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When he first met her, K’thriss found Fenn to be little more than a pleasant distraction. A friend to be sure, yes, but not one that occupied a larger percentage of devotion in K’thriss’s consciousness than any other person he referred to as a friend. She blew in and out of his life with limited frequency, as she worked for another of Acquisitions Incorporated’s teams. Of course, that was before Fenn ran the numbers, double checked her results, and decided that K’thriss was her ideal candidate for a romantic partner. Her relationship proposition started out a bit rocky, with a feigned interest in physical affection in order to appeal to him. Soon her disdain for those sort of activities was revealed, and both shared a relief that physical consummation was off of the table. With that, Fenn and K’thriss began to slowly head towards a relationship that was more than a mere friendship, but too novel to define.Along the way, Rosie would provide K’thriss some advice to encourage him on how to grow his unusual union with Fenn. Rosie was a big believer that people should not be alone and was happy K’thriss had a ‘special someone’, as she often referred to Fenn. While Rosie had been with a large number of paramours, she explained to K’thriss that some people have a soulmate. It was an odd concept to the drow: two individuals who are drawn together because their souls search out the other. Rosie told him these were very special relationships, rare and wonderful. She referenced their friends on the Wafflecrew, Strix and Diath.“The universe was in the verge of caving in around them, and they would not abandon the other,” Rosie said breathlessly. “Oh, and that embrace after Strix joined my family. Wasn’t that romantic? Have you seen anything so incredible? Love is amazing.”K'thriss was a bit confused. “Do soulmates often destroy the material plane?”Rosie rolled her eyes at his inquiry. No matter, K’thriss had other resources at his disposal. He decided to ask Walnut for advice. With this request, he kept his approach simple. “Walnut, what are some things I could do for Fenn to relay my gratitude for her presence in my life?”“Hoo, boy,” she mumbled. Walnut called for Brahma to join them. Brahma was matter of fact, but sensitive to his inquiries.“You have shared interests, correct? Giving books on topics you both enjoy, planning a trip to investigate some place of mutual interest would be a start,” Brahma rattled off. “This isn’t some complex, antiquated process, K'thriss. You find out what she enjoys, what is important to her, and share in it. It’s just that easy.” K’thriss was appreciative of his friends’ perspectives. He went into his library to choose some books that she might enjoy. He believed that she would like some tomes with a bit of age on them, and he chose topics that he believed would appeal to an obviator: one book that covered the evolution of iridescent fungus in the Underdark, and another which outlined the timeline of Faerun. He wrapped them in brown paper and prepared them for mailing. As departed his room, he found Fenn standing there in the common area.“K’thriss, hello,” Fenn smiled. "I was about to knock on your door."“Hello, friend! What brings you here at this advantageous time?” K’thriss inquired.“Advantageous? Wonderful,” she nodded. “My calculations indicated that my presence at the Dran & Courtier today would be ideal for you and I to share a moment or two together in an activity of some sort. Am I correct?”“Indeed, I was about to send you this package. It contains just a couple things that I selected for your learning pleasure.” That was one of Rosie’s words, ‘pleasure’. She had given K'thriss a few terms that would imply a certain intimacy that Fenn may find appealing.Fenn’s face lit up as her eyes grew large. Her excitement at receiving a gift was evident. She extended her hands out to take the parcel. “May I?”“Absolutely.” K’thriss handed over the package with a smile. Fenn then walked past her precious friend, into his bedroom to open the package in a certain level of privacy. She sat on his bed, legs crossed, and carefully opened the paper to reveal the selected books.“Thank you so much! These will be wonderful reads to glean information from. Have you read them both?”K’thriss sat next to her on the bed. “I have. I can verify that the fungi in question are every bit as aesthetically pleasing as described here.”Fenn smiled up at him for a moment before she began to concentrate on his bandaged eyes. “Would it be acceptable for me to remove the covering over your eyes? If this makes you uncomfortable, I will not push the issue.”K’thriss related that he had no such discomfort in her proposal. They both reached for the bandage at the same time, and K'thriss dropped his hands to allow Fenn to remove it.Fenn looked at the jeweled eyes of her friend. The facets, the deep red color, the individual rate at which they blinked... she was fascinated. Without conscious realization of her actions, she took his face in her hands and began to turn it ever so slowly, watching the light flicker off of each facet of each gem.K’thriss remained quiet. He could see Fenn’s face shift to an intense gaze as she engaged in the study of his eyes. Since she was not treating him roughly, he allowed her to maneuver his head in whatever direction she deemed necessary. As Fenn continued her study, K’thriss began to concentrate on her hair. It floated about as if directed by an unseen breeze. He reached up to move his hands through it. He encountered no sort of air circulation that would provide an explanation of the constant windswept movements of Fenn’s hair. Fascinating, he thought to himself.Rosie walked by the warlock’s room just in time to catch a peek of the air genasi holding the drow’s face in her hands as he ran his hands through her hair. She grinned with excitement and quietly pulled the door closed, unnoticed by the pair.After several quiet minutes, Fenn snapped back to attention. “My apologies,” she said softly, putting her hands down and backing up a bit. “I was so completely entranced by studying your eyes that I disregarded your boundaries. Did I make you uncomfortable?”“Not at all. In fact, I spent the time studying the nature of your hair. It defies a certain amount of gravity in addition to being pleasing to these eyes,” K’thriss replied. Fenn blushed for a moment while K'thriss continued. “Would a break to get a beverage from downstairs be beneficial at this point?”“Yes,” Fenn replied, “I anticipated a beverage would be needed. I brought a selection of teas for us to sample if you would like.”“Wonderful,” he said as they walked out the bedroom and headed downstairs. As the pair selected a table, Rosie wasted little time. She walked over to greet Fenn.“Hello, Fenn,” Rosie purred. “Are you having a lovely afternoon with our dear hoardsperson?"“Yes, indeed. K’thriss and I jumped into some impromptu research. It is amazing what you can learn looking into someone’s eyes,” Fenn said.“Agreed, and I still need to collect more data running my hands through your hair,” K’thriss reminded her as Propha brought the hot water and shortbread they ordered to their table.“Absolutely. I have cleared my evening calendar in anticipation of a continued review of each other’s body parts of interest,” Fenn agreed.Propha gave Rosie a raised eyebrow as she walked away. Rosie followed her in order to keep from laughing in the pair’s presence. After tea, the pair retreated back to his room to continue with their studying, this time asking questions and taking a few notes as they proceeded. They studied until late into the night. When they grew weary, K’thriss offered Fenn the other side of his bed so she would not have to sleep in the common area. Fenn accepted and went to sleep quickly. K’thriss spent a few moments observing Fenn as she slept. Even in a state of unconsciousness, her hair continued to float about. He found himself smoothing her hair, but finally stopped lest he wake Fenn up. He then entered his nightly trance. They both slept very still, only occasionally brushing the other with a rogue limb. In the morning they rose early, their conversation filled with talk of research and breakfast.After their morning meal, Fenn collected her books and notes to depart. K’thriss accompanied her outside to bid her safe travels. “Thank you for coming to visit me. I gathered some great information during our time together.”“As did I. Perhaps you can come visit me in Neverwinter soon. You may enjoy my laboratory or a review of my research notes. I would be delighted to share them with you.”“I would like that very much, friend,” he said. K’thriss began to say something else, then stopped himself. Fenn noticed this hesitation.“Go on,” she encouraged him. “Is there something else you would like to share while I am present?”“It is something Rosie told me. Are you familiar with the concept of ‘soulmates’?”Fenn replied thoughtfully, with a subtle smile. “I am aware of the concept. What are your thoughts?”K’thriss replied quietly. “I, uh, I need to do more research.”At this point, Fenn leaned in close. “I do know one thing. I would be very content to discover that my soul sought yours out. With our backgrounds, experiences, and difference in age, it would be no small task. The science behind that...”“Science?”“Hmm, mathematics, actually,” Fenn muttered contemplatively. “More research is needed.”K’thriss nodded and smiled. “Indeed.”Fenn hugged K’thriss goodbye and departed. As he headed back into the Dran & Courtier, K’thriss was met by Donaar.“Hey, man,” Donaar addressed K’thriss, “A little birdie told me that you and Fenn spent all night looking into each other’s eyes and you couldn’t keep your hands off of each other.”“That might be an exaggeration, but we did learn a lot last night,” K’thriss admitted.Donaar playfully punched him in the arm. “That’s awesome, dude! You might be getting this romance stuff after all!”As Donaar walked off, K’thriss thought about the dragonborn’s words. It was certainly interesting to hear everyone’s take on his relationship with Fenn. As he began to consider all of his friend’s advice and opinions of the past couple days, one voice rose above them all: “I would be very content to discover that my soul sought yours out.”K’thriss smiled at Fenn’s words. The mathematical likelihood that they would have met and become friends at all was incredibly minuscule, but here they were nonetheless. Perhaps this whole soulmates thing was simply a fortunate happenstance as opposed to an astronomical impossibility.How novel, he thought. How amazing. How lovely.