Tatehan stood in the shower, letting the water cascade over him.

He didn't use soap though. He didn't want to actually, he was bathing to cool his head anyways or he wouldn't be bathing at all.

The water was hot, almost scalding, and it felt good against his muscles—muscles that were still faintly sore from the fall (just a tiny bit), from the fight and from everything.

He closed his eyes and let his mind drift.

Except it didn't drift far.

It kept circling back to the same thing. The same person.

Lyra.

The way she'd looked when she'd knocked on his door yesterday. Stunning. The way she'd smiled at him across the table in that restaurant. Soft. The way she'd hugged him before they'd parted. Warm…Close. Lingering just a moment longer than necessary.

Crazy stuff!

Tatehan exhaled slowly, tilting his head back under the stream of water.

What the hell was he doing?

He wasn't supposed to be getting attached. He'd told himself that from the beginning. Keep his distance and stay focused.

By the way, he had killed her father. But as he spent time with her for the whole of today, he didn't feel that guilt anymore.

He had planned not to let anyone get too close, because eventually, he'd have to leave. And leaving was easier when there was nothing (no one) to leave behind.

But Lyra...

Tatehan shook his head, as if the motion could physically dislodge the thoughts.

It didn't work.

He stayed in the shower for another ten minutes, letting the water run until it started to cool. Then he finally stepped out, dried off, and pulled on a clean set of clothes.

Back in his room, Tatehan collapsed onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

He summoned a sci-fi novel from his inventory, something about starship captains and interstellar wars, and opened it to the page he'd left off on. He remembered he wasn't even done with the fantasy novel he was reading before.

Seems he could switch reading two novels.

He read the first paragraph.

Then the second.

By the third, his eyes were skimming the words without actually absorbing them.

He tried again, forcing himself to focus.

It didn't help.

His mind kept wandering. Back to Lyra. Back to the way she'd looked at him. Back to the way his chest had tightened when she'd hugged him.

"Damn it," Tatehan muttered, snapping the book shut and unsummoning it back into his inventory.

He sat up, rubbing his face with both hands.

This was ridiculous. He was acting like some lovesick teenager.

His eyes drifted to the comm device sitting on the small table beside his bed.

He picked it up, the screen lighting up at his touch.

His contact list was depressingly short. Just two names: Riven and Commander.

He hovered over Riven's name for a moment, his thumb poised to tap it.

He should message her and check in. Make sure she was okay after leaving the base so suddenly.

But then what would he say?

'Hey, sorry I didn't visit you today. I was busy going on a not-date with Lyra.'

Yeah. That would go over well.

He could lie. Say he was still recovering from his injuries. She'd seen him in bad shape after the fall. He had bruised, bandaged, barely able to walk. It wouldn't be hard to convince her he'd needed another day to rest.

Tatehan set the comm device back down on the table and lay back on the bed.

He would go with that. He would go with the 'not so lie' that he was still recovering.

A few minutes later, his eyes were shut and he was fast asleep.

The next day, Tatehan found himself standing outside Riven's apartment.

He'd left the Red Crest Clan base early, taking the Dust Rider through the city streets as the sun was just starting to rise. The ride had been quiet, and peaceful, and it gave him time to think about what he wanted to say.

He knocked on the door to her apartment.

A few seconds later, the door slid open, and Riven stood there, looking significantly better than the last time he'd seen her.

The injury to her side had healed, mostly. There was still a faint stiffness in the way she moved, a slight wince when she turned too quickly, but overall, she looked healthy and strong.

"Tatehan," she said, a smile spreading across her face. "Took you long enough."

Tatehan grinned.

"Yeah, well," he said. "I was a little busy."

Riven rolled her eyes and stepped aside, gesturing for him to come in.

"Sure. Busy? That's your excuse for everything."

Tatehan laughed and stepped inside.

"I was still recovering actually."

Riven looked him over.

"I actually did not expect to see you this soon, I was told it would take a month and more before you healed fully," she said. "How are you…fully healed?"

Tatehan managed to answer the question so it didn't seem too supernatural or tell that he had a partial regeneration ability.

They spent the next thirty minutes talking. Riven told him about where she'd gone after leaving the base, some contact she'd needed to meet, something about acquiring better equipment for future hunts. And she also said that the commander had paid her for her work for helping bring down the fortress.

Tatehan was pleased at that.

They talked about the fortress assault. About Cherak and about the fall.

Riven shook her head in disbelief when he described it.

"You're insane," she said, though there was admiration in her voice. "You know that, right?"

Tatehan shrugged.

"I was lucky I guess."

Riven smiled.

"Hmm," she smirked, squinting her eyes slightly.

Eventually, Tatehan stood to leave. Riven walked him to the door, and they exchanged a quick hug before he stepped back out into the hallway.

"Take care of yourself," Riven said.

"You too," Tatehan replied.

And then he was gone, heading back toward the Red Crest Clan base.

He met Lyra and she decided to follow him to the city so he could get a mobile phone.

The drive into the city was comfortable.

They talked about small things, nothing heavy, nothing serious.

Lyra told him about a training session she'd run that morning, about how one of the younger soldiers had accidentally set off a smoke grenade indoors. Tatehan laughed at the mental image.

He had wanted to ask how it ended. Did any one get hurt and things like that but he decided not to, that would ruin the fun part of the tale.

They arrived at a tech district in the heart of Waython Hollow city, a sprawling area filled with shops selling everything from basic comm devices to full-scale holo-systems.

Lyra led him to one of the higher-end stores, a sleek building with floor-to-ceiling glass walls and minimalist displays inside.

The salesperson, a young guy with augmented eyes that glowed faintly blue, greeted them with a smile and walked them through the options.

Tatehan ended up choosing one of the top-tier models. It looked almost exactly like the smartphones he remembered from Earth: thin, rectangular, with a high-resolution screen and a design that felt both futuristic and familiar.

But this one had features Earth phones could only dream of.

It had an Holographic projection and came with other cool stuff.

It was expensive.

But Tatehan had the money now, thanks to the commander's payment. So he pulled out his credit chit and paid without hesitation.

The salesperson handed him the phone in a sleek case, and Tatehan slipped it into his pocket, grinning.

"Thanks," he said to Lyra as they left the store.

"Don't thank me," Lyra said, smiling. "You're the one who paid."

"Yeah, but you brought me here," Tatehan said. "So. Thanks."

Lyra's smile softened, and she nudged him with her elbow.

"You're welcome."

They stopped at a restaurant for lunch.

It was a different place than the one they'd gone to yesterday. This place was smaller, cozier and with a more casual atmosphere. But the food was good, and the conversation flowed easily.

They laughed…they joked…they talked about everything and nothing.

At one point, Lyra reached across the table and stole a piece of food off Tatehan's plate. He protested, and she just grinned and ate it anyway.

"That's theft," Tatehan said, mock-serious.

"Arrest me," Lyra replied, her eyes sparkling.

Tatehan laughed.

By the time they finished eating, the sun was still high in the sky. They had hours before evening.

They drove back to the Red Crest Clan base, the conversation quieter now but no less comfortable.

When they arrived, Lyra parked the car, and they both climbed out.

Tatehan was about to head toward his quarters when a guard approached, jogging over with a slightly urgent expression.

"Battle Commander Tatehan," the guard said, slightly out of breath. "The commander wants to see you. Both of you."

Tatehan and Lyra exchanged a glance.

"Now?" Tatehan asked.

The guard nodded.

"Yes, sir. She said it was important."

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