Shionne would definitely get flustered if she knew that's what he was thinking, but at the same time, it felt like a wonderful dream. In fact, she was in a -very- good mood for the rest of their dinner - the others found it particularly curious, but they were glad for it. And if anyone else noticed that Shionne sat a little closer to Alphen - juuust enough to not trigger her thorns - or that she would occasionally give him a softer smile when speaking to him (or that when they were in conversation Alphen and Shionne were in their own world), no one drew attention to it.

Unfortunately, after that ... well they might have gotten in a little over their heads. Moreso than expected. With Rinwell almost becoming a murderer, Shionne getting kidnapped and Alphen's mask shattering fully - things were looking pre-tty bad. Fortunately it wasn't too long before Shionne was rescued, although poor Alphen .... would probably do the same thing all over again, suffering the thorns even though he could feel the pain this time.

Defeating Volran was definitely not easy, and chances were they would run into him again in the future - but for the time being, recuperation in Pelegion was desperately, desperately needed for everyone. Kisara took it upon herself to check on everyone, especially when Shionne was keeping to herself more than ever. Not that she was ungrateful everyone came for her, but knowing that Alphen could feel the pain from her thorns now.. she was unsure of approaching him.