Winter 4994, 18 Shinmoth 

Breathe…

… In. Veon-Zih focused on the feeling of his breath. His diaphragm lowered, letting air into his lungs slowly, naturally, filling him with life-giving air and ki.

Breathe…

… Out. He exhaled, relaxing his belly, letting the air slip past his lips. A soft wind of breath merging with that of the woman beside him. Their movements in sync. 

Breathe… 

… In. The boards beneath him creaked as bare feet stepped onto the garden pagoda. He inhaled the sounds, paying them no more mind beyond the first acknowledgment of their existence. 

Breathe…

… Out. He exhaled the sounds, letting them float from his consciousness along with his breath. All that mattered was the moment and in the moment was only his breath.

Breathe…

… In.

“How long do you think they've been at it?” a woman's voice. 

... Out.

"Shhhhh," a deep, shushing, male voice. Veon-Zih's lip twitched, until...

Breathe...

... In. All that existed was the moment, and in the moment was only his breath... 

Dong... Dong... Dong... 

The gong used by the Kensai Monastery on the mountain outside their home floated down through the mild desert breeze. Veon-Zih let out his last breath in one long exhale, opening his eyes to turn in his seat and face their visitors. 

Lily had at least waited until the gong to sit up on her knees, wrapping Velona in a tight hug from behind. Her teacher patted her arms fondly as she laughed, sliding around on her knees to give the woman a proper embrace. Shon sat in the same cross-legged position as Veon-Zih, his hands cupped together in his lap, thumbs touching at the tips. He took in one more long breath and exhaled before opening blue eyes to smile at his Master.

"That was fast!" Veon-Zih announced, reaching out to pat Shon on the shoulder and give him a little shake, "Miss us already, did you?"

"Fast?" Lily asked, letting go of Velona and sitting back on her heels, "It felt like it took foreeeevvver." 

Shon shook his head and answered, "The moment you left, Master." 

"Don't listen to him," Velona whispered loudly, "We knew you were done and on your way." 

"How?" Lily asked, pouting and tilting her head to the side, "We wanted to surprise you." Ryuuko whistled from the roof of the pagoda, flying down to land on Veon-Zih's head and nuzzle his cheek, mirroring Lily's disappointment with angry little chitters.

Velona snickered, "We got letters for Shon a few weeks ago. They wouldn't have forwarded them here if they didn't know you were on your way." 

Lily scoffed, reaching over to slap Shon in the chest with the back of her hand. A very Velona-esk move that had the lady Monk covering her grin with her hand. "You told them where we were going? You're supposed to be on leave!" Lily chastised him.

Shon shrugged, "It's standard procedure, and..." 

"And?" Veon-Zih asked, surprised that Shon might have, let alone give, another reason for following the Temple's standard procedures. He eyed his usually stoic student more carefully. There was something different about him, something... warmer...

Ryuuko let out an excited twitter, sitting up on its hind legs and flapping its wings, creating a wind that blew Shon's hair back from his face, though it had grown long enough now that most of it was tied back anyway. Veon-Zih had never seen it grow that long. Shon shot a glare at the little dragon and ran his fingers through his bangs, a slight blush rising in his pale cheeks as he muttered, "We're waiting for a particular message." 

He let his hand fall, but not before Veon-Zih caught sight of a glitter on his finger. "No..." The Monk breathed, lighting fast his hand snapped forward to grab Shon's. He brought the fist up to his face, and Lily giggled, covering her smile with her own ringed fingers.

Velona noticed, "Really?" she asked, grabbing Lily's hand and mirroring Veon-Zih as the two studied their student's matching rings. Lily beamed, and Shon's blush grew darker. "And you said yes?" Velona asked in shock, looking up at Lily. 

"Of course I did," Lily sighed, rolling her eyes, "If you must know, I'm the one who bullied Shon into asking." 

Shon pulled his hand from Veon-Zih's and used it to run through his hair again, looking away from all of them. "You didn't..." Ryuuko whistled.

Lily smacked his chest again, saying, "You wanted to make a one-sided oath, binding yourself to me without letting me do the same." Veon-Zih could only stare at the two of them, his jaw hanging open.

Velona reached over, resting her fingers on his chin, and closed his mouth for him. "I'd like to say it's fast, but... I find myself surprised it took this long." 

Veon-Zih swallowed, feeling a tightness in his chest. Growing happiness for these two children of his and Velona. "That's what you're waiting for, isn't it? The letter of approval from the Temple?" Veon-Zih asked.

Shon nodded, finally looking back at him and adding, "We were hoping you two could perform the ceremony." 

"You... But the Temple..." Veon-Zih stuttered, a lump growing in his throat. 

"We aren't priests," Velona said more clearly. 

Shon shook his head, and Lily waved a dismissive hand, "It doesn't need to be a priest. Hells, there doesn't even need to be a ceremony. All that matters is the paperwork. Once that comes back we're officially married. The gods are just a formality." 

She reached over to grab Shon's hand, and the surprises kept coming as he smiled at her. Not just a glint in his eye but an actual tilt of the lips. A real smile, something Veon-Zih hadn't seen in years. "This is an oath between the two of us, and we agreed it would mean more if sworn before you two than anyone from the Temple or Church." 

Veon-Zih shifted to sit on his knees then lunged forward. Dislodging Ryuuko, who jumped into the air to squawk in shock, he wrapped Shon in a tight hug, ignoring his cold even more thoroughly than he usually did, "We would be honored." He said, then continued in a whisper just for his son, "I'm so happy to see you so happy."

Lily jumped to her feet, "Let's go check that mail!"

She hadn't managed to take a step towards the Monks' small house before Velona grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back to the ground, "First, tell us about the mission."

Lily whined, and Ryuuko twittered its dragon giggles at her. Shon huffed out a chuckle and started the story, "It wasn't just the noble. All unsealed Sorcerers were being targeted..." He glanced at Lily, who took up the story with a flourish. Explaining all about how the Paladin of Horsa had discovered the unusual number of Sorcerers who'd been taken and their preliminary investigation. When she reached the part where she used herself as bait, Velona gasped and glared at Shon, but he just shrugged, and Lily continued, waving away her teacher's concerns. 

She did falter a bit when she reached the part where she found out it was Warlocks who'd been doing the kidnapping, but quickly shook her head and continued on about how she'd fought a flesh golem and freed the surviving victims, at which point she mentioned that Shon and the Paladin Ragther had been captured. 

"How'd you let that happen?" Veon-Zih interrupted. 

Shon sighed but took up the story briefly, explaining their fight with the zombies and Warlock in the tower. 

"He was the same one we fought?" Velona interrupted. Shon nodded and continued, describing the library and his own golem fight as well as the Warlock Archmage coming at the noise to find him and Ragther, at which point he nodded for Lily to take over again. 

She told the story all the way to when she'd burned the zombie guards outside, and the tower collapsed. But Veon-Zih knew she'd left something out, something big. He exchanged looks with Velona. She'd noticed too. 

"That sounds like quite the adventure..." Veon-Zih led, searching around for an excuse to get Shon alone, "I take it you popped the question after that?" 

"On Winter Solstice!" Lily answered, nodding excitedly.

Veon-Zih stood, grinning down at her, then focused on Shon with a nod, "Walk with me. So the ladies can have their talk about that bit of your trip..." 

Shon arched an eyebrow at his Master but stood, stepping into his boots left outside the pagoda and following the Monk to walk around their large yard. When they reached the point furthest away from the ladies and started to turn, he finally said, "You don't want to know about the proposal, do you?" 

"Not unless you want to tell it." Veon-Zih answered, turning to circle one of his training dummies they'd erected around the yard, "I think Lily handled that well enough. What I'm interested in is what she left out of her story meeting the Warlocks again..." He glanced over at his student to see his sword pommel shifting from dark blue to robin's egg. 

Shon stared across the yard, back to where Lily was speaking to Valona. She was far more subdued than she should've been if they were talking about the proposal, and Ryuuko's wings had dipped sadly on her shoulder. He sighed and looked away, meeting Veon-Zih's eyes and explaining, "We recovered a book of experiments. It said that Lily was created by the Warlocks. That she is a dragon. The Archmage herself told Lily that she had been polymorphed into what she is now."

Veon-Zih sucked in a sharp breath, looking back at the ladies. Lily rubbed her eyes with her hands in the distance, and Velona wrapped her in a hug. "That's not all... Is it?" Veon-Zih whispered. 

Shon shook his head, "They said she was a cross between red and gold..." 

"Just like you said," Veon-Zih pointed out, "But it still doesn't make sense, why would they continue-" 

"She can't have children." Shon interrupted, 

Veon-Zih's mouth snapped closed, and with it his eyes, "I'm sorry, Shon..." He opened his eyes again, but Shon just shrugged,

"I don't care," Shon stated.

That was cold even for him, and Veon-Zih glared at his student. Shon caught the look and hurried to add, "I care that she cares. That the possibility is denied her. But I didn't want kids anyway, Master. What if they inherited my ice? Or worse... if they didn't, and I couldn't hold them." Veon-Zih sighed, reaching out to grasp Shon's cold shoulder. Shon ran a hand through his hair, "She was afraid I would leave her. Because she isn't really human. And because she can't give me children..." 

"And that's why you proposed so early?" Veon-Zih asked seriously. 

Shon looked at the ladies, his eyes crinkling in one of his small smiles, "Maybe. She was right, though. I wasn't going to ask her to make the same promise. I didn't think she would want to bind herself to anyone. She won't even join an organization officially." He actually chuckled, "But she got so angry, Master. Said she wanted it to go both ways..."

Veon-Zih let go of his shoulder and reached up to pull his ponytail, "You should've known." Shon shrugged in answer, reaching back to run his hand through his hair again all the way back to the tie where his fingers got tangled, and he growled.

Veon-Zih chuckled, "That needs to be cut." 

"Please!" Shon very nearly whined, or as close to a whine as the big man had ever let out. It made Veon-Zih laugh out loud. The ladies glanced over at them, Lily's head cocked in curiosity and Ryuuko twittering as it took flight to sweep towards Shon and further tangle his hair by landing on his head.

Veon-Zih shook his head and started back towards the house, "Come on then," then louder to Lily, he shouted, "Come on, my lovely bride, you'll need to learn how to do this now that I'm retired!"

***

"I can't believe you let a Monk cut your hair." Lily complained, "They're clean-shaven!"

"Hey," Veon-Zih clicked the freshly sharpened shears at her, "I've gotten very good at it over the years, I'll have you know." Velona giggled from their table while Shon sat in the middle of the one-room home and sighed. Ryuuko chirped from Veon-Zih's shoulder, and the Monk huffed in mock indignation. He wasn't going to tell her that the first few times had been a complete mess. 

Lily let out a whine when Veon-Zih started cutting, “Don’t take too much…”

“If he does, it will grow back,” Shon assured her, closing his eyes while the Monk worked, black hair falling all around him.

Veon-Zih gestured for her to come closer, “Let me show you, then you can keep it as long as you want.”

“I’ll never get my hair cut again with that...” Shon grumbled.

Lily pulled on a lock of Shon's hair, hard, but he just snickered. The sight made the old Monk smile. He really had warmed considerably, even if not physically. It was like catching a glimpse of the man Shon could have been. Should have been. Maybe now he could stop worrying...

Veon-Zih took his time to show Lily all the little tips and tricks he'd learned cutting Shons hair over the years. Ending the job with one last satisfied snip and his usual quip, “You know it would be much faster just to shave it.”

Lily smacked Veon-Zih's chest, “Don’t you dare.” but the Monk just laughed while Shon stood, running his fingers through his newly shorn locks. It was still long-ish, enough to frame his eyes in the front but not tickle his ears on the sides or tie in the back. 

“Broom?” Shon asked, looking around the small room.

“Gil has it.” Velona answered, moving to stick her head out the front door, “Gil, are you almost done? We need the broom.”

A boy's voice drifted in from the yard, “Yes, Master Velona,"

She reached out to take the broom from the unseen child, “Thank you, Gil. Now run home, it’s getting dark,” Velona started to close the door then stuck her head back out and yelled, “I said RUN Gillian, I didn’t mean go quickly.”

“I didn’t think you would be taking any apprentices or students,” Shon commented when the lady Monk handed him the broom.

“Jealous?” Veon-Zih teased him, moving for the chest where they'd stored his mail before taking the seat across from Velona while Shon swept his hair from the floor.

The Monk wasn’t surprised when Shon didn’t answer, but Lily asked, “Is he a student? How old is he?”

“Shon, these are yours,” Veon-Zih set the two letters from the Temple on the edge of the table, then answered Lily's question and tilted head, “No. He wants to join the Monastery in a few years and asked us to put in a good word for him.”

Velona resumed her seat at the table and added, “He’s a good lad. Runs basic errands and does little chores here and there,”

Lily breathed a little ‘oh,’ looking towards the closed door while Shon leaned the broom against a wall only to have Ryuuko jump in the pile of hair and scatter it again. 

Shon swung the broom at the dragon with a wordless grumble and cleaned it again. Lily giggled at them and asked, “Does it remind you of teaching Shon when he was younger?” she leaned her hip on the table until Velona smacked it and gestured for the chair instead.

“Oh gods no,” Veon-Zih laughed, “Gil’s a good kid, but he's just a kid, overeager and extra energetic.”

Sitting down, Lily set her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her palms to tilt her head at Veon-Zih, “And Shon wasn’t like that? What was he like as a kid?” Ryuuko jumped back onto the table to nose the letters onto the floor and force Shon to pick them up from there to read. 

Veon-Zih glanced at his student, who picked up the letters and used them to bop the pseudodragon on the head before opening the smaller of the two. 

The Monk made a show of stroking his chin as if thinking hard about her question, though he remembered clearly the days he trained Shon in the church. “Imagine Shon as he is now…” Lily hummed, waiting eagerly for more, “only about four feet tall.” Veon-Zih held his hand at the appropriate height, “That's what he was like at ten.” 

Velona let slip a breathy little laugh as she lifted her tea to drink, and Lily giggled loudly, leaning back in her chair to balance on the back two legs. Veon-Zih joined their laughter but added, “I’m only exaggerating a little, though. The most serious kid I'd ever seen.” He chuckled again, then stopped when it came out in a white puff.

The fire dimmed to coals, and Veon-Zih stood slowly, squinting through the dark toward Shon. He looked as if he were still reading the letter, his pale blue eyes standing out starkly in the shadow of his black hair. “Shon?”

He didn’t move, and Lily let her chair fall, turning in her seat, “Shon?” she asked as well.

Her voice briefly drew his gaze before he crumpled the letter in his fist, “I’m going for a walk.” Shon dropped the page, turning on his heel and throwing his sword over his shoulder before slamming the door behind him, the blade’s pommel clear as glass.

Veon-Zih held his arm out to stop Lily from following. The room was still ice cold, with frost on the windows and their breath rising in clouds. The Monk moved to pick up the letter while Lily exhaled slowly, bringing the room back to a reasonable temperature and light.

The crumpled letter was frozen, little sheets of ice cracking off like glass when he tried to carefully straighten it. Part of him knew what it said before he started reading, but that didn't stop the stab of pain and disbelief from piercing his heart. Veon-Zih had never heard of the Temple denying a marriage request. He knew it could happen, but he'd never seen it. 

"What is it?" Lily asked, moving around him and trying to tilt the letter down to read upside down. 

Part of him wanted to snatch it away from her, but he knew it affected her just as much as Shon, and he sighed, handing it to her and whispering, "Please don't burn my house down..." even though it was built of clay. 

"They didn't!" Velona shouted from the table, standing and slapping her hands down on the wood in disbelief, "I've never heard of such a thing. Why?" But Veon-Zih could only shake his head. The letter hadn't offered a reason, only apologies. And prayers that Shon would find someone 'more worthy.' It read as a standard answer, the same message sent to anyone unlucky enough to have their marriage rejected. 

Lily used both hands to crumple the paper into a ball, smoke drifting out between her fingers before she tossed it in the fireplace. "It doesn't matter." she snarled, "We don't need their approval." She glanced to the door, and Veon-Zih held out his arm again, shaking his head to stop her from following just yet. She might not want the Temple's blessing, but Shon did. 

*** 

Shon worked through his drills with the wing chun training post. Though he did his best to block anything from breaking his iron focus, he felt when Ryuuko left the tiny house and winged his way through the front door. Shon growled with a final punch that exploded the wooden post. Not into splinters of wood, but into chunks of ice that scattered across the desert yard and refused to melt despite the warm night. 

He closed his eyes tight as Ryuuko flew over to land on what was left of the post, letting out a long slow whistle. He pulled in his power as best he could and turned to see Master Veon-Zih standing behind him, "Do you feel better?" the Monk asked. 

Shon shook his head and sat down right there in the dust, leaning back against the dummy and staring at the stars.

"I didn't think so..." Veon-Zih admitted. Shon could feel the Monk sitting down beside him, but didn't look over. "You can request again. New information is just starting to come to light about Lily-" 

Shon interrupted Veon-Zih with a snarl, "Who's to say it's Lily?" 

"What? You think they denied you out of spite?" Veon-Zih snapped at him. 

Shon rested his arms on his knees and leaned forward, letting his head hang, "It wouldn't be the first time..." 

"This isn't the same thing," Veon-Zih argued, his voice soft. Shon turned his face just enough to arch an eyebrow at his Master. He'd already spoken more than he wanted to right now. "It's not, Shon, search in your heart. Do you really think Hengist would do this?" 

But he couldn't. Hengist didn't dwell in Shon's heart. Where Lily had accepted him in his entirety, his god had deemed him unworthy. Veon-Zih continued to argue, "This reeks of politics. I read the second letter. They've revoked your leave and want you to report to the capital." Shon didn't have enough energy to arch his other eyebrow. It didn't matter why they wanted him for another job, "They obviously know you're traveling with Lily. Perhaps once they know more about her ties to the Warlocks, you can request again."

Veon-Zih nodded towards the house along the line of light that spilled from the open door, marred by the shadow of Lily standing between the frames. Shon's head came up enough to see her, and his breath shook. Veon-Zih whispered, "She only cares that you do..."

Shon ran his fingers through his freshly cut hair and leaned into his hand. Ryuuko crawled down the post to whistle on his shoulder and rub his cheek. Of course she didn't care. It was an oath between the two of them, no matter what the Temple said. "I'm sorry, Master," Shon whispered. He finished the motion with his hand over his head, reaching for the dummy but hitting his sword on the way. "I need a new gem... I'm supposed to pass out before being able to overload it, and I've done it three times now." 

"Or, you could train it..." Veon-Zih pointed out. But Shon shook his head. He wasn't going to have that argument right now. Veon-Zih sighed, dropping the subject, and stood. He held out a hand for his student and said instead, "You can build me a new wing chun tomorrow. Now, you need to let your wife know you're alright." 

Shon huffed but took his Master's hand and let himself be pulled to his feet, "When do they want me at the capital?" he asked.

Veon-Zih grinned with a shrug, "Not sure, Lily burned that page... And the gate tokens sent with it." 

Shon closed his eyes and shook his head. But felt himself smile, just a little, by the time he opened them again, "Looks like we're going the long way." 

"About two weeks from here without horses. You can head out tomorrow. After you replace my dummy." Veon-Zih started for the house, patting Lily on the shoulder as he passed. 

Shon met Lily halfway as she came out to join him, her hands held behind her back as she bent forward to tilt her head up at him. "Feeling better?" she asked. 

He didn't answer right away. Instead, he cupped her cheeks, pulling her up for a kiss. Holding her with his lips, he let his fingers trail down her neck to her arms until he brought her left hand around and lifted it. He kissed that too. First, her scaled stripes there, then the ring. Just like his commitment to Hengist and thus the Temple, he didn't need anyone to recognize his oath to Lily to make it binding, "Now I am."