Lance shuddered, sweat seeping from every poor as she gasped for breath. She had never been so angry in all her life. She felt herself be released, and she immediately fell to all fours, huffing and puffing as her face still burned. Not from embarrassment, as it had been earlier, but the heat of wrath. She couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to exist like that normally, how did Terlin do it?
"Good." Lithia told her, "A bit more of this and you'll be fine going above ground, go get some water, then we will continue."
Lance didn't reply as she stood on shaky feet, feeling the blood finally leave her cheeks. Dizzy, she turned, stumbling toward the exit. She heard loud clanging footsteps approaching from behind, and she upped her pace, wanting to escape.
"Are you alright?" Jason asked her, "You don't seem stable, physically, I mean."
Lance didn't turn to look at him as they crossed the threshold, "I'm alright." She said quickly, "Just need some water."
"Affirmative…" He said, trailing off as Lance approached the water barrel, her eyes locked on the canteen, "Did you want that compliment I offered earlier?"
Lance quickened her pace, "I- that is to say," She stumbled over her words, "Well-" She paused, "I don't know." She admitted, grabbing the canteen.
"You don't know?" Jason asked as she removed the lid, "I'm not sure how to proceed with that intel."
"Then don't say anything." She grumbled, drinking her water.
The cold did wonders for soothing her aching throat, screaming hate-fueled obscenities wasn't easy work. Lance would need to keep her mouth shut or she may tear her vocal chords, she'd just keep herself occupied by glaring at Lithia, instead of screaming. She gasped as she finished chugging down the water, sliding the lid back on and leaving it by the water barrel with a sigh. She finally turned toward Jason, seeing him loom over her with uncertainty in his eyes. She drew her lips to a fine line as he kept staring at her, still racking his wee little Dragon brain about what to say, no doubt.
Lance didn't notice as one of her fingers moved to twirl her hair, "Say what you like." She told him in a near-whisper, averting her eyes.
"You did a good job." He told her, nodding.
Her finger paused in its twirling, "That's it?" She asked, her eyes once more fixing on his.
Jason blinked, clearly taken aback, "What do you mean?" He asked, "You said to say what I like, so I did."
"Well I didn't think it would be so boring." Lance admitted, feeling disappointed.
Irritation filled his eyes, "Boring? That was a compliment."
"A boring one!" She snapped, crossing her arms.
Indignation with irritation, "I can't believe you. No matter what I say, you have a negative reaction."
"I do not." She retorted, glaring.
He glared back, "Look at what you're doing right now."
"Say something better then." She huffed.
"Fine." He told her, grabbing her by the shoulders.
Lance felt the blood rise straight to the tips of her ears as Jason brought his face close to hers. "You're gorgeous."
Again, those eyes bore nothing but pure, unadulterated honesty. She struggled to maintain eye contact as the blood began to rush back to her face.
"T-thank you." She got out.
Jason smiled, relief in his eyes, "That was the right thing to say." He said, more to himself than to her.
"It was." She said, shocking herself.
He released her, nodding to himself, "I'll remember that from now on. Now, since you're out here I'm going to take the time to learn what else I can from Lithia. We can't stay here for too much longer, we still need to catch up to Twindil and the others, the less time we take the quicker we can meet up with them."
Lance watched as he turned away from her, heading back toward a cackling Lithia. She sat down by the water barrel, burying her head in her cloak like a turtle. Too much, this was all too much. Her emotions were out of control, she needed to reign them in and figure them out, else she'd continue to act like a fool. The heat in her cheeks and ears were not unfamiliar, she'd been embarrassed before in her life, but this was different. She couldn't get Jason out of her mind, already going over what he'd said to her over and over again.
This couldn't possibly be love. True, she'd never felt romantic love before, but this couldn't be it. Yet she couldn't deny that Jason's words had an effect on her that she couldn't explain. Perhaps, if it wasn't love, it could just be an appreciation for his compliments? She really had been pleased to hear those things from him, to know that they weren't empty and that he had meant it…
Damn it all, woman! Pull yourself together, you've never let honeyed words do this to you before, why start now?
She'd not even felt a trickle of this when he'd been Hoplite, he had been more of an automaton back then, but now that he was a man, things were changing. She shook her head, he'd always been a man, he was just free of his servitude now… And now look at what he wanted to do with that freedom, he wanted to save Ahkoolis from the Pillar-Born, not just for himself or for his fellow Outworlders, but for her.
If that wasn't love then she didn't know what was. Jason was so kind compared to Hoplite, willing to put himself in danger for people who had nothing to do with him. He may not know what romantic love feels like either, but Jason might just be feeling it too, at a higher level than she could even, given his Dragon-blood. Like Lithia said, he was attached to her already, showering her with praise and going out of his way to make sure she was alright. So why not return that love? She buried her face between her knees as her mind became a battleground.
Again, something like that between them wasn't feasible. He was descended from the Pillars themselves, and while he wouldn't go mad from it, she was just a mere mortal. What if the Pillars decided to smite her for it? They had only known one another for a few weeks as well, love simply couldn't form so soon, right? Not only that, but he wasn't even from the same world as her, he came from outside Ahkoolis, though his blood did originate here. She attempted to think of a reason that his nature as an Outworlder would be an obstacle, but her mind failed her, instead drifting to reasons that she wanted to reciprocate.
He hadn't lied to her when he'd told her she was beautiful, he didn't have any sort of perverse motive for saying it either. Jason, despite being a massive brute of a man, wasn't hideous, his face had a sort of ruggedness to it that she could appreciate. He was willing to put his life on the line for her and Ahkoolis. He also wanted to take the time to explore this world, to appreciate its beauty as she did, and they would both have all eternity to do exactly that together, his divine blood meant he'd live as long as she would…
Forever.
She turned the details over again and again, feeling less conflicted the more she thought about it. Eventually, she stood, taking a deep breath as she made her decision. There really was no choice about it, they should not be together. Everything about it was impossible in her eyes, so the logical thing would be to deny him, to leave things as they were. That would be the right thing to do… but unfortunately she couldn't deny her own selfish desires.
If Jason would have her, then Lance would be his.
It felt odd, just accepting it like this, but it was her decision. She didn't really know why she determined that this would be the path she'd take, but did it really matter? Fate was strange sometimes, wasn't it? It would need to be him to ask her though, she'd not throw herself at him like some hussy. If Jason wanted her, he'd be the one to give chase. It was for the best this way, he hadn't figured out his own feelings, or was even aware of them in the first place, so it would be quite some time before he'd commit to her. Her ears felt like magma for having so casually made this choice, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to care.
Maybe, just maybe, it was because she did love him. It was ludicrous, but mother had always warned her that such feelings often were. Her damn cousins would be laughing if they ever found out about this, but thankfully she was in the Fiendwood, meaning she'd die before they'd have a chance to find out. She sighed as she re-entered the chamber, seeing the man she'd chosen sitting before Lithia's throne, eyes shut firmly as he focused.
"I'm telling you, little Dragon, teleporting is beyond your current scope. Talented as you may be, you haven't yet built the strength to draw on the Foundation needed to do it. It takes decades of training for the average person to reach that level." Lithia explained, "Meaning that, for a genius like you, it would take years."
Jason frowned, "I want to learn the basics of it, so I can cast it in the future when I am ready."
"I see, in that case, imagine the place you want to go, construct it perfectly in your mind's eye, then picture yourself disintegrating into a billion pieces, reforming into the landscape you desire to reach." Lithia told him.
"Affirmative." Jason replied, opening his eyes, "I will remember that. Now, is there a spell for flight, a spell to make others see in the dark, one that can create water, a spell to summon fire or ice, or-"
Lithia held up a hand, "Be silent!" She urged, "I'd swear that you could talk over yourself if it were possible."
"Is there a spell to project my voice in another location?" He asked, "Or one that can amplify it?"
"Yes for all, but you either don't have the power yet or they would take days to learn, you do not have days. Pick a few you want most of all, the rest you'll need to figure out on your own." Lithia said, "But right now, Lance needs to feel the hate. I'll leave you with this, projecting your voice is much the same as teleportation, just on a smaller scale. Imagine your words emerging from another place, likely one within sight, and channel through the House of Fikchon."
"Affirmative." He replied, standing before turning to face Lance, "Good luck."
She hesitated, "I'll do my best."
Jason nodded before putting space between himself and Lance, sitting at the far end of the chamber with closed eyes.
"I can tell." Lithia said with a smile, "You've made your choice."
Lance suppressed a growl, "And what of it?"
Surprisingly, the Spiral Queen gave her a warm grin, "It will work out for you, perhaps you could go into brewing together. Now, are you ready?"
She blinked before nodding, "I am."