The Silvermoon Academy

A heavy groan escaped Nathanis' lips as he collapsed into his evening chair near the center of his living room. Guard duty had been tedious at best but the ending note had really left a sour taste in his mouth. The aroma of sweat and cooling rain was soaked into his hair and clothing, soaking into the fabric of the chair. In his left hand was a crumpled piece of parchment, soaked from the rain and stained with now running ink.

Upstairs, he could hear Lietha rummaging about. He figured she had heard him come in and would soon be bounding down the stairs to discuss their engagement and potential wedding. He also figured that her plans would all be ruined by his new predicament. It wasn't a conversation he was looking forward to.

"Where is that damn material?!" Lietha muttered as she tossed things about the room. She had many things to show Nathanis when he got home. Ever since her class let out this afternoon, she'd been running around the city looking for wedding things, materials for her dress, food samples, checking on the price to set two baby hawkstriders free at the time they were finally pronounced man and wife...

The heavy groan downstairs alerted her that her fiance was finally home. After running about for a few more things, she set everything on the bed and went into stealth mode to surprise him.

Silently, she crept down the stairs, a huge grin upon her face. When she saw Nathanis' expression, however, her grin faltered. She furrowed her brows, nearly losing her stealth as well. She saw that he held a piece of paper in his hand. Quickly, she crept over to see what this was all about.

"YOU'RE BEING DEPLOYED?!"

Nathanis bolted up in his chair, caught off guard by his yelling fiancee. Still dripping wet, he took only a second to catch himself and give her a small nod in reply. He looked down at the crumpled, wet paper in his hand as if to confirm what was written on it before looking back up at her.

"One of our professors is being sent as a diplomatic envoy to some joint venture between the Horde and Alliance," he started as he pushed himself onto his still aching feet. "It's involving some clean-up regarding the remaining pockets of the Twilight Hammer and she'll need a personal bodyguard."

He gave her a false smile and crumpled up the paper in his hand before throwing it onto a nearby table.

"Guess who got picked."

Lietha narrowed her eyes, quirking an eyebrow. Hearing that her fiance was going to be guarding a female awoke the green monster living inside her.

"She? Who is she?" she demanded in a dangerous voice, crossing her arms.

"Huh? She?"

Nathanis looked dumbfounded for a moment before the meaning finally sank in. He gave her a shrug and pushed himself to his feet. He ran his fingers through his hair, the water dripping wildly as he did so.

"One of the magistry professors. Moonwalk or something like that."

Giving Lietha a warm smile, he kissed her on the cheek and trudged into the kitchen to find something warm to eat. He could sense the tone in Lietha's voice, but wasn't sure how to approach her without raising any unwarranted suspicions.

"One of the magistry professors. Moonwalk or something like that."

Lietha's eyes narrowed. The same seemed familiar...and wasn't one of the Magistry professors--

"Moonstride? Ashinara Moonstride?!" she said loudly as she spun and went after Nathanis into the kitchen. Her mess of a take-out dinner was spread over the counter while his box was still packed neatly at the far end of the room. She put her hands on her hips and gave him a stern look.

"I don't want you going with her alone. She's...well you just better not!"

Opening a box of his now lukewarm takeout, Nathanis popped a piece of meat in mouth and looked over to Lietha. He chewed silently for a second, then followed up his first bite with another as well as a piece of something that looked like asparagus.

"First," he raised a sauce-stained finger to illustrate. "We're being sent to some airship with a bunch of other Horde and Alliance folks to play cleanup."

He took another bite and smiled over at her as he chased it down with a drink of water from a small glass.

"Second, I last recall proposing to you," he winked. "Not some green-eyed professor needing a bodyguard."

Lietha narrowed her eyes. "All of us have green eyes." Her voice turned to a mumble. "You'd better not be hitting on someone with blue eyes..." She followed him and his dinner to the dining room.

After settling in a chair, Lietha crossed her arms. "I know her. She's...flirted with me a few times." She looked up at Nathanis. "If you cheat on me, I'll kill you."

Nathanis looked at Lietha from across the table, his box of food held up to his mouth as he shoveled in more than a mouthful of food. After a good minute of chewing and swallowing, he chuckled and nodded.

"I'm not hitting on anyone, I promise."

Setting down his now half-empty takeout box, he scratched at the growing stubble on his chin and and laughed at a thought running through his head.

"Besides, if she's flirting with you then it seems I'm playing for the wrong team if I wanted to hit on her." He raised a suspicious eyebrow at her as he said this. "Funny that you never mentioned this before."

Lietha shifted uncomfortably under the suspicious gaze of her lover. Now that the tables were turned, this wasn't so fun anymore.

"Nothing ever came of it," she mumbled quickly, flushing a bit. "And I'm not sure she confines herself to one gender."

"Well now, that's something to toss around and think about."

Nathanis laughed and grinned over at Lietha. Unfortunately, she didn't seem nearly as amused at his joke as he was. Sensing an incoming accusation, Nathanis pushed himself up from the table and walked around to hug her from behind. She was warm in his arm as he held her; a stark contrast to his cold and wet self.

"Relax," he whispered as he leaned down next to her ear. "It's just a job, nothing more. I'll be back before you know it and we'll have the wedding of your dreams."

Giving her a kiss on the cheek, he stood back up and smirked at the wet imprint he had left on her clothes when he hugged her. Taking her by the hand he pulled her from the table and smiled warmly at her.

"In the meantime, let's take a nice long bath."