She trailed off when she burst out through the leaves, appearing somewhat dishevelled in nothing more than her small undergarments. The urge to punch her lover in the nose had pushed minor things, to the outskirts of her thoughts, such as remembering to wear her cloak. The scene in the open glade before her doused the fire in her belly and instead cast a confused look across her features.

..playing at?" she finished with a good deal less certainty.

Gregory was stood at the centre of the glade, next to a single table flanked by two chairs. The glow was coming from a silver candelabrum which illuminated a set of matching silver plates and cutlery set for two people. Beside the table, a small buffet had been set up offering a selection of food; from fruits and vegetables to one of the local game birds that had been roasted for the occasion. Around the table, several torches stood up from the ground to give more light for the occasion.

The man himself wasn't wearing his usual trunks and boots, but a set of rich blue robes wrapped about his strong frame. Silver embroidery ran along the seams of the robes, with the colours being reminiscent of the night sky. What's more, he'd neatly tied his long, black hair behind his head and shaven himself properly for the first time since he'd arrived on Arolius.

He looked damn good, albeit somewhat perplexed by the manner of her appearance. When she'd burst from the jungle he’d been unpacking a bottle of wine.

“Jan? Are you alright?" he asked; setting the bottle down on the table and stepping toward her with some concern.

“I... uh..." she took in the setting and noticed that much of the training equipment had disappeared for the time being.

“What's going on?"

Now it was Greg's turn to look unsure of himself.

“Well, I know we have a lot going on at the moment, but-" He started and caught himself before pausing and shaking his head. Then he approached her to take her hands in his before speaking aloud on a matter that had been clearly troubling him.

“Look, the truth is that I've been distracted practically every damned moment since I landed here. There's always something I've got to do, or something I'm responsible for. In that time, you've always been there supporting me and doing everything you can to help me out. You've been incredible about the, um... About me being with other women. Which I know is extremely fucking unconventional to say the Least. But with everything that's been going on I haven't been able to spend the time with you that you deserve.

I might not have even noticed I was being an idiot about this, but lately you've been amazing in keeping me up to date, and it kind of made me realise how important you are around here. About how important you are to me, and not just because I spend quite a bit of my day thinking about kissing you."

“And other stuff." Janette passively but accurately added to that, still quite shocked at what she was hearing.

That got a Laugh from him, then an agreeable nod.

“Yeah, the other stuff is pretty fun to think about too. Anyway, it kind of dawned on me that I was actually with the girl of my dreams and I should probably put some fucking effort in. Then I realised I'd never actually been on a date with you. That dawning realisation made me go hit my head against a tree for a little while for being a moron, and then I think the bark imparted this idea into my skull." He stopped and turned to the table behind him before Lifting his arm to gesture toward it. "So I started planning this. Tonight it's just us, with everyone under strict orders not to interrupt unless the camp is actually on fire. Because of a dragon invasion. Or something similar to that level of impending disaster." With a slight smile, he turned his face back to look at her. "So, will you go on a date with me Jan?"

"Oh my god," she whispered those words and lifted her hands to cover her mouth.

“Is this why no one's been talking to me today! ?"

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, I guess I did kind of rope some folks into helping me out. Sorry about that.”

“And you couldn't have warned me a little? I look Like such a mess!" She glanced down over herself in despair; brushing her fingers through her hair to find a few stray twigs and leaves from her march through the jungle.

“I wanted it to be a surprise, and you know I have a thing for wild women." He helpfully reached over the side of her head and stroked away a small beetle that had found its way in there. "You look beautiful. But does this mean the date's cancelled?"

Janette looked back to the table waiting for her and felt her eyes well up with tears before she turned and flung her arms around him. The fierce hug that followed got a surprised chortle from the young man as he lovingly took her against him to offer an affectionate squeeze of his own.

"I love you, Greg."

The words warmed him to his core, and he quickly lifted her head to place a kiss on her Lips.

"I love you too, Jan. Very, very much so."

She smiled and quickly wiped away an errant tear that escaped the corner of her eye.