Chapter excerpt~
Lugh pron. "loo"
Goídelc pron. "gwee-del-ik"
Samhain pron. "sow-ehn"
Sidhe pron. "shee"
~~~~~~~~~
The crunching of dry foliage rustled Aurelius from idle thoughts. He propped himself up on his elbows as a stag emerged from the brush with its full autumn rack, carrying a slight rider perched on its broad back.
“Lugh!” Aurelius sat up as they rode over, smiling at their smile.
“Au! I’m glad to see you. I wasn’t sure you were still coming out here.” They shimmied off their mount, accepting Aurelius’s usual offer of a hand down with a squeeze to his fingers in thanks. The help was especially useful with their left wrist resting in a tartan sling, stiff with splints bound tightly in green linen.
“Oh, I’ve uh, I’ve been out here every day,” Aurelius coughed, embarrassment creeping up. “Just for a little bit, at our time. Are you- are you okay?” His eyes flicked over their injury.
“Every day?” Lugh tilted their head, lips quirking up, avoiding addressing his question. “Well, I’m flattered, but don’t you have, ah, things to do? Your occupation?”
Aurelius cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck which was prickling, to his annoyance. “Oh, sure, but…work is slowing down. Quotas are all filled now, you know how it is.” When had Lugh been hurt? He didn’t see blood or flinching from fresh pain.
Lugh raised an eyebrow, unsure what that Latin word ‘quota’ had meant, punctuating the middle of their usual conversational Goídelc. “Sure… Well, does that mean you’ll not be coming out here soon, then?” They took a seat cross-legged on the ground as their buck wandered over to the lapping water.
Aurelius followed suit, retaking his seat to face Lugh at an angle. “It’s not too far for me. I don’t mind coming here.” The little lie about the distance covered his shyness from admitting his daily visits, most fruitless.
Relief perked up the corners of Lugh’s smile. “Oh, good! Because I missed seeing you while I was waiting until I could ride on my own again, after this,” they frowned at their slinged arm, missing Aurelius blink and flick his gaze to them, “and seeing as Samhain’s tomorrow eve, I didn’t know if you’d stay in the city after, over the winter.” Aurelius’s eyes had dropped to the sling again, so Lugh distracted him by leaning in close with a conspiratorial look. “I have a little proposal, if you’ll consider it.”
The way Lugh’s green eyes peered up at him through dark lashes, leaning so close he felt their breath on his cheek, had Aurelius’s pulse threshing like a prey animal’s leg in a trap. Their mischievous smirk had him feeling like a schoolboy about to skip lecture. Aurelius bit the inside of his lip to push old inappropriate notions down. “Uh, yeah, shoot.”
Pleased, Lugh scooted to face him better, to sit a little closer. “Well, see, I’m in need of a full set of hands, and a companion to shorten the road wouldn’t hurt, either. Turns out setting up camp and carrying supplies is such a nuisance with my wrist snapped like a dry twig,” Lugh laughed.
Aurelius paled, brows raising. “You’re still travelling? What, alone? With the cold setting in, and- and your wrist like that? Aren’t there- Lugh! I had to throw bloody raiders off of you not a month ago! How is this safe for you?!”
Lugh rolled their eyes and flapped their good hand in the air. “Oh, hush, it’s fine. I’ve travelled in winter before. And, if you’re so worried, it would be safer if I had someone around who knows how to handle his sword watching my backside.”
Aurelius narrowed his eyes, arms crossed over his chest. He may not know a lot yet about Lugh or the sidhe, but he couldn't see any way travelling alone was a good idea, things as they were. “What could be so important that you need to go, now?”
“That’s for you to find out, if you come along,” Lugh evaded, winking.
~~~~~~~~~~