Lily shifted the package in her hands as Souta opened the door, and she felt the corner of her lips twitch upwards. She looked up just as he looked down, eyes meeting for all of a moment. She noted a few of the emotions that passed over his features, one particular that was akin to disappointment or being judging. She chose to ignore it for the moment. 

“Konnichiwa, Souta,” she replied with only a faint accent. She hadn’t used Japanese in a while. “I’m impressed you’ve learned to recognise me. I assume it was my pendant?” She asked, putting a finger on the item in question, currently resting on the outside of her dress. 

Souta shook his head.  “Well, it was just a guess, but the Citadel does not really take guests, and so far there have been a few, uh, commonalities between every form you have chosen.”  

“One of which is my necklace,” she told him, gently running a finger along the edges of the stone in it. She looked up again, sporting a knowing grin. “But I think I know what you’re referring to.” She took a small, half step closer and shifted the package once more. “Do you mind if I came in? I wanted to talk a bit, if that’s alright with you.” 

Stepping out of the way, the smith opened wide the door.  “Please do.”  Of course, his habitation could not be said to be prepared for guests, but Souta had kept it organized, at least.  Lily walked in and gave the room a thorough look around, raising a casual eyebrow as she noticed a few new things in the room that weren’t there last she came, including a brutal-looking mechanized pickaxe that lay with nonchalance against the wall, as well as a high-tech personal forge. Souta’s, she presumed. 

She frowned slightly at the near spartan furnishing of the room, and was thankful that her back was to the smith so that he didn’t see such an unsightly expression on her face. When she turned around, she looked up at him with her head cocked to one side, biting one of her lips gently. She hadn’t missed his earlier looks, especially not the subtle way his expression changed when he looked at both her dress, and face. She had known humans long enough to notice when things put them off, and this was one such time where she suspected she had made an error. A verdict she very, very rarely made and accepted. 

“I get the sense that you find my chosen appearance this time somewhat… displeasing. If you have a preference, I could change into that if you so desired. And I mean anything.” She smiled to herself, allowing a small amount of pride to creep into her voice. “Few things are outside of my capabilities.” 

For a moment Souta looked taken aback.  “Ah, no.  Do not wor...I mean, there is nothing wrong, really.  I was just a bit...surprised to see that you became, uh, Japanese.  Still not used to shapeshifting, I guess.”  He thought he detected some other undercurrent in his guest’s offer.  “And there is no preference.  You are perfectly fine just like this.”

She searched his face for a while, the silence thick as she sought for any lie or half-truth. She thought she saw something in his eyes, but couldn’t find any immediate deceit. So she decided to trust him. “If you say so,” she said, and stepped close enough to be just on the edge of his personal space. She held out the cylindrical package she had with her. “I brought a gift. I figured, maybe, you’d appreciate it?” 

Souta returned a suitably appreciative smile, though a twinge of awkwardness could be felt by both.  Gingerly he reached out and took the package, noting its length and shape, before giving a polite inclination of his head.  “Of course!  Thank you.”  He turned it over, so that the top lay in his right hand.  “Shall I...open it?”

“I had hoped you would.” 

Moving a touch quicker than normal, Souta undid the packaging.  In a matter of seconds he unveiled the gift’s contents, and the instant he lay eyes on them he was captivated.  Though simple in design, the katana he withdrew possessed an exceptional beauty and quality, particularly given what he guessed to be an extremely advanced age.  “Masamune,” he read, the characters given in a delicate inscription in the steel itself.  With eyebrows raised he glanced back Lily’s way.  “Not one of the works of [i]the[/i] Masamune, Japan’s greatest smith?”

The glee Lily felt at his astonishment was difficult to suppress, some of it glinting in her eyes. “I called him ‘Sensei’ once,” she said, and nodded towards the sword. “I helped make that, though no more than a simple student at the time.” She stepped over to the bed, sitting with with one leg crossed over the other. “It is yours now, if you will have it.” 

Wide-eyed, Souta took a deep breath, though his awe did not stem from the object in his hands alone.  “Whoa.  I am...well, breathtaken.  Every Japanese metalworker dreams of even coming close to Masamune’s mastery.  To hold one of his swords in my hands...it is a tremendous honor.”  Quite overcome, he bowed his head again, seemingly forgetting his usual casual manner.  “I will treasure it until the day I die.  Thank you, Lily.”

She bowed her head in kind, though being seated somewhat lessened the effect. She extended her hands towards the remainders of the package. “I’m glad that my gift is appreciated, though there is more to it still. I have not used them in ages, but my old tools are there as well. I thought they may prove more useful to you, than they are to me. Although, if that is of any indication,” she glanced meaningfully towards the forge, an assembly of technology more advanced than anything she’d seen in the way of smithing, “I may somewhat doubt that. An inspiration, perhaps?” She chuckled, feeling a small bit of relief wash through her system. Part of her had, indeed, wondered what the reception would have been, but it had been all positive, which she appreciated. She breathed out and straightened herself, patting the bed beside her and invited him to sit down with her. 

Now rather close to beaming, Souta gave a little wave of his hand in a sort of well-what-can-you-do gesture.  “We respect the old ways, but there is good reason why we do not use them nowadays.  Still, I would be very interested to try them out.  Inspiration, yeah.”  His manner grew just a touch more wary when Lily beckoned him over, though perhaps more in the vein of being afraid of making a mistake than being afraid of her.  After carefully setting down the katana and the tool kit on his desk, Souta approached and seated himself beside her.  With no idea on earth what to say next, he left it to her to carry on from there.

Lily, contrary to what Souta may have thought, did not suddenly pounce him or even so much as touch him. Rather, she simply turned towards him, intent on asking a single, though important, question. 

“I feel like I should be candid with you,” she said slowly, folding her fingers in her lap, “and I expect it might come as a bit of a surprise, but I do like you Souta. The sword and tools weren’t just to win your favour, but my attempts to prove that I can be… thoughtful.” A wry smile made it to her lips. “Admittedly, being nearly three millennia old, it is not always easy, but I do make an effort where I feel like it counts. So, what I really wanted to ask was… What do you think of me? I ask because I, honestly, don’t want to scare you away.” 

The time came for Souta to bite his lip.  Lily could practically see the gears turning; it was clear that he didn’t have a response ready.  In fact, he could very likely be deciding just how he felt in this moment.  A few moments passed before he began to reply, though his words came slow.  “I...I am guessing you are not looking for compliments, so I will be candid too.  It is...hard to not be, uh...well, it is even hard to say, especially for a tough guy like I am, but it is very hard to not be...intimidated.”  

He paused for just a second, and swallowed.  “I mean...everything about you is amazing, not just your looks.  Your fighting, your past, your attitude, who you are...it is like a blazing sun, but here I am, just a candle.  I know you do not want to make me afraid, but...feelings of inadequacy, helplessness, unknown...they are pretty scary.  I...I do not know exactly.  Maybe this sounds like nonsense to you.  That might be because you really are on that different, higher level.  It is nice being with you, of course, but there is always this pressure I feel, surrounding me.  I...I am sorry, but if I am someone who cannot live up to the expectations of his own family and friends, how am I…?”  He held up a hand by his head, running his fingers through his hair.  “O-of course, none of this is your fault.  It is similar with Fenn, the Council.  I am surrounded by beings who are so much greater.  It is...a heavy pressure.“  Not able to meet Lily’s eyes for a few moments now, he continued to stare at his forge.

Lily had heard it all before. Maybe not often, but it was a spiel she was familiar with. And she found one thing that often seemed to work. She reached out and gently took hold of his chin and forced him to look at her, and then placed a gentle kiss on his lips. When she pulled back, there was a softness to her eyes that only the likes of Cassandra had ever seen. “And yet, here you are,” she said and put her hands back in her lap. “Don’t misunderstand, Souta. We are indeed powerful, but so are you. It is all relative. There are demons that still scares the living daylights out of me, and whom I would never want to cross, and likewise there are demons who are so much weaker than I that I don’t have to care about them.” She smiled and poked him pointedly in the chest with a nail. [i]”You[/i] are the exact same way. Compared to other humans, you are a force to be reckoned with. To some I am weak, to others I am strong. And so it is with you.” She smiled and gestured to the room around them, and the Citadel at large. “And it’s not all strength. If you hadn’t the courage and drive to face things far stronger than yourself, and emerge victorious, then you wouldn’t be here… Sometimes, it’s just a matter of being a little brave.” She paused, the smile staying on her lips for a few moments before she chuckled awkwardly. “But please don’t tell Fenn about me being afraid of some. He’d never let me live it down.” 

A short quiet persisted between the two.  Souta had made no resistance, accepting with obvious gratitude Lily’s reassurance and gesture of affection, yet the subtlest hint of misgiving remained.  Still, the distraught look that had haunted him during his confession had ebbed away, leaving him with a slight smile.  “...Your secret is safe with me,” he told her.

“And last time you looked stunned when I kissed you,” she said, smirking. “You’re improving… How shall I take that difference in reaction, I wonder?” Some might say that she, at this moment, looked like the cat who caught a mouse. Others, that she was a mischievous demon who caught a human.

Though he seemed to guess that Lily wasn’t completely serious, Souta furrowed his brow.  “Er...it was a lot more surprising the first time.  So...take it as normal?”

Lily dipped her head in acknowledgement briefly. “I shall do so, then,” she said. “But I wonder, where will it go from here?” She looked him in the eyes meaningfully, the corner of her lips twitching upwards. “I have made my feelings quite clear, I think. It’s up to you to do what you will.” 

Once again, Souta swallowed.  “Okay.  Thank you.  I will keep that in mind.”

Satisfied, at least somewhat, with the answer, Lily stood up and turned towards the door. “I will be looking forward to it, then. Oh, and by the way,” she looked back at him over her shoulder, “if you ever feel lonely, give me a call.” She winked at him, and was gone, the door closing behind her.