The matter of her platonic friendship and feelings came to a head the next day. It was a cold, windy afternoon when she was with Lyle gathering items to summon the Lady Phoenix in Shinewood forest. She was bundled up in her crimson hued scarf, this brought fond memories of the gladiator to the fore of her mind, and a thick woolen dolman which was of a rich blue material, waiting for her companion to summon a giant ant. The tall muscled druid with his mess of blonde hair seemed out of sorts today. She’d noticed there was something on his mind but had decided not to press the man further, she reasoned he would let her know what it was in due course.

 

Lyle stopped Claudine for a moment, grabbed her staff and motioned for her to come closer. His green eyes looking deeply into her steely blue eyes. He tried to pull her into his arms, hoping for her to return the gesture. Instead she stood limply with a strange look on her face. Despite this he pressed on.

“I have been yearning to tell you something for many moons now.”

With the bard pulled close to him, he wasn't looking at her but over head into the distance, he finally spit out what he’d been turning over in his mind these past moons.

“Claud, I can’t live my life in denial anymore. I love you. I can tell you feel the same way.. we could go to the glade and visit the fae!”

Summoning her strength she pushed herself out of his grasp, cast mor dion and then mor dion comhla. With her magic weaving itself through the Aislings, the magical air around them both began to howl. Casting her spells was rather noisy, and the power she wielded could be frightening if he hadn’t become so accustomed to this due to the time they had known each other. Gathering herself took a few moments. Darting her eyes around the scene in the forest for a glimpse of any oncoming beasts, she let out a great sigh.

 

The look on her face at this revelation was not all smiles as he'd been hoping for. Neither did she run into his arms as he'd envisioned. There was no declaration of love and it was not looking promising he'd finally have her body to lay claim to. He'd been longing to have her mouth on his, and put his arms around her narrow waist to draw her ever closer to himself. Instead he got a different reaction. She looked at him in confusion.

“Lyle?” she asked furrowing her brow “Where has this come from? I apologise if I have given you the impression that I feel this way about you, but I certainly can’t tell you I do.”

“We spend a lot of time in each others company..” he looked down at the ground with a sorrowful expression playing across his face. “I never intended to seek you out as a friend, I sought you out as I wanted a lover.”

He pressed on with his suit, “Surely you don’t believe I spend time with you to enjoy your company? I have wanted you for quite some time. I feel I must make my feelings known now due to the appearance of that gladiator. I am a much better fit for you than he is.”

 

Her chest heaving and her body shaking in anger, she turned her back to the druid.

“Friend of mine, that is all you are and will ever be, I cannot change my feelings for you. There is no need to bring someone else into this, that is none of your business..”

 

“You’re wrong Claud, you should be mine!” this was the last thing he managed to say to her. With a roar she felt a small explosion behind her, at her response she felt him turn into a wolf behind her.

The feeling of soft grass tickling her feet inside her blue sandals was distracting her from being able to cast a spell. Lyle was near enough to grab her, she finally managed to shakily chant the words to create a portal, stepping through she arrived in the Rucesion Inn looking pale and feeling frightened by his anger. Reaching out to grab her he howled in frustration as she was gone leaving the druid alone with his thoughts in Shinewood.