FOUR

A couple of hours later, with the last vestiges of the nightmare still clinging stubbornly to his mind, he decided the best way to rid himself of the sticky residue was to work it off. Entering the combined kitchen-dining area, he paused so he could take in the flurry of activity. Axel was tempting fate by drinking his pulp-free orange juice straight from the carton once again. Lark knew he only did it to piss off the rather staid Darius and sure enough, the Order’s second in command snatched the juice carton from Axel’s hand, pointed his finger at the jokester and began his predictably long-winded lecture. Lark watched as Axel winked one electric blue peeper at Diana – Darius’s partner – and she returned the gesture with the addition of a huge grin.

The big table held Max, Dex, Cali and Beyden; Max was sitting cross-legged on her chair, a sketch pad and charcoals in front of her as she scribbled madly on the paper. Dex was unsuccessfully attempting to get Cali to eat the bowl of mixed fruit in front of her. The tall blonde was studiously ignoring the father of her child and instead was leaning against Beyden, sniffing his coffee like it was her personal crack. Lark knew she could no longer stomach the bitter brew but she still loved the smell. Beyden indulged the mother-to-be by tucking her under his arm and fanning the air over the mug in her direction. Cali planted a noisy kiss on Bey’s cheek and Lark saw the instant colour which infused his friend’s cheeks.

And what was their hard-boiled, cranky Captain doing throughout it all? He was leaning against the island bench, a cup of steaming coffee in his hand and a very indulgent, very paternal smile on his lips. Lark could hardly believe the change in Ryker’s countenance sometimes and he often wondered if this was how the man had been before he’d lost his first liege and Order. Although scenes like this were a common occurrence in his life now, it was times like these when he was grateful for his photographic memory. Because even as his eyes tracked everything, his brain quickly analysed it all in real-time before storing it permanently in his brain, ensuring his synapses would be able to retrieve the data in every minute, chaotic detail whenever he desired.

His eyes finally latched onto the one figure who seemed out of place in such a warm, domesticated scene. He immediately felt a twinge of guilt at the thought because he knew what it was like to be on the outside looking in and wishing for something more. Not that he could say for sure Ivy even wanted something more. Perhaps she truly was the very epitome of a ranger and had no desire to become entrenched in their little family. Perhaps the cold, distant look in her eyes and the disdain that flittered over her features as she took in the happy, boisterous scene really was the true her.

But he didn’t think so and it wasn’t because he was crushing on the woman either, he assured himself. No, Lark had seen the way her brown eyes smiled whenever she looked at her brother and the way her hands held onto him tightly when they hugged. The woman was definitely capable of warmth. Which meant, there was only other one explanation for her behaviour; she believed she wasn’t capable. He couldn’t help wondering why that bothered him so much.

*****

Ivy retained her aloof and almost bored countenance as the household went through its noisy and slightly insane morning ritual. It was no small feat either, given the ridiculous behaviour of the kitchen’s occupants. Ivy could hardly believe they were all mature adults – ones who had overcome many a tragic past too. How the hardened Captain could lean down and nibble casually on his liege’s ear, causing her to bat him negligently away as she continued her frenetic drawing, she had no clue. She also couldn’t understand why Darius insisted on repeating his germ lecture every day when it was so obvious that Axel thrived on the inane biology lesson. What’s more, she knew the man would soon seat himself at the large table, proceed to rock back on the chair legs and receive yet another lecture from the second in command.

Ivy barely refrained from rolling her eyes as she noticed Cali sitting on her brother’s lap as he sipped his morning coffee so she could be closer to the fumes. A quick glance at the baby-daddy more than deserved another eye roll, Ivy thought. The former chade was watching his fiancé’s antics with an indulgent smile and a sappy, love-struck look in his dark eyes. The man practically had little hearts shining in them. Sorry excuse for a lethal warrior, she thought with disdain. Not with envy, she assured herself, definitely disdain. She had nothing to be envious about.

A feeling of being watched stole over her and she straightened her back against the wall a little where she had begun to slouch. Green eyes were focused on her and she swore she could almost see pity in their depths. She raked her gaze over Lark slowly before shifting her focus even though she wanted to quickly look away from that knowing stare. The man saw too much. No, not a man, she corrected. He was a boy, barely legal and she’d do well to remember that. The boy chose that moment to enter the room fully and she knew he had been observing and cataloguing the rambunctious crew just as she had been.

“I’m heading to the beach for a yoga session. Anyone want to join?” Lark asked, slinging a flexible blue mat over his shoulder as he headed to the back door on the opposite side of the room to her. He was wearing plain black pants that rode low on his hips and ended at his calves in a cuff, as well as a loose fitting grey tee with a picture of a rabbit on it. Really? A rabbit? It just served to prove how painfully young the earth paladin was.

“Yoga?” Dex asked, seemingly coming out of his love-stupor. “You really do yoga?”

“Lark is our resident yoga guru,” Cali announced, proudly. “He’s the reason I’m able to do that Sunday Special you enjoy so much,” she informed Dex with a saucy wink.

“Cali, please!” Darius reprimanded.

The blonde’s face was a mask of innocence, “What?”

“You’re pregnant! You shouldn’t be talking about things like …” he trailed off, apparently not able to finish the rest of the sentence and Ivy noted the tips of his ears were turning an interesting shade of red.

Cali was grinning now – as well as most of the occupants in the room, “Things like what?” she prodded.

“And what does being pregnant have to do with anything?” Max quickly followed up.

“Good question, my liege,” Cali bowed her head, looking respectful for all intents and purposes but Ivy doubted anyone was fooled by that look. She knew they all gained too much sick pleasure from poking fun at the by-the-rules air paladin.

“Cali …” Darius sounded even more aggrieved as he turned to his brother, “Can’t you control your woman?”

Dex cast a rather salacious look towards his lover, “Now, why would I want to do a thing like that?” he grinned as Darius growled, “Are you going to tell me you have your own woman under control?”

“Of course I do!” Darius’s assertion was firm and immediate.

“Oh, really?” Diana asked quietly from behind his left shoulder. Ivy would bet Darius could feel the breath on the back of his neck and had no doubt it felt hot enough to scorch.

“No, not really,” Darius’s chuckle was forced and fear-filled, “I was just joking.”

Dex snorted, “Uh huh, ‘cause we all know how much of a comedian you are.”

Darius let out an unmanly yelp as Diana tugged on a lock of his hair – hard – and Dex burst out laughing, “Fat lot of help you are,” Darius grumbled at his brother.

A sharp whistle had multiple heads whipping toward the back door, “Focus, people. Yoga. Beach. Now. Any takers?”

A series of ‘no’s’ and ‘not today’s’ met Lark’s question and he nodded before placing his hand on the doorknob. Ivy wanted to sigh in relief; the sight of the lean paladin was getting to her. How the hell was she supposed to work one-on-one with the man? She ruthlessly shut off her brain as it tried to conjure very detailed ways of how they could quite effectively ‘work’ together. Unfortunately, he didn’t step out immediately, instead turning to face the table once again;

“What about you, Dex? If you like the Sunday Special, wait until you try the Friday Special,” Lark ribbed, clearly unable to stop from joining in the teasing.

See; immature, Ivy sternly reminded herself.

Dex laughed, “Although I appreciate the sentiment, I was hoping for a hard workout this morning. You know – get the heart rate up and the sweat pouring.”

Lark raised his eyebrows at that, “Well then, you should definitely join me.”

“Um …” Ivy watched as Dex looked around the room, clearly trying to think of a polite way to call bullshit on that statement. Apparently, Dex had never tried yoga before because Ivy knew if he had, he wouldn’t be questioning the strenuousness of the workout.

“You have a problem with yoga?” Lark’s green eyes narrowed in the reformed chade’s direction but Ivy was certain it was in mock insult.

“No. Not at all,” he hunched his shoulders a little when he realised he was now the centre of attention, “It just wasn’t a big thing back when I was last in society, so I haven’t tried it before. But I know it’s really good for you for a lot of reasons …” he spoke quickly, obviously fearing he had caused offence.

“Relax, Dexter.” Lark chuckled and walked over, slapping him on the back in a friendly way, “I’ll tell you what; you join me this morning for an hour of yoga and if your heart rate doesn’t get up as high as it would on the treadmill and you’re not as sore as if you’ve done a bunch of reps on the weight bench, I’ll take over all your kitchen duties for a month.”

Dex narrowed his dark eyes – eyes that were no longer black, but certainly weren’t the light hazel they had been rumoured to have been, “And what do you get out of it?”

“Well … if it turns out to be one of the hardest workouts you’ve had, you unstack the dishwasher whenever it’s my turn,” Lark offered.

Dex raised his eyebrows in surprise, “Unstack the dishwasher?”

Lark nodded, causing his sun-streaked auburn hair to flop into his eyes, “Yep. I hate doing that. I pack the thing and then an hour later I have to unpack it again. It’s redundant.”

“Redundant?” Dex asked, sounding perplexed.

“Uh huh. So … what say you?” Lark held out a hand.

Ivy watched as Dex considered the proffered hand for a moment, looking around the room, perhaps for guidance. But eyes and faces were suspiciously diverted and were clearly of no help, “I’ll take that bet. One hour” he stated, shaking Lark’s hand firmly.

Lark’s wicked grin evolved slowly and there was a definite glint of evilness in his eyes if Ivy wasn’t mistaken. Oh dear, seems Lark was going to put Dex through an advanced class of yoga his first time out. She almost winced in sympathy for how Dex’s muscles were going to feel in two days but caught herself in time. She was a Ranger – she didn’t sympathise with anyone or anything. Or at least, that was the persona she portrayed to the world. She was pretty sure everyone here thought she was a stone-cold bitch – an image she had taken years to cultivate, it was true. So why was she now wanting these people to see her as something else? She firmed her jaw and gave herself a stern lecture about going soft before catching the end of the discussion.

“Excellent,” the earth paladin literally rubbed his hands together in glee. “Go ahead and change into something loose and comfortable.”

Dex looked confused again, “Loose? Aren’t you supposed to wear tight stuff for yoga?”

Lark shrugged, “I’m sure Ryker will let you borrow his leotard if you ask nicely.”

A swift motion from the corner of her eye preceded a small throwing knife thunking into the wood mere inches from Lark’s head. The owner of the head didn’t seem to have the good sense the Mother had blessed him with, for he merely chuckled and pulled the blade free.

“Ryker!” Max reprimanded. “You’ll damage the wood,” she said, hurrying over to examine the door frame. “Wait, is that what all these marks are? From you Neanderthals throwing knives at each other?”

The men quickly found various mundane objects exceedingly interesting; Lark and Ryker began examining the door knob, Axel picked at a hole in his shirt, Darius unfolded the newspaper loudly, and Beyden quickly gulped down the contents of his mug. Judging by his suddenly bulging eyes, Ivy figured the coffee was still extremely hot.

Cowards, she thought and was surprised when the one word rebounded in her skull in amusement rather than disgust. She could see Dex grinning openly now and she fought not to move her own lips when he gave her a friendly nod as if including her in the private joke. Just because she was sharing her vitality with the man, didn’t mean she needed to become friends with him.

Dex stood up, “Okay, I’ll go change. But isn’t anyone else going to take that bet?” Dex asked the room at large.

Axel snorted, rocking his chair negligently back on two legs, “Dude, we’ve all taken that bet.”

“And …?” Dex enquired.

“And have you seen Lark unpack the dishwasher even once since you arrived?” The Captain himself asked.

Dex seemed to think about that for a moment before narrowing his eyes in Lark’s direction, “You’ve snowed me, haven’t you?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lark assured him, innocence dripping from his voice.

Axel laughed, “Just go get changed, dish-pig.”

“Dish-pig?!” Dex exclaimed.

Axel grinned, “That’s what you’re gonna be in about one hour. Be prepared to sweat, my friend.”