As always, being somewhat (oh, more than somewhat) quick on the uptake, he made his conclusions and basically put his face an inch from hers after he had shook off most of the water in his hair. After which, Sebastian repeated the 'I love you' Sylvie had said some nights ago, in her language. He blinked, smiled and got ready to escape -- and making a show of just how ready he was to escape.

After a second's confusion, Sylvie lunged and grabbed for his shoulders, momentarily pulling both of them under. Her first words back in the were, "Don't you dare run off on me after that!" She was grinning, but there was genuine feeling behind it.

He spluttered. "Mercy! I wouldn't even dream of it! I promise!" Sebastian mock-whimpered as he mock-floundered to stay above the surface, but then..

Something went snap inside his head. Sebastian gave a short bark of loud laughter, pulled her under the surface with himself, and upon surfacing grabbed her by her hair and stuck his nose against hers, smiling. "I promise," he purred, feeling younger than he had for many, many years.

<em>There goes that bit of work, then. Oh, well.</em>

"Good."

"Good?"

"I sure hope so." She smiled, a bit mischieveously. "I promise I won't run away from you unless you get way too crazy. And I'll warn you first."

"Best you have a heavy object around at all times, then," he said, matching the smile, bright eyes fixed on her darker ones. "I might even learn to behave before I get too crazy."

"I don't think I need one." Sylvie's hands were still on his shoulders, and she let her feelers emerge from her palms and fingers, not doing anything but sinking under his skin and sensing, but from what he had said, he should pick up on it. It was far from usual behaviour from her, but they seemed close enough now.

He gave a short gasp, twitched and stiffened his muscles but then... then he relaxed. Sebastian stared at Sylvie, mouth slightly open, eyes wide -- and then closed both mouth and eyes.

It felt good to trust.

His pulse, already very low, sank back to its usual rate. It was, perhaps, a little odd, beating so little when his body was in rest. But he relaxed, squeezing her against himself. In spite of what he want to do to Sylvie, Sebastian merely rested against her, feeling almost half-asleep. Almost.

Just for a moment she feared she had misjudged things, but then all was good. His heartbeat relaxed her. She was tempted to sink into a deeper trance that would let her feel that rhythm and the warmth of Sebastian's blood all through her body, but it did not seem to be the place.

She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "I'm getting cold."

He cracked open his left eye. "I can think of something to warm you up, you invasive thing," he said affectionately, his pulse remaining steady -- but a surge of hopeful adrenaline swarmed his system soon enough after that statement.

A chuckle underlying her words, she said, "On dry land, please."

"Good idea," he said in a low voice, kissing her neck. "And a bath... afterward," Sebastian purred. With that, he began the process of dragging Sylvie by her hand back to dry land. He was quite persistent about the whole matter.

Well, that was another method to cause tingly feelings. She really did not need to be dragged.

At some stage, something (later he would analyse the situation and come to the confusion that it was her tendons rather than anything else) hinted that there was a lot of tension involved, in terms of her behaviour. Sebastian immediately let go and turned, one knee on a rock. "...did I...?"

Sylvie kept moving, until she was almost nose-to-nose with him, at which point she went to drape her arms around his neck. But, well, he had asked, and that might just be a good thing. "Maybe a <em>little</em> less... manhandling?" She smiled, her voice was soft, and when she went on she sounded amused, gently mocking them both, or maybe only herself. "I need to get used to a lover who's bigger and stronger than I am." By the way she looked at him, and trailed a hand down his chest and ribcage, she was more interested in the getting-used-to part than discussions right now. She bit her lower lip, barely holding herself back from kissing Sebastian without giving him a moment to think and maybe answer.

"...that's plain flattery, and I think you know it, but less manhandling. I'll keep my eyes to your mammary tissue only from now on," he said, having started coyly -- but then, at the very end, a little joking. Sebastian shivered at her touch. He knew something was off, but he was hardly going to ask. It felt too soothing and good.

And he made her laugh. "Look and touch all you want, love." She kissed the tip of his nose and nudged him gently to go on to actually dry ground. Maybe they could keep it together long enough to check they didn't end up on an ant nest, oreven put down the bedroll.

Relieved, Sebastian laughed with her, and certainly -- most certainly -- made sure no anthills were around and that there was at least a bedroll.

He was not one to give up easily, when it came to Sylvie and sex, at least. That much was certain.

Later, during the suggested second bath, Sylvie demonstrated that fishing with your hands was a whole lot easier if you could cast out a net of magic that prodded the fish you wanted into your direction.

Putting big questions aside and focusing on the present helped her relax, as did Sebastian's company. Mind at peace, not harried by events or inhibited by worries about reactions from locals to a strange foreigner's wounds just disappearing, Sylvie also mended Sebastian's bruises and cuts best as she could.

The next days, they had no hurry in the world, travelling in a leisurely pace, foraging, talking and getting to know each other better. Sylvie occasionally watched for a dragon catching up, unsettled by that familiar-if-annoying presence missing, but she was certain it was just a matter of habit. She certainly wouldn't have traded the present company.

Greater reality and other old habits seeping back to the top on her mind, Sylvie started trying to figure out what about recent events to put into her diary. As she explained to Sebastian, she was supposed to return it to her school for other people to read, so it contained notes that she had thought useful for her journey, or in general, but little or no personal information.

She turned pages starting at the beginning, skimming the contents. The first item was navigation by the sun and moons, followed by a few notes on Islands north of Yrn, and more on Konda, the empire on the continent she had visited. It served as a springboard to tell Sebastian more about her homeworld.

He took most of the journey in good humour, but grew serious every time Eodea came up.

And Sebastian paid attention. He was a model student in terms of interest at the very least, but it also appeared that he used quite a bit of previously found learning methods, muttering and visualising the exact scenarios. For some reason, it cheered him up, quite some.

He didn't offer his own diary for her to turn over. In fact, he considered burning it. The past was the past, after all. In the end, Sebastian held on to the diary and his meager worldly possessions, even if nobody aside from Sylvie might have understood some of the writing.

But soon enough, under Sylvie's tutelage, Sebastian had a solid and eerily good grasp of phrases and numerals in Eodean.

And so, it came one afternoon that they approached a settlement, and he asked, in Eodean: "Stay for the night? Love?"

Sylvie smiled at him, but let her breath go in a soft sigh. Back to being the strange foreigner. Well, one of two, now; if that made things better or worse remained to be seen. "All right. Can't hide forever."

<em>I'm going to agree with that.</em> It was an orchid this time. With the same butterfly.

Sebastian glanced up at the sky and sighed. Then he took a deep breath, cursed under his breath and pointed at the orchid and butterly. Standing on top of a hill overlooking the settlement, he scarcely even cared. "All right, yo--"

<em>Shut up,</em> said Fortuna, Luck and Misfortune.

He did shut up.

<em>Well?</em> the butterfly demanded from Sylvie.

"A month ago, I might have tossed a coin." Sylvie smiled lopsidedly. "What are the terms if we agree to work for you two?"

The butterfly made a spiral in the air, much to Sebastian's chagrin. The sound he heard -- and what Sylvie heard -- it make was one of laughter. He clenched his fist and looked worried when the butterfly spoke on. <em>So you will do it? Really, you will? Gorgeous!</em> said the butterly/toga-wearing woman, who was dancing like crazy.

The orchid sighed and immediately grabbed Luck by the hand and planted the goddess of Luck's face into the ground. <em>I think the terms are clear. You will get home,</em> the Old Lady said, ignoring the mumbling of Luck -- and even the caterpillar that was trying to eat her tubers --, <em>and you will work for us.</em>

Then she let Fortuna out of her grasp, who immediately spat some mud. The butterfly itself settled on the ground. The visage of a bare-breasted woman glared at the Old Lady for a moment before stating, <em>You will have your decades. You will have your... time. Children. But you will work for it.</em>

A pause.

Old Lady said, <em>Once in a while. Do you wish to negotiate the terms?</em>

"One thing must be absolutely clear. No games. No added complications to make a more amusing show."

The goddesses were still for a while. Sebastian had goosebumps and was strangely worried. He supposed it was Sylvie's lack of experience with religion, but she was driving a hard bargain. For the love of -- well, the Ladies! Sylvie was bargaining with creatures out of time, space and of mostly concepts.

He wouldn't have had the guts.

And the reaction said creatures had made him want to wet his pants. Sebastian was sweating as it were.

Then the goddesses sighed. The orchid said: <em>Fine. We will keep our fingers off you... to an extent, and only call you to work when something is amiss. But as a token of...</em>

<em>...of appreciation, long lives, strokes of luck,</em> said the butterfly/toga woman, staring at a very stiff and worried Sebastian. It smiled, crookedly. <em>Oh, there will be repercussions, dear child, but I will look over you.</em>

Then the butterfly fluttered to Sylvie -- the woman behind the image squinted. <em>Agreeable?</em>

Sylvie had faced down the heads of her school over the matter of being allowed to leave, and those people had earned her respect. With the goddesses, her anger was strong enough to cover most of her fear.

But that, now, worried her. "What repercussions?"

The butterfly turned in the air -- and so did Fortuna's face turn at Sylvie, smiling mischievously. <em>You will be living with him and the other way around. That is one of the repercussions. And as for your child, children, however it shall be... well.</em> She looked at Land. <em>Their lives, I agreed with my sister here, are for you to decide; whether they will work for us too once you are too old. But I warn you, I shan't tell you how long it will be.</em>

Sebastian covered his face, sighed and waited -- he only waited for Sylvie to react, and thus, he sat down on the ground and tried to make sense of these alien personalities that he was afraid of, yet served. "Could you just give a fucking straight answer for once?"

The first answer drew an almost-amused snort from Sylvie; she knew that would be a challenge and accepted it. The other... She sighed and shook her head. "And why are you so obsessed with making people decide other people's lives for them?"