hall together, with Madison having to take the lead. She had no idea where she was going, of course, and the two of them were now drawing even more attention than she'd been getting on her own, but none of that could remove the grin from her face.

A date. This was totally a date. Not an official one, of course, but it was basically the same thing, just not as formal. And there was plenty of potential there, she knew.

Now she just had to not fuck everything up.

In spite of herself, she was getting nervous. She was only twenty-eight years old, but truthfully, she was already beginning to feel a little bit like she was over the hill. She experienced heartburn for the first time in her entire life last year, and every time she thought about all the newer, younger actresses making waves now in Steccat... Not to mention, she hadn't actually landed a movie role in several months now... Oh, and how many of her girlfriends had gotten married over the last few years?

And that wasn't even broaching the subject of that old drug problem...

Agh. The more she allowed herself to think about it, the more reason she found to justify each and every one of her insecurities.

If Dimas knew everything she was thinking, right now, he would ditch her in a heartbeat. Hell, maybe he was already planning to and really was just being polite.

Hmm? Where he'd go? She looked around. Oh, goddess, please--

Wait, no, there he was, following a few meters behind her. Phew.

Someone was walking with him and talking quietly. A fellow Rainlord, presumably. Of course, she hadn't actually gotten confirmation that Dimas himself was a Rainlord, but it seemed a safe gamble.

Madison slowed her pace to match theirs, but they stopped talking before she was close enough to overhear what they were saying.

Huh.

Madison tried not to read too much into that. She didn't need any other excuses to feel insecure. "Is something the matter?" she dared to ask.

"No," said Dimas, and he waved at the other man as if shooing him away.

The shorter man merely nodded and excused himself.

Wait a minute. Was Dimas some sort of big shot, on top of everything else?

Oh, hell.

Was she getting herself into trouble again? Because she was starting to feel like she was.

And she didn't know what to do about it, either.

"I apologize for not engaging with you more," said Dimas. "You must be bored."

"Oh, no, I'm fine. And besides, it's a little early for us to be getting engaged, don't you think?"

That just made him raise an eyebrow at her again.

"That was another joke," she clarified.

"...I know," said Dimas. "It was very funny."

Her face scrunched up a little. "Are you...? Are you being sarcastic?"

"No."

Her face scrunched up a little more. "Are you sure? Because it sounded like you were."

"I promise that I was not being sarcastic."

"Well, if you thought it was funny, then why didn't you laugh?"

A beat passed, and the man gave a hulking shrug. "I don't know."

Not sure what to say to that, she pouted.

Surprisingly enough, that seemed to get a reaction out of the man. Not a big one, of course, but something at least. She couldn't tell what that expression meant, partly because it was gone as quickly as it appeared, but immediately thereafter, Dimas took the lead in walking. "Perhaps I can show you something," he said.

Madison's eyes lit up, and she skipped a bit closer to him. "Oh? What kind of something would that be?"

"A certain room," said Dimas, taking them through the main courtyard where Warrenhold's eight great towers all surrounded them.

"What kind of room?" she said with a slight grin. That room wouldn't happen to have a hot tub or a bed, would it? She had to stop herself from saying that out loud.

"A shrine," said Dimas.

Oh. Well, that was a little disappointing, but she was curious, at least. She'd never been taken to a shrine on a date before. She didn't think she'd ever been taken to a shrine, period.

"From what I understand," Dimas went on, "there are several shrines in Warrenhold, but I only know where two of them are. I'll take you to the one that is probably quieter."

"Alrighty," said Madison with a nod. She followed him toward the tallest and skinniest building, the one she'd heard people calling the Entry Tower.

As they neared it, another man approached Dimas and spoke quietly into his ear. He held up a finger in her direction before excusing himself and asking her to wait a moment.

She agreed with as courteous a smile as she could muster, of course, and observed the two men step away from her for a minute.

Okay, yeah, Dimas was definitely some sort of big shot around here, she figured. What to do with that information, she wasn't quite sure. It wouldn't have really mattered to her if he was flat broke and utterly unremarkable in everyone else's eyes--in fact, she might have even preferred that, because then she would've had him all to herself. And she certainly didn't need any more money. Sure, she didn't currently have very good access to that money, but that problem would likely change soon.

Hopefully.

She gave the men their space, nonetheless, putting her hands together behind her back and turning around to take in the view of the enormous underground courtyard another time.

It was quite something, she supposed, though it maybe wasn't as romantic as she would have personally preferred. The amber lamps were a nice touch, though if it was up to her, there would be about two dozen more of them scattered up and down each tower--perhaps even hanging from that distant ceiling. There was obviously a ton of open space here, but so much of it remained in darkness that it didn't look nearly as spacious as it could have, she thought.

An interior decorator on the payroll would not be a waste of money, she felt; but at the same time, wow, such a person would definitely have their work cut out for them. More light would be a good first step, but it would take a lot more than that to make this place not look like a haunted ruin. Some greenery would probably be a big improvement, too, but she wondered if anything would even be able to grow down here. Maybe some artificial plants would fit the bill, instead. They could practically fit a whole fake forest down here, if they wanted, though that would obviously be pretty weird.

She was far from an expert on these things, however. While decorating had been a passion of hers ever since she was a little girl, she had never actually owned her own place for long enough to really get invested in it. Her acting career had taken over her life for the last several years, so her love for interior design had mostly been relegated to watching home makeover shows on television and ogling pictures of pretty houses on the internet.

Maybe Valerie Reinbach would be able to do something with this place. On her show, Reinbach Renovations, she made it look like she could beautify just about any location in the world. In fact, now that she was thinking about it, Madison was pretty sure there was an episode where Valerie restored an old, ruined castle for an Ardoran prince or something.

Madison wouldn't mind meeting her, one day--assuming she ever managed to make it back out into the world, that was.

She still had no idea what she was going to do about that whole mess. She'd been trying not to think about it too much, if only because it felt like there was nothing that she really could do.

The Andalero group wanted her dead, and they tended to get what they wanted, especially in Steccat. They were a pretty mysterious bunch, and truth be told, Madison hadn't previously known all that much about them, really--aside from the rumors, that was. The rumors about them being a cult. About them controlling half of all the money in the world from the shadows. About them being malevolent puppeteers in matters on an international level. And about them disemboweling farm animals and wearing their still-bloody skins as meat suits during all manner of depraved rituals.

She didn't think that last one was true--mainly because of how stupid it sounded--but unfortunately, she had already gotten tentative confirmation on those other ones. Maybe they didn't actually control half the money in the world, but they definitely had a terrifying degree of influence. A hotel receptionist, a burger shop employee, a bus driver, even a damn kid with a lemonade stand--they'd all tried to pull a gun on her and blow her brains out without any warning whatsoever. And those were just all the ones she could remember. She genuinely wasn't sure how many assassination attempts Roman had foiled while getting her out of Steccat.

She was alright now, but that had definitely been the most terrifying experience of her life. Knowing that literally any random stranger might just walk up and try to kill her at any moment? That hadn't been fun.

And all because she overheard a conversation she wasn't supposed to. She didn't even know what the hell was so scandalous about it. It had just been her ex-boyfriend Darius talking to some old guy about something called "black song." Apparently, it was some kind of super secret meeting or something going down in a place called Ridgemark. She didn't even know where that was or what the meeting was about.

Yet that was enough for them to want her dead. And Roman, too, of course, though they had no idea who he was. After all that craziness, Madison hadn't needed to ask why Roman had originally disguised himself as her new assistant.

She'd been furious with him, at first. Dragging her into all this. But after a while, she realized it wasn't actually his fault that she'd overheard what she did. He'd actually tried to ditch her a couple times before that, which she now realized had been for her own safety. And of course, he had saved her life about a dozen times since then, too. That had earned him more than a few points with her as well.

It felt so strange, thinking about all of that stuff now. It had only been a few weeks ago, but her life had changed so much since then, and she still felt like she was caught up in a whirlwind, like her feet hadn't quite touched the ground again just yet.

She was in some tiny country she'd never heard of, walking around a creepy castle she didn't much care for, surrounded by a bunch of people she didn't know.

And yet, she wasn't freaking out. For the most part.

Maybe she'd just expended all of her freaking out energy back in Steccat. In retrospect, Roman had been an absolute saint in dealing with her for those first couple days on the run.

Too bad.

Hopefully, he and Gina would figure things out between themselves soon. They had only just reunited, but Madison was already feeling immensely tempted to help them along. She knew better, though. She didn't have enough information about Roman's feelings toward Gina, so trying to force the issue now could easily just make everything worse. Madison knew only too well that these kinds of things required a delicate touch.

At length, her internal musings came to an end when she noticed Dimas had dismissed his apparent associate and was returning to her.

"Thank you for waiting," he said, as calm and flat as before.

"No problem," she said as they started walking again. "It seems like you're in high demand around here."

Dimas didn't have anything to say to that, apparently.

She tried again as they set foot in the Entry Tower. "Are you a... I dunno, a high-ranking Rainlord or something? Do you guys have ranks?"

"No, we do not," said Dimas. "However, yes, I am the current head of House Sebolt."

"Ooh, the head, huh? That sounds important."

"...Yes."

They took a left and ascended a curving staircase, then Dimas guided her down a corridor and into the room in question.

It was empty, and there were giant cracks in all the walls, but she supposed it had a certain charm to it. Rainbow tiles were an interesting choice. Not something she would have chosen, certainly, but she couldn't deny that it made an impact.

"Are all of your shrines this colorful?" she asked.

"This is not a Rainlord shrine," said Dimas. "This is not our castle, either."

"Oh. Right. I knew that, I think. It belongs to, uh... ah...?"

"Lord Goffe. He is not a Rainlord."

"Ah. Gotcha." It didn't make much difference to her, but she figured it would be rude if she didn't at least try to keep track of these things.

Dimas walked toward the far corner of the room and sat by the lamp there. There was no chair or bench to sit on, though. Instead, it was a long, blocky protrusion from the wall, seemingly designed to be sat on, given the row of concave indentations where butts were presumably supposed to go.

"The Lord Goffe's associate mentioned that he wished for these shrines to be places where people of all different faiths could come to observe peace."

Madison sat down next to him. "That sounds nice."

"Indeed."

That was it, huh? Of course it was. "So... you like this place, then?"

"...Yes."

Oi. Madison was beginning to see a few potential hiccups in her grand plan to get herself a boyfriend who was the strong, silent type. Why had he even brought her here, anyway? She wanted to ask him that directly, but she was struggling to think of a way to make it not sound terribly rude.

Seriously, though, what a weird place to bring a date. Well, maybe he didn't think it was a date. In fact, he probably didn't. It was her hopeful delusions that had put that idea in her head, she knew.

Dammit. How was she supposed to save the situation? The silence was already so long and awkward. She could do it, couldn't she? Being a social butterfly was practically her job--no, her life.

That had mostly come from attending tons of ritzy parties, though. And this was not that.

She didn't have much experience dealing with people like this. Hell, did anyone have much experience with it?

"Do you know of Lhutwë?" said Dimas, stirring Madison from her thoughts.

Agh, she had to pay better attention. That was key to any good social interaction, she knew. Paying attention to whoever you're talking to--and not paying so much attention to yourself. When you paid too much attention to yourself, you became self-conscious, and when you became self-conscious, you became uncertain and awkward. Avoiding that pitfall was usually easy, but it got a lot harder when the person you were talking to didn't actually talk.

Regardless, it was a rookie mistake. She did her best to recover, though. "Oh. Um. Ah... Lhutwë? Is that... some kind of Rainlord cuisine?"

Dimas' expression flashed with the faintest hint of what looked like a smile. Or irritation, perhaps. Madison couldn't really tell.

"No," the tall man said. "Lhutwë is the name of the old water god whom our ancestors worshiped."

"Ooh..." Yikes. That one had been a genuine airhead moment. She hoped he didn't think she was a complete idiot now. "I, ah... I guess I'm not all that knowledgeable when it comes to religion. I only know a little bit about Cocora, and that's it."

"I see."

Crap. She needed to step her game up and try to ask an intelligent question or something. "But, um... I'm curious about them." Okay, maybe that would've been a lie two minutes ago, but it was totally true now. "Is there a reason why you only said that your ancestors worshiped him? Or, wait, is Lhutwë a woman?"

"No, Lhutwë is described as male."

"Ah, okay. I love it when I assume things that turn out to be true. It sure is better than the opposite thing."

"I am not sure I understood your first question. A reason why I said only my ancestors?"

"Oh, I meant, like, did you mean that you don't worship him anymore? And if so, why?"

"Ah," said Dimas. "Yes, we have mostly ceased all such religious practices regarding him. However, he still remains an important aspect of our history, in my opinion. And... there are some among us who do still truly believe in him."

She nodded attentively, not wanting to miss a single word. "I see. And does that include you?"

"I... honestly do not know," said Dimas.

Huh. Madison was a bit surprised by that. He didn't strike her as the indecisive type, and now she had to know more. "Why not?"

"One of my family members is quite religious," said Dimas, "and he frequently tries to convince me that the old ways were correct. I do not yet know if I believe him or not. And there is also..." He seemed to think better of whatever he was going to say, and the sentence went unfinished.

That was okay, though. Madison could relate. "I've had friends like that, too," she said. "Lemme guess. Is he super nice and friendly but also kinda guilt-trippy?"

"...That describes him exactly, yes."

"Knew it," she said with a nod. "Friends like that can be tough to deal with. It's usually best to just be straight with them, though, and tell them when they're making you uncomfortable with their proselytizing." Man, that word-a-day app was the best thing she ever downloaded.

"I don't think that will work with him," said Dimas.

"Really? Well, you might be surprised. But even if it doesn't, you could just tell him to cut it out."

"But what if he is right?"

"Oh. Uh. Then... listen to what he says?"

"And what if he is wrong?"

"Alright, hey, I don't have all the answers. I know I look like I do, but gimme a break."

That finally pulled a smile out of him. Not a big one, maybe, but she could at least be sure that she'd seen it this time.

Her heart swelled up a little, and she couldn't help smiling as well. She hated when that happened, though. Her most natural smile was goofy and stupid, she'd always felt. It was too mouthy, if that made any sense, and it had been that way ever since her awkward teenage years. The smile that she'd perfected for her movie career was the one that she wanted Dimas to see, but it was so damn difficult to control, sometimes.

She averted her gaze and pretended to observe the rainbow room another time while she recomposed herself.

"...Would you like to hear an old fable of Lhutwë?" said Dimas. "Perhaps then you will be able to tell me what you think of my friend's beliefs."

"Oh, ah, sure! Though, I'm not sure I should pass judgment on an entire religion after hearing only one story from it."

"...That is true and wise," said Dimas. "But I want you to do it, anyway."

She actually snorted a laugh that time.

Aw, crap. That hadn't been very dainty or graceful. Maybe he didn't notice.

"That was a cute laugh," said Dimas, looking right at her.

Wait, what?! Did she hear that right?! "Ah--uh! No, it wasn't!"

Dimas was silent again, however.

She didn't know what to say. Thank you? Should she blush? Wait, was she already doing that? What had she just said, again? No, it wasn't? Why the fuck had she said that?! Taking compliments was easy as shit! She'd done it a million times!

She averted her gaze again, trying to think, to refocus. Calm down. It was just a game. A game she was good at. There was no reason to panic. Dimas was just a man. A tall, strong, and beautiful man who might even have a great personality, too. Jury was still out on that one, but it was looking good so far.

Looking damn good.

Oh, boy...

"...So did you want to hear a fable of Lhutwë?" said Dimas. "Or was that a polite way of saying no?"

"No! I mean, yes! I'd love to hear it!" At the moment, she could listen to him talk about paint drying or his car or just about anything, really.

"Are you certain?" he asked. "I promise I will not be offended."

"Of course! Tell me!"

"Very well..." The man took a moment to observe his hands, as if to find his words there. "There are many stories of Lhutwë to choose from, but the one I have in mind is the story of how he came to choose my ancestors as his most beloved people."

"The Armans, right?" said Madison.

"You know of them," Dimas observed.

"Only a little. The common knowledge stuff. Peace-loving people of the rain, until a great war came along, and they kicked everyone's butts."

"A flattering summation."

"Was I wrong?"

"I suppose not. But there are many important details being left out."

She nudged herself ever so slightly closer. "Well, tell them to me, then."

He eyed her briefly before nodding. "If the tale is to be believed, then my ancestors were not born into the rain."

"Oh? Uh... what does that mean?"

"Our land. It was not always flooded as it is now. Nor did the Waress Mountains exist. Lhutwë was the one who bestowed them both upon us."

"Ah... but, uh... haven't mountains existed for, like, ever? Like, a lot longer than humans have?"

"Yes. And radiometric tests have confirmed as much for us, as well."

"So I guess that's why this is just a fable, then?"

"Indeed."

"Right. Okay. Please continue."

"The story tells of a time of immense strife and poverty for our people. However, the story also says that we had such nobility of spirit that these tribulations did not break us, which was why Lhutwë chose to grant us his protection. Again, a rather flattering portrayal, no?"

"I'm not judging. Yet."

"According to the tale," Dimas went on, "Lhutwë 'claimed us as his very own kin.' Supposedly, he began treating us like his children. It is said that this was a long-held desire of his, to have children. And soon after this kinship began, Lhutwë spoke thus: 'I shall bring to you the sea, for it will make you strong, and strength will bring you peace. And all those who believeth in me shall partake of my fountain; and all others, should war exist in their hearts, shall know my wrath.'"

"Whoa," said Madison. "That sounds pretty serious."

"Yes. The fable goes on to say that, by Lhutwë's command, a great fountain arose out of the earth, and the land was overcome with all manner of water. Lakes and seas flowed forth from the bottom of the fountain, and clouds full of rain billowed from its peak. The story even claims that this fountain was the source of all water in the world--not just the water in our territory. Our water was considered the most sacred, of course, being closest to the fountain, but all water in the world was kindred to us and to the fountain.

"However, the waters were far from a blessing. At first. The land changed so dramatically that our people struggled to adapt. Many despaired and even cursed Lhutwë for what he had done. But in time, we did adapt, and just as he said, we grew strong, and we grew peaceful. For a time.

"Disputes broke out over who should lead us, over whether we should even have a leader. And our people fought. Blood was shed. And Lhutwë grew angry with us. He had protected us from outsiders for many years, but now he was troubled, because he did not know how to protect us from one another."

Madison figured she should say something to demonstrate she was actually listening. "That sounds rough. What did he do?"

"He took his fountain away from us," said Dimas. "According to the story, he raised the Waress Mountains in order to seal the fountain's power so that we could never use it against one another again. That is also where the name 'Waress' comes from. In the tongue of my ancestors, it means 'war's end.'"

"I see." Madison wasn't sure what she was supposed to take away from any of this, but she didn't care all that much. She just didn't want him to stop talking, really.

"Unfortunately," Dimas went on, "that is where the fable begins to break down."

"Oh?"

"How it ends depends on whom you ask. As some tell it, Lhutwë abandoned us because of our foolishness. They say he could not abide war among his children and so simply disowned us, leaving us to our fates."

"Pretty harsh."

"As others tell it, however, Lhutwë chose a divine successor to lead us in his absence. The Water Dragon. They say that Lhutwë, though he can no longer intervene in our lives directly due to our own profound imperfection, still continues to work through the Water Dragon to guide and protect us."

"Wow. I'm guessing you don't believe that?"

"No, I do not. Few among us do, anymore."

"It does seem a little far-fetched."

"But there is evidence to support it."

Madison blinked. "Really?"

"For all of the fable's faults, there is certainly a degree of truth in it."

"How so?"

"The fountain," said Dimas. "The Fountain of Lhutwë is real. Or was, at the very least. In the story, its power seems exaggerated, but in reality, there are many historical accounts of the Fountain being used by the Water Dragon of a given generation to acquire unparalleled strength."

Madison didn't quite follow. "But in the story, Lhutwë took the fountain away, didn't he?"

"Yes."

"So then...?"

"It does not make sense, yes."

"Oh. Okay. Just checking."

"However, due to recent... events, I have been thinking about this story quite a bit."

"Why?"

"A friend of mine put forth a new theory. He said that, rather than choosing to abandon us of his own accord, perhaps Lhutwë was forced to leave for some other reason."

"What other reason?"

"...That is difficult to say," said Dimas.

"You seem awfully interested in it for someone who said you don't believe any of this stuff."

"I also said that I did not know what I believed."

"Well, if you're looking for answers, then I'm afraid you've come to the wrong person, because I don't know what I believe, either." At Dimas' blank expression, Madison nudged herself closer again. "If you're looking for a girlfriend, though... I might be able to help you out."

He cocked an eyebrow at her another time. "Is that right?"

Rather than answering, she just returned a big smile.

"Even after hearing that story, you would be interested in a relationship with me?"

Madison was confused. "Why would that have deterred me? And, hey, wait a minute. Did you know I was interested all along?"

"...That story paints a rather bleak picture of my kin, I feel. Are you sure you wish to get involved with people like us? Because make no mistake, I am inexorably bound to my brethren. I have a duty to them which goes beyond anything else in this life or the next."

"Excuse me, but you didn't answer the question."

"I answered a question."

"Honey, if you're trying to make me stop finding you attractive, you're doing a terrible job of it. I happen to love being teased."

At that, Dimas' eyes widened a little.