Venturing South

Serah accepted his arm, smiling brightly. She pountedly ignored how her heart fluttered at the contact. Ew, mushy. "Of course I am invincible. I just let you win this time, that's all~", she winked. "Nah, I'm far from unbeatable. I mean, I got my ass handed to me more than once in the past."

Delilah laughed. "Wait, hold your horses, sweetheart. The fact that I am flirting with you doesn't mean I will take you here and right away, you know. It's just a way to let you know I am interested." She winked at him. "Besides, where do you think you're going with that broken leg? Not in my bed, that for sure."

Serah shrugged slightly. Damn. Had she just admitted that for real? "Heh, I am too worn out to mind", she just said. "I think I will go take a walk." Maybe on the roofs, where no one would have bothered her!

Delilah smiled softly at Yvan. "I didn't want you to feel uneasy", she simply said. Then she sighed, getting up from her seat. "Well, I have to go. The doctor will come check on you later", she added, looking at him.

Horknath answered him with a thumbs up. As soon as Valdyr had turned away from Serah, she had disappeared in a blink. How could she even do that?

Delilah smiled at him. "I'll bring them to you, promise", she said. "Just make sure you rest!" She waved at him and walked out of the room, off to find the doctor, and then to assist Carleen with her duties.

Horknath had indeed noticed how Carleen had held his own gaze. He got so distracted that he managed to miss Valdyr's words at first. "... ah! Yeah, I'm sorry, I... am actually a bit tired", he said, scratching his neck. "I think I'll have to pass, this time. I'm sorry", he laughed.

Serah, all distracted with playing with her empty plate, perked up at the mention of a walk. "Yeah, sure", she answered with a grin. "I totally need to digest all the delicious food I stuffed myself with!", she added, patting her stomach.

Horknath got up from his chair. "Well, now that I am sure I won't get lost, I will go and rest." He respectfully bid goodnight to Lord Sakrish and waved happily at his friends before walking away. Until he deemed it safe enough to silently change route and sneak to Carleen's window.

"Blame my quick metabolism! You have nothing to envy to me, honestly", Serah answered merrily, standing up and excusing herself from the table to follow Valdyr. "I let you imagine how I would look if I only ate vegetables."

"No one. I checked well. I only have to hope no one will go check my room", Horknath answered with a kind laugh.

"Gee, what a compliment, thanks", Serah laughed, stuffing her hands in her pockets. She breathed in the nice evening air, noticeably cooler than the suffocating warm one during the day. She whistled at the sight of the luxurious gardens bathing in the soft moonlight. "Wow. They sure know how to rock gardens", she murmured.

Horknath shuddered. He took a small step forward, so that he could lay his hands on Carleen's hips. "I locked the door", he confirmed. "And, can't really keep you from coming in my room as you wish. This is your place, after all."

Serah looked at him, then looked up. She was familiar with night time, being a spy, but she truly had never seen stars like that. "Yeah", she said, her throat feeling closed for some reason. "The East isn't really a place where you get sights like this. ... you like to watch the stars? Didn't take you for the romantic type", she joked weakly.

Horknath kissed her back gently. "Not at all", he answered against her lips. "If anything, I wouldn't want you to get into troubles." He leant in to kiss her again.

"That's... that's really nice. I bet there are a lot of stories about constellations" Serah hummed. Then she looked down again, distractedly kicking a rock. "... back at my place, we were forbid to go out at night", she murmured, frowning a bit. "Bunch of superstitions and stuff... so I've never really learnt anything", she added, stretching her arms up.

Horknath gulped. No lie, he was damn nervous. But he had been thinking about their rendez-vous for the whole afternoon, too. He couldn't believe his luck. "That's true. You won", he said, smiling sheepishly at her.

Serah grinned at him. "I'd like to! If you'll have the patience, of course. And while I am at it, if you'll want to slip some more things about yourself, since apparently I know so little - you'll be welcome~"

Horknath meekly let Carleen lead him to her bed. "If you learnt to know me in these two days, you'll already know I won't deny you anything, Carleen", he answered with a smirk. "I am listening. Off with your request, princess."

Serah held back a smile and for a while, she kept silent, listening to Valdyr's explanations. She was an eager learner, and asked many questions. And, while she had the occasion, she kept as close to Valdyr as possible.

Horknath growled lowly. "I can't step down from a challenge like this, can I", he rumbled, bending slightly to kiss Carleen's mouth, before discarding his clothes at the side of her bed.

And Serah was all too happy about that of course. All too happy. Goddamnit, that's not good Serah! And besides, her eyes were on him more often than up to the sky. Not good at all. She smiled. "It's nice to see you so passionate about something!"

Horknath laid down on the bed, his hands behind his head in a comfortable position. Maybe more comfortable than he was actually feeling, since having Carleen's eyes on him like that made him feel rather conscious of his nakedness. "I'm not used to teasing. All I've learned is that usually people prefer it when I get... straight to the point." But he was going to greatly enjoy the show nonetheless.