For the first time in the past few days, Thierry was at peace. Everyone had scattered throughout the floor for the day, leaving him with just an empty tent, and a copy of The Demise of Lady Glassbury. It'd been quite a while since Thierry had a chance to read anything. Even on days where he wasn't in the active party, he was still busy with either patching up injured guildmates, or assisting Rosa around Logjammin. Thierry sat back in an impromptu chair, ready to creep himself out by reading a good mystery, and—

"Oh, hello, Thierry!" Emmett walked into the mens' tent, a jubilant tone in his voice. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Thierry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "No, Emmett. Is something wrong?" Emmett's jubilance probably meant nothing was wrong, but asking that had become a habit for Thierry. A bad habit, if he were to be honest with himself.

"Aside from this magnificent burst of inspiration I had lacking a—"

"Emmett."

"I had an idea for a song and need a subject." Thierry could hear the energy exiting Emmett's voice. "Might I regale you with the idea?" Emmett asked as he sat down in the tent.

"Go ahead," Thierry flatly responded. He'd expected that someone would interrupt his first chance to relax and enjoy a book. He'd prepared for it. Nonetheless, he was still annoyed.

"As I was trudging through the Labyrinth's halls, I found myself desiring to write an epic. Specifically, an epic about an unsung hero, who works for the betterment of everyone around them, without need for pay or reason—"

Emmett wasn't exactly covert about his subject. "Emmett, why do you want to write a song about me?"

"...How did you guess?"

"Perhaps because you've described me using similar terms to my face many times since we became roommates."

"...My friends did always say I'm easy to read."

"This goes a bit beyond being easy to read, Emmett. In any case, forgive me for asking, but... Why do you want to write a song about me? What would it even encompass? I'm a general practicioner, not a traditional epic hero."

"You're no ordinary general practicioner, though!"

"Yes I am."

"Oh, give yourself some credit, man," Emmett said. "I give myself credit all the time, and look how happy I am!"

"Too much self-crediting leads to an overinflated ego, which leads to undeserved over-confidence, which leads to mistakes. I'd rather avoid that."

Emmett pouted. Thierry could be annoyingly obstinate sometimes. A lot of times. Okay most of the time. "Oh, come on, Thierry, at least hear out my idea."

"If I hear out your idea and give my thoughts, will you let me read my book?" Thierry acquiesced.

"Gladly!" Emmett said, the jubilance returning to his voice. "Okay, let me see here...these are old song ideas...this is a sketch of a Firebird... Okay, here we go! My notes on your song... Let's see, 'good-hearted doctor who doesn't play by the rules...'"

Couldn't object to "good-hearted," of course. "Doesn't play by the rules," as a phrase felt a bit callous to Thierry, but he let it slide.

"And that's all I have!" Emmett said, looking up from his notebook. Contrary to the fact that he had only presented what amounted to a basic concept, he seemed quite happy. "I came here to get your feedback on the pitch, and get some ideas for where to go from there!"

"...You're leaving an awful lot of the creative process to someone that has little experience with it," Thierry responded, eyes half-closed. "I'll help as best I can, though."

"Oh, composing is easy. Just give me topics, and I can create the verses!"

"Sounds like a plan... I think." Thierry stopped for a brief second. Was he really going to give up the one moment of peace he'd had all week to enterain Emmett's idea? Was deepening a bond with a guildmate worth sacrificing alone time for?

...When he put it like that, yes, yes it was.

"Alright, so, erm... I suppose my research would be a good place to start..." Thierry said, unsure of himself.

"A fantastic idea!" Emmett said, jotting down a brief note. Though Thierry was going into this blind, Emmett's eagerness for creative endeavors and to learn about Thierry's history comforted Thierry.

He hadn't felt this sort of comfort in a long time.

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