Purple Prose

this is a joke

Fat gray clouds grumbled menacingly above Lake Wynn in Dannagh Desert. Minoth appraised the skies. "Sounds like trouble," he said, looking to Aegaeon for confirmation.

The stoic Blade nodded. "The storm will be heavy, but not violent. My liege, shall we rest here?"

"If you are in assent, Addam?" Hugo replied, passing the chain of execution to their continental liasion.

The prince smiled broadly, as ever. "Shall we keep it going? Jin, what do you think?"

Jin's expression was unknowable beneath his mask, but his voice carried amusement. "It seems a fine time to rest. Lora?"

She was just as enthused, and wriggled her eyebrows playfully. "I'm game if Haze is!"

"I'm with Lady Lora. Don't you agree, Lady Brighid?" Haze continued the frivolous game with abandon, and the final member of their party sighed.

"If you all insisted on taking roll this way every night, we'd be overrun by Volff before a week was up. But yes, we may camp here. I have no objection."

Grins broke out all around at the decision, ignoring Mythra's consternation at being passed over (or rather, passed up, since it would have fallen to Brighid to include her, Addam notwithstanding). The most important piece of information, which had remained unsaid, was that their resting place would be shielded from a potentially overflowing lake by one of the Titan's rocky appendages or other. No way to completely circumvent the rain itself, of course.

"Hey!" Milton yelled indignantly from beneath all their shoulders. "What about me and Mik?"

Mythra looked down, already bored. "Well, what about you shrimps? Got something to say?"

"Mik wants to take a swim before the rain starts," the first prawnlike youth explained, obliging Mythra's query despite all insult and earning a rough elbow from the second. Apparently that had been intended to remain a secret and unfulfilled confession.

Addam frowned. "Are you sure that's wise?"

Wise or not, Mythra offered, "I'll watch them," and brushed off his parental worry probably just for the principle of the thing.

"What, not coming in with us?" Milton teased. "You're basically wearing a swimsuit already." And maybe he was right, but the Light Blade only glared.

Giving in, Addam cautioned, "Alright, but if you're in trouble, yell as loud as you can, just in case more hands are needed."

The remaining adults (though Mythra wasn't really much of one to begin with) set about assembling firewood and seating. Haze and Hugo parceled out items from a pack full of blanket rolls and their dry provisions. They'd rustled up some Aspar meat on their way to the lake, so Jin pulled out Hugo's roughly-smithed cast-iron pot in which to prepare the evening meal. Aegaeon was checking their drinking water, and Addam and Lora were mulling over some notes on fellow travelers' requests.

Brighid stood to the side, looking slightly perturbed. Minoth had already removed his gauntlets and gloves in advance of their evening pursuits, and upon seeing her downward cast shed his jacket as well.

"Might I offer you my jacket, Brighid?" he started genially. At her glance (he'd quickly learned to expertly read a face without the fullest standard expressiveness of eyes), he clarified, "To shield your arms from the rain. Or the droplets, at least."

Her cheeks flushed purple. "Why, Minoth...that's very kind of you. Yes, you may," she answered, turning her back to receive the garment over her shoulders. It was rather large on her, so she didn't need to thread the jagged flames cresting her arms through the sleeves.

"You're rather forward, Master Minoth," an even voice rumbled. Aegaeon, Aegaeon, what a precious boy, but you're so stiff! Don't you remember? Minoth thought to himself. Drama, and make me an opening, like I've been saying all this time. Well, only a few days it had been, in all actuality, but never mind that. Back to the dialogue at large.

"Oh come on, Aegaeon! Do I need your blessing just to offer a lady my jacket and chivalry?"

The Water Blade gave a rare smile and withdrew from the conversation. Likely, he had other romantic prospects to meddle with...

"Woah. Gancho? More like gun show, am I right?"

"Thought you were watching the kids, Mythra. Do you really have time to be staring at my chiseled physique?"

"Piss off, cowboy." A little acerbic, but she was no deterrent to his enjoyment of the group dynamic.

Speaking of being attuned to the dynamic, he caught Brighid stealing a glance and hitching her shoulders underneath his jacket. Unsurprisingly, she disclosed her own thoughts instead of waiting to be caught out.

"You do keep yourself in admirable shape, Minoth. The body of a warrior with the mind of an orator...would that all of Mor Ardain's nobility were so self-possessed."

Privately, Minoth admired the same things about the Jewel. He considered saying as much. Ah, not yet. Not quite.

"That's quite a blow at Hugo, Brighid dear." Now he was being forward. She bristled at the casual, even intimate address, but made no motion to cast off the proffered garment.

"He is brave and true, as the Emperor should be, but his stature does him no favors."

Minoth crossed his arms. Hey, the lady wasn't wrong - she never missed. "Makes him a perfect match for Haze, don't you think?" he asked playfully, hazarding further scandalous conversation.

As might easily have been predicted, Brighid drew back. "What are you implying?"

He laughed now, ridiculous but free. "You haven't heard! Aegaeon's playing quite the matchmaker with those two. I'd bet you right now he's spying on them, waiting for their hands to make the tiniest brush inside the supplies satchel."

"And are you thinking the same thing?" She had caught him off guard, and he wasted no time with pretense. An inquiring hand moved towards hers, eliciting a small but deliberate consenting motion.

Minoth grasped warm blue fingertips and pressed his lips to the back of Brighid's left hand. "From time to time," he said fondly, to break the silence. He didn't expect anything dramatic like a glimpse of her storied violet eyes, and he didn't get it.

"You're quite the man. Do you like that cologne in particular, then?" She was referring to her most exquisitely crafted scent, and yes, he did.

"It's wonderful. Makes me feel like writing the grandest of odysseys and the purplest of prose."

Brighid nodded primly. "You'll let me know if you ever run low." It was a spoken truth more than a question, and Minoth forwent a half-sarcastic "Yes, dear." - now that would have been purple prose!

i repeat, this is a joke