TBATE: A Hero's Return

War Buddies Meet Again

The hallways of the palace were quiet as the leaders and royals of all of the Dicathen nations convened to start official talks. The lances of each nation elected not to join in the politics, instead deciding to talk to each other separately. It had been a while since all the remaining lances had been in the same area after all.

"It is good to see you all again," Arthur said with a bright grin. He didn't necessarily get along well with all of them, but each of the lances did their duties during the war. He had been told that his fellow lances treated protecting his family in his absence as a high priority in the years he spent in Alacrya. He knew none of them needed to do such a thing, and he was incredibly thankful and touched that his comrades did so nonetheless.

Bairon especially surprised Arthur. When Scythe Viessa came to Darv to exterminate the remaining Dicathen forces, Bairon held his own against her when she had gone after Eleanor. The man worked and fought within an inch of his life to protect the young girl that he had once threatened to torture and kill. Even now as Arthur watched him, the blonde lance seemed different from the man he knew. Bairon no longer seemed arrogant, instead, a humble confidence poured out of him with every purposeful step he took.

Guards from all races lined the hallways, each of them wearing their triunion attire rather than the armor of their respective nations they had donned after the war. All of them nodded or saluted them as they walked. None of them were required to or expected to. They all did it of their own volition, indicating the level of reverence and respect they carried for the lances after their successes during the war.

The rest of the lances nodded as Varay gave an uncharacteristic smile. "Likewise. It has been too long. I am happy to see you alive and safe, Arthur."

Bairon continued. "Agreed. I just wish we were meeting under better circumstances. The separation of the races after the war is truly sad. I was hoping the bonds made during the war would keep us unified, but it doesn't seem like it will be the case."

They finally made it to the private chambers area of the palace. Due to the sheer size of the event, nearly every conference room was booked for talks and conversations among various officials, so the lances planned on catching up in one of the rooms in the guest room hall of the palace.

Bairon opened the door to a room that was supposed to be empty to a sight that was at all but what he had expected. Two helmets, pairs of shoulder guards, chest plates, and other various pieces of two triunion armor sets were littered across the room. Furniture was strewn across the room, with a chair knocked on its side while a table was upside down. Two pairs of handcuffs were tied to the bedpost, with no limb of any sort within the other side. The air was hot and filled with the distinct and unique smells of coupling.

Shrieks were soon heard as the male elf and female human threw the bed covers they were on top of over them, both faces flushed red with the embarrassment that they were caught in the act by possibly the worst possible group of mages to catch them.

Varay looked unamused by the sight in front of her. She turned to the female guard and spoke, disappointment evident in her tone. "Burakku, what is the meaning of this? This is not the time and place for such behavior!"

Aya pinched the brow of her nose in disappointment before speaking to the elf. "Lancelot, I put up with your crap because you are great at your job. At home is one thing, but here at such an important venue? Do something like this again and you will see a side of me you wish you never saw again."

The male elf opened his mouth to speak but was immediately cut off by Aya. "Don't you dare somehow turn that into a sexually charged joke." The male elf shut his mouth and nodded, making it clear that that was indeed what he was thinking of doing.

The lances walked out of the room soon after, most not exactly sure of what to say after the scene they had accidentally walked into.

Mica then spoke up, saying, "Well, at least we don't need to worry about those two. They look plenty unified."

Arthur chuckled at the joke while Mica and Aya were laughing boisterously. Bairon and Varay both tried to keep straight expressions on their faces as they shook their heads, but their lips curled up in amusement.

Mica turned to Arthur before continuing. "Speaking of 'unifying,' when are you going to ask Princess Tessia out?"

Arthur took a step back, alarmed and shocked by the sudden shift in the conversation. "W-What? I don't even know what you are talking about!"

Bairon smirked. "Oh please, Arthur. We all saw how you were looking at Tessia today."

Aya jumped in. "And the glare you were giving Prince Curtis... I was almost afraid another human-elf would start - that too because two humans were fighting with each other over our princess."

Arthur groaned. "You guys have it all wrong. Tess and I are just friends."

Varay touched the young lance's shoulder. "Arthur, while I do not show the same excitement and intensity as the rest of our fellow lances, I do agree with them. If you love Tessia, you should talk to her and tell her how you feel. You can't freeze time in place, or get more of it. Don't wait. You will find yourself regretting it in the future."

After a moment of silence, Bairon began with a smile on his face. "Ok, enough talking about Arthur and his love life. I want to hear how you all have been doing. My room is close by; let's all just talk there. I have some sangria there too."

Mica followed after him. "You have sangria with you?!? Why wasn't your room the first place we went?!?"

Aya laughed as she decided to tease her dwarven comrade. "How does someone so petite have such a penchant for alcohol?"

Bairon joined in. "She is an alcoholic, obviously."

Mica, not particularly enjoying being the butt of their teasing, yelled "Hey!"

Varay started to walk after them but realized that Arthur was still standing in the same spot, thinking about what she said to him. "Arthur?"

"Hmm?" Arthur was snapped out of his daze and realized the other lances had walked ahead. "Sorry, I'm coming!" But while his body followed the others, his head was somewhere else entirely.

Why did seeing Tessia have such an effect on me today?