Chapter Text
„Row of knights! I eliminate you again, Zaveid!“ Rose piped triumphantly.
„Guess it can’t be helped.“ The wind seraph leaned back smugly. „What is it they say: Unlucky at cards, lucky in love.“ He shot Lailah a suggestive glance.
„Well in your case—“ Edna started to tease him cynically only to be distracted by a sound coming from the adjacent room.
„Aaanyway!“ Rose redirected the others attention. „What have you got?!“ She challenged the earth seraph.
The girlish looking seraph hesitantly unwrinkled her brows and looked at her cards. „Well,“ she started with her characteristic lack of interest in her voice, „I guess, I have a dragon.“ Taking the card from her hand she added innocently: „Does that help my case?“
But the slight smile of superiority tugging at the corners of her lips betrayed that she understood very well the advantage the card granted her as she placed it on the table.
Again a low, inarticulate sound echoed from the the wall.
Zaveid leaned his elbows on his knees and looked from the wall to the human and seraphim sitting around the table as if to verify: you hear this too, right.
Rose made a grumbling sound and it was hard to tell whether she was seriously that displeased with Edna’s move or whether it was to focus their attention back on the game.
But they obviously heard the muffled sound again, a low kind of…moan?!
“Lailah?“ Rose addressed the seraph next in turn, causing the fire seraph to jump almost invisibly.
„There is nothing I can do.“ She admitted, somewhat flustered, and drew a card from the deck.
Zaveid was enchanted as he saw the Lady of the Lake blush and use her fanned out cards to hide the lower part of her face. Edna looked at her almost aghast.
„That means, it’s my turn again!“ Rose concluded, scrutinizing the cards on her hand.
And yes, the earth seraph determined, it was definitely a moan they were hearing.
Zaveid had gathered as much, she thought as she saw a small smile creeping into his face.
„There goes my king!“ The squire announced, slapping the card onto the table, only to be followed by another deep moan.
Disregarding the light chuckle from the wind seraph, Edna grumpily discarded two useless cards as her previous move allowed her. Zaveid was clearly enjoying himself.
Who on earth… she grumbled but the inner offense she was taking was cut short as the moans grew into a very vocal groan. The sound was muffled through the wall but left no doubt that it was the Shepherd’s voice they were hearing.
Well, fantastic! The earth seraph couldn’t imagine anything better than this; this even trumped having to listen to those two nerding on about ruins.
„It’s your turn, Lailah!“ She addressed the seraph next to her sourly. And, eyeing her fan of cards, added „You do realize that you’re supposed to get rid of your cards?!“
The addressed seraph nodded, seemingly very much absorbed into her cards.
„If I play this card…“ she tentatively placed the card before herself, „…I can get rid of 4 cards at once?!“ She looked at Rose questioningly until the young woman nodded, eyes grinning smugly with the noises from the other room.
Lailah contemplatively placed four cards flush on the table as the sudden noise of objects being knocked over and tumbling unceremoniously to the ground ensured that their attention did not miss any of the increasingly erratic groans from the other room.
„Well, I didn’t plan for that!“ The squire chuckled with a smile in her eyes entirely too amused.
Another groan from what was obviously the Shepherd left little to the imagination.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! The earth seraph thought to herself.
„Wait?!“ Zaveid almost leaned out of his chair as he gaped at Rose. „You planned for this?!“
The young assassin only gave him her trademark smirk.
The wind seraph looked at her clearly impressed.
„What, you planned us playing cards and listening to Sorey and ice-princess getting it off?!“ Edna almost hissed at her in disbelieve.
„No!“ Rose replied firmly. How was I supposed to know…that what? They would give them rooms next to each other? That the walls of the inn would be so thin? That the good Shepherd turned out to be rather vocal…?
Honestly, she didn’t mind at all.
„I just planned for him to get rid of some of that pent up tension! It was seriously impeding his ability to focus.“
„You sure are taking your duties as the Shepherd’s squire seriously!“ Zaveid credited, causing the woman to grin smugly from one ear to another.
Another deep moan was heard along with something that could vaguely be deciphered as „God—…—kleo!“
Oh! Lailah only now seemed to realize that the sounds were coming from the other two party members’ room, and — hearing Sorey's voice again — what this undoubtedly implied: Ooh!
Her expression betrayed her train of thoughts as her lips formed the silent sound and the fire seraph blushed as red as her element.
„What? You’re seriously only catching on now?!“ The younger seraph almost barked at her incredulously.
A climactical moan reverberated trough the silence between them, which to Edna seemed altogether too close and vivid but at least promised an end to this.
Lailah blinked. „I never knew…“
„I guess, I just never thought about it…“ the fire seraph pondered. „I mean, it is obvious that they love each other dearly.“
Edna hit her forehead against the tabletop: she didn’t know what was worse, the noises she was forced to hear in on or Lailah’s grossly sappy words — how could she be so much older than all of them and still be so naive?!
„It’s just— they are still so young!“ Lailah muttered. It must have very much felt like that to Lailah who was many centuries their major.
„Yeah, but that’s the thing!“ The squire accounted for with conviction. „They should naturally be all over each other all the time.“
„You’re sure right about that!“ Zaveid couldn't contain his approval for the whole situation.
Edna’s head spun up from the table „You be quiet! I have heard enough of you!“
The wind seraph grinned almost apologetically. „You’re sure not letting that go, hugh?!“
„But it is true that Sorey’s focus has been lacking…and he has been rather distracted and jumpy.“ The Prime Lord mused, tipping her finger to her chin. „Increasingly so.“
Edna grunted. „Well that should be taken care of now!“