Enoria is preparing for war with Irithara, and the team sans Kaleth are doing the best they can to put a stop to it before it progresses even further.
Their plan? Find Mereria, get her help with killing Relioth, and save Kaleth in the process. They...
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It didn't take long for Mel to find an outfit he liked, which were dark blue jeans, red and white sneakers, a gray t-shirt, and a blue and red plaid shirt. What he didn't like were the prices.
Even now, on their way back to Enbrant—they'd gone to a different city because Kaleth had said he didn't want to deal with the press—Mel couldn't help but feel bad about how much Kaleth had spent for the clothes. Even just the shirt cost more than Mel had ever had at once.
Kaleth had insisted that he had more than enough money, and that he wouldn't let Mel buy subpar clothes, but this still seemed like too much. And to make matters worse, Kaleth didn't seem to like what Mel had chosen. He hadn't said anything yet, but Mel could tell he wasn't happy.
Actually, that wasn't the biggest issue Mel was currently pondering. He'd thought his and Kaleth's relationship would change after the kiss, but so far it hadn't. Nothing that was all that couple-y had happened in the last two hours, and it was very disappointing.
Mel was incredibly afraid of even approaching the subject, though. He didn't want to make things between them awkward, but the fact that he had no idea what Kaleth's point of view on the subject matter was was really frustrating. Mel wished he knew if Kaleth's issue with showing affection was just because they'd been around many other people, or if it were something else.
Mel's eyes widened as he realized how to find an answer to that question. They were alone in a car, and Kaleth was currently talking to Yris on the phone. He didn't seem to be very happy about whatever they were talking about, but Mel wasn't really paying attention to the conversation.
He was looking at Kaleth's other hand, which was in between the front seat, the fingers tapping out a rhythm Mel didn't know. All Mel had to do was touch it and see how Kaleth reacted. If he didn't pull the hand away, this was all definitely just Kaleth's inability to do these things in public. If he did, it was probably Mel's fault somehow.
Feeling his heart hammer in his chest almost painfully, Mel reached out with his hand slowly and gently placed it over Kaleth's. The man didn't react for a second except for tensing up, but he almost immediately relaxed and turned his hand over, interlocking his fingers with Mel's.
Mel's face broke into a wide, ecstatic smile, which Kaleth answered with a smaller one. Unfortunately, the smile didn't stay for long.
"Hidarion is there with you?" Kaleth asked into the phone, squeezing Mel's hand more tightly to indicate that he wasn't ignoring him. At least, that was what Mel assumed it meant. Either way, it made him very happy. Kaleth's hand was surprisingly soft for someone who fought for a living, but Mel supposed it made sense since until now, Kaleth had been using guns, not swords.
"Irif did what?" Kaleth suddenly exclaimed, and Mel gave him a look of concern. He hadn't seen him this angry in a while. Although, Kaleth was still more prone to anger than before. That had been very disappointing to realize. Mel had really thought it was all an act to fool others into thinking Relioth was controlling him, but it hadn't. Kaleth's new power was what had made him angrier and more violent, not Relioth.
