Lord Velli,

  Clyde has begun to make minimal progress. Despite all the time in the Depths he is only now starting to push beyond the bare minimum demanded of him. He still advances slowly but no longer does he give up the moment he has handled the simplest of caverns.

  He has on occasion decided to clear a second cavern rather than give up immediately. His technique has only marginally improved and he has made no effort to request any further training or advice.

  His hatred for Holding Syl, as well as for you, remains his prime motivation.

  ~ * ~

  Anya took a deep breath as she looked around the cavern. They'd pushed further down the tunnels than ever before and finally found something new.

  The goblins were no longer content to simply sit and wait for them, to run into an ambush or allow one to escape and bring back reinforcements. No, they now wandered back and forth through their caverns, as though patrolling their area and working together. They even had started to leverage their strengths and terrain more effectively and make every encounter more challenging.

  That wasn't to say they were outmatched by the creatures. One on one, even ten on one, Anya would bet on either of them in a fight. They'd come out battered, bruised, possibly injured badly enough to need to return back to their Holding to recover, but they'd still win.

  Seb had come close to needing to retreat once or twice, had he been any less mobile, any more prone to standing around and facing off against threats, he might have even needed the help of a professional healer. She'd been, if not luckier, more capable of handling the risk of serious injury. Between the benefits her robe granted and her ongoing understanding of her gifts and bonds she had avoided anything worse than gouges and punctures.

  This last set of caverns had pushed them to their limits. Countless goblins lay scattered across the ground, countless more spread through the dozen or so they had passed through while eliminating every last threat. Her robes were drenched in blood, her War Husk only slightly less so. Seb had dropped to the ground a few feet away, his gaze blank, his mind nearly as silent.

  That was- she sent.

  -almost too much. If you hadn't kept their focus at the end I'm not sure we'd both be standing here.

  You're sitting, she answered.

  She could feel his amusement at her answer. She'd known what he meant, she'd seen him nearly get overwhelmed by a pack of goblins. She'd yelled, screamed really, her voice echoing around the cavern and focusing every single eye on her. She'd felt her Affinity pulsing, the demand that every enemy challenge her in that moment.

  She'd seen Seb slip away in the moments before she had to devote every ounce of her attention and skill to dealing with the horde. She'd felt his relief, known he was safe and that had let her deal with the threat facing her. He'd danced once he was free, slipping between those few goblins who managed to break free of her call, tags flickering into being over enemies as he identified greater threats, fading as their combined attention decided otherwise.

  She'd kept her version of his aura up the entire time, their combined bubbles enough to ensure every goblin remained visible. She'd noticed his distractions, flickers of techniques enough to leave them off balance long enough for one or both of them to capitalize.

  Stepping over to him she pulled him to his feet, chuckling slightly at the fact that he was only half as bloody as she was.

  You've learned to dodge messes, she sent.

  You didn't seem to like it when I got covered in slime or blood.

  She chuckled then set about collecting their gains. She knew he'd be doing the same. Luckily his aura let them tell fairly easily which goblins still had to be harvested, otherwise they might have been here for even longer.

  By the time they made it back to their tent they were both nearly asleep on their feet, only their shared awareness keeping them moving forward. Anya all but fell into the tent, her True Self blessedly clean compared to the grime she'd felt the whole way home. Seb collapsed next to her moments after sealing the tent.

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  The last thing Anya remembered was curling up against him, his body molding itself to hers as they slipped into shared sleep.

  ~ * ~

  Anya woke up with Seb's arm wrapped around her. She could still feel him in her thoughts, could feel his awareness returning in sync with hers. They'd never maintained the band while asleep in the past, the connection always fading the moment they lost consciousness.

  Her dreams had been intense, vivid, shockingly real. Nothing unusual, nothing strange, just, more.

  Morning love, Seb sent.

  I slept well.

  Our dreams were nice.

  She froze at his words. Their dreams, not his dreams or hers dreams. But despite the surprise it felt right, he had been in her dreams, or she had been in his.

  The band-, she began.

  It didn't drop. We were together. I felt you waking up, felt you pull me with you.

  The bond growing stronger? she guessed.

  I don't know, you know more about bonds than I do.

  I know about Combat Bonds, or at least I know more about them. Romantic Partner bonds weren't talked about as much. But it would make sense.

  She shifted, adjusting his arm to get more comfortable now that they were awake. He tightened his grip, keeping her pressed against him for a long moment before they both stretched and sat up. She hadn't planned it, she knew he hadn't planned it, they simply moved together in a single motion.

  Definitely the bond, she sent.

  A moment later she shivered at the feeling of his emotions over the band. She was aware of him in the same way she sometimes was mid battle. He wasn't touching her but she knew exactly how close his fingers were to her back, knew the angle of his head as looked her up and down.

  She shook her head and stood, reaching behind her to pull him to her feet as he held out his hand.

  We're both hungry, we both need to eat and clean up, she sent.

  She didn't want to leave the tent, didn't want to pull away from him and get coffee started, but she did. They hadn't eaten the night before, they hadn't cleaned their War Husks, they hadn't done anything other than collapse. They had to eat and clean up. They had to get packed so they could head home, even if they might take their time breaking down the campsite.

  ~ * ~

  They almost didn't make it back to the Holding that day. Seb paused at the Staging Point and waited for Anya to stop beside him. The vibrancy of their shared awareness had faded, he still could have pointed to any spot on her body with his eyes closed, but the intensity had lowered back down to a more manageable level.

  When they first woke up he didn't just know where she was, he could almost feel the sensations of her skin. He knew how her clothes felt when she shifted, what the touch of his hand on her arm felt like. He knew she'd felt just as much, the few words they'd shared on the matter more than made up for by their mirrored emotions. It had almost been too much, while at the same time something they both enjoyed.

  She's going to be mad we're late, he sent.

  We said today, we didn't say when. We didn't make any plans. We never make plans for right after we get back because we're never sure exactly when.

  He shook his head and gave her the lightest of nudges towards the portal.

  After you.

  She hesitated, pushing back against his touch before letting out a sigh and stepping through. For the briefest instant their connection felt strange. They always stepped through almost simultaneously, close enough that they barely felt the band drop.

  The band didn't drop, he was still aware of her in the seconds it took him to follow her through. Her feelings were muted, distant, blurry, but they were there. She was still there, still a part of him, or maybe he was still a part of her.

  Then he was through the portal and everything was normal. She was at his side and Fay was stepping into the room.

  "You're late," she said.

  "We didn't say when we'd be back," Anya answered.

  "You always arrive before lunch."

  "We do not," Anya said.

  "Once, no twice now. Last time you were both limping, both with injuries to your Husk and War Husk."

  "Fay," Seb said. "We're fine. We aren't hurt."

  "Then why are you late?"

  He flushed, he could feel Anya focus on their packs so she didn't have to look Fay in the eye. They had good reason to be late, very good reason. Just not a reason that Fay-

  "Ah," Fay said. "Nevermind."

  "Our band stayed up while we were asleep," Anya said in the silence that followed. "We were as in sync as mid combat until just before we finished packing up."

  "Fast if it were just one type," Fay said as though it explained everything. "Having both types of bonds means they both develop faster, they overlap with one another."

  "So we-" Anya began.

  "-can expect it to happen again?" he finished.

  "At times at least. Not necessarily with any degree of control, at least not yet."

  Seb nodded. It made sense. They'd been exhausted, they'd leaned on each other's shared awareness for most of their walk back to the campsite. No wonder they'd been deeper in the bond than usual.

  "Sorry we're late," he said.

  "No need to apologize. I was sure you were fine."

  "Then why did you tell us we were late?" Anya asked.

  "Because you were, because you came in as though it was just another day."

  "Fay…" Anya said in a near growl before breaking into a smile. "I missed you."

  "I missed you too," Fay answered. "Your sister likes interrupting almost as much as you do."

  "I don't interrupt!"

  "You do, sometimes."

  "Do we have anything for dinner?" Seb asked before the teasing could escalate.

  "Nothing special. I wasn't sure when you were going to arrive."

  "That's fine. We can do something special tomorrow," Anya answered.

  "I told Arbiter Alex he should join us for breakfast tomorrow. Let us all get to know each other a bit better. Let him see you as people, not just Lord and Lady Syl."

  "Tomorrow?" Anya asked. "But-"

  He slipped his arm around her, pulling her to his side before she could finish.

  "We can do breakfast tomorrow. Can Briana make coffee?"

  "She was already planning on it."

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