Rensha's understanding acceptance was reassuring, and her desire for more was exhilirating, if dangerous for Kleris' secret.  Still, it was quite a successful step in their relationship.  "I'd like that a lot, I can't wait to see where these muscles go..." tracing his slim fingers across her arm.<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Day 67<br/>Forest on Campus</strong></span></div><br/>Thankfully the gang's inability to affect the illusion had no bearing on its effectiveness, keeping them from the couple's privacy.  Jogging back to make sure they were all right, he caught them enjoying their afterglow and stayed a respectful distance, letting them have their moment while also reminding them of their time constraint.<br/><br/>"You're quite welcome; I'm glad everything went, uh, smoothly, and you're both happy.  I can imagine you were both pretty nervous about this, and I didn't want anything extra interfering.  I should probably head off for now, Artaxes, but I'll see you later in class if not before!"<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Letter From Home</strong></span></div><br/>Reading letters from mom was always comforting, with a bittersweet homesickness that came as well.  Today, however, the tone was quite serious, revealing hidden parts of his parents' pasts that he'd never guessed at until the past few weeks.  The fact that his ring wasn't supposed to activate until true danger fell just reminded him of how close to dying they all were.  Though if dad were alive, maybe Kleris would find him through an old contact.  At least he knew he'd been to Eberron, so this was a good chance to investigate.  Mom seemed chastened, though Kleris wasn't even mad; he could understand they were trying to cut off their past, and Kleris himself kept a lot of his misadventures from them just for his own sake.<br/><br/><em>Dear mother,<br/><br/>Thank you for your letter and candor.  I'm not angry or upset, I can understand you had to forget your past to build a safe future for yourselves and me.  I also appreciate what you've been able to tell me now, as it seems I'm bumping into some of those parts of dad.  While I don't want to ruin what you and dad have done to protect me, I feel that I need to know more, if not to find dad, to know what else may be out there and be ready.  We're in Eberron now, in Sharn, the tower city; do you know who gave dad the ring, where they are?<br/><br/>Besides all of that business, school is going well.  I'm doing well in my classes, even though a few are more physically demanding than I'd expected.  We even have a dungeon that we go through, opening doors and disabling traps and avoiding obstacles.  It's tough, but our professor keeps a close watch and nobody gets badly hurt.  I've been doing a few club activities, helping out with a play, trying out this Spellflag sport, even a couple practice duels.  I have a lot of good friends, and we all look out for each other, so I'm in good hands here.  I hope the shop is doing well, and that you are too.<br/><br/>Love,<br/>Kleris</em><br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Day 72<br/>A Familiar Face</strong></span></div><br/>When he saw the "girl," Kleris both recognized her and tried to deny what he was seeing.  Hearing her call out his name sent his brian into a dark tunnel of panic:  what was he going to do, he had tried to pretend she was all a dream, now she's here in front of Zull and everything was going to be ruined and he'd be locked in Wizard Jail forever!<br/><br/>Elgazia made up some story, however, leaving Kleris to decide to throw himself on the grenade, or build a whole new delicate balancing act of lies on top.  "T-thats right..." he swallowed, eyes not leaving Rachel.  "Back at home, me and Rachel.  I'm so glad that you're free of all of that.  I have to say I'm pretty surprised to meet you here as well."  He kept a smile on his face to keep her happy, but wasn't sure what "going easy" meant, or when that would run out.  Just being near her and her telepathic images, however, was getting him overstimulated and holding his books over his skirt.  "But yeah, we've got to get running to class, we'll, uh, talk later...!"<br/>