Living Words
"Macati, it's good to see you out of bed," Fenral said, and Macati turned with an easy smile, just in time to  catch the slightly smarmy look Fenral cast Guylian. Guylian bit his lip, looking down, and Macati's smile  stayed in place only through the force of his willpower.

"It's good to be out of bed," Macati said, deciding a single look wasn't anything to cast curses over. Yet.
"How's the cold box working for you?"

"Oh, it's excellent," Fenral enthused, looking more excited than Macati could really ever remember seeing  him before. "Your apprentice does excellent work, Macati. If you end up losing this one, I'd be happy to  put him to work here."

"I don't think you'll get that opportunity," Macati said stiffly, letting the cheer slip from his voice.
Honestly, what was Fenral trying to do with a comment like that?

"Oh, my apologies," Fenral said, shaking his head ruefully. "That didn't come out quite the way I meant it.
I do have some more spell work I'd like done around the place, and I'd be perfectly happy to have Guylian  do it. To further his education."

"Of course," Macati said, biting his tongue to keep from saying something stupid. At least Guylian had said  something and hadn't come here alone. That was good; Guylian had trusted him enough to speak up.

Macati would just have to make sure that Fenral didn't get to have Guylian casting alone again. He could  observe, to make sure Guylian's casting skills were up to snuff or something.

"You're here for your payment, right?" Fenral guessed, heading towards the back of the shop. "Wait just a  moment, I have it out back."

Macati waited until Fenral had disappeared into the back to turn to Guylian.

"You don't get to come here alone again," Macati said, making a face. Guylian flushed, ducking his head to  stare at the floor.

"Sorry," he mumbled, and Macati sighed. Before he could say anything reassuring, however, Fenral  returned from the back room, carrying a small box.

"Everything you asked for," Fenral said, handing the box off to Guylian.

"Thank you," Macati said, giving Fenral a stiff smile when the man didn't back away from Guylian as  quickly as he could have. "Sorry to leave so quickly, but we do have other places to go before this damn  plague gets the better of me again."

"Of course," Fenral said, smiling sympathetically. "I hope you feel completely better soon, Macati. Then  we can talk about the other work I'd like to have done."

"Sounds good," Macati said, nudging Guylian into motion. "See you around, Fenral."

Guylian hesitated when they left the shop, but Macati pushed him into motion again, a little afraid he'd run  out of steam if they stopped again. He waited until they were a short distance away before speaking up.

"I'm sorry for sending you there alone," Macati said, steadfastly ignoring the way Guylian's steps faltered so  that he didn't do anything stupid. "I'll go with you for any other work he commissions, for observation  purposes or something."
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"All right," Guylian said quietly, and when Macati looked over, he was studying the top of the box he  carried, looking miserable again.

"Unless you'd rather deal with it on your own?" Macati hazarded, not really sure why Guylian was upset by  that proclamation.

"No," Guylian said quickly, giving Macati a horrified look. "Thank you. For this."

"It's part of being your teacher, Guylian," Macati said gently, shaking his head. "I'm not going to throw you  into any situations where you can get taken advantage of."

"Okay," Guylian said, but he was still being quieter than usual. Macati sighed, tucking his hands into his  pockets.

"Come on, let's go see Keira and then go home," Macati said, punctuating the sentence with a sneeze. He  fished out his handkerchief and blew his nose as they walked, making a face when he nearly wandered off  the path as he did so.

The tavern wasn't too busy, thankfully. It was afternoon, nearly three, so it was open for business. The  only customers were a pair of farmer sitting in an out-of-the-way corner as they slowly worked through  bowls of the stew of the day.

Tlory was lounging indolently behind the bar, polishing glasses and looking incredibly bored. He  straightened when they entered, giving Macati a smirk that slid into a more pleasant smile when he saw
Guylian. "What can I do for you fine gentlemen this afternoon?"

"I need to talk to Keira," Macati said, rolling his eyes. A quick glance at Guylian found him blushing, with  his eyes glued to the top of the box he carried.

"Hold on," Tlory said, slanting Macati another smirk that made Macati seriously wish Tlory was still his  apprentice, just so he could throttle him a little. Tlory disappeared into the kitchen, reappearing a moment  later with Keira in tow.

"Recovered, then?" Keira asked brusquely by way of greeting, shooting Guylian a look that Macati couldn't  read.

"Mostly," Macati said, his voice giving out on the word in proof.

"Come on, then," Keira said, heading for the stairs that led into the upper level. "Upstairs and I'll get you  the money half of the deal."

Macati nodded, crossing the room. Guylian trailed behind him, but stopped by the bar, setting down his  box under Tlory's expectant stare.

"Guylian," Macati began, frowning. He didn't want to expose Guylian to Tlory any more than he already  had.

"He can wait down here," Tlory interjected, turning away from Guylian to face Macati with a challenging  look. "I'm sure you have some boring haggling to do."

Macati ignored him, watching Guylian fidget uncomfortably on the far side of the bar.
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Living Words

"Come on, Macati," Keira said exasperatedly from the top of the stairs. "I don't have all day."

Macati grit his teeth, but before he could do or say anything more, Keira continued. "It's not like he wasn't  here all day Tuesday. Tlory didn't kill him then; they'll be fine alone for a few minutes."

Nodding stiffly, Macati climbed the stairs slowly, resolving to get some damn answers when he went back  downstairs. He couldn't think of a single good reason for Guylian and Tlory to be spending time together.

Keira led him into her office, sitting down heavily in her chair. She bent down to reach the bottom drawer  on her desk, and Macati sat down tiredly in one of the visitor's chairs.

"Are the cold boxes what you wanted?" Macati asked half-heartedly. If he hadn't been sick, Tlory wouldn't  have had the chance to suck Guylian into whatever scheme he was playing at now.

"Better than," Keira admitted, tossing a small pouch at him. It jangled when he caught it, and Macati  smiled wryly, reluctantly pleased that Guylian's spells were such a hit. "Your full fee is in there, no  haggling."

"Huh," Macati said, smiling. Guylian must have really impressed Keira for her to give them the whole fee  without bargaining. She loved to haggle, and Guylian's status as an apprentice would have given her a good  reason to try and negotiate the price.

"There's just one other thing, Macati," Keira said, frowning. She paused, giving him a thoughtful look.
Macati frowned in return, confused. Did she have more work for him? Or perhaps this was about Guylian  hanging around Tlory. Keira had been overly protective of him ever since his father had passed away.
"You're being more of an idiot than usual."

"Excuse me?" Macati asked, a little affronted.

"Stop growling at Tlory," Keira said bluntly. "It's getting old. And if you don't make a move on that  apprentice of yours, you're going to lose him. Tlory's interested. Very interested, unless I've missed my  mark."

Macati spluttered, taken aback even though really, he should be used to Keira's bluntness by now. "I'm not  going to 'make a move' on Guylian, Keira! He's my apprentice."

"Then that little crush of yours is just going to drive you insane," Keira said, rolling her eyes. "Though I  suppose there's some hope for you. You didn't deny it."

Macati coughed, shrugging awkwardly. It was true, even if he thought he hadn't been that obvious about it.

"Tlory doesn't want Guylian," Macati finally said, shaking his head a little. "If he's interested, it's only  because he wants Guylian to do something for him."

"Right," Keira said dryly, her tone disbelieving. "That's why they spent most of the other day shut up in
Tlory's room. Alone."

Macati grimaced. "That doesn't change the fact that he's my apprentice, Keira. He doesn't need me trying  to get into his pants while he's learning magic. Honestly, I think it's the absolute last thing he needs right  now."

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"Boys his age are always interested in sex, Macati. If you don't give it to him, he's going to get it from  someone else. And Tlory's at that age too. They're fairly well matched, actually."

Macati grit his teeth, resisting the urge to make up a curse to cast on Tlory then and there. Tlory… he'd ask
Guylian. He'd probably have to tell Guylian why he'd booted Tlory too, to make sure that Tlory couldn't  manipulate Guylian into helping him perform illegal magical acts.

"I need to go," Macati said, standing up. Keira rolled her eyes again, but she didn't call him on the obvious  evasion. "I'll see you later, Keira."

"Mmhmm," Keira said, looking unimpressed as Macati turned to leave the room. "Think about it, Macati.
Don't do anything you'll regret."

Macati waved a hand at her in acknowledgement, wondering just how obvious he really was, if Keira was  coming out and saying something about it. Hopefully it was just Keira who'd noticed. If Tlory had  realized… well, that could explain his interest in Guylian. He could be trying to seduce Guylian away in an  attempt to get back at Macati for kicking him out and tethering him to this little town.

It really wasn't fair to Guylian, who obviously had enough to deal with. Which, hopefully, Macati would  learn more about whenever Justain replied to his letter. He didn't need to deal with Macati's former  apprentice manipulating him to get back at Macati, as well.

Maybe he could try and warn Tlory off again… no, that wouldn't work. Tlory delighted in doing the  opposite of whatever Macati tried to get him to do.

Macati paused as he reached the bottom of the stairs, frowning in annoyance at Tlory. He wasn't looking at
Macati, but was leaning close to Guylian. At some point, he'd moved around to the customer's side of the  bar where Guylian had stopped. Guylian wasn't looking at either of them—his eyes were fixed on the top  of the counter—but he was actually smiling as he said something quietly.

Macati stood there for a moment, unable to do anything but watch as Tlory snickered and knocked his  shoulder casually against Guylian's. If Macati tried to do anything like that, Guylian would tense up… but  he didn't with Tlory. He just kept smiling and if it had been anyone but Tlory getting that reaction, Macati  would be thrilled.

And maybe less jealous, but that might be stretching the truth.

But it was Tlory, and there was no way Tlory would do anything but devastate Guylian once he had  whatever it was he was after. Macati grimaced, wishing that he'd been stupid enough to let Tlory leave  town.

Tlory looked up then, a familiar smirk curving his lips as he met Macati's eyes. He deliberately leaned closer  to Guylian and said something quietly, and Macati bit his lip because he wasn't going to be jealous—
Guylian was his apprentice and nothing more.

Guylian looked up from the top of the bar as Tlory slid away gracefully, and Macati remembered himself  and started moving again. Guylian actually continued to smile as Macati approached, and Macati reluctantly  smiled back.

"You ready to go?" Macati asked, turning his head to cough into his hand for a moment. Guylian slid off  his bar stool hastily, reclaiming the box of supplies they'd earned from Fenral.

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Living Words
"See you, Guylian," Tlory drawled, his tone nothing less than suggestive. Guylian blushed, but just nodded,  turning away from the bar. Tlory snickered, raising his eyebrows at Macati.

Macati ignored him, following Guylian out of the tavern. Guylian didn't say anything and Macati signed,  feeling as weary as he had during the worst of his flu.

He'd bring up Tlory when they got home, after a nice pot of brisk tea. Macati glanced at Guylian, and  something in his gut twisted to see the smile still hovering around Guylian's mouth. He'd bring it up, but  he wished there was some way to keep Guylian this happy while he was at it.
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