Rivi laughed a little. "Fine, fine, you're right, go on then."

Evera sighed, eyeing her mother as she resumed her story.

"Well, it didn't take that long before she caught my interest enough to be appointed one of my aids, and so after that point we started spending a lot more time together.

"She's…" She smiled to herself, looking down at the ground. "A strange one. Very smart and professional when she needs to be, but…" Her cheeks flushed crimson as various memories crossed her mind. "She has a very mean playful streak. Which, for whatever reason, she decided to point at me."

She sighed. "I suppose it won't surprise you too much to hear that she's been far more the pursuer than I have. We haven't *cough* gotten too far yet, but she's worn me down to the point, where I'm really starting to consider whether or not it wouldn't be better just to turn around and go all the way with the matter."

"Hoo?" Rivi mused, her hand on her chin. "And what does 'all the way,' mean to you, my dearest daughter?"

Evera blushed, her eyes shying away from Rivi's. "Umm…" She coughed. "Marriage?"

"Don't tell me we never taught you the basics, I mean I'm pretty sure—"

"No, no!" Evera hastily interrupted. "I-I know th-the...basics." She coughed again. "A-and w-we haven't, umm, gone there exactly, yet, but that's why I'm saying, maybe instead of just kinda…frivolously doing it, we really, ummm, commit, you know?" Her ears were bright red as she stammered her way through the explanation.

"Oh my daughter is so shy!" Rivi said with a giggle as she watched Evera flush with embarrassment. "Alright, alright, let's think about this a different way. Sure, you could propose marriage, but don't you think that might be a little…sudden for her?"

"Yes?" Evera replied hesitantly. "Or, wait, no? I mean we've known eachother for years now and she teases me every day, surely she'd have some expectation that things might move in that direction."

"Aya, my daughter is so inexperienced!" Rivi put her hand to her face. "If she's really going after you the way you think she is, sure, it is entirely possible she has already figured out what you're like and that you might think along those terms, but don't you think it's also possible that she's just a general flirt, and you're just one of many potential targets?"

Evera's eyes narrowed. "I don't like how you said that." She said in a dangerous tone.

Rivi put her hands up. "It's entirely possible she's innocent, and only pursuing you. For your sake, I hope that is the case, because I don't think you could handle getting entangled with a polycule, but seeing as I haven't met her and have a lot more experience than you do, I'm just putting that out there."

"Stupid Mother, being reasonable and filling my head with doubts," Evera muttered looking darkly down at the ground. "If I want to test her, what should I do?" She snapped up looking sharply at Rivi.

Rivi laughed a little as she saw her daughter's seriousness. "Don't worry, don't worry, it's not complicated. Just have an honest conversation with her about her intentions and where she wants your relationship to go, and if she has her eyes only on you or others as well. Being honest is foundational for relationships, and if you've already been working with her for several years you should trust one another well enough to know if she's lying or not."

"Besides, how far exactly have you gotten?"

Evera gave her mother a look that said 'Do I really have to tell you?' but eventually sighed and answered. "She gave me a kiss a week ago."

"On the lips?"

Evera nodded, looking away.

"How did you respond at the time?"

"I-I" She flushed at the memory. "I might have run away." She grumbled. "But I acted like nothing was wrong the next day and she continued flirting with me, so I think everything's ok!"

Rivi facepalmed again. "Oh my clueless daughter, what were you going to do if I hadn't called you today," She murmured to herself. Evera opened her mouth to protest, but Rivi continued before she could speak. "In that case she's either been warded off, thinking you didn't want things to progress like that, or she's giving you time to figure yourself out. She hasn't tried to kiss you since, right?"

"No," Evera looked guiltily to the side. "Sometimes she looks at me with those big eyes like she really wants to, but then she bites her lip a little, and changes the subject."

"Ooh! That's a good sign!" Rivi caught the line eagerly. "If she still wants to kiss you that means she hasn't been warded off. She's probably just trying to mind your feelings then. Ok, listen to me now, because this is important. You have to be clear with her that you want to kiss her too."

"Wh-what?" Evera stammered, "B-but I—"

"No buts! You liked her kiss, didn't you?"

"I-I" Her eyes fluttered. "Yeah," She said in a small voice.

"And you want her to kiss you again?"

This time she merely nodded.

"Then you have to tell her that. She's held back this past week for your sake, if you want that to change you have to be upfront about it."

"B-but in romance novels, doesn't the pursuer just kinda…keep pursuing?" She said weakly.

Rivi laughed. "What do you think she's doing right now? Why do you think she's still teasing you, and biting her lip like she wants to kiss you? If this girl wasn't head over heels for you, she'd probably already have moved on long ago, little miss ice princess. She's hesitating because she doesn't want to be overbearing.

"That kind of attitude might work when you're the protagonist of a romance novel, but in reality it's a great way to hurt people's feelings and walk all over them. Trust me, you don't really want someone chasing after you who ignores what you say to give you what they think you want. It might be fun for a little, but how's a relationship like that supposed to progress? They don't know your feelings, they're just guessing and hoping they get lucky."

"Ugghhhhh," Evera let out a long moan, crouching low to the ground. "I hate that you sound so right…" She glared up at her mother. "If your advice is wrong and you screw things up between me and Selicia, I'm going to start hating you again."

"Alright, alright," Rivi waved her hands with a grin. "Feel free. But your mother hasn't grown this old without learning a few somethings, or else how do you think I'd have managed to snag a gorgeous beauty like your mother?"

Evera took another long exhale and then got up to hug her mother again. "Thank you, Mom. It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too, honey," Rivi breathed into her daughter's hair, returning her hug. Her eyes misting a little at the sensation. How many years has it been since she last felt this way with her daughter? Too many, far too many. At last she pulled out of the hug, wiping away a spare tear that had managed to sneak its way out of her eye.

"Damn I feel so old now," she gave a soft laugh. "Now you're making me miss my new little ward."

Evera rolled her eyes. "You're just feeling your age for once. It wouldn't kill you to do it every so often."

Rivi sighed. "You might be right, but my youthfulness is part of what makes me who I am. I am the inner child of Melphinoe's soul, torn away all those years ago to form a new being. Without that, who really am I?"

Evera gave a soft smile. "You're right," She brushed away the remaining moisture on Rivi's cheeks. "I don't particularly like seeing you this way, either."

Rivi's gaze softened, her voice lightening, taking on some of its former careless youthfulness. "It's been good seeing you again, Evera!" She wrapped her daughter in another hug. "Good luck with that Verouth girl, and call me if anything comes up, K? We've been estranged from one another for too long, I want to make up a little for lost time."

Evera gave another smile. "Of course, Mom, it was good to see you too. Talk to you later?"

Rivi nodded, and waved her hand as the space around them began to fade, and each woke up in their respective bodies.

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