Jasper, a spotted Umbra, lazily soaked in the sun while keeping an eye out for Lilith. The faerie was playing in the water, trying to cool off her over-heated skin. The two friends had been on a little vacation in the city of Cascadia. Lilith was tired of battles and having to watch her back at every moment. So she had decided, for the first time in a very long time, that she would just spend a few days in the sun and sparkling waters of the tantalizing city.

Lilith felt relieved and content knowing she had Jasper looking out for her. She trusted the feline with her life, for she knew Umbra’s were loyal and honorable creatures. They were also known for their fierceness during battle. So she knew that the beautiful and large creature wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Astalder finally reached the banks of a lake. He hadn't had a good bath in awhile. He was always so busy protecting Taras, their wasn't much time for him to really do anything. This though, this was like a nice... vacation for him. Something metalic jingled in one of his pockets as he took each step. His blade lapped against his hip as well as he walked closer to the small lake.

Astalder noticed a petite figure, playing in the waters of the lake. He thought he could recognize who it was, but he had to squint to see. It was Lilith, in all her beauty and radiance. Astalder smiled, he hadn't expected to meet her here but she was just the person he was looking for. He planned to sneak up on Lilith and suprise her from behind. Each step he took was silent as he walked closer and closer to the water.

Out of the corner of his eye though he saw something stir. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned his head to see what it was. It was Lilith's Umbra, Jasper. The one he had met in the Debon Plains. The Umbra got up after being warm enough and noticed Astalder off in the distance. He saw the Umbra's eyes light up with joy, but Astalder's dulled with fear. Astalder shook his head and put his hands to his lips, making a 'Shhh' gesture, nut Jasper didn't pay any attention to his. He was at a full speed run at him.

Right before the Umbra pounced on Astalder, he softly yelled out "Jasper, no!-" and he was pinned to the ground with two great paws. Jasper lapped at his face playfully and Astalder chuckled. "Ok, ok! Stop Jasper, that's quite enough. Ha ha, ok ok!" Astalder sat up and ruffled Jaspers neck. "Well I hope you're happy. You just ruined my surprise visit!"

Lilith quickly spun around. Her heart was beating fast at the intrusion. Water went spraying everywhere as she turned, covering her and the two on the banks. When she realized who it was, she put a hand to her heart and said,“You scared me to death!” Her frown quickly turned to a smile as she watched Jasper covering him with slobber. She laughed and walked over to them. “Jasper really is a good watch-umbra. He wasn’t going to let you sneak up on me.” She patted Jasper and called him a good boy. He paused to lick her hand, although he refused to get off of Astalder.

“Now I’m not sure if I should call him off. You were going to sneak up on me and give me a heart attack. That’s not very nice.”She couldn’t help but smile as she spoke. “What are you doing out here anyways? You wouldn’t happen to be following me would you?” She found it odd that out of all the places in Imythess, they happened to run into each other. Maybe it was just destiny.

“Okay Jasper, you can relinquish your loving grip on the poor man.” Jasper purred and jumped off of him to run over to her. He was looking for praise and of course he received it with a pat on the head and a kiss on furry ear. She turned to Astalder and offered him a hand to help him up.

"Indeed, Jasper is a good watch Umbra. But you should honestly consider teaching him the basics, like 'Shush!' and 'Stay!'" Astalder said and laughed. He wiped off some slobber off his face with his hand. He stood up and wiped himself off before speaking again. "Well, I'm glad you're happy to see me and everything. I come baring gifts after all," Astalder said with a wink. "But if you must know, today I got the day off from patrolling Taras and I figured why not take a bath? Next thing I know, I have this guy giving me a bath with his slobber," Astalder said, laughing again and putting a hand on top of jasper, softly messaging it.

"But now that you have animals hired to pounce on me, I dunno if I want to give you this gift. Perhaps I'll hold on to it, or maybe I'll keep it for myself. Hmmm, sooo many possibilities." Astalder gave her a quirked eyebrow and a clever smile to see how she would react. He poked at the conceled Mithril Necklace that was in his pocket. He tried to imagine what Lilith's face would be like.

Curiosity was one of Lilith's biggest downfalls. She was like a little kid when it came to gifts. She tried to act mature about the situation and shrugged her shoulders as if she didn't care. But she never took her eyes off his pocket. "Well I didn't train him to pounce on you, but he does know better than to allow someone to sneak up on me. Now, how about that gift you speak of? Why don't you give me a little peak?" Her cheeks were warming with anticipation. She could hardly keep herself still. "I promise to let you join me for lunch if you just show me." She inched closer to Astalder and her hands began to reach towards his pocket. She had to bite her lip to keep from reaching in. Her hands just sort of hung there awkwardly. Jasper seemed to be enjoying the show for he sat on his rump, with his tongue rolling about, waiting to see what would happen.