The next morning, Elissa woke before dawn, still snuggled in his arms. She really did not want to crawl out of the warm bed or the strong, warm arms, but she knew if they were going to actually hunt, they needed to go. Looking down at his sleeping face, made her smile. She was going to miss that, too. She laid a gentle kiss on his lips and quickly wriggled out of his grasp before he was awake enough to grab her. If he pulled her close, she’d never get out of that bed. As her feet hit the floor, she whispered to the lamp on her bedside table, and it promptly glowed brightly enough for her to see and made her way toward her wardrobe and start looking for higher cut shirts. She picked up about six before she tried one. After slipping it on—it was not high enough. “Goddamnit Hayward…” she hissed, digging through her drawer farther. Hayward had been slowly dragged

“Elissa, peace and love aren’t the same thing. I’d like to meet a peaceful end so that we all might help one another. Improve our weaknesses and teach from our strengths. We all have something we can learn. Always...” he took a sip of wine thoughtfully. “And yes…” she turned back to Hayward. “It was a decently sized nine-point buck. I shot a twelve point when I was thirteen, but... it was still a very nice prize.” She wished her family had made a deal of her hunting accomplishments. He was taking home a nine point rack like it was something to be prized. She hadn’t even gotten to keep her 12 point rack despite that it was an uncommon occurrence. She was pretty sure they would’ve thrown away the tiger head and pelt if she hadn’t cleaned it herself. “We can take the deer hide to the tailor to have something made that would be warmer for your return,” she suggested. “I still need to pay him for ruining his shop and shears.” She twisted her mouth to one side and looked down at her plate.

The kick startled the beast, and a split-second later, Hayward landed on its back. He wished for a bigger weapon, but all he had was a dagger and a hunting knife. They would have to do. The monster took a half-hearted swipe at the horse and missed, then turned its attention to the stabby little creature clinging to its back. Its neck twisted around, allowing it to snap its jaws at him, but he was quick. He’d recovered from his wounds; he’d stuffed himself with food, and better yet, he was in the sun. Hayward was as dangerous as he could be without proper weapons. He ducked and dodged and stabbed and sliced and kept the beast at bay. For now, at least.  When she saw them make it back into the clearing, Hayward was not on Nostro, and she was terrified for half a second. Instead, he was riding the fucking Chimera. She was flabbergasted. Oh fuck, now I have to not shoot him

“Damn….” her father said, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t have believed it unless I saw it with my own eyes.” Elissa nodded. “You two did that alone?” Elissa nodded again. Kohl had a look of pure envy and adoration in his eyes. He’d seen nothing so massive, and knowing the two of them had taken it down with no help from anyone else... was downright impressive. “Well, the two of us, plus the horses,” Hayward added, still smiling. “Nostro gave it a good kick in the face when it tried to grab him.” He looked over at his horse, now happily munching on the grass, satisfied to be back. He would miss the stubborn creature, but there was no way he would be ready for the trip soon enough. He turned to grin at the king instead. “I think this one will make a good trophy.” “I agree…” he said, nod

Apparently this was a going away dinner as her entire family plus Dantares and Deker appeared to be in attendance. She sat down next to him and smiled at everyone a little awkwardly. Elissa wasn’t particularly a fan of this many people at the table, all staring at her like she had two heads. She wasn’t sure if they were staring because of her now open connection with the head next to her, or if they were staring because they’d downed a beast with two heads earlier. Either way, it was uncomfortable, and she smiled awkwardly, drinking some of her wine to calm her nerves out of habit. Hayward straightened up a little as they entered the great hall. Oh. Well. Hmm. There’s people here. He smiled politely and did his best to look at least slightly regal, like he actually belonged there and hadn’t just snuck in the back when no one was looking. He offered a gracious nod to the king and queen as they sat down. “Hopefully, this is only a brief farewell,” he remarked. “But I appreciate the sen