Master Of None

"How was the nap?" Walker softly greeted her making sure not to startle her as she woke up. This proved futile as she realized her position and turned red. 

Alice quickly forgot her feeling of embarrassment seeing that the high priest was nowhere to be seen. She turned her head here and there and still could not see him anywhere. Eventually her eyes rested on Walker with a little panic within them. "He went to be. He woke up just a short while ago and did not want to bother you." 

The sigh of relief caused a slight vibration in the light but Alice did not speak a word still. "I think you should follow his example and go rest too. You have worked pretty hard yourself and it looks like the guards that were dispatched have already started work. By the time you and him wake up it will be time to start a new daily routine." Walker wanted to do this best to get her to rest properly. 

The unwillingness in her face was clear and he knew he would have to do better to get her to rest. "Fine how about this. My party is having a bunch of gear forged for us. We will need an expert to let us know how we look with them, I am willing to offer you the position if you go and rest too." 

His bribe was easily seen as just that by the narrowing of Alice's eyes. However she had not fully planned to go against his asks for her to rest. She was feeling her eyes starting to droop again and even if she got up and moved around she would be falling asleep the moment she stopped moving. 

Her hand grabbed his and started to drag him up. "Well of course I will escort you. I need to try and be a gentleman after all." Walker held her hand firmly and walked Alice to the door of her room. He was about to turn and head back when Alice pulled on his hand and refused to let go. "You know everyone will be waiting for me, do you want me to stay that badly." His teasing tine was enough to make her blush even more. 

Not wanting to prolong this feeling of embarrassment Alice pulled on his hand making him lean forward with surprise. Her lips hit his cheek and in the next second Alice had opened and closed the door to her room. Walker was standing there stunned for more than he wanted to be but he needed to process what had just happened. His heart was threatening to beat out of his chest. 

His slow walk was slightly unsteady as he was in and out of focus due to Alice's actions. He was glad that Gil and Remey had not been there to tease him or else he would have fallen in to a mess. Before Walker opened the door back to the main cathedral he forced himself to take a deep breath and calm his heart. 

Su was easy to spot since she was chatting with a few of the healers that had come to speak with her. One of the musicians was there as well, still holding his harp in his hands even though he looked extremely tired. The dark circles under his eyes showed that he was in dire need of sleep. 

"Walker, these are some of my friends. They came to thank us for out help but I keep telling them they worked just as hard and deserve the thanks as well. The won't listen to reason though." Su was acting a little sheepish which was an interesting change from the always cool and logical norm. 

"We just wanted to make sure Su knew how important she was to us. She was always there with exactly what we needed. Sometimes before we even knew it ourselves." One of the nuns was using much more energy in her words than necessary making the other two look at her like she was a crazed fan. 

"Of course she was there. She is a hero, they are always there just when you need them." The musician with the harp smiled and stood a little taller saying this praise. He had been the one asking about her system earlier when Walker was talking with them before the healing concert. 

Su was acting very uncharacteristic and was looking away from the musician. She would normally have had a cool logical response but instead just ignored the compliment. ""Well Su is the defender of our party. We all rely on her for our safety. I have no doubt she will always be there when we need her." Walker decided that since she was accepting the compliments he would throw his i to the ring as well. He rarely got the opportunity to compliment the great work his party was capable of.

"Well since you are also so dedicated to coming and healing as well it is only right that I work just as hard. You can also use the same defending skills if you want so I could say the same for you." Su responded with the usual logic and cool air. Why had she not accepted his compliment?

"It sounds like you are both very key parts of your party. I can't imagine how a hero like Su wouldn't be the key member in anything she did though." The musician with the harp complemented her again. This gave Su a surprised look but she still didn't respond and just looked away shifting her body from foot to foot nervously.

The three nuns looked on in amusement at this scene before them. They had known the young harp player for some time now since he was always so dedicated to playing and practicing at every moment of the day. Seeing that his full attention was now on Su was a very interesting change that they were going to take notice of. "Yes yes, very key in any role. Especially helping healing. I was curious, what did you think of the music the last two days. Were there any instruments that stood out to you?" 

The nun that had been eyeing this the most decided to chime in and ask to add a little fuel to the spark she saw. Walker had caught on to that was happening to her and was having a hard time keeping the smile and laughter from his face. Su had let him be when it came to his awkwardness with Alice and he would give her that same respect. 

"Well, I can say that it really was touching. The feelings in the pieces the musicians played were clear as the sun. I wish I could have taken the time to stop and listen." She paused becoming a little stoic while she pondered which internment stood out the most. "I don't really play any instruments and I have very little knowledge on what sounds goes to what. But there was a really peaceful plucking of strings that I could hear. I know it wasn't a guitar or fiddle but more elegant." 

The harp player started to to look excited and more red then Walker thought possible. However as he noticed this the thought that his own would turn that red when talking to Alice came across his mind. Walker stood there now trapped in his own personal embarrassment. 

"That sounds like a harp, it's the one that our musician Henry has. You really should come listen one day when he is practicing, the sounds fill the whole hall and it is perfect to relax to." The third nun spoke up this time with a little more force. 

Su finally looked at the harp player then away again quickly. "I guess it would be nice to come and volunteer when you practiced." She tried her best to hold her voice steady but a little shaky at the end gave away her thoughts. 

"I would like nothing more than that!" Henry spoke a little too fast and then fell silent. He was equally embarrassed. 

Su wanted to run away and decided that using resting as an excuse was the best plan. "Well my party members and I need to help some new friends to a place to stay and then rest ourselves. We will most certainly be back to volunteer soon. Hopefully before out next adventure." Su took the lead and got Midnight up and moving. 

"Well you heard her, if I let myself lag behind they will leave me in the dust. "Nice to meet you Henry." Walker gave him a thumbs up and chased after Su. Without any hesitation the harp player Henry was bombarded by questions from the three nuns. His face showed the embarrassment and the happiness all rolled in to one. He was not as prepared for this as he may have expected but he was going to be bothered until he spoke what he felt or the nuns would find another way to get it from him. Walker made a mental note to fear the gossip of the nuns which seemed to kick tiredness to the curb. 

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