Written Wonderland

At the sound of Lance's laugh, Mizu's stomach erupted into butterflies, though she managed not to let it show in her face or her gestures. She was still diligent in unstrapping her armor, having undone the first set of straps and moving onto the second.

"Oh, definitely," Lance said, his tone indicating to her that he was hitting some kind of stride, leading her on in exactly the sort of way she hoped for.

"Though I doubt the king ventured out into the woods--I've also heard that you can summon her, if you chant her name in the night."

Mizu willed her fingers not to quicken the pace as Lance unstrapped his sheathe and leaned over her to set his sword next to hers. She tried to prevent her mind from tangling with that euphemism, but it warmed her below the belt regardless.

Mizu thought for a moment that Lance might say the goddess' name next, and when he didn't, it occurred to Mizu that almost no one had said it to her in all this time. The commander knew what the king called the goddess and what the temples to her were called, but most people sidestepped actually saying it aloud. Especially Evan, now that Mizu was thinking about it.

Mizu finished with the second set of straps and set her leather chest plate aside next to the swords, feeling considerably lighter. She started working on her vambraces next, her lithe fingers slipping the leather belts around their buckles as she had done hundreds of times before.

"Evan even confirmed that she likes the sound of her name," Lance added, and Mizu couldn't help but imagine the ways her captain might have spoken such a name in order to summon the goddess... without his commander's permission. Yes, perhaps there was a power in keeping a name as powerful as that hushed in shadows.

"It would have been risky," Lance continued, "I've heard you can get some kind of drunk even just saying it, at least if you're doing it right, and she's not going to leave without satisfaction--and who knows what will satisfy her on a given night."

Mizu slid one vambrace off and moved to the other, looking at Lance with a quick smirk and a quirked eyebrow before she did so, saying, "Insanity? Rape? A child?" She could hardly believe that she was nearly joking about the realities that faced her soldiers, but in the moment with Lance, it all felt like a campfire tale, a ghost story. The fact that it danced with reality only made it all the more exciting in this context.

Lance was growing a little self-conscious as he watched Mizu pull off her vambraces--he'd gotten rather lax about donning his armor these past few days, as had much of their ranks, and he wondered if Mizu was frustrated or judgmental about that fact. In the very least, he didn't feel he had a similar garment to work on, but perhaps his tale was enough to feel equitable in that respect.

"Insanity? Rape? A child?"

Mizu replied with a quick smirk and quirked eyebrow, and Lance let out a quick, surprised laugh as he gave Mizu a shrug, his hand gesturing towards her like, you've got a point, though in the next moment it curled all its fingers together but one, an important point to raise.

"The child bit is new, as far as I know," he said, his eyebrows tall with the earnest revelation, though he relaxed back into his storytelling expression in short order. "But yeah, chances are you're in for a harrowing night, assuming she doesn't take you with her for keeps."

Lance laughed again and shrugged, and Mizu was grateful that she hadn't darkened the mood. Again, she thought, it had been an attempt at permission. She didn't want him to be afraid of details with her. She'd had enough of the vagueries of the past few days. She could do with something concrete.

Mizu slid her second vambrace off and looked up at Lance to see him raising an index finger into the air a little as he said, "The child bit is new, as far as I know." And Lance's eyebrows went so far up on his forehead that, for a moment, Mizu thought they might escape entirely. She fought the urge to laugh but instead bent down gracefully such that she was even closer to Lance, albeit off to one side, to start unbuckling her one of her greaves. She peeked up for a moment between his legs with her peripheral version, and that warm feeling from earlier spread through her again. This was going well, yes? They were doing this?

"But yeah, chances are you're in for a harrowing night, assuming she doesn't take you with her for keeps." Mizu waited to respond until she had finished with the first greave, standing up and taking a step to set it with the rest of her armor.

"Even more harrowing if she does," Mizu said, looking at Lance for a moment with a mirth in her eyes, only in her eyes, before reaching down for the second greave.

"She didn't keep Ciric, though. Or, not for long. And if the child bit is new... maybe it's something he wanted. Rutliff, at least, has bargained with the goddess at least on our behalf. Isn't that part of the stories?"

Butterflies began to dance in Lance's stomach as Mizu leaned down to take off her greaves, undeterred by Lance's close proximity. He had to admit, there was something absolutely thrilling about the commander of the army dipping her head below his belt, albeit with at least some layer of plausible deniability still present.

"Even more harrowing if she does," Mizu replied on her way back up, a mirth in her eyes that Lance pleasantly latched onto. He was happy that he was starting to see more of her, even through the thick veil of stoicism she seemed to still wear in the rest of her expression.

"She didn't keep Ciric, though," Mizu added as she leaned back down to remove her second greave. "Or, not for long. And if the child bit is new... maybe it's something he wanted. Rutliff, at least, has bargained with the goddess at least on our behalf. Isn't that part of the stories?"

Lance admittedly turned thoughtful at this, his gaze drifting a little and his arms crossing over his chest as he pondered the fact that negotiation had actually been pretty absent from the stories he'd heard.

"Not really...." he admitted, "or at least, not in the stories most people have been telling the past couple days. Every one that I've heard says the goddess gets anything and everything she wants, and there's not much you can do to stop it."

Lance shook his head slightly, shifting his weight and detangling his arms. One hand settled on his hip, the other relaxing to his side as he returned his gaze back down to Mizu, a smile settling back into his expression as he pulled himself out of the darker stories and back into the reality he was actually in.

"Seems that's a place that fact and fiction diverge, though, if both Ciric and Rutliff have managed to get something they wanted from her. Don't suppose Evan gave you any notion of how he managed it?"

He worried a little bit that asking about Evan might divert them in the wrong direction, but Lance balanced that with a bit of boldness; once Mizu deposited her second greave, Lance stepped towards her and reached a hand out to gently caress over her hip at the hem of her shirt, lightly starting to brush it upwards. His eyes flicked down to his hand and returned to Mizu's gaze with a questioning quirk of his eyebrow and a steadfast smile, not quite waiting for permission, but acknowledging the opportunity for rejection or redirection if she didn't like where he was going. Lacking that, he was quite prepared to follow through on at least caressing his hand up under her tunic, even just the thought of touching the bare skin of her torso sending an excited thrill through him.

Mizu continued fiddling with her second greave, needing to look down to make sure the strap did not catch on the buckle, while Lance replied.

"Not really...." he admitted, "Every one that I've heard says the goddess gets anything and everything she wants, and there's not much you can do to stop it." Mizu thought that was a bit odd. It seemed they had done little but negotiate with the goddess in the preceding days. Hell, the goddess even came to negotiate directly with Mizu. But, then again, none of those were particularly direct encounters. The commander was operating on the fringes of the situation in most regards.

"Seems that's a place that fact and fiction diverge, though, if both Ciric and Rutliff have managed to get something they wanted from her. Don't suppose Evan gave you any notion of how he managed it?" Mizu broke into a smile, knowing that, as much as Evan might have tried to obscure it, there was a fair bit of lasciviousness in that explanation.

Having extricated her calf from the greave, Mizu managed to collect herself and turn back to deposit the last piece of her armor with the rest. Before she could plan how to answer, Lance stepped toward her, and his hand brushed over her hip where the hem of her army tank covered the hem of her pants. Her eyes flicked down to his hand in surprise, watching as his thumb flipped up some of the fabric but not enough to show her skin. A wash of excitement flooded through her, accompanied by a fear she wasn't accustomed to. She hadn't expected Lance to make a move quite so soon.

She could not help but look up at his face, her mouth parted slightly both in surprise and anticipation. He was still smiling, though it was a calmer smile now, and his eyebrow lifted as though to gage her reaction. Mizu closed her mouth and reached down to gasp the hand that had begun to explore. Her grip was tight around his wrist, and she grabbed the other wrist as soon as Lance tried to struggle or move, leveraging her advantage to pull both Lance's arms above his head while she held his hands behind his shoulders. She stayed like that for a moment, in this strange hug, breathing against Lance's neck with their bodies touching. Finally, she let his hands go, slowly, but kept her arms around him, even, after a moment, pulling him closer to her in the embrace.

"I have some idea," she said, smiling a little against the warmth of Lance's ear.

A delighted glee fluttered through Lance when Mizu met his gaze with a parted-lip expression of surprise at his touch, but it was followed shortly after by a rush of worry when she grasped his wrist--had he been too bold and wasted his chance? He lightly tugged his hand back, prepared to lift his hands up in lighthearted surrender as he'd done before, signal to Mizu that he didn't intend to push his way forward if it didn't please her, but Mizu held tight to his wrist, and even reached over to grab his other. Before he could quite catch his bearings, Mizu had his arms bent by his head, his wrists pinned behind his shoulders...and Mizu's body against his, her breath warm on his neck. His heartbeat fluttered in his chest, excitement blooming in his belly even amidst the confusion of the gesture. After a moment of hitched breaths and surprised blinking, Lance felt Mizu release her grip on his wrists, though she kept her arms around him, settling into something that seemed more straightforwardly like a hug.

"I have some idea," she said, and Lance let out a soft, airy breath of a laugh, relieved to hear her engage with his previous question. This all seemed... good. A little disorienting, but good.

For a moment Lance's arms hovered awkwardly in the air, a little uncertain what they wanted to do. Finally, they settled, tentatively, over Mizu's arms, his hands smoothing over her shoulders and slowly around her back as he relaxed into the hug himself, his grin wide and nervous as he searched for how he wanted to respond. They were in such a tender position presently, but had gotten there rather playfully. Lance liked playful, but didn't want to knock the tenderness, either, especially not while he was still getting a read on Mizu.

He decided to split the difference, his arms wrapping more fully around Mizu to further warm their hug, while his lips brushed gently against her ear, a soft playful murmur dancing on his breath.

"And I don't suppose you'd care to elucidate?"

Mizu was concerned when Lance's arms didn't quite wrap around her once she had released them. Was this not the direction he wanted things to do? Was this too... tender? But, finally, he relaxed, gracing her shoulders before wrapping around her back. And, after a moment, he deepened the hug, pulling her further into him. How long had it been since she'd had a hug like this? Whatever else happened tonight, it had already been worth it for this.

Lance's lips brushed her ear as he asked, "And I don't suppose you'd care to elucidate?" A thrill went through her belly, and she took a step back, breaking slowly out of the embrace.

She brought her hands up toward her hair, grasped the band that held it up, and began to unravel it from her tight bun.

Without looking at Lance, she smiled, "Well, Captain Kade had a few suggestions for Evan's offering to the goddess tonight. None of which ended up being relevant, granted." Having wrested the band from her hair, she began scratching at her scalp, letting the soft waves of her normally straight hair fall out as they may. "They didn't seem much beyond what Evan had been prepared to offer the goddess himself."

She stepped back toward Lance, eager to have her arms around his neck again, though she kept some distance between the rest of their bodies. She tilted her head, her smile coming a little more easily now. "Body paint was mentioned, a tattoo was considered. Rope--in place of clothing--was a genuine possibility."

Lance was a little disappointed when Mizu began to pull away, but he kept himself graceful and steady, optimistic that this would be a temporary disentanglement. His optimism only grew when Mizu reached for her hair, and began to unravel it. Lance didn't think he'd ever once seen it outside of its smooth, tight bun, and a splash of excitement warmed his belly that she was taking it down. His own hair wasn't nearly so momentous, but ever in the spirit of keeping up with her, he did reach back to undo his own hair from the casual half-pony he favored.

"Well, Captain Kade had a few suggestions for Evan's offering to the goddess tonight. None of which ended up being relevant, granted."

Lance's eyebrows raised with curiosity as he ruffled out his hair; he would love to hear Kade's notions of offerings to the goddess of dreams and desire. Mizu gently rubbed at her scalp, her hair falling from the bun in soft cascades. It was a genuinely beautiful sight, and Lance couldn't help feeling honored, the warmth of it settling into his chest.

"They didn't seem much beyond what Evan had been prepared to offer the goddess himself."

Mizu turned her attention back to Lance, stepping towards him and lacing her arms over his neck, though she kept some space between their bodies. Lance caressed the palms of his hands from her elbows to her shoulders, finally settling them on her back just under her shoulder blades. She tilted her head to him, smiling with more of her expression, and Lance drank in the sight.

"Body paint was mentioned," she continued, stirring another flutter of excitement in his chest. "A tattoo was considered. Rope--in place of clothing--was a genuine possibility."

Lance gave a soft hum of intrigue and approval, his body starting to sway slightly without him realizing, like silent music was wafting in from the distance.

"I do believe one of the other volunteers plans to clad himself in only flowers," Lance offered, though in hindsight, it occurred to him that Mizu might already know, if she'd been talking to Kade about offerings earlier.

"A tattoo does sound right up Evan's alley," he added, the sway to his body becoming more pronounced and entering his own attention. He raised his eyebrows with a fresh hint of playfulness, his hip venturing into a figure-eight to clarify his nonverbal invitation to move with him, whatever inspiration might strike.

Lance hummed in response, and he ran his palms gently over her elbows and shoulders. Then, when Lance's hands rested on the lowest part of Mizu's shoulder blades, the man started to sway seemingly without knowing. Mizu let him pull her slightly in one direction and then the next.

"I do believe one of the other volunteers plans to clad himself in only flowers," Lance said. Mizu nodded. It made sense. Although, she imagined it would make it difficult not to stare at the man while she attended the ceremony tomorrow.

"A tattoo does sound right up Evan's alley," Lance added, and his swaying increased such that Mizu found herself pulled nearly to dancing. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it. On the one hand, she felt a giddiness bubbling up from within her at the idea and the motion, but on the other, it felt absurd. She had fantasized about watching Lance dance, not dancing herself.

His hips moved in a figure-eight motion, and Mizu was reminded of the way Lance had subtly thrust in her direction after they had sparred. It seemed she was still following and understanding his cues correctly. But, she couldn't--or wouldn't--join him in this one. She pulled him closer on one of his sways, raising a hand up to stroke his newly freed hair, and then when he swayed in the other direction, she backed fully out of the embrace with the smallest shadow of a smile on her features. Afterward, Mizu sat down on the cot, pulling her fingers through her hair as it began to straighten itself out, and watched Lance for a moment.

"Whatever Evan did bring the goddess tonight, he kept a secret from me," Mizu said, staring down with disdain at some stray strands of her hair between her fingers. "But the way Evan tells it, she sounds just as taken with him as he is with her." She dropped her hair, then, looking up at Lance with curiosity.

At first Mizu pulled Lance closer, which he wasn't about to complain about. She ran her fingers through his hair, and he closed his eyes serenely for a moment as he leaned into the sensation. Then, she backed away, and Lance's eyes opened to find her again, his smile faltering just subtly. He caught a shadow of a smile in her expression, though, and she sat down on the cot, her eyes still on him, and he found the resolve to keep moving, though he kept it decently subtle; rather than making any grand poses or gestures, he was mostly focusing on tightening and releasing muscles in patterns that flowed through him pleasantly, pulling his body in slow, languorous oscillations, his arms slowly and ostensibly absent-mindedly tracing his figure as he moved.

"Whatever Evan did bring the goddess tonight, he kept a secret from me," Mizu said. "But the way Evan tells it, she sounds just as taken with him as he is with her."

Lance kept moving as he contemplated this, his arms briefly crossing as though to think, but moving out of the pose just as smoothly as they'd entered it; using the excuse of the position to move one hand across his collarbone and up the side of his neck and through his hair, the other reaching across his body to the opposite hip before returning to tracing his waistline on its original side. His eyes flicked between Mizu and other places in the tent, playing at a show of aloofness.

"Leave it to him to woo a frickin god," Lance finally said, twirling to face away from Mizu as he did so, and ultimately tossing a playful glance back towards her over his shoulder, giving a sort of half-shrug as his hand made a playfully dismissive gesture in the air. Was he being ridiculous? Maybe. Probably. He used the glance over his shoulder to assess what he could of Mizu's expression, hoping to catch a hint that she was enjoying the show.