"I could tease more if you visited more often without Emma." William offers with a lazy grin, lifting his hand in a wave. John dips his head in a bow, avoiding your gaze as you leave. A set of Warmachines fall in beside you as you make your way through the streets, no doubt a sight for confusion. People stare at you and duck bows. They all looks surprised and confused, but none of them approach you.
You arrive back at the compound a little while later. You head towards the laundry, where the juniors of the Guards work, and hand over your clothing. You are given a uniform in return, and your armor will be cleaned. As strange as it is for you to put on clean clothes while you are caked in mud and grime, the Guards are adamant about you not leaving without them.
Emma, pauses when you darken your doorway, stopping herself midstep -- instead, she opens she bathroom door for you, and you step gratefully inside. She's quick to join you after you rinse off the worst of the mud and ichor.
The two of you lounge on the bed, the night starting to draw down the rains. If you focus, you can hear them pattering on to the roof somewhere above. Emma sits next to you, a charcoal pencil in hand, sketching on what looks to be expensive paper.
[15] Something catches your eye -- its the Colossus you fought today, down to minute details. The crackling of lightning, its twitching flesh, and the gleam of the sun on its sharp blades.
...you haven't told Emma about today. You were otherwise too preoccupied, and she doesn't ask if you don't volunteer, something that has held true ever since the Moore Family.