He nods and looks at the other human woman again. "Lead the way, officer," he says, and Caithe disappears into shadow.

    The officer salutes and starts walking towards the other end of the cave. "I believe Canach tracked the Minister into the floating coliseum."

"I wonder what he's up to."

...

Vetareh looks at him.

"Really. Really. The Minister's potentially an unstable magical experiment gone wrong and could explode with power at any minute, and that is the terrible pun you decide to make?"

"I don't see you making a better one," he says without looking at her. The officer snickers then coughs to pretend she didn't.

"'Let's hope he's not too high on power.' 'I see he's keeping up his habit of looking down on everyone.'" She pauses, and tries to come up with a third one, and only manages several innuendos. "... Though honestly, there's more material available in the realm of innuendo than anything else."

James cracks up and the officer takes this as permission to also giggle some. "I'm curious about the innuendo."

"'Careful, if someone excites him too much he might explode,' 'Maybe he's just looking for some alone time after his body's new changes,' 'He's reached that age where people get experimental,' wait, no, that one's more of a pun, damn."

He laughs harder at those puns and at the last one causes an actual cackle.

She giggles a little herself. At last, all of that time spent practicing her wit in the Mists is paying off!

"Okay, I think I'm done now. There are a few more I could make, but they wouldn't be as good. I will not lower myself to such indignities."

"I would not dream of requesting it of you."

They reach a point of the cave where... it becomes rather obvious just how deep underground they are.

The answer is "very." They are very deep underground. The hole to the surface is very, very high.

She looks up. Yeah, wow, that's extremely underground.

".... 'I think the Minister went too deep,'" she adds. "Sorry, there turned out to be one more."

Both of them crack up again.

"I believe you will need some assistance to reach the top," James says between giggles, offering his arms again.

"Yep, I believe you're right about that."

She recasts her enchantment, then: here she is, in his arms again.

This time he makes his glider appear before they're in the air, and he doesn't take one of the updrafts again. Instead, he walks to one of the light lines that are pointing up and out of the cave and—

—their bodies are covered by a slightly tingly type of forcefield—

—and he's riding the magical line as if an impossible-to-feel wind is carrying them, up up up...

At an audible level that only James can hear, she makes a little, "eeee."

...that might just be too adorable for words. It's a good thing he's too busy conducting the glider for it to really be weird if he doesn't use words.

Eventually they reach the lip of the crater, and eventually they're far above the lip of the crater. The line of magic ends some fifty metres up in the air, and James angles his glider towards the west. "I can take it from here, officer! Thank you for your help," he calls.

    "Yes, Commander!" the woman says, and she starts gliding southwest.

And now there is a pretty view to look at! While she's being held by a dashing necromancer as they fly through the sky! Today is a good day. She happily leans into James and admires the view.

"So I get the impression that I should not be calling you 'James' in front of people if we don't want people assuming things of us," she observes.

"—I suppose most people do call me by my titles, huh? I leave that choice up to you, princess."

"Do you. All right." Leaaaan. "You know it's sort of convenient that you're covered in spikes and fire. Or maybe inconvenient. I haven't decided."

"When you decide which you can explain to me your reasons."

"James. I have been in the Mists for a very long time." She raises her eyebrows meaningfully and looks at him.

"And I'm sure all you want now is some time to get your bearings and get used to being in the real physical world again, is it not?" he asks a touch too innocently.

"You are very lucky that you are covered in spikes and fire," she informs him, sweetly. "Because I do not want to distract you while you're rushing to avert a disaster and help your friend. But I have been very tempted."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I definitely wouldn't want to tempt you. Perhaps I should stop."

—Nope, not doing the first thing that she wants to do in response to that. That would be dangerous. Nope, nope, nope.

She takes a deep breath, because she is an adult, and she is better than her base impulses.

"You're a bad man," she says, instead. "A very bad man who is so very lucky that he is covered in spikes and fire, and really high up in the air. So lucky. But I can promise to be very good and not distract you while we're doing important things. How about that?"

"Sounds altogether like a very sound plan."