Bleeding Heart

It had been about a week. Preparations for Lowks"s wedding was going rather smoothly, but he had to spend a lot of time on it. But it was enjoyable, especially with Vixen helping him.

But, right now, he was not working on getting his wedding prepared. Instead, he was going with his sister to visit Kur. Part of him did just want to be with Vixen, but he did also want to check on his friend.

As he walked beside of his sister, Lowks turned and looked at her and asked curiously, "So, did Kur ever tell you that he had feelings for someone?"

Tira did not even turn to look at him, as she answered, "No, he didn"t."

"Really? But you two are so close, aren"t you? Closer than I am to him, anyway." Lowks frowned, "Did it just never come up?"

Now, his sister did turn to look at him, a faintly exasperated look on her face, "Seriously Lowks, I can"t tell if you"re just dense or just unperceptive when it comes to people."

"What do you mean?"

"Kur has never told me; it doesn"t mean I don"t know. Guy has been in love for several years now. I"m not really the only one to pick up on it either. I am a bit surprised he actually came out and talked about it."

Lowks frowned. He did not think he was dense… but he did tend not to pay attention to people that much. He much preferred the wilderness so… he had not picked up on Kur being in love until last week. And that might be because he was just more interested in the idea of love now as it no longer hurt to think about.

Then Tira muttered, "He really needs to get over his shyness. At least for this."

"Probably…" It would be hard for Kur to ever get his lady if he couldn"t push his shyness away for however long it took to confess his feelings. Even if the girl had feelings for him, due to his status he had to be the one to court, or else the girl could have some backlash from trying for someone above her station.

Lowks found himself wondering just how likely it was for Kur to actually say a word to this girl of his. Eventually, he probably would. But it might take a while. If he was lucky the girl might even wait for him.

Kur had finally been allowed to start moving around. Which meant he was now in the library, happily reading as Quopras played on the top of the shelves. Back to his regular schedule of staying inside and voluntarily looking after the library.

Lowks enjoyed reading, but he found it hard to fathom just how much this friend of his was into it. But for as long as Lowks had been working for the queen, this elf had stationed himself there.

Kur"s eyes lit up when he saw them. and he flashed them his shy but friendly smile. "Tira! Lowks! You came to see me? Or did you want a book?"

"To see you of course." Tira moved over and sat in the chair beside of him, "They let you out, I see."

"Finally…" He sighed, "I much prefer being cooped up by choice, it"s no fun when you have to stay inside."

Tira just shook her head, a fond smile hovering on her lips. It was always a bit interesting that the two of them were such close friends when they could not be much more different. Kur was a shy, bookish wizard who stayed indoors as much as possible. Tira, while also a bit quiet, was fairly confident in herself, liked being outside, and read sparingly.

Lowks sat down on one of the other chairs and grinned at his and Tira"s friend. Kur had closed his book and was giving them his undivided attention.

A teasing grin came to Lowks face and he leaned towards the young wizard, "So, Kur… want to talk about this girl of yours?"

His reaction was priceless. His cheeks instantly turned pink, and he darted his eyes away. Quopras, sensing his master"s unease, let out a low yowl and jumped from the shelf, disappearing from sight.

Silence reigned for a few moments before Kur murmured quietly, "…No…"

"Aw, come on. We can give you advice or something."

"…." Kur buried his head in his hands as if he was trying to hide his blushing face. "I don"t want your advice…" It was difficult to hear the mumbles coming out of the elf"s mouth.

"Lowks…." Tira sighed, "Leave the poor guy alone. He isn"t yet ready to talk about it all that much."

"…I can"t believe you told Tira what I said… I told you that in confidentiality."

Lowks kept a straightly innocent face, "You never said that it was confidential, and I honestly thought you would have already told my sister, what with how close you are and all."

"I barely told you…" There was a note of frustration in Kur"s voice. He looked up, and Lowks was surprised by just how upset he looked, "And that only because you asked."

Lowks thought about telling Kur that Tira had already known about it, but decided not to embarra.s.s him any further. But he still couldn"t help himself entirely from teasing the poor guy, "Well, still, if you want any advice-"

Kur"s eyes actually snapped as he almost lost his temper – something that hardly ever happened. And Lowks shut up, knowing better than to push any farther. Kuryzan might be shy and one to keep to himself but when he got angry, well, Lowks was terrified of that side of his friend.

"Even if I wanted advice, which I don"t, I wouldn"t ask you for it. You might be engaged and all, but it took you how long to get your girl? I mean, it was obvious you two liked each other, after all. I only saw a few of your interactions but it was enough to realize… just how dense are you?"

Lowks had almost forgotten that Kur could be sharp tongued when he wanted to be. He didn"t think too much of the statement that implied Vixen caring for him longer than he had supposed though.

On their way home, Tira was stifling her laughter. "You deserved that you know. I wasn"t going to say anything, but really Lowks. You are an idiot when it comes to love. Not quite as much as your dear lady, but… you don"t understand the inner workings of the female mind. Though Vixen did take it a little far…"

"What are you talking about?"

"…Ask your ladylove."

She did not say anything more on it, leaving him to wonder and speculate.