Harris stood rigid, as if set in stone as he loitered beneath the dim light of the porch outside the Red Dragon Inn, still undecided if he'd venture into the establishment. Koy's approach was muffled, even in those black suede heeled boots, hands buried deep inside the pockets of her metallic gold trench coat, belted at the waist and buttoned to the neck.

"Practicin' yer best gargoyle impression there, bub?" she asked, finding a faint grin for Harris in the porch light.

"Just waiting for someone to venture close enough..." Harris quipped, his leering rather eerie in the low light as every pearly white in his mouth was soon on display for Koy in a grin upon noting her arrival.

"Well, we all need our hobbies. Any victims yet?" Koy inquired, taking a lean against a railing after ascending the steps.

"Still waiting for a tasty morsel," was the reply from the blue-haired one, jaws snapped at Koy playfully.

Koy managed a light laugh that died quickly before she responded. "Now we know I wouldn't make fer a tasty meal. I'm a bit too battered."

"Tenderized, Koyliak. Tenderized," Harris corrected her, waggling a finger.

"Ye 'lways do try ta pitch me in a more favorable light, Harry." Koy grinned dryly as one gloved hand emerged from her pocket clutching a sleek silver flask. She unscrewed the cap and took a pull from it before holding it out toward Harris in an unspoken offer.

"No, I'm always reminding you that's where you naturally stand. In a favorable light." Harris plucked the flask from Koy's grasp, nostrils flaring as he took a whiff of the contents before bringing it to his lips for a pull, then he extended the flask back to the woman, returning it.

"Tha's a matter of opinion, though ye know I love ye fer it." Another shot of whiskey from the flask before she screwed the top back on. "So, how're things?"

"Nobody's killed me yet. Generally means things are going well," Harris grinned, raising a thumbs up to accompany it.

Koy snickered. "Tha's one standard of measure. Though iffn there's 'nough people wantin' ta take ye out mebbe ye should see iffn they'll let ye have a dunk tank at the circus. Ye could make a killin' lettin' people have a swing at ye."

"Circus? I spent enough time at the circus. I don't wanna see another bearded lady as long as I live. Awful kissers," Harris informed her, lips twisting sourly.

"I'll have ta take yer word on that one," Koy chuckled lightly.

"I feel obligated to ask about what's his face," Harris spouted, waving a hand about this way and that.

"Is tha how yer people would refer ta my husband?" Koy's eyebrow arched and she mimicked his gesture, waving her hand about in the same manner.

It was his turn to snicker then. "His name slips my mind sometimes. You know how many times I've been hit in the head. You're guilty of doing it yourself a few times... Hitting me in the head that is."

"Aye, and I've enjoyed it 'very time at tha." Koy smirked. "Matt is... He jest is." Her shoulders lifted and fell in a shrug.

"Well that sounds fantastic," Harris deadpanned. "Anything you wanna talk about?"

Koy tipped her head to rest atop the railing. "Wha do ye think it is tha attracts an Opal ta a person, or vice versa, Harry?" She queried, answering his direct question with a more abstract one.

"Depends on the person. Depends on the Opal," Harris hunched his shoulders and shrugged.

The holder of ShadoWeaver unscrewed the cap on the flask and took another swig of whiskey. "I'm havin' a hard time tellin' iffn I'm jest a paranoid lunatic or a thankless hero in my own love story."

"Both."

A mirthless laugh filled the porch. "Tha's probably the closest ta the truth."

"It's all hard to make sense of. The best you can hope for is to gain a little bit of knowledge with each step forward. Or backward. Or sideways. Whatever direction you go," PathFinder's holder offered, clearing his throat.

Koy blinked in the dimly lit darkness at Harris. "Well now, tha's astute. Ye sure ye haven't been foolin' with all tha talk 'bout gettin' yer head bashed in?" Her lips twitched in a crooked grin. "I think tha might jest be it. All this livin' is makin' me dizzy."

"I'm enlightened. But keep it to yourself. Most people don't appreciate the advice anyway." Harris raised a finger to his lips and grinned.

Koy's gloved fingers pretended to zip her lips as she nodded sagely. Though they were just as quickly unzipped to allow her to continue speaking. "I 'ppreciate it. Mebbe it's just tha none of us like ta think we might need savin'."

"I'm not here to save. I'm here to offer what I've learned to keep people from making the same mistakes. But some are intent on learning the hard way." A headshake accompanied that last statement.

"Tha seems ta be the only way Matt wants ta learn 'bout the Opals. Though wha I'd call the hard way he'd probably call 'firsthand'."

"He should know better. He's not a novice."

She snorted. "Ye're tellin' me. And yet now I find myself loathin' that blue rock too. Hence the fear I'm bein' a paranoid lunatic. Iff it's not one stone I'm yellin' 'bout it's 'nother."

"You're just learning what Janella knew all the time." Harris offered a tight lipped smile for Koy.

"Aye, I wish she were still 'round. Then we could dog pile Matt and smack some sense inta 'em."

"Everyone tends to react differently to the stones. The only way you'd even know what was really going on is if you climbed inside Matt's head."

Koy stared at Harris for a few extra moments before responding. "Ye know, ye can be 'wfully mature sometimes, Harry. Ye didn't even suggest we get some drills or hammers or the like ta crack his head open." She waved a gloved hand. "Guess I'm still stuck in the quagmire."

"No, I just know what I'm talking about. Like I said, you learn something with every step. I've got a wealth of knowledge after holding the Opals nine different times," Harris replied, a wide smile stretching across his features. "There's no right answer. There's no wrong answer. Every piece fits somewhere."

"Or shatters everythin'," she answered and shook her head. "Though tha's why ye're probably the only person I can talk ta 'bout it. And why ye understood wha I was tellin' Sarah. It seems wrong ta stand by and let someone think of 'em so lightly at their own peril."

"Like I said, people don't listen to me. They're intent on making mistakes that have already been made. Nobody learns anything in this town. Ever." A grunt before continuing. "She's not ready to bear the burden you're carrying. It'd probably crush her. But she doesn't understand that."

"And even worse, I might get selfish and let her take it, even knowin' tha..." Koy's features drooped in a frown at the admission.

"Well, I can't blame you for feeling that way," though his own expression mirrored that of Koy's, features scrunched as he frowned.

"I'm fightin' 'gainst it as long as I can, but I can't say the thought's not lurkin' in the back of my mind."

There was a moment of intense silence as Harris stared out into the darkness, lips pursed thoughtfully. Koy opted to watch him instead of the inky blackness, waiting.

"Come to the dojo. Train with me in the time before your match," Harris offered suddenly, attention drawn from the darkness back to the elf before him.

The delayed nod was an indication that wasn't what Koy had been expecting. "So ye're not thinkin' twice about keepin' me in a positive light?"

"No. We're going back to the purity of the fight. Focus on the brawl itself as opposed to what it is you're scrapping over. And then, whatever happens... happens." The blue-haired brawler held his arms out to his sides, palms facing up.

Koy's head tilted to one side as forest-green eyes considered him for a long while before speaking again. "Ye really are enlightened, Harry. And I'm lucky ta have ye in my life ta share wha ye know."

A grin spread across his features then. "I take it that's a yes?"

"Aye. 'Yes'." The second word spoken with more concentration to catch his accent. "I'll come by in the mornin' 'fore work iffn tha works. Then I can tell Stick contrary ta popular belief she did an 'xcellent thin in marryin' ye." Koy punctuated that statement with a crooked grin. "I should be goin' though."

"I'm gonna work your ass, just so you know. And if you're goin' I'll walk you. Maybe we can grab a bite on the way." Harris was all smiles then.

"I wouldn't 'xpect less. Thankee 'gain, Harry." Koy's face lit up in a smile as well as she started to lead the way to the street.

"I demand a piggyback ride though. Think of it as the first part of your training," Harris cackled madly as he moved after her.

((Posting note: Adapted from live play.))

Training Day 4: Log Rolling

?Ye want me ta do wha ?xactly?? Koy stared skeptically at the blue-haired man grinning back at her, knee-deep in a fresh water pond half a mile away from the Dojo.

?I know you heard me. Your ears are too pointy to have missed it.?

She scowled. ?Ye?re right, I heard ye. But I can?t imagine I heard ye correctly.?

?Is this some weird elven riddle? Heard me but didn?t hear me?? Harris snorted, ?If a tree falls in the forest you don?t go hunting down all the axe-wielding dwarves, Koy. Now get on here.? He patted the wide log bobbing in the water in front of him with his two large hands.

?Are we goin? ta ever get ta hittin?, Harry?? The disbelief that they would be spending yet another day not punching each other made itself known in her tone even as she removed her shoes and waded into the water to meet him at the log. She took a slow and steady approach to balancing herself on the log, holding both arms out at a half crouch.

Harris ignored her question for the time being and gestured to the log. ?Start rolling the log.?

She scrunched her nose but still did as he instructed. Within one rotation the log proved too slick for her bare feet. She dropped backside first into the water. Harris doubled over in laughter.

Dripping wet Koy stared at him again. ?I thought I was here ta do some trainin?, not give ye free entertainment, bub.?

?Who said you can?t do both? You?re a woman of great multitasking talents, Koy.? The grin on his face was met with a scowl from the elf. ?Now get up and try it again.?

?Are ye serious??

?Not often, no,? he smirked, ?but I do want you to get back on the log. You trust me, don?t you??

Finally standing back up Koy trudged over to the log once more, muttering her next words. ?Aye, I do. Gods ?bove must know the reason why ?cause I don?t.?

As she balanced herself on the log once more, she knew that was a lie. She knew the exact moment she had learned to trust Harris. It was several years back, shortly after she had lost her first daughter, Lirisa.

In an effort to lighten up the black clouds Koy insisted on carrying with her wherever she went, Harris took her to a carnival on the boardwalk by the Docks. He shoved her onto the Ferris wheel, force-fed her cotton candy and insisted on winning an oversized stuffed tiger by playing a rigged ring toss. She laughed in spite of herself.

Weaving their way through the crowd, they stopped at the boardwalk railing to watch the sun set over the water. At least Harris was watching the sunset. Koy rested her arms on the top railing, one wrist loosely folded over the other as she looked down at her toes. She only picked her head up when she heard Harris clearing his throat to get her attention.

?Do you like it??

?Do I like wha??

With an exasperated sigh, he gestured towards the orange and violet stained sky. Koy regarded the view as though it was the first time she had seen it.

?Oh. Sure, it?s very nice.?

?It?s more than nice and you know it.?

?I said very nice, didn?t I? ?Sides, the last I heard it, people with a lil more power than ye have at yer disposal are responsible fer tha sight.?

Harris snickered. ?That?s what I want you to believe. Keep you on your toes.?

When she fell silent, he prodded her with his elbow. ?Seriously, it doesn?t make you feel anything??

?Like wha??

?I don?t know...alive or joyful or something good??

Koy considered this, gazing out over the horizon. The world was too wide and empty. ?It scares me.? She turned her forest-green eyes to him for a moment, long enough to impart all the things she couldn?t articulate before returning to the dark blue line cutting across the melting sky.

He paused for only a second. ?You don?t need to be scared anymore.? Harris covered her hand with his larger one and with one reassuring squeeze gave her back the hope she had written off for good.

SPLASH!

?That was better but you?ve got to keep your mind in the game, Koy! Now get up and do it again.? Harris gave her the order all the while doing nothing to hide his laughter at her falling off the log again. This time she smiled up at him and stood up without complaint to try once more.