Lammy could only look on in surprise as the paladin tackled her drinks, and about as expediently as he did (if not faster). "She doesn't drink, she says..." He mumbled and smirked and crossed his arms. Lily snorted. "I don't drink, Lammy. This is a special occasion." She rubbed her mouth and shuddered. "Blaugh, Nine Hells, stuff tastes almost as bad as that time I got Ankheg blood in my mouth." She said low enough that Hopestone couldn't hear. Lammy looked towards their hostess as Lily took a second to recover. "Thank you again, for all of your hospitality." He said, slightly louder than he thought. Then, peered back towards the lady paladin. 

"So, it's been like two years since we've adventured last. What've you been up since then?" He asked her.

She paused a few moments before continuing. "After the Battle of the Moor I went back to Waterdeep to report the events to the Temple, and also to give them Faith's Fire." The patted the hilt of her sword. "They decided that my actions said I was worthy of the sword, though, so I got to keep it. After that I was assigned to work as a guard for a Waterdhavian diplomat trying to broker a peace between Neverwinter and Luskan."

She took a sip from her beer to wet her mouth. "That did not go well. Seemed to at first, we'd gotten to what should have been the end of the negotiations, a representative of the Hosttower of the Arcane and Lord Nasher Alagondar ready to sign the treaty. Then just before they put ink to paper the Hosttower guy sends a light into the air and Luskan soldiers come out of nowhere." She shakes her head. "Lord Nasher didn't even blink as soldiers started pouring out of every home and cellar, just sighed and drew his sword, blows a horn, and then tells us we just need to hold our ground for a few minutes. Take cover in a cellar and within ten minutes a hundred of the Neverwinter Knights come charging into the village, lances ready." She shakes her head. "The craziest part? After we got out Lord Nasher didn't even plan on attacking Luskan for it. Apparently this is so typical of them that it wasn't even worth going to war over."

"Uh...heh...wow." The Druid was at a loss of words a bit. "You've...you've been busy, huh?" He leaned back in his seat, downing another long swig of beer from his cup. "Sounds a lot more exciting than what I've been up to!" He chuckled.

"A Paladin's work is never done." Lily said with a shrug. "Speaking of which." She muttered her Control Word, the latches, straps, and arming points of her plate loosening, and began to remove her armor, starting with her gauntlets and working her way across and down her body, revealing the soft cloth padding she wore beneath. "So what [i]have[/i] you been doing, Lammy? Somehow after the Crusade I don't think you decided to get a job herding sheep."

"Nah, I left the sheep herding back at the homestead." He replied, managing to peel his eyes away from the not-so-sensual strip show. "After we split, me and Sheeva kinda just...freelanced around. We collected bounties, found lost items, protected struggling families, rescued cats out of trees. Y'know, the usual. Made a little bit of gold for my troubles, sent it back with Amaya. (You remember Amaya, right? Pigtails, taller than you, shorter than me?)

"I actually ran into her again a few months back, and we travelled around for a bit. Got a ton of magic training done, with lil' sis as the mentor. She suggested I look into the other elements, but I decided to stick with fire for the time being. I can conjure fireballs without barely even [i]thinking[/i] about it now!" He thought about showing her right then and there, but considering all the hard alcohol in the area, it wasn't really the best idea. 

Sheeva flapped down from her perch in the rafters, landing in one of the adjacent seats. "Chi-weirk! [i](And, she's with child as well!)[/i]" She added with some excitement, with in turn, made Lammy excited.

"Oh yeah, how could I forget?! I'm gonna be an uncle!" He announced. "It's still kinda early, so we don't know if it's a boy or a girl, but I know we're gonna have another druid in our family!" He was beaming a bit, and took another long swig of beer to calm himself down. "Amaya was on her way back to the homestead to tell our parents the news. That was like, a few days ago. Then...[i]this[/i]...happened." He gestured about the tavern.

She reached over and clapped him on her shoulder with her now-bare hand before starting to work on her other arm. "You haven't had such an uneventful time yourself, albeit less insane than what tends to happen when I'm around." She grinned.

Lammy couldn't help but grin back. "Heh, yeah. But, insane is easier to endure when around you, Y'know? Like, you make insane [i]doable[/i]." He replied with a chuckle. The druid pondered in that brief moment, recounting significant moments leading up to the present. 

"...It's kinda funny, thinking back. Actually being able to reminisce on some of our accomplishments. Wouldn't be able to think back on these things if I was still home. I'd probably still be a lazy, jobless bum if I'd had never met you guys. Still blaming the world for my own shortcomings." He smirked, voice lowering. "You've had more impact on my life than you know, Lily. Really, changed me for the better." He admitted sheepishly, staring into his cup.

She smiled at him, her cheeks reddening a little bit. It took her a few seconds to work out how to respond, taking a sip of her drink. "You sell yourself too short, Lammy. Even if me or Eranah or any of us hadn't been there you still would've come, would've fought the good fight. You've got a heart like a lion."

"If I've got a lion's heart, then you've got the...bigger...lion's...heart." He stumbled a bit on his words. He could name all the strong, courageous animals in the world, but couldn't think of one just then. His brain was going a mile a minute, as was his pulse. "Seriously, watching you fight, or tackle a situation, or rally us together...I was never [i]not[/i] inspired. Felt like I wanted to [i]be[/i] you just as much as I wanted to be...with...you." His mouth and head were moving at two different speeds, and that little ditty kind of just slid out before he could catch himself. Now [i]his[/i] face was red.

"I, uh..." Lily went a similar shade of red. "Um." She glanced around the room. This was [i]not[/i] the situation she wanted to have a conversation like this. Quickly she formulated a devious plan, finishing removing the plates on her boots and setting her armor aside. She belted Soul's Fire back around her waist, then glanced over at the others. 

"Hey, I need to get some air, I'll be just outside." She tilted her head at him, trying to indicate that he should come with her. Lily had many strengths and good qualities, a strong sense of subtlety wasn't one of them.

"O-oh...er...umm..." Lammy wasn't exactly sure how he was to react to her reaction. Now that his feelings were out in the open, he thought she might've been turning him down. Either way, he stood from his seat, ready (if hesitant) to follow her.

She stepped out into the cold air. The sun had finished its descent sometime since they'd stepped inside, and the moon lay high in the sky, a crescent but blazing as bright as any full moon Lily had ever scene. She looked up, and felt a chill run through her stomach. The stars were so strange here, alien patterns in the sky, and no sign of the Tears of Selune in the moon's wake. 

She stepped down the street a short ways from the inn, then turned around, looking at Lammy. Truthfully, she had no idea what she was going to say. "I, um..." Brilliant, Lily, she thought. "I missed you." She managed to get out.

A little voice poked into her thoughts. No, really? You missed him? Why don't you tell him something else blindingly obvious, preferably something you already told him in more words.

"You, uh..." She stammered, then just decided to hell with it. "You made all the dark places seem a little brighter. I don't think I laughed as much in the whole time we were apart as I did in the little time we were together.

Something tingled in the back of her neck, she took it for embarrassment. The little voice in her head calling her an idiot didn't help matters there.

There was an...[i]unexplainable[/i] sensation buzzing through Lammy's brain. Could've been the alcohol. Between it, and Lily's words, he was far too focused on the moment to notice the chilly night breezes passing through his clothes. He closed the gap between the two, the Druid taking up her hands. Warm, soft, but firm and powerful all the same. He felt she could save the world all by herself if she wanted. "I don't think I could've brightened those places without you." He leaned in slowly, his forehead touching hers. "You've filled me with so much hope..."

She looked into his eyes. She wanted to say something else, but no words came to mind that made any sense - half of them seemed to be in different languages, and most of the rest were gibberish. Lily swallowed nervously, then mustered that courage that let her stand against a dozen screaming Orcs without flinching, led her back into a blazing building to find one more life, and gathered more of it than she ever knew she had, leaned forward and kissed him, quickly and more than a little clumsily.

It was partially expected, but Lammy was wholly surprised nonetheless. Either way, he was lost in the moment now. Nothing else, just the Druid, and the Paladin. He leaned back in, holding the kiss longer than just a frantic peck. Introduced some tongue to the equation. It grew longer and warmer still, and his hands began to move on instinct, exploring and caressing the curves of her padded waist.

Lily slipped her arms behind him, pulling him against her, running her fingers into his hair and holding him tight. She felt so foolish for not doing this sooner - but at least she did it now.

Then, an intense shiver traveled up and down Lammy's spine. Was it the anticipation of the moment? Or just the weather finally getting to him? Paired with it, was a minute stench on the air. Something unnatural, feral, and close. Wasn't Lily, obviously. Made him remember that being outside after dark wasn't the best mode of action in this town. It brought him out of the moment, if only briefly. "Lily, wait." He pulled back the tiniest bit, just enough to talk. His voice kept low and soft. "Let's go back inside. Don't want anyone worrying about us." He added, really not wanting some sort of monster ruining the moment. 

Lily sensed it too, a cold thrill up her spine that had nothing to do with the warmer feelings the moment was giving her. She slipped her hand from around him reluctantly and nodded. She started to head back inside when she noticed that they weren't alone, her [i]other[/i] old friend sitting against the wall of the inn not ten feet away from them.

"...hi, Eranah." She said, her face burning so hard she was certain it was glowing in the night. "It's, uh, getting kinda dark, so we were just thinking you might want to come back inside."

Brilliant cover, Lily.

There was an immense amount of happiness welling up in Lammy in the awkward moment. He stifled a laugh, holding back from busting a gut. "Lily, I think she saw everything!" He loudly whispered to her, continuing to lead her over the threshold.

"Shut up, Lammy." She ground out. Eranah was the last person she would have wanted to see that. Not because she felt like she had looked like a fool, although she did, but because she had the sneaking suspicion she was going to have either A: a visit from her discussing proper propriety with such matters please merciful Torm no, or worse: a visit where she imparted her age old wisdom. Lammy on the other hand, just chuckled some more.