A few hours later
Lumberling stepped into the elven clearing where he usually trained, the trees parting like silent witnesses to his arrival. The scent of wildflowers mingled with the hum of arcane energy in the air. Thessalia was already there, arms folded, her green hair catching the sunlight like strands of moonlight. She eyed him with an arched brow, calm, analytical… but not without a trace of something else beneath.
"You've got a good smile today," she said coolly, not even bothering to look directly at him.
Lumberling grinned. "Of course I do. I'm meeting my favorite teacher again, after all."
But Thessalia didn't respond to the flattery. Her green eyes narrowed slightly, unreadable. "I didn't know skipping lessons with your 'favorite teacher' was such a common custom among humans."
He rolled his shoulders with a lazy stretch. "Some… pressing business came up."
