Author’s Note: Opening the book at random, our first date challenge is to “Find a cosy co-working place together”. Interesting premise, since Jeron and Sylus don’t exactly have traditional forms of employment. However, if we jump ahead and get a bit spoilery, I think we can work something out 😉

---

A light tap on my office door stole my attention away from the documents that scattered my desk.

“Come in.” I nearly snapped from exhaustion.

The door creaked open and a tentacle slid in, waving at me.

“Come in, Sy.” I smiled as I leaned my arms on the desk.

The door opened the rest of the way and he stepped in, closing it gingerly behind him.

“Jeron, I was not built for office work.” He grumbled.

“Neither was I, but right now that’s what we have to do.”

“I’ve written so much Qalian I’m uncertain if I remember any Anglican.”

I smiled. “At least you can write Qalian. I can barely speak it.” I leaned back in my chair. “What’s up, Sy?”

“I have a conundrum, if you will.”

“And that is?”

“I’m very bored and I’m swiftly losing focus. I figure a change of scenery may help.”

I raised a brow. “You have a place in mind?”

“There’s a café in the mountains. Around where Innaya lives.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“That we pick up the most urgent thing on our plates and take it for a little walk.”

I sighed.

“Might help with,” he motioned to the mess on my desk, “whatever the hell all that is.”

“It is a communique with Dunskye, if you cared to know.”

“That all?”

I sifted through the scattered pages. “Among… other… things…”

He snorted.

“You expect me to believe your desk looks any better, Lord Scatterbrain?”

He shrugged his massive shoulders. “I never claimed it did.”

I sighed.

“Get your penpal letter to Marcus together and we’ll go for a little weave, yeah?”

“Y-yeah… Guess I could use some fresh coffee.” I side-eyed the day old pot on a stand across the room.

“And I some tea I didn’t forget to drink. I’ll be right back.”

Sylus left the room in a drop of ink.

Was Dunskye my most pressing matter? I shuffled the pages and everything seemed to blur together. It was all important, but I couldn’t take an entire binder full of treatises with me to a café. Closing my eyes, I let my hand fall on whatever Sion’Dri decided.

Sure enough, it was my letter to Marcus Vance of Dunskye. It was a neighboring town that found itself in a similar situation as Ortzuna. As in, no Lord had laid claim to it for fear of Sylus. That also included Sylus who’d yet to start marking his territory. My intention was to ask Marcus to join an alliance of sorts so at the very least we could protect ourselves in lieu of a Lord’s boon. I have a suspicion that Dunskye has its own bed of secrets just like Ortzuna does.

Picking the scrambled pages up, I slipped them into a folder and stood up from my desk.

A drop of ink appeared in the middle of the room. A flurry of tentacles gave way to Sylus’ rotund form. He held under his arm a golden grimoire; something to do with the Xanthous Court.

“Shall we?” He offered me his hand.

Tired, but smiling, I took it.

---

In the blink of an eye, we appeared outside Innaya’s towering stone-work home. The mountain air was so different from that of the sea that it always took me a few breaths to acclimate.

Behind us stretched a cobblestone street lined with shops and homes. A tiny town, much like Ortzuna, that seemed untouched by the Void, unlike Ortzuna. A hidden gem, as Innaya would call it.

We made our way down a few blocks before arriving at the café Sylus had in mind.

Another stone building with a bright green awning handing over wrought iron outdoor seating. A sign hung from an iron arm protruding from beside the door:

Northwind Cafe and Sundries

A bell chimed as we opened the solid wood door. The cozy warmth of brewing beverages washed over us.

Drifting straight for the counter, we found our place on a relatively short line. Sylus stood beside me humming his little tune and I absently leaned against his arm.

“I’ll have a large chai, please.” His gruff voice brought me back to reality.

“Oh, and I’ll, uh, have,” I glanced up at the menu, “a mocha latte. Please. Thank you.”

Sylus beamed as he paid for our drinks.

We made our way to a window table. Around the room were tables and shelves of various snacks and baked goods. Soft music played to match the gentle atmosphere we’d found ourselves in.

All I really knew anymore was war and politics. Quiet moments were few and far between. Most of them were just lying in bed with Sylus and passing out near instantly.

But a café? A free café devoid of Lords and their influences? No raucous noises? No fear of death looming just outside? A place where daylight still dawned and eternal darkness had yet overtaken it?

I closed my eyes and considering forgetting about the folder I held under my arm.

I felt Sylus’ presence disappear only to return a moment later. The scent of fresh brewed coffee filled my nose. I sighed.

“This is nice.” I opened my eyes to find him leaned back in his chair, reading glasses on, tea in one hand, and his golden grimoire open and leaning against his crossed mountainous legs. I cleared my throat as I placed my folder on the table.

Starry eyes smiled as I forced myself to get to work. I glanced up at him and met his beaming gaze.

Clearing my throat again, I got to work.

Every so often his gentle humming would rise above the ambient music. I’d glance up and find him working some magic over the pages of his tome. Whatever he was doing was far more Voidal than my simple, hand-written letter. He looked almost sagely sitting there with his legs folded, glasses settled on the tip of his nose, the occasional tentacle-tongue slipping through his lips when intense concentration came into play.

As for me, the change of scenery really did help. I was finally able to put my words together exactly how I wanted to. All the necessary details and none of the nervous fluff I’d filled it with before. Instead of five pages, it was two. Pleased with my work, I sat back and took a long sip of my coffee which was still hot.

“I got you a refill.” Sylus answered the question that flashed through my mind. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not.” I put all the pages back in my folder and closed it.

“Finish your communique?” He smiled over his grimoire.

“I think so. Might sleep on it to see if I come up with any other anxiety-induced alterations.”

“You sound like me.” He unfolded his leg and laid the book down on the table.

“And what were you doing all this time?”

He groaned. “Writing a letter of my own to the Xanthous Lord. Stubborn bastard won’t even read it if it’s not written a certain way. Qalian, yes, but the dialect? The hue? Pah! All that just for an audience I probably won’t even be granted.”

“Your both Lords, can’t you just talk to each other like equals?”

“Half-breed, Jeron. I’m a half-breed, remember?”

“Yeah…” I sighed. “But a Lord’s a Lord, right?”

He chuckled. “I wish.” He clapped the book shut. “It just so happens I finished my latest attempt at a missive as well.”

“How was your chai?”

“Delicious. And yours?”

I took a fresh sip so I could actually taste it for once. “Mmm. I’d come back.”

“As would I.” He sniffed the air. “I can smell the fresh-baked bread.”

“Wanna grab a bite?”

“If I grabbed a bite, I’d have to start feasting. I’m hungry, yes, but a place like this couldn’t even begin to sate me and I’d hate to eat them out of everything they have.”

“Then a hunt it is.” I leaned across the table and kissed him softly on the lips. “Take me home so I can send this before I worry about it all night.”

“As you wish, Love.”