1869 Stick and Carrot (Part 1)

"I treat people like my experiments, in the most direct and efficient way." Aerth answered with pride.

"Even Grandma says you are a weirdo and now I understand why." Solus sighed. "I'll come here straight after dinner."

"So it's a date."

"No, I want to be back home early. My father is still a mess and I want to be there to wish him goodnight." She replied.

"We set a place and an hour and you said you will come. That's how a date works." Aerth nodded with a huge grin in his mind, clearly oblivious of the subtext of the entire conversation.

Meanwhile, Lith was already back at the tower and was preparing for the night.

'Gods, saying that the guy is a pain in the ass is an understatement. If I didn't need Aerth for my golems, I'd have already given him the beating of a lifetime.' He thought while trying out different outfits.

He needed something not too elegant to not overdress his companions and bright colored to compensate for his terrible mood. Lith wanted to spend a pleasant evening, maybe vent off a bit, not be a buzzkill.

'I'm actually happy that he's making a move on Solus. Even if they get carried by their old feelings and get back together it will never last. After Solus finally gets some life experiences of her own, if she has to be with an insufferable prick, it might as well be me.'

As it always happened in those cases, Lith was torn.

On the one hand, he wanted Solus to enjoy herself and become her own person instead of just being the accessory at Lith Verhen's finger. On the other hand, he was jealous of her.

Even though their relationship had never had a physical component, the intimacy between them ran deep. They knew each other better than anyone else and, in a way, even better than themselves.

It had made their relationship ambiguous even back when Solus was just a voice in his head and now the boundaries had become much foggier. They had gone from never spending the night in the same bed to doing it every time Solus had a nightmare after Vastor's wedding.

After moving to the Desert and with all that had happened, forcing Lith into exile, she always slept beside him. It created a growing atmosphere of tenderness between them that was further aggravated by their respective recent trauma.

"I'm sorry, man, but I have no clothes fitting for the evening. Can I borrow one of your suits again?" Nalrond entered his room after knocking, snapping Lith out of it.

"Same." Protector's deep baritonal voice said. "I would like to say that it's because I escaped in a rush, but the truth is that I never cared much about fashion and I'm tired of people looking at me funny."

"That's because no one wears hunting clothes in a city, you wolfhead!" Selia's voice came from a distance. "When people see a man of your size dressed for battle, they expect trouble."

"Why didn't you bring him on a shopping spree, then?" Lith yelled.

"Because he's too big! Every piece of clothing has to be tailor made and it costs a lot. We already had troubles making ends meet with two houses, three kids, and too many mouths to feed!" She glared at Slash and Crash, the kids' steeds who contributed to the family budget only with expenses.

The two beasts whimpered, offering their belly to the alpha in submission.

Lith sighed and lent his friends a suit each. After they were all dressed and shaved, they used the Warp Gate to reach the nearest Regional Lord of the Desert. From there, a Warping Array brought them to their destination, the city of Efima in the Gorgon Empire.

None of the three men had the papers to use the regular Gate and Lith was even a wanted criminal in the Kingdom. Sure, the Empire wouldn't arrest him. The Empress was more likely to offer him a job, yet he wanted to avoid drawing attention.

Thanks to the Beasts' Gate network, he could still move throughout the Garlen continent as long as he didn't cause trouble and escaped the local authorities' notice.

The destination of the group was Haug's Travelling Tavern again. It was one of the few establishments where people of every race, Awakened or not, could mingle together without being bothered, even in times of war.

The ambiance was great, the food was even better, and usually the company was pleasant.

Usually.

The Travelling Tavern was packed and lively, yet once Lith walked through the door, a few people recognized him. The music and the chatting stopped, making an awkward silence befall the room.

Parmegianno Haug inwardly cursed, he had hoped for a more discreet reaction to his 7 o'clock reservation. A wave of his hand made the band resume playing and the singer sing the tunes of a love song.

"I'm sorry for the cold shoulder." Haug shook Lith's hand. "Some people still remember your little show in Derios and are afraid of an encore."

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry." Lith said with a sigh. "It's the second time that I've messed with your livelihood, but I promise that there won't be a third. How much do I owe you from last time?"

Haug pondered for a while as he led them to their table. A nice square table for four near the band and away from the rest of the customers.

"Adding up the bill, the damages, and the lost income from the hurried escape it makes two silver coins."

Lith gave him three and Haug accepted them with a deep bow before taking their order.

"How are you guys doing in the Desert?" Lith asked, eager to lighten the mood.

"Believe it or not, it worked great for Selia and me." Protector said with a smile. "Salaark gave us a huge apartment that self-repairs so we don't have to deal with damage anymore.

"The kids have already made a lot of new friends and now every morning is a battle to make them wait for schooltime instead of forcing them to go. On top of that, thanks to the set of Orichalcum Scalewalkers you gave us, clothes aren't an issue anymore.

"Thank you, Lith. You have no idea what this means for both my family and my budget." He said while shapeshifting his nigh-indestructible suit.

Actually, Selia wasn't happy losing her home and her job again. The climate was too hot for their taste and there was the problem of getting used to new dishes and customs of the Desert.

Yet Ryman could see how depressed Lith was so he glossed over everything that would have made him feel worse.

"No need to thank me. It's the least I could do after troubling you so much." Lith sighed. "What about you, Nalrond?"

"It's hard." The Rezar sipped the beer from his tankard while in his beast form. "Everything here brings me back to the times when my fiancé and I escaped the Fringe to mingle with the Desert tribes.

"Eskia loved pretending to be a regular woman and disappearing in the bustling activity of the markets. Gods if I miss her." The longing in his voice and the sadness in his eyes were palpable.