The trio sat in the tavern filling their bellies as they caught up. Gemma sat a little embarrassed by her initial emotional outburst in the forest, but that didn't stop her from telling Lukas and his red-haired companion about her nightmare in the Mystic Forest.
Fiona shook her head in disgust, "I would never team up with a capital-dweller. They are too self-obsessed and would have no problem abandoning you if a better opportunity came along."
"They were the only people who would even talk to me. Plus my original teammate abandoned me too, and he wasn't from the capital," Gemma shot a scary glance toward Lukas. "Where the hell did you even go?"
Lukas gave her a sheepish grin. "Not much to tell there. Ended up walking towards a town called Tarot, saved her ass from a group of miscreants."
Fiona slugged him in the shoulder.
"You both fought outside the Mystic Forest?" Gemma interjected.
"Yeah," Fiona admitted, "we had to take on a more experienced Adventurer, too."
Gemma was floored, "You fought against an Adventurer?"
"We beat his ass," Fiona said. "Gave us a whole level."
Gemma clenched her jaw knowing how hard she had to grind to get her first level up. She recognized the familiarity and flirting between Lukas and Fiona. "So are you two officially teamed up... or like a couple?"
Fiona gave Lukas a knowing smirk, "You could say that I feel 'bound' to him." She turned her attention back to Gemma. "Of course, you are part of the team. No more hanging out with those rich, capital yahoos."
Gemma felt relieved that it was assumed she was a member of the team. She didn't know how good Fiona was, but right now, trust was more valuable to her than combat ability.
A devious smile crossed Fiona's face, "But there is some sort of initiation to join the team, thanks to Lukas' class..."
"Fiona!" Lukas gave her a stern stare down.
Lukas glanced over to Gemma, not having said too much to her since reuniting. "Did you get enough to eat? I think we probably need to talk. Alone." His eyes briefly checked with Fiona as he said the last word. An unfamiliar shiver ran down Gemma's spine as she studied Lukas' face. Despite only a week of lapsed time, he was a different man than the Adventurer who fled their argument back in Fernin.
* * *
Lukas and Gemma walked along a serene pond situated just outside Eberlorn, on the other side of the city as the Mystic Forest. It was a calm evening, with the buzz of natural sounds playing a quiet symphony in the background. Gemma's beauty reflected off the surface of the water. A gentle breeze blew through her cascading, brunette hair. Her brown eyes sparkled with curiosity, and her lips curved into a soft smile as she gazed at the tranquil scene before her.
"Gemma," Lukas finally broke the silence. He looked across the water, not able to face her for the next part. "I want to apologize for my behavior back in Fernin. I know you didn't envision ending our Scribing day that way, I'm sorry."
"I should have handled it much differently," she shot back immediately. "You obviously needed someone to listen to you... or maybe you needed space without being yelled at. I don't know, you know I'm not good at that stuff."
Lukas raised his eyebrows at Gemma's admission, she, too, had changed a lot in just a short week. A little humility made her a lot more attractive. He continued, "Well, I'm glad we're together now. I honestly was naive enough to think I wouldn't miss you, you can be a handful sometimes."
"What does that mean? I hardly ever talk! Not like you, going on about the different creatures in the forest and which guilds are best..."
"Gemma, it's not about how much you say, but what you say."
"I'm sorry I'm not a smooth talker like you, would you rather have me be a silent little submissive for you?"
Lukas chuckled nervously at her use of words.
"Gemma, I really want to be on my team, but I need to tell you about my class first." Gemma's classic, intimidating countenance returned as she focused curiously on Lukas, "You are going tell me?"
"Yes, I was always going to tell you. I just needed to do it on my own time. I have to warn you though, I doubt you will ever look at me the same way again."
Gemma nodded, not wanting to interrupt Lukas' unveiling.
"I am a Deviant Dominant. It's a powerful class, but there are a lot of sexual quirks that come with it. I can link myself with other Adventurers who chose to sexually submit themselves to me..."
"Stop! Stop! Can you repeat that again?"
As awkward as this was, Lukas was enjoying the utter disbelief that was painted on Gemma's face. Having gotten used to her default 'I'm going to break you' facial expression, he was enjoying the variety. With a sigh, he started over, reviewing the details at a slower pace for Gemma until it started clicking.
"So you convinced Fiona to sexually submit to you? And she is fine with you sleeping around? How the fuck did you pull that off?" Gemma kept firing questions at him while avoiding the inevitable conclusion.
Finally, Lukas needed to clear up any ramifications. "There's no requirement to be my Obedient subject for you to join the team, Gemma. But you have to understand the nature of my class because it will undoubtedly create a really weird group dynamic."
"No requirement? What do you mean? I can't imagine you would be interested in sex with me?" Gemma questioned.
"What are you talking about?" Lukas exclaimed, then realized you needed to tread more carefully. "Sure, we grew up together, that might be a little weird. You may have annoyed the hell out of me as a kid. But you are maturing and I can't deny that I care about you. This is the deepest conversation we've ever had, and I want more. Besides, you are drop dead gorgeous," Lukas grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes, "Gemma, I am interested in you."
Gemma stood there with her mouth gaped open. Her eyes shifted to look across the pond, unable to maintain eye contact with Lukas. Seconds ticked by while Gemma struggled to compose herself.
"Holy shit, Lukas. That's a lot."
