Against his base instinct, Yvain stopped himself from doing anything sexual with Nora in the morning.
First because she stayed up most of the night looking after all three of them as they trained and she needed the rest, and second because there was a lot that they had to get done today and anything could go wrong at any moment with two dragons.
"Pass me the butter," Selt said to Roesia.
"Please?" she said and made no move for the requested item.
"Stop being--"
"Selt?" Nelimir said and the kid stopped himself.
With a sigh he said, "Please pass me the butter?"
Roesia did as asked with no more protest nor gloating and went back to eating her breakfast.
Elly had done both hers and Nora's hair early in the morning as well as made sure that both their tails didn't stand out too much from inside their clothing. Something that wasn't too hard since Roesia was always wearing robes and Nora baggy clothing.
"Don't forget to get her clothes," Elly said, "With how many of mine you've torn I'll need to do the same."
"What do you mean
I've
torn? It was obviously Nora," Yvain said.
"Was I the one who tore my pants off yesterday?" the goddess said with a smirk that made his knees weak.
"Stars don't get that comfortable with us here," Nelimir said without looking up from his plate.
Nora winced, her eyes widening toward Yvain almost telling him 'what did I just say?' and looked back into her own plate to continue eating.
"Forgive me," she said quietly before Yvain burst out laughing.
He should have been embarrassed but seeing this goddess, who sometimes felt untouchable and ethereal, so flustered tickled him in unusual ways.
Nora pinched his leg as hard as she could, which didn't have much of an effect on him, but he took the hint and calmed himself.
"We'll make sure to get her at least a week's worth," he said in answer to Elly's request.
"Don't forget the bedframe," Nora added as she took a bite of eggs.
"First we'll bring you both the contact lenses and go to Cosmos," Nelimir said. "Once that's over with you're all free to do what you must so long as you don't stir up any trouble." Their leader looked solely at Selt as he finished talking, but the kid didn't show any sign or recognition as he stuffed his face.
They all continued to eat, but Yvain would look at his master from time to time. Then he would look to Roesia and feel himself get hard. He would look at Nora too, just to enjoy the act, but at some points the memory of what he experienced yesterday would resurface.
During all of it he kept asking himself one question over and over, should he tell them that he and Nora were a couple now? It should have been an easy, inconsequential thing, but knowing how his master felt about him and what she might feel when she found out gave him pause. Not because he had any feelings for her besides camaraderie and friendship, but because he didn't want to hurt her.
And Roesia, what was he supposed to do about her?
Just ignore her,
Yvain told himself. He couldn't be the first man that found another woman attractive while being with another. That's all it was. It didn't mean he would betray Nora.
As for his master... Yvain looked at Elly again.
"Spit it out," she suddenly said.
Yvain winced and thought of feigning ignorance, but his master was looking straight at him.
"I didn't train a coward, did I?" she said with a raised eyebrow.
Yvain gave an internal sigh. How was it more difficult to go through with hurting her feelings, than it was hurting her physically? Stars he already did the latter willingly, and he'd do it again, just how she'd do the same.
I guess I shouldn't be a hypocrite
, he thought.
"Nora and I are a couple now," he said. "Have been since yesterday."
"Ah," was all Elly said before she went back to eating.
Nora excitedly hugged his arm tighter than usual and rested her head against his shoulder.
"Congratulations," Nelimir said, but he didn't look much different than before.
Neither did Roesia who only said, "Congrats," before concentrating on her plate again.
Selt just kept stuffing his face.
Yvain felt disappointed, in a way. He didn't expect a party, but neither did he expect such a weak reaction. But maybe that was for the best, and none of them seemed against it. He had prepared himself to at least receive some type of lecture from their leader and masked frustration from Elly.
With relief in his belly, Yvain joined the rest in finishing his breakfast.
----------
"Why in the stars are they doing this now?" Yvain asked no one in particular.
It had taken the group around half an hour to reach Triven on foot, since they parked the carriage far from prying eyes between some trees.
Elly, Nelimir, and Yvain currently walked through town while Roesia and Nora waited in the carriage for them to come back with their items. Selt had broken off from the group as soon as he went out the door, rushing to stars know where.
"I'm sure she'll..." Nelimir began when a child ran by him joyously laughing while holding what was supposed to be a kite in the shape of monster entrails, "...understand."
Elly remained indifferent to the spectacle taking place around them as they headed for the information center that was a straight shot away from the gates to the town. Though some people were clearly staring at her from afar as her build and height made her stand out like a beacon in the night.
"Understand what?" Selt asked as he appeared out of nowhere.
"Isn't it obvi-, oh stars help me Selt," Yvain said.
The kid was holding a balloon instead of a kite, this one taking the shape of a misconfigured, black heart.
"Hey!" Selt said as Yvain grabbed the item and popped it with his hands.
"How dare you!" the kid said and was about to jump on Yvain when Nelimir stopped him.
"I'll buy you something else later Selt," he said. "Just nothing related to this sick festival."
The kid looked at their leader curiously, "Anything I want?"
"Anything inside my means," Nelimir said, which seemed to be enough to calm Selt down.
Triven was currently celebrating what was called 'Day of Terrors' a week early. It actually lasted for a whole week, but 'Week of Terrors' just didn't sound as catchy.
It was a religious event that took place on the last seven days of every month, celebrating the protection that their god offered against the evils and monsters that resided outside of Great Divider. Thanks to his efforts everyone could live in paradise with the ease of mind that nothing would ever go wrong.
In a way the theology was right. All those who became soldiers or members of Cosmos understood by implication that everything outside of their world was madness on more concrete terms than their citizen counterparts.
The degree of said madness blurred itself between the ranks though, as the lower one was, the less information they were given. And while he and the everyday guard or soldier might not be a citizen, they weren't that far off.
But Yvain agreed that they lived in paradise. He might not be sure of what was outside of Empryon, nonetheless he was certain that there would be no neatly paved streets. No freshly painted and maintained houses. No tables filled with good food for every family. No education for every child and adult. And much less at the cost of nothing except existing.
It could be said that even the people from the little village they had visited a couple of days back lived lavishly. They had their place in the totem pole, but they never lacked basic needs. And if they did, those were quickly met when brough to the attention of those with power in Allsworth.
But all this in itself is where the problem lay. How could they live in paradise? What made them different? Was this type of living sustainable? Apparently, no one cared to ask themselves these questions. No one but Nelimir and those who chose to listen, which weren't that many.
As for Yvain, he didn't care either way. At first it was only a hunch he wanted to delve into and investigate, but it had already been confirmed by Nora that Empryon wasn't all there was to life.
Yet... he still didn't want her to see this shameless display.
The group paved their way through throngs of happy children and adults making merry underneath colorful depictions of death and streets decorated with mannequins of abominations everyone could attack with their makeshift weapons. Some people, including patrolling soldiers, had also chosen to wear costumes and playfully act the part of monsters.
Yvain watched on in embarrassment. None of this was supposed to take place until next week. What would Nora think when she saw all this? Sure, it was just a matter of time considering where she was... but that didn't make it any easier.
They arrived at their destination. A building holding all manners of macabre decorations-- these being 'monster' organs for the most part.
The spear-holding guard nearby was covered in dark paint with fake sharp teeth.
"Wait here," Elly said.
"Don't forget to ask where the Cosmos branch is," Nelimir said.
Elly nodded before going into the building.
"Do we even need to dress them up at this point?" Yvain asked.
"Better safe than sorry," Nelimir said.
Selt ran off toward a kind looking vendor giving away wooden swords and grabbed one. The kid came back running, but instead of joining the duo, he went toward the guard and began to imitate clumsy attacks.
The guard could have easily fended them off, but instead he quickly hunched his back and began to give weird growls as he scratched at Selt and shuffled around like a monkey.
"Did you ever join the festivities as a kid? Nelimir asked.
"Never," Yvain said. Most of his childhood was spent training with Elly, there was no time to play around. Though even if there had been, she made clear that he wasn't allowed to participate. Not that he even wanted too. Even as a kid he found the spectacle disturbing.
Nelimir laughed, "I wish I could say the same."
"You were quite the indoctrinated princeling when we first met," Yvain said while giving his friend a side glance and keeping an eye on Selt.
"Don't remind me," Nelimir said with discomfort.
If anyone could be called a leader in Humanism, it'd be his family. They were the ones building places of worship, organizing the biggest events, recruiting those willing to dedicate their lives to the propagation of humanity's sacred word.
When Yvain first met him, he was the role model everyone looked up to as the purest form of theology. Only through their meeting and Haradriel's arrival did he begin to change.
