The ashes before Strife

Episode 15 : uniform for hate ; 4

Lumine Elgrave POV:
As I stood outside the stone and wood house in my frilly dress looking up at the clear blue sky I waited for Cayde to come out tapping my foot nervously. When we were younger we would go out all the time but now that we're older it feels much more complicated. We're getting close to marriageable age and people could easily misinterpret us being together.

Not that I'd mind it if people did think we were an item but I don't know what Cayde thinks of our relationship. Was I rushing things when I hugged him yesterday? No, that cant be. He practically asked me out on a date immediately after.

Coming to that realization I panicked silently. Wait! Is this meant to be a date?! No! What am I thinking. He obviously just wants to get together and reminisce. But what if that's not what he meant? Steam flowed out of my ears as my thoughts kept descending down the rabbit hole.

"You okay Lumy?" I turned around surprised to see Cayde wearing a white leather coat with two dangling chains and a black hood as well as the silver necklace he always had hanging around his neck with a holstered sword with a silver guard and purple core around his waist. "It's not healthy to drink alcohol in the mornings just so you know."

Offended I blurted out "I wasn't drinking! I'm not old enough yet either meany!"

He looked at me unbelievingly "then what was on your mind that would cause your face to be as red as a tomato?" He took several steps forward now just a foot away from my face as I noticed his strange hairstyle of two braids going around his head making a short ponytail while the rest of his long hair fell down his neck only slightly covering his face.

"It's umm... nothing!" It would be embarrassing if I just ask if this is meant to be a date! "Anyways I like your hair. It suits you." He stared at my still flustered expression giving an inspective look as he squinted at me until finally pulling himself away giving me room to breathe.

"Thank you. My sisters made this first but I made some changes to it." He walked off disregarding the fact he mentioned sisters freezing me with shock, he has sisters? "Hurry up Lumine, otherwise we'll have to wait in the queue!"

Being pulled out of my thoughts by his words I quickly followed behind getting to his side. "You have sisters? I thought you were an orphan."

Noticing my confusion he reached to his necklace pulling out a neatly folded picture opening it up to reveal Cayde sitting on a red couch along with two little girls, a man with similar burgundy hair to his, and a blonde-haired woman with emerald eyes "this is my family. It took me three years of adventuring but I found them. I've retired since then."

He handed me the picture and I looked at it curiously "you were an adventurer? What kind of stuff did you do?" I handed him back the picture and Cayde replied as he put it back into the ring above his necklace.

"Bits of alchemy alongside killing an ice dragon-wyrm hybrid." I looked at his face skeptically scanning for even a hint of a lie but he just had the carefree attitude he had as always but could tell he was only telling the truth.

There was only one person in recent years who had publicly killed a dragon. I then remembered my conversation with guild master Ulter and how he described that man to be with Silver eyes just like how Cayde showed me yesterday "your Incursiks partner!?"

He gave a smug smile in response "but everyone thinks it was him who killed the dragon and you are a human!" He gave me a judging stare in response thinking I was some sort of idiot before pulling me into a dark alleyway and looking about cautiously not saying a word before turning to me.

"Lumine, I know that you know I'm a demon." I stayed silent not wanting to say anything as I had a flashback to a few days after I first started playing with Cayde.