Explorer of Edregon

"Vin!" Lumel gasped, making her book vanish with a flash of purple as she jumped up to greet him. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon!"

Before he'd surprised her, Lumel had been lounging in a remarkably fancy looking chair only a few dozen feet from the corridor entrance to the Earthers' dungeon. Based on the book in hand and the plate of crumbs lying on the ground beside her, it looked as though he might have interrupted her lazy morning.

"Sorry, Lumel, I didn't mean to bother you while you were eating," Vin smiled apologetically, pulling a bottle of cooking oil from his pack. "Maybe this will make up for it?"

"I suppose I can forgive you just this once," Lumel teased, returning his smile as she took the oil from him. Noticing the strange container, her eyes flicked down to the bottle as she examined it. "What material is this? It feels soft and pliable, yet sturdy at the same time."

"Ah… Yeah, that's called plastic," Vin said, unable to hide his chuckle as Lumel brought the bottle closer to her face and investigated the foreign material more closely. "Don't ask me how it's made. All I know is it has something to do with oil."

"It's made of the same stuff it's holding?" Lumel asked, looking even more confused.

"No… It's a different type of oil not used for cooking. We get it from deep underground and use it for plastics and fuel and stuff." Vin paused, realizing he probably wasn't helping the pulmon's confusion. "…You know what, sorry I said anything. I'm nowhere near knowledgeable enough to try and explain this stuff."

"Only Sages are expected to have all the answers," Lumel said, giving him a warm smile as she made the bottle vanish with another flash of purple. "And seriously, don't worry about interrupting my meal. You're welcome to come say hello anytime! I don't own the Underside after all."

"I mean, you are the only one living in it," Vin pointed out, gesturing around the giant empty room they stood in. Other than the stone frame in the dead center, the only things filling the massive cavern were Lumel's few belongings she had strewn about. Vin spotted the silk blanket he'd given her bundled up inside her chair, and he couldn't help but smile at the realization she'd already gotten some use out of the gift.

Tracking his eyes, Lumel's face heated up as she spotted the clearly used blanket. Clearing her throat, she gave him a pointed smile. "Yes, well, just because I live here doesn't mean I own it. And before I forget, thank you again for the blanket. It was just as soft and warm as it looked."

"Trust me, I know. I think that was half the reason I accidentally overslept this morning. It was like sleeping with a warm cloud wrapped around me!"

"It really was! I half felt like I was back in my bed within the palace!"

The two of them chuckled nervously for a few seconds, sharing awkward smiles as the conversation died. Vin's heart began to race slightly as he realized Lumel looked just as uncertain as he felt. Before he could say anything more however, she perked up, as if only just remembering that he'd dropped by unexpectedly.

"So… If it wasn't just to drop off the oil, why did you stop by? Already running into your first hurdle with Dimensional Sheath?"

"I wish. I haven't even gotten the chance to try it yet," Vin admitted. "I ran into a friend after we finished talking last night and spent some time chatting with him, and after that I was too tired to do anything when I finally got back to my room. Then I slept through breakfast, and by the time I woke up, I had to run to make the council meeting."

"Well it's nice that you have some friends other than your team," Lumel smiled. "Think you'll ever introduce him to the Underside?"

"Actually, now that you mention it…" Vin paused, realizing the Underside would be perfect for Theodore. The corridors would allow him to sneak in and out of fragments undetected, and most of the dungeon entrances were located fairly close to the different settlements they'd encountered. Not to mention that until they came up with some method of long-range communication, the Spy would need a way to quickly travel to and from camp to deliver his reports. He'd need some way to get past the monsters, but that seemed like a problem for later. "…the Underside would actually be pretty perfect for him. Though I don't know if he'll ever get the option for the Dungeoneering skill. He's a Spy."

"Ah. That's a class I am more than familiar with," Lumel said, her smile wavering at the news. "Our kingdom of pulmons was not the only one on my world. The seven great lakes each held their own, and my people encountered our fair share of spies over the years. The Underside would definitely be useful for your friend."

"Maybe if I have him spend some time living inside the forest dungeon it will give him the option to take the skill…" Vin mused, wondering how exactly he could get Theodore on board with the idea. Technically, he supposed he could just order the man as Vin was officially his boss, but he really didn't like the idea of throwing his authority around like that.

"As much as I dislike Spies… I might have a solution," Lumel sighed, drawing Vin's attention back toward herself and blushing as his eyes landed on her. "Remember, I haven't just been wasting my days away down here. I've been studying the many strange dimensional fluctuations of the Underside. I still have a lot to learn, but I think I've figured out a way to grant others access to the corridors. They'll still be locked out of traveling to portions of the Underside they haven't been to yet on Edregon proper, but at least they'll be able to come down here."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Seriously? That's great news! Way to go!" Vin cheered, causing Lumel to blush even harder. Vin's eyes flickered briefly toward the mass of blood pooling in her face under her transparent skin, but a quick glance at her embarrassed expression and the way her eyes nervously moved down toward the ground as she tried to figure out what to do with her hands just made him smile even wider.

Lumel was rather cute once you got past the skin issue.

"Thanks," she finally managed, scuffing a foot against the strange floor. "Once I've built and tested a prototype, I'll make enough for your team so that they aren't reliant on you holding the door open for them all the time."

"I'm sure they'll appreciate that," Vin chuckled. Blinking, he realized they'd gotten off topic again. Chatting with Lumel just felt so natural that their conversations would often spiral all over the place unless he kept himself in check. "Not to bring down the mood, but I was actually hoping to ask for your advice on something."

"Oh, of course," Lumel said, snapping to attention and gesturing for them to take the stone chairs they'd used while chatting last night. "What's up?"

"So we have this prisoner," Vin began, wondering where he even wanted to begin. "Long story short, he's a real piece of work. I've heard Spur has already had numerous issues with him, and I've personally caught him shaking down some of our fresh Earthers, which is why he's currently in prison. When I went to visit him today to apologize for accidentally hurting him, he basically came right out and told me to my face as soon as he was stronger than me he'd kill us all and do whatever he wanted. He's a combat class, if that bit wasn't evident."

"Sorry you have to deal with someone like that," Lumel said, giving him a sad smile. "How can I help?"

"I'm planning on telling Spur everything he threatened, but I'm pretty sure the end result is that Spur's just going to straight-up kill him," Vin admitted, thinking back to how Spur handled General Lones. "It wouldn't be the first time Spur's preemptively executed someone he thought would be a problem for camp. I know the guy in question brought it upon himself with everything he's done or threatened to do, but still…"

To his surprise, just like last night, Lumel raised a hand as if she were going to comfort him, before hesitating. Only this time, rather than return her hand to her lap, she actually leaned forward and placed her hand over his own. The pulmon's unique skin was far softer than he'd been expecting, and it felt almost like her hand was made of a thick, warm gel.

"There's nothing wrong with not wanting to be the cause of someone's death," she said, squeezing his hand. "I know for a fact that even after decades of rule, my father would still keep himself up late into the night anytime he was forced to sentence anyone to the executioner's blade. Life is a sacred thing, but it's also because it's so sacred that we must make the hard decisions sometimes. Tell me, if this man in question lives, do you believe others will end up suffering?"

"Absolutely. Without question," Vin nodded, remembering Kyle's promises and the threats he'd shouted at Vin's back as he left the prison. "I don't think there's any changing his mind. And I even brought back some truth-detecting magic recently that I'm sure Spur would use to confirm the man wasn't lying."

"Then there's only one thing you can do," she nodded, giving him a sad smile. "I know you'd already reached this conclusion on your own and just want confirmation that you're making the right choice, so listen carefully." Lumel waited until he was looking her in the eyes, and for the first time, he realized her black pupils were actually an extremely dark purple. "You're doing the right thing, Vin."

"Thank you," Vin said, taking a deep breath of air before letting it all out and slumping forward, feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. "Seriously, thanks Lumel. I know I could have gone and asked any of the others about this, but for some reason I wanted to hear the words come from your mouth. I thought it was because of your experiences having lived as a princess, but now…"

Vin paused, realizing he was still holding hands with the Dimensional Mage. Not only that, but the two of them were both leaning forward in their chairs, their faces shockingly close to one another. Despite being closer to her than he'd ever been before, Vin barely even noticed her skin, his attention focused solely on her dark, purple eyes that reminded him so much of her personal mana.

After a few tense seconds where neither of them moved so much as a muscle, Vin squeezed her gel-like hand, giving her a gentle smile before letting go as he slowly sat back up in his chair. As interested as he was in the Dimensional Mage, it was probably for the best that he and Lumel just stayed friends. His life was crazy enough with everything going on, and he'd completely forgotten that Lumel was a princess of all things. Sure, she'd been banished from her fragment, but there was no telling if that was truly forever. Honestly, she deserved-

There was a flash of purple, and Vin blinked as he realized Lumel was suddenly standing right in front of him, having silently cast Dimensional Shift and teleporting herself the few feet between them. The pulmon was a good bit shorter than he was, but seeing as he was still sitting, he found himself looking up at her in surprise. Before he could react, she leaned down, and planted a kiss directly onto his lips.

Vin had just enough time to think that her strange, transparent lips were the softest thing he'd ever felt, before there was another flash of purple and Lumel vanished. Blinking again, Vin slowly came to his senses as he looked around the massive empty room. As he'd expected, Lumel was nowhere to be seen.

Shaking his head, Vin chuckled as he stood up and pulled out his journal. As much as he wanted to talk about what had just happened with Lumel, she clearly needed a minute to herself. Tearing out one of the empty pages in his journal, he wrote her a quick note thanking her for her help and letting her know he'd stop by the same time tomorrow with lunch. Vin carefully placed the note on top of her fancy chair before turning and making his way back through the magical corridor connected to the Earthers' fragment.

It wasn't until he'd made it back to his room that he realized he still had a stupidly wide smile on his face.