OOC: I was listening to Grandstand (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RetaDZCp1tg)- by Beats Antique.
This is an open by requests thread. Got an idea how to mingle or deter Miss Aurora Jane from her prize or wish to aid her? PM me if you got an idea and I'll let you know if I like the idea :)
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The heart as Ashra- an ancient, forgotten God from the fallen Kingdom of Cidell, was said to grant a man immortality if he were to possess it. This, naturally, was not the real heart of a God, as it remained just a simply, crude lump of something that somewhat resembled a human heart, though the superstitious believed other wise. Frankly, she didn't give a damn. She just knew she needed the artifact, and the infamous antiquities thief, Aurora Jane, would find a way to get it, one way or another.
She rubbed her thumb along the polished, bronzed 'seeing' watch that remained inside her inner breast pocket as she made her way through the bustling Chamber House; which was full of lavish decorations and lavish people as the archaeologists and nobleman who funded the expedition were celebrating and showing off their find.
And what perfect place to find the item than at it's own party? It saved her the trouble from having to dig up and find these artifacts herself. And the older the artifacts were- the better. Mysterious- the history still unknown? It delighted her and drew the thief out of whatever hole she was normally hiding in as her green eyes swept through the crowd.
THough she always had green eyes, today she was blonde, the wing, long and glamourous, and the rest of her- voluptuous and easy on the eyes. She was not afraid to show cleavage, and a lot of it. Though her dress and coat were white, the symbolism of innocence was lost in how low cut the dress was, and how high cut the slits in the skirts were. Though if she was trying to blend in wearing something so extraordinary, what better place to do it than here?
THere were people from all over the world here- Essryni historians, Adelan explorers, Serenian scholars and Connlaothian stuffed shirts ready with their check books to dish out the gold. It wasn't just the heart of Ashra that was on display here- but a whole line of antiquities from it's excavation, and if more than one of these items proved useful and old- well, Aurora Jane was going to find herself stealing more than just a heart this evening as her eyes scanned the crowd, and took in the pedestal where the heart was on display.
It was there- and it wasn't even under glass. This was going to be too easy. Smirking, she stepped out into the marble floor of the Chamber House and began to make her way through the sea of people. But ah, wasn't this the rich crowd- so many colors, in both dress and tongue- so many people from all over the world it made her shiver. She loved intelligence. She loved money. And this was the most thrilling part of her job- to make her way it the party, to mingle among the guest, find her next lead- and make off with the prize.
The Heart of Ashra... He'd heard of it, it was more than just a legend. And such a legend he'd been hunting for months now. It hadn't been easy to find, and Adaron had discovered early on that nothing in his life would be made such. However, it was nice to find that there were plenty of things one could do to balance out that little aspect, and Adaron tired of fate countering him at every measure.
This was where he tracked the last known location of the Heart, a tomb from the heart of the desert, which had been excavated months before. But there was more to the shriveled crude lump that met the eye, but Adaron wanted to examine it himself before he could be sure.
Adaron appeared out of place in Cerenis, being taller and bulkier than most Serenians at large, but fitting in was the last thing on his mind. Through rose-tinted vision, he felt traces of energy lead him toward the Chamber House where, he learned from passersby, a great display of antiquities was going on, hosted by the Florian Bavareon Society for the Preservation of Items ofCultural Significance.
What a bunch of windbags must be in there, Adaron thought, inwardly rolling his eyes.
When he approached the steps, he looked at the man posted the door, checking invitations. "Are you on the guest list, sir?" he asked. Adaron stared at him a moment.
"Of course," he replied, but it was evident by the snooty glares he was receiving, that the gentleman at the door didn't think he would fit in.
"And your name?"
"Andreyscu. See, right there." He pointed toward the first name he saw on the list that wasn't crossed off.
The man scoffed a laugh and directed his quill pen to Adaron's attire. "Fabian Andresyscu? I don't quite think you're dressed for the occasion. This is an expensive event sir, and if you cannot even afford the clothes for it, I hardly think you've been invited."
Adaron returned that glare and felt the fire of anger boiling in his belly. "Don't be so quick to make assumptions. I was a part of the excavation."
"If you were such an important member, then show me your invitation."
Adaron reached into his robe tunic and felt nothing. "I, er, seem to have forgotten it."
"That's what I thought. Now, please, move along sir, you've got a line growing behind you."
Adaron stepped away, people passing by him and he felt their scowls. Stuff shirts indeed. But it was no matter. He was going to get in one way or another. And if they didn't want to play nice, he wasn't going to play nice either. Adaron stepped back toward the man. "Excuse me, I think I just found my invitation." And he pulled him aside. His left eye abruptly glowed and surged bright red. In a flash, the light emerged in a powerful beam that struck the top of the entrance to the building, cracking stone and snapping it, and blasting it apart.
Those by the door screamed and ran for cover as stone and mortar flew everywhere. And as the smoke billowed out from the crumbled entrance, Adaron stalked through it. He viewed the crowd, the ones that were too far way to be struck by the blast, and they stared right back at him. The orchestra that played stopped, and even cowered. "Don't stop having a good time on my account," he said, and pushed through the crowd, heading for the heart.
Well, that was one to crash a party.
The explosion, from only gods knew where, was most unexpected. Sure, there was always the threat of thieves, bit well... Even Aurora knew thieves had to be tactful, but whatever sort of attack this was did not sit well with her. Even after the perpetrator stepped inside, declaring other wise. And soon her eyes were going towards the relics, just as screams of panic filled the air.
Well, looks like this party was going to end early! So she had to be quick, and was pushing her way through the crowd, and over towards the relic table while guards were called in, rushing after the rude intruder.
Talk was cheap and time was short, and he leapt over table to table as the guards ushered in, shouting threateningly. He felt the runes on his arms and legs grow hot with energy and they began to glow as they poured strength into his limbs. And he jumped higher now, greater, leaping over one woman, a man's head, and even a small child.
He stepped on Aurora, stepping on her shoulder and leaping off it, and landing on the relic's table. That's when he made a beeline for the Heart. The Heart would be his.
Well, that was unexpected! And the feet on her shoulder dug into her long wig, pulling it off and sending it to the ground. She grit her teeth and swore, but was soon swearing for a different reason when she realized he was a thief and after the same prize!
"Oh, I don't think so." Kicking aside her wig, and slicking a hand through her unruly hair- which was thankfully bound in order to fit under the said, fallen wig, Aurora wasted no time in her pursuit, hailing to the guards, "There's a thief! A thief!" Hoping to have more men going after this crazy man before he took off with the goods! But damn if he wasn't fast, and his ability to simply leap over tables, definitely would fall under the category of incredible. But she was not about to praise the man who ruined her perfectly good plot! And she hadn't even the time to schmooze with the wealthy men here.
Oh well, she supposed she'd have to go with plan B-
Whatever that was.
Men indeed turned their attention toward him at the behest of....the WIGGED WOMAN. He threw a staggered glance her way for a brief second, but it was a second enough for Serenian mage knights to gain ground around him, and a few of the men to stand up in the tables and grab anything they could as weapons to thwart the would-be thief.
Adaron turned his hands to frost, and he lunged at the first man before him, freezing his feet together, and throwing him aside, and blocking a candlestick coming toward his head. He threw balls of ice outward, freezing more limbs and knocking them aside as he continued his pursuit of the Heart.
Ice and snow on a beautiful day like this and inside could only mean one thing-
Magic. And ice magic, quite evidently! At this sudden chaotic turn, Aurora knew when her odds were unfavorable, and soon she began to seek out an exit with the rest, except there was a major clog of people at the only door available, and Aurora sighed. She supposed there were other ways to get out of here, and soon made her way up the grand staircase to the second floor, and slipped into the first room she saw- a rather modest sized study, full of tall bookshelves and other peculiar things. Most were underglass, but she was not exactly looking for relics here-
She needed a way out- and fast. She didn't exactly want to be frozen to death!
Making haste towards a partially opened window, she found, must to her displeasure, it was stuck. And no matter how much she tried to push and shove it open, it remained unmovable.
With a frustrated sigh, she tried the next window, which only gave an inch and made her frustrated sigh come out as a swear.
"Really now! How does someone as rich as he have sticky windows?" And for a moment she plopped onto a nearby chair as her elbow hit against a statue- and before she knew what she had done, the statue fell over, and inside was something sparkling.
Intrigued, she reached in between her breasts to produce a peculiar pair of spectacles, and once they were on her nose, she gasped.
She could see it. She could actually see it!
There was dust!
Adaron snatched the Heart, holding the shriveled thing underneath his arm. The panic that had set in had created an impassable clutter of people and not even the guards could make their way through. The rune mage saw there was no where else for him to run, the exits being blocked with frightened sheep. They all made him sick. But he could dwell on that matter later.
He turned his magic inward, and his form suddenly dissipated, fluttering outward in a flurry of a hundreds of black feathers that seemed to flow in a hurricane wind. It was not a form of escape he used often, but tearing apart the Chamber house would likely just bring it down around his head. And his effort would've been wasted.
He materialized at the top the stairs and just as he was bounding through a room, his foot caught on the end of a heel and he came tumbling over that red-haired woman's form.
She only had a chance to cry out when her face smashed into the ground.
What was this!? Who in their right mind would or could blindly run into her!?
"I know there's chaos down stairs but really, my figure is hard to miss!" she scolded, but stopped in mid-sentence as she stared back at the form of the man who had just caused the chaos. And very unlike her, she screamed and moved to shove him off, and in doing so, heard something clunk onto the ground and roll right over beside the shattered statue.
Picking up her spectacles, as they had fallen off when the strange man rudely tripped over her, she hastily put them on, and while still gripping the temples, she released a gasp. The heart she desired did possess dust! And a ton of it!
And she wasted no time, hastily snatching up both the heart and the glittering object (of which she had no idea what it was, for she hadn't the chance to study it before the interruption!) and getting to her feet.
"You'll have to forgive me for this, because I need this relic more than you can understand."
And something dropped between them, and the woman now held a kerchief over her mouth and nose, and soon a light flashed and sleepy smoke began to seep up from the floor- and just as the smoke was rising, she made fast work out of the room and seeking desperately to find another.
That sleeping had might have worked if Adaron had climbed to his feet quickly. He was surprisingly nimble for a man so large and he barreled after her. "The Heart is mine!" He growled and felt his hands grow got with fury. And from that fury came fire, which he promptly launched at her hair.
By the time the flame was launched, Aurora had just turned the corner into another room-
some exquisitely posh room with an enormous bed too big for five people, with a decadent canopy and the most ornate furniture she had ever seen. But she hardly had time to admire it, for she slammed the door behind her and locked it, and then promptly realized- part of her hair was on fire!
Grabbing a nearby vase full of flowers, she dumped the contents over her head, as water and fresh cut flowers gushed over her form. Her white dress was now practically translucent, but at least the fire was out and only left a small chunk of burned hair. She feared that would have come out a lot worse had she been a second slower, or had her hair worn down. It was, after all, quite unruly and it took her quite a while to get it as tucked close to her head as she could! She just hoped she wouldn't have a bald spot from it as she paused, for just a brief moment, to study herself in standing mirror beside the bed.
A SECOND TOO LATE!
WHAM!
The lock to the door snapped with the jam and Adaron came bursting through, half dazed from the sleep smoke that had drifted out after him, and some of it even followed him into the room. "Give me that heart!" he howled and lunged across the bed before her. He slammed into her in a furious tackle.
"Give it to me, I need it!"
She hadn't expected that and before she knew it, she was literally tackled onto the most opulent bed in all of her days! But just as she was recovering from the shock of it all, she saw the lingering curls of her knock out smoke and gaped.
It was all a horrendous nightmare, really, because it could be laughed at had the circumstances been any different. The man, after all, was terrifying. He didn't even have a proper eye, and spewed magic out like a feral pig. And whens he went to struggle beneath him, she found a fire grow within herself at his claim.
"I doubt you need it more than I!" A foolish shout in a futile situation. And was she beginning to get sleepy? At least the room appeared to be starting to spin. "The heart it..."
Oh yeah, she was getting loopy and the more she struggled, the heavier she felt.
This was his chance, though he too was feeling groggy from the smoke. And all that time spent tussling over the the Heart had given the guards ample time to break the crowd and climb the stairs, their shouts clamoring down the hallway toward that very room.
There was no time to concentrate, even as Adaron fought desperately with himself to stay awake. He tried to pull the Heart from her grasp, but she still had an iron grip on that thing! And time was running short. So instead he forced himself off her and took her entire body with him, cradling her in his arms as he staggered to his feet. He lumbered toward the window and when sense came to him, threw them both out of it.
When she was scooped up (for despite how tall he was, she still felt it was quite the feat!) she wriggled in protest.
"What on earth on you doing?"
And then her eyes went wide as he headed towards the window.
"Oh my god... what ARE you doing?!" she said, sobering. "We're on the second floor!" But it was too late, and soon she was screaming, despite herself, as they fell.
Adaron held her securely in his arms as the fell from the second floor. He had gotten enough energy to make it to the shorter roof below, but just barely and his boots teetered on the edge. He used her weight as a counter to pull him forward and began running along the roof. "You're not gonna give me the Heart? You'll come with me!"
"What!?" Oh he could NOT be serious! "You've got to be joking! Now put me down and perhaps we can talk about this like civilized adults! But I can guarantee your desires are not nearly as demanding as mine." After all, he probably had all of his soul! What use did he have for the relic anyways? He probably just wanted the money...
Well, he could have that when she was done with it! But then again.. it wasnt like she could take him to her laboratory, even if she wanted to. That would be the kiss of death for her!
"Just what could you possibly need it for? You don't even know what it is you possess!" Adaron scoffed at her and continued to run along the roof. He leapt for another building, landing a little heavier this time. She was not exactly a light woman, even being as strong as he was. Gods, what did she eat every day? Pfft!
"I am sure my need is much more pressing."
All of this jumping around made it difficult for her to wriggle, but when he paused to make his retort, she snorted.
"I doubt you realize the complications behind this relic. And I can assure you, it is worth much more to me."
When they reached a taller building, Adaron ran up alongside a massive wall to a cathedral. The building was at least 4 stories from the ground, and it was here that Adaron finally set her down. He kept one hand on her and the other on the disheveled form of the Heart. "And who are you to make such a claim?" He could easily have her sailing off the edge, but his firm grip kept her steady and he wouldn't let go of the Heart of it meant the death of him.
"And who are you to challenge it?" she said, trying not to stare at his one gemmed eye, but it was kind of difficult, it just looked so strange!
[We made two pages. Somehow. Through all the chaos]
Adaron's expression was mildly surprised and he blinked at her, even over his jeweled eye. "I am Adaron. You wish to know who I am? You should be careful what you for ..."
Kill her and be done with it, the voice from the eye hissed angrily. Adaron's expression faltered again...
No..He would not give it the satisfaction.
He dropped the woman and snatched the Heart from her hands and ripped it open and unfurled the crumpled skin of the Heart,revealing tthe map that had been hidden within.
Having been unceremoniously dropped, she tried desperately to gain her balance, but when he yanked the heart clean from her fingers, that did her in, and before she knew it, she was falling off the side of the building and didn't even have time to think 'Oh Shit!'
"Oh shit!"
Adaron blinked in her direction, or where she was at any rate. "Oh shit!!" He stuffed the map into his tunic and leapt from the roof down after her, arms outstretched.
Achingly slow, the distance closed between them and Adaron was inches away from her hands. When he was close enough, he snatched her in, pulling his arm around her. And they fell down, crashing through the roof of a brothel, landing right on a bed.
When her breath returned to her lungs, she was coughing up dust and debris. And though the fall was semi-cushioned by the strange man that lunged at her and crashed with her through the roof, she simply lay there in a daze, not certain what to make of what just happened, except the odd spectacles she had been wearing now saw, bent over her nose. And at such an angle, it aligned with his jeweled eye...
Where she could see the subtle sparkle of soul dust.
Adaron groaned, feeling the bed had splintered underneath him and parts of them stuck into his back. He sat up, her with him and stared at her for a few seconds, wondering just what the hell she was staring at. She was alive and he got what he came here for.
And that's whens he tried to pluck his gem from his eye socket.
"Get out of there!" He growled roughly at her and shoved her aside. His hand reached into his robes to make sure the object he sought was still there. She was not a light woman, but he was strong enough to shove off him and he rolled off the splintered bed. "Nice to meet ya," he hissed. "Hopefully it won't happen again." And he ran out the door.
But his escape would be slowed, as a slew of whores swarmed before him, both curious of what happened, and also excited to see such a handsome and unique potential customer.
"HEY! Get out of my way!" Adaron growled, pushing through the growing crowd. "Move!"
By the time Aurora got to her feet, she saw the whores swarming around the gem eyed man like bees to honey. It allowed for a pathway behind the chaise and settees for her to push through, and soon she found herself just behind Adaron as she tried to blend in with the other whores who were petting and prodding the man to stay. It wasn't hard for her to fit in, considering her clothing now was stuck to her body and translucent. Either way, she hardly cared, it served her well as she slipped a hand into the man's pocket and just as quietly, snuck away with the 'heart'. Though by the time she got outside and realized she was holding a map instead, she blinked and hastily put on her broken spectacles and gasped, seeing how the very ink on the map shined with dust.
Peering back at the whore house and seeing the man still fighting the crowd of whores, she pocketed the map into her boots and slipped into a nearby ally, and sought any means for a quick escape.
Adaron was fed up with the attention, he pushed through the crowd that trapped him. He had nothing he cared to offer him, not when there were jewels to be had! Treasures to steal! And...what the frick! He felt for the map and it was GONE!
"Hey!" he barreled through the crowd and down the stairs and out the door. And the bitch was nowhere to be found. That was until he heard some heels clicking down the alley, running full force.
When she got to the end of the ally, she found a series of crates up against a tall fence. Though it seemed quite the climb, she knew she had little choice, and was soon pulling off her heels and moving to climb, up the crates and over the fence. And it was just as she was straddling said fence that she caught sight of Adaron.
With a swear, she dropped down on the other side, and was surprised to find herself having landed in a pile of dirty laundry. And the heavy scents of detergent only confirmed- she had fallen into the back of a laundry house.
If she wanted to play with fire, she was bound to get burned. Adaron was angry! And he moved through the alley quickly, leaping up to the wall and watched her trying to move through bunch of laundry. "You won't be able to read it," he said plainly, irritated.
That's when Aurora looked up at him.
"Ha! What do I care what it reads? What I'm after is far more important than treasure!" she spat back, but their little argument was suddenly short lived, when the bin of laundry began to move, up and over, and was dumping the red haired woman along wtih all of the clothes, into the laundry house and onto its basement floor.
Of course! She had to disappear before he could finish questioning her! He leapt down into the hole, tumbling through the laundry and landing hard on her. "Fuck!" He rolled off her and scrambled to his feet. "Look! Just what the hell do you want that for? I need that map!"
Aurora felt the wind knocked out of her. Man, that guy had some hard bones! Scrambling to get out of hte laundry as well, she found herself knee deep in it and a sock on her head, that she flicked aside.
"I don't need the damn map. But I need it's ink! Besides you should choose another profession, treasure hunter is so out dated."
No! Adaron scrambled after her. "The ink!?" he growled. "For what!?" Oh, he could ignore her snide remark about why he wanted the map, but without the ink, if it lost it's life, the map would be useless.
"Trust me when I say the mathematics and scientific calculations behind it are beyond what you could ever comprehend. Now move aside, I'm sure there's another treasure map in the city you could steal!"
Their commotion was quick to alert the laundry workers to the scene, and once the thief spotted a crowd, she was quick to wail, "Oh, somebody, anybody please! This man... he's trying to seduce me! Help! My husband will surely have my hide if he dare touch me!"
And the men on the scene were quick to scene, make shift weapons on hand as they rushed Adaron, hoping to chase the damn rapist OUT!
As a pipe came sailing his way, that's when Adaron snatched into Aurora and put her in the path of the weapon as it came cracking against her skull.
She didn't expect that and the pipe collided with her head and she was down, falling into darkness, with a pool of blood collecting beneath her skull.
"Look what you did to my wife!" Adaron howled dramatically.
"Your wife!?" one of the men said, standing back, horrified. "She said you were attacking her!"
"Oh, posh! She always says that when she doesn't get her night cap! She's drinks too much, and gets delirious. In fact, this isn't the first time I've had to chase her through town."
Adaron reached down and pulled Aurora's head gently into his arm to inspect the gash the pipe had done to her head. He plucked her up, the men still wary of him, obviously unable to determine if what he said was the truth.
"Look, are you sure you're her husband?"
"Of course. I would never assault a woman in my life, let alone this lovely creature. And if any of you get any bright ideas, I'll turn you to ash!" Adaron scowled at the men and pushed them aside, holding the woman along, her hair having come undone and cascading down to the ground in a red, curly cape.
If she did awaken, and somehow survived that blow to her head, she might wake up in a small backroom of a tavern, a room hidden behind a liquor cabinet in the back of the bar. Adaron was sitting over a table, inspecting something by candlelight. Her clothes would be slumped over the side of the bed and a wet cloth draped over her forehead. What he was inspecting exactly included many of her effects.
When she awoke, she had the worst headache of all time, ever. And once she realized how severe it was, she kind of wished she hadn't woken up! And where the pain radiated from, she reached back to touch her skin, only to wince as she realized the flesh was tender and the skin over it, bound with gauze.
Guaze?
She couldn't remember what had happened, at least not in the moment, but as her eyes focused on the room around her, she notice someone looking through her things. At first she considered it might have been her father, but as she continued to stare...
"What on EARTh do you think you're doing!? Get your hands off of my spectacle soul-assisting spectacles right this MINUTE!"
Adaron looked up at her from his perch at the table and gave a small smirk. It was a bit smug. "Oh, you're awake. Good, that means you didn't die." Obviously, of course. He wouldn't have thought anything of her spectacles if she hadn't said anything and instead pulled them in front of him.
"I'm looking through your things," he said, stating the obvious once more. "Peculiar, and very interesting." He held them before his eye, his good eye and looked over the room, and even her.
Aurora was.more than irritable, for she knew the glasses would probably show him nothing, especially when it looked at her... It would be as if she wasn't even there...
"What peculiar things indeed. Soul-assisting you say?" he asked, and when they hovered over her, he saw as if she were fading from sight, and pretty soon she wasn't there at all. But when he removed the lenses, he saw her plain as day and blinked at her. "Soul-assisting. What does that mean?"
"Oh, I'm sure its beyond you, now give those here!"
"Why don't you just explain it to me? I'm sure I would understand better than you think," he said. "Why be interested in a map only for its ink?"
"It's that exact questioning that makes me defer answering. Besides, I haven't the patience and my head is killing me."
And when she moved to rub her skull, she winced. The skin was very tender there and she had to wonder, as she gave him a suspicious look, just what did he do to her to get her into this state!
"But you need to answer me some questions first!" she pressed. "Like, how did I get here, who the hell are you? And why am I here? Its not like you have any reason to care for my desires for the ink on the map."
Not the patience to explain? He sniffed in amusement. As if she was in any position to negotiate. She might not even have a head if it hadn't been for him. Ignoring the fact that he had can the initial cause of her headache to begin with.
"Perhaps not. But you have plenty reason to answer me first," he looked at her with narrow eyes. "The map is mine. But could you possibly desire only the ink without thought as to what these directions lead to?"
Aurora simply looked at him, pride getting in the way.
"A fool's treasure that'll lead him to death, that's what."
But inwardly she was kicking herself. She was so excited about the ink she hadn't considered the possibility of there being a gold mine of dust where X marked the spot.
"Is it because you're empty inside?" he asked gently. The glasses had reacted strangely to her, as if she were dead. And yet she was clearly not.
"What?" She laughed dryly. "You can interpret it as much as you want if it helps you sleep at night. Now stop asking questions, my head is splitting and you're trying my patience."
"I can finish the process of you'd like. And it's be quick. But I can't promise it'd be painless." Adaron's eye glittered and flashed, light ready to burst out at any moment. "Or you can be straight with me and answer my questions."
"Aren't you the flatterer? I bet you learned well from your parents on how to treat a girl right."
Adaron just grinned at her, perhaps even slyly and he stalked closer. "I know how to treat a woman, lady or not. And you, good woman, are no lady." He took a seat beside her and examined her spectacles. Closely again and his eye flickered and a small light emerged from it, assessing the exact nature of the glasses. "Enchanted. Clever girl."
That cheeky grin... he really felt he had a one up on her, didn't he? She stared at him cautiously. Oh, how she wished she could remain so coy right now. It made things easier. She didn't like being vulnerable. It was..... too human for her.
"Well, if you have any ounce of manners, you'll do well to return to me my things."
"What things? As far as I'm concerned, these are my things now. Finders keepers."
Well! Touche! She couldn't say she didn't understand that sentiment, considering what she did for a living. But she always felt what she did was well... different. This poor one eyed man probably at least had his soul. He couldn't understand the complexities of what she sought. And she had no desire to share it with him, either.
Setting her jaw, she looked the man over.
"Very well, but I doubt it'll do you much good."
Again, he probably had a soul, so things comprised of 'dust' would mean little to him. Even still... creating those spectacles was NOT cheap and were hardly an easy thing to create out of the synthetic enchantment machine her father helped her concoct! Wouldn't he be more than a little upset to find out she lost it to another thief after the same 'heart'?
He scowled at her words and took the spectacles in hand. He had half a mind to crush them. But instead he gave them back and went back to her other gear. "What's your name?"he asked while rummaging through the pockets of her clothes and splaying out what coin she possessed.
"You're the Antiquities Thief aren't you? I think I've heard of you. To think we'd ever appear in the same place debuting ancient artifacts."
Aurora blinked. Did he just... give back her enchanted soul dust viewing spectacles?
This called for a second round of blinking!
Not wasting a beat, she plucked them up and eyed him warily, though as he went on to call her out, it was hard for her to keep back the sour grin from curling across her lips.
"You could say that. But I'm sorry... I don't think I've ever heard of the one, jewel eyed wonder thief. But with the types of entrances you create... you'd think everyone might have heard and would try to avoid you."
And on his last comment...
"And trust me.. we're not after the same treasures."
He noticed she carefully did not give her name. But that she didn't deny who she was, told him much more. He turned and grinned at her. "This jewel is the greatest treasure of all. If you had it, you could get anything you wanted." He sniffed a laugh and eyes her form a moment, admiring her curves.
"What treasure are you seeking? Can't just get off on the dust can you...? Or is it?"
Well, if anything he was as much of a man as all the rest. Seeing him admire her curves and go on about his ego... well, it at least reminded her she had some leverage here.
"I'm sure all men think their jewels are the greatest treasure," she retorted playfully, but just as equally cutting. And as he made his last remark, she simply gave a roll of her eyes. "A woman never gives her secrets on the first date. And let's just say... perhaps I like things a little.. rustic? Over things that are a bit... shiny and superfluous?"
"Then it is the dust," he said, satisfied with that answer. He grinned a bit, wondering if she really thought she was being as clever as she believed herself to be. It seemed more than likely. Women that had that much hair had brains hidden underneath it somewhere.
"And what does the dust give you?" He looked over the leather sheet of the map and the sand it bore shine in small precious sparkles. "Do they make you feel less empty inside?"
OOC: fyi- he can't see the dust unless he is using the spectacles he just gave back to Aurora XD
it's why she has them on her. She can't tell if something has dust other wise! Though we already know where the 'dust' is located, it still wouldn't have a visual property unless, yeah, seen through the synthetically enchanted lenses lol
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Aurora sighed. This man was quite frustrating. He knew not what he spoke of, yet he was aiming closer than she'd like.
"What does dust give anyone? It's just something that needs cleaned up. Perhaps it's just a woman's intuition. Maybe I just like cleaning."
A lame reply, but she was really not in her best state of mind. Her head was still pounding, after all.
[There could just be traces of plain ol sand left from the excavation that he can see with his jeweled eye maybe XD But fiiiine]
Adaron frowned when he found it was nothing more than it seemed. "A typical answer from a woman with nothing to aim for. Why the dodging? Perhaps you'll find all the dust you need if you were honest with me. Besides, no woman loves to clean."
Aurora kept her gaze scrutinizing as she looked at him.
"And you give a typical answer and typical request for those who haven't the decency to mind their own business. You've already got your map. What bloody more do you want from me?"
Yeah, her head was killing her, and her mood, not fairing much better for it.
"And who says cleaning has to be a chore? Some see it as an adventure," she retorted, giving him a mean grin while nursing the side of her bruised skull.
"I hope that's not the only adventure you like," he replied without missing a brat. Finally he stood and pocketed the map. Indeed, he did have what he came for and now it was time to make it his permanently. "I'll be on my way, but I'm offering you an opportunity. Call it an adventure if you will. We work together to find the real Heart, follow this map, and we each get what we want..."
Adaron moved to throw his coat over his powerful shoulders and gestured to her clothes. "Or I can simply leave and we never see each other again, except perhaps in passing and that'll be the end of this." He grinned smartly at her and departed the room, saying as he left, "Let me know if you change your mind."
Oh, what a look she cast him upon his retreat! However, she was mostly soured because normally she was the one in his shoes. Flirting and being so causal and cool-
Yes... she decided she did not like this man, not at all. And whatever the reason he saved her, it was probably best to leave that in the dust-
Well, not the dust she sought, but the dust everyone cast aside. Yes! That's what she'd see him as!
Dust.
Though curiously enough, as he was leaving, she lifted up her spectacles at his retreating form to see if there wasn't something she could detect, she gasped, dropping the spectacles on her lap.
The man...
There was something on his person...
And it was overflowing with soul dust!
And the door slammed shut, and Adaron sped down the alley from where the tavern was nestled. He would need a few things for his journey for he knew he was heading far and back to where the diggers first found this lovely piece of information in his hands. Dust or no dust, he didn't need her to find the Heart, that he could do himself. First things first, however, he wasn't on the road yet.
Adaron moved quickly through alleys and backstreets like a jungle cat, heading to a general store that resided just on the outskirts of town, right where he needed to be. It was closed this time of night, but he was sure the owner wouldn't miss a few things if he dropped in as a visitor. City guards would be on the lookout for someone like him and he plannned to be long gone by the time they caught up to him.
He was careful with the lock this time, the old memories of cracking locks coming back to him. It was simpler than using the Eye, sometimes it was easier to use your hands to break things open. Once inside, he wasted no time going for a leather bag and filling it with supplies.
If there was one thing that could be said of Aurora Jane, it was her uncanny ability to make the best of a situation. So despite feeling like complete garbage while her head was pounding like a smith's hammer on an anvil, she was out of the bed, redressed, and following after the man's trail.
He didn't get far before she found him stealing, and all she could think about was how untactful he was. Then again, she took her own thieving as an art. There was some thrill to the idea of pretending to be someone else.
So there she waited, arms crossed in the door frame as he went about filling his bag.
"Shouldn't you be traveling light? Or do you aim to steal a horse as well?"
Adaron turned abruptly, peering over his shoulder to glare daggers at the big-haired woman. She ought to be careful about sneaking up on people like that. She could turn into a pile of the very dust she sought if she surprised the wrong person. He grinned at the thought. However, intrigue as to why she bothered to follow him at all, stayed his eye from zapping her at that particular moment.
"A decent idea. But it's a long journey, where I'm headed. I'll need all I can carry. And I can carry quite a bit. Besides, it's only myself I'm feeding, aren't I?" And he took a bite out of an apple, chewing softly before throwing that into the bag too and just about finishing up his rummaging.
But he threw that bag over his shoulders never the less and moved back toward the door. "But stealing a horse. What a marvelous idea, thank you." And he then leaned in to kiss her cheek.
She hadn't expected him to get so close so soon. Then again, hadn't he oogled her fantastic assets earlier? So when he came in to kiss her cheek,s he turned it into something a little more as she turned in time to catch his lips and gave him a heated kiss.
She wished she could say it was a forced gesture, though initially it was, but after being so frustrated, a rough kiss like that was nice-
even if it was a means to distract him as she began to fondle her way through his pockets for-
Ah ha! She found the map!
"You know, there are other things you could steal..."
And the map was out and now tucked away on her person, and she could only help he was none the wiser as she moved to step away.
"But as you said... you've only got yourself to feed. So why not steal yourself something a bit more.. rich?"
She must've really thought she was slick - and maybe at any other time he might find out that she was - but consideing he had the map tucked away in his pants, he could feel something was missing. "Clever girl!" He growled though teeth that bit down hard on her lower lip, keeping her trapped closer to him.
He kissed her harder then, devouring her mouth, slipping his tongue between her cheeks, as his hand caught her wrist in a powerful grip and he reached into her clothes, to where she tucked the map away.
"If you wanted to come along, all you had to do was ask," he panted, biting her lip again. "But the map is mine."
She glared back at him, but held a very soured smile on her lips.
"Never said I wanted to come along."
But well, she kinda of had to. "Now.. if you'll let go of me... I do believe you're bruising my wrist."
"As opposed to my bruised pride," he said and pulled the map out from under her clothes, stepping back and wiping her slobber from his lips. "Now if aim to get the Heart, it'll have to be with me, or not at all."
Adaron pushed passed her, slipping through the door and bounded down the alley.
"Oh please," she rolled her eyes. "A man with no tact has got no pride."
And she glared after him and released a huffed breath.
"You should be careful in promising yourself things you can not keep."
After all,s he fully intended to get that map off of him. It was littered in dust!
"As should you. A lady would know that," Adaron said, turning to throw a hard gaze at her. "If you intend to come along. Or even to follow me, I'd like to know your name."
"Oh? And what good would knowing my name do for you?"
"Keep me from having to call you Thief everywhere we go," he replied.
"Yes, but which do you think would draw more attention? You knowing my actual name.. or you calling me thief?"
"I'll wager calling you Thief," he said. "If you do not wish to give me your real name, a suitable alias will be fine. I'd rather not call you Thief, to be honest. It isn't very nice."
"Oh? So you see yourself as a nice guy?" She asked, amusement in her tone.
"I said no such thing. I merely ask for something to call you. So what'll it be?"
"Keep your end of the bargain and lead us to the real heart... and maybe you'll get more than my name," she teased. Being able to do that helped lessen the sour in her spirits because well..
It at least gave her some power as she was scrambling to realize in this arrangement, she had none.
"And don't take it personal but... I don't do well working as a ... team. I don't really like it. It complicates things too much. Life is.. much easier when you only have to look out for yourself."
Adaron put his hands up, shaking his head. "You don't want to give me your name, fine. I'll give you one. ...Fiona. There that works for me. Now let's get out of this city."
Aurora made a face and looked at him.
"Fiona?" Was he for real? "And just where are we headed anyway, magic eye?"
"Back to the desert of course," Adaron replied and shrugged. If she didn't like Fiona, she was free to suggest something better at any given time. As it were, he was moving quickly through the city, thankful to already be on the outskirts.
And when they reached the stables beside a guard tower, he was the first to mount a horse, a black steed that didn't seem to mind his new rider. The old instincts came back and just as he heard shouts of "HEY! STOP THAT HORSE THIEF!"
He was already out the gates, riding like the wind.
"Back?" she looked the man over. She supposed he was a traveler, much like herself. But she supposed she shouldn't be so surprised- except she was. And she had no idea what to do with the fact there was even someone out there remotely like her-
Thank goodness he had that strange eye thing. That was used as a symbol ot her that clearly- this man had to be some sort of a robot!
But when the stealing of the horse happened, she couldn't believe she was just left to eat his dust! Coughing and waving it away, she rushed to the closest horse, a stubborn white speckled mare who was NOT having any of Aurora's demands, as she continued to pull futilely on the reins.
Adaron only stopped long enough to peer behind him and when he saw Aurora struggle with the stubborn mare, he whistled sharply. The black horse danced in a circle and only then did then did the mare bolt off after the other horse.
Adaron waited but a second longer before turning around again down the road.
Nearly knocked from the horse, the mare bolted out of that place like lightning, and was soon gaining on the gem eyed man's tail. Thankfully by then, she had things in control, but the jerky start did nothing to calm her nerves as her wild mane of red hair bounced in the wind.
And soon Adaron had to fight to keep up with her! The stallion was more than happy to follow the mane, huffing happily in her wake. But Adaron got a mouthful, of red hair and forcibly spift it out. He supposed there'd been no time to bundle it up.
Who knew how long they had been running, but she didn't dare stop until she knew for certain they were no longer being chased. They had already left the city and taken to the wilds, where the pair were now trotting lightly into a clearing hidden deep behind a cove of trees.
A small, meandering stream cut through the middle of it, wth tall sweet grasses her white speckled mare took as its dinner as Aurora dismounted the horse and looked around.
"I think its safe to say we lost 'em."
Adaron stopped the black horse in time, giving him scritches along his mane before dismounting. He wouldn't say it was safe until the city was far behind him. The Riverlands could extend for miles, though following this particular stream could lead them out to the next settlement.
But for now it'd be a good place to rest and wash up. Adaron leaned down into the water and doused it over his face. "You hungry?" He gestured to his bag filled with provisions.
Aurora wasted no time in scooping up the water. It looked clean enough, but she pulled something out from her spectacles and dropped it in the water, looked at it, then proceeded to drink and splash her own face with it, patting down her cheeks and neck and exposed flesh with it.
"Well, I'm thirsty, that's for sure, and thankfully this water is clean. And feels good on the skin."
She used the back of her wrist to wipe some excess off her forehead before looking over at him.
"And why do you ask? Getting hungry after all of that running for our lives bit?"
She didn't have to tell him it felt good on the skin. Just feeling it on his head and the back of his neck provided a great deal of relief and soothing sensations spreading all through out his body. He sat down by the water and brought the leather bag forth.
"I wouldn't say I'm hungry. I'm only asking if you are. This is our only stop for about thirty miles. We'll follow that stream to the next village. Restock. Then be off again. I hope you don't mind sleeping on the ground."
She gave him a look and huffed, "What? Do I look like some useless waif who'd have a bad back after sleeping on twelve mattresses over a dried pea?" She gave a flick to her hair.
"I've traveled enough to know how to make due with what I got. Though I won't lie, I'm normally well equipped than I am now. I'm not exactly dressed for any such occasion."
After all, the dress she HAD worn was meant to be eye catching and in no means versatile for an adventure. And she had only a few items on her person that could help her on where ever this mission would go.
"So what are you suggesting? That you can't keep up? Or that you have bad fashion sense? And if must ask if you look like a waif then you must clearly know the answer to it," he said, half-grinning and turning his over to view their mounts. Two horses would be useful. But if Adaron wanted to make the distance set for them before two day's time, they'd have to think of something better.
"We share a mount. Pull the other one along. When one is tired, we switch horses and ride the fresh one. We'll get there faster that way. But from the looks of you, you don't really seem keep on sharing." And at that he grinned.
She gave him a hard look.
"No.." she brushed a bunch of hair from her face. "I don't... and I can't help it. The out fit comes with the territory. It wasn't like I was at that fancy party with the assumption I'd soon be digging in the dirt. I twas to be a quick job, you know. Get the heart, get out, and no one would get hurt."
She rung out some of her hair that she splashed too much water on, while still staring at him from the corner of her eye. Then she looked back to the water.
"Then again, I think you and I have completely different logics and purposes for that Heart. ANd the way we tackle our goals.... it's as if we've evolved from other worlds."
And she didn't bother to look at him as she moved to tie some of her hair back. It really was a big frizzy mess. And she loved it, but hated it at the same time. It could be quite the inconvenience at times.
Thinking over his proposal on the horses, she frowned.
"Yes... I'm not exactly fond of sharing on any accounts."
But she didn't out right say no to the idea. At least not yet.
"Indeed. And who's to say our worlds are so very different? The world's all the same all around. You look like a traveled woman. I should not have to tell you something you ought to already know." He sniffed thoughtfully and went to securing the provisions in the bag to the saddle of the black horse, who was already getting more than a mouthful of grass. It made a soft noise and returned to eating.
Adaron came back to the water and pulled off his shirt, dampening the cloth and wringing it out in powerful hands. "But you said before you didn't want the heart. You just wanted the dust. Which I gauged from your expression to be the correct assumption. You say an awful lot for someone who does not divulge much information."
"And you ask a lot for someone who won't ever get that information. Besides, what I'm after doesn't concern you, nor the rest of the world. Just be thankful we seem to be working together for the moment."
Adaron laughed, mostly at the fact that she made the assumption that he actually cared about the answers she were to give, should she give them.
"Don't flatter yourself, darl. I was just making conversation. Now if you're ready, as I am, we can be off again." He stood up and mounted the black horse.
Just making conversation? She had a hard time believing that. The man, at least from her perspective, seemed obsessed with the dust ever since it left her lips! And she's regretted it the moment it slipped. Then again, couldn't he have just presumed she was crazy or something? It would make things a lot easier than him trying to prod her wanting to see what this dust actually was.
"And I'm ready as rain." She paused to observe his horse. "What direction are we headed?"
"From the course of it, south by southwest," Adaron said, waving a hand to the course of the stream. He was keen to simply walk the horse along the water, and the stallion stepped daintily around rocks and parted the grass at a steady pace. Adaron was content to keep small talk to a minimum. And it allowed him to better listen to their surroundings. He soon nudged his heels into the horse and increased speed, trotting between trees and carefully stepping over underbrush.
She grudgingly sat behind him on the horse, still finding it silly she couldn't remain on her own. however, she was optimist to the idea either she could get in better favors with him by obliging, or she could simply figure out a way to swipe the map being this close.
He was a man after all, and she had see the way he looked at her. She didn't mind exploiting that. She was a horrible tease if anything. And he'd probably never believe she was a virgin. Give the man an illusion she had practice in this area of expertise! Then again, she had read a few books on the matter, and flirting and foreplay were up high on her list of skills.
The silence between them, however, was irritating. And after a while of realizing he wouldn't let her get close enough to where the map was, she brought out her spectacles and began to look around at the world.
There wasn't really anything to see, but she wasn't expecting to see anything, but as she heard a water fall off on the distance, she lowered the spectacles to ask, "Is this the end of the road? Looks like a cliff, and some falls ahead."
"What?" he had to ask again, though the horse kept riding forward. "Why do you ask such a thing?"
He hadn't heard the rush of water, though he did begin to notice that the stream began to widen and the water quickened, rushing along through rocks and boulders, the further they went.
If he could see her face, it was deadpan.
"Because of the cliff."
Adaron saw it at last and pulled the horse to a stop. The stallion neighed irritatedly at having been refused the chance to run about. And he dismounted, throwing a leg over the horse's neck.
"Fuck," he muttered. "I hadn't realized we were on a cliff. Well, the only way would be to find a way down. Off the horse, we walk."
Aurora followed suit. But where as Adaron was irritated by the road block, she simply approached. And she was rewarded with a view so breath taking, she felt as though she had been taken to another world. A horse shoe shaped series if falls awaited then, its mists creating many arching rainbows in the light. And as she studied the valley below, her spectacles, that had been resting atop her head, began to slip off.
Quick to grab them as they fell, she barely caught the flash of light reflecting within them before they landed in her hands. Stunned, she slowly held out the spectacles and slowly raised them against her surroundings. Had she just seen a large patch of dust?
But it seemed she was mistaken, but just before she put her glasses away, she noticed the same flash and returned the glasses to the bridge of her nose. And as she looked straight down to the waterfall beneath them, she saw it. Dust.
The going was not easy, and the terrain was unforgiving. There was a path, but the rocks were brittle and provided little sturdy footing for the two-legged travelers. The horse's fared a little better, having four legs to balance on rather than two. Adaron led the way, stepping carefully and leading the black horse by the reins.
He glanced behind him and took Aurora's hand to stand along a narrow ridge where the rocks were more brittle. "Easy," he muttered, letting the horses pass by first and remaining behind with her.
The anticipation of a place rife with the dust she sought, was enough to keep her footing sure, and her attitude, positive. She helped him along where she could, as he had done with her, and made sure to be wary and warn her companion where there might be a loose stone, or some hard to pass terrain for the horses.
But after a tedious journey down, they made it into the valley. And the view was mesmerizing, with a deafening gush of falls that cast the valley into a fog of fine mist. Mushrooms dotted the lands, and things near to the falls were slick with algae and other sorts of slime.
But the second she was able to, she put back on her spectacles to get another look- and when she saw the same glittery shine as before, she lowered the lenses and frowned.
Now how was she to get behind the falls?
"Shall we stay here and rest a while?" she went on, nonchalantly as she repocketed her glasses.
Adaron had noted the way she observed the falls and said nothing about it. She was an odd one, he knew and he was content to observe for now. He regarded the horses and thought of saying no. There was still plenty of daylight to move on from, and they ought to get going while the going was good.
"We'll stay. Get the horses watered, and washed up. Collect some fresh water for the journey." He nodded to her and proceeded to fill the water skins that had been conveniently slung to the saddle.
"Great! And I'll take a walk to stretch my legs and fill up my own canteen!"
And before he could even protest, Aurora was hastily making her way over towards the falls. Sure, she supposed she could have been subtler, but women took fancy to pretty things and sceneries, so surely her studying the grand falls of this valley would be nothing out of the ordinary. And as she began to make her way around the fall's pools and began to go deeper into their mists, she waited until she wasn't able to see Adaron anymore before putting on her spectacles and having another, closer look.
The moment she disappeared, Adaron didn't waste any time fixing himself a meal and eating, watching Aurora walk away as she did. He knew something interested her off in there, and whatever it was, he'd leave her too it. He still had the map after all.
And where she lingered the falls roared in her ears, water rushing everywhere.
Try as she may to look for a way up to the dust, it proved fruitless. Any crevices that looked climbable lead no where near what she presumed was an opening within the cliff side, and those that did look like she could climb were too slick with algae and moss from the fall's mists.
She couldn't believe her wretched luck, but as she turned around, something in the pool caught her eyes. There was a strange dark spot beneath the water, and from what she could see... it looked like...
"Is that a... door?"
Leaning over the water, she tried to let her eyes adjust but the waters were ever moving and continued to ripple the waters and spraying mist her way. But even still, she could see the door's silhouette quite well, and there appeared to be a knob.
Not one to be deterred by a dive (and considering if she could see to the bottom...) it couldn't be that deep. Tieing up one side of her dress, she pulled her hair back, and soon was diving in the cool waters. And as she kicked her way downwards, she was not disappointed, for there, at the bottom of the pool was in fact, a door. Though when she grasped the handle,t he thing wouldn't budge. It wasn't locked, but she had to wonder if all of the water's pressure was preventing her from opening it. So she kept trying as bubbles escaped from her nose and lips, and finally, finally she got the door open!
Her curiosity would have to wait to be sated, for she needed air and kicked off the bottom of the pool and headed for the surface, her mind swimming over the excitement of a new find!
The dive sent ripples across the water and movement below. Something lurked deep on the otherside of that door and when Aurora would swim through the door, it blinked its eighteen eyes at her from further into the water. The door opened up to a great cavern, stalagmites and stalactites protruded from every wall, and even plants of unknown origin glowed faintly from their perches.
Blind animals, adapted to the darkness, scurried across alge covered stone, trying to escape the intruder that entered into their domain.
Meanwhile Adaron awaited outside by the horses and wondered just what the hell was so interesting about those bloody falls. He got up and put their supplies away and trudged on toward the falls.
Aurora's eye sight was not the greatest in the cavern behind the door. But she was determined to see where it lead. Surely the treasure hidden within was the item that harbored the vast amount of dust she had seen. And she'd be kicking herself for ages if she did not seek it out!
However, perhaps she would have been perturbed by the beast had she seen its many eyes before she came out for breath when the water finally opened up to a cavern within, and thankfully, only part of it was still submerged.
Gasping for breath, she moved to slick back her hair as she stepped up onto the rocky shore and peered around for any sort of indication of where she ought to go. And thankfully, it didn't take her long to find a stone stair case winding up the side. It was hidden from view, but had seen where it crawled up along the walls, and deduced where the bottom ought to meet with the ground.
And soon she was climbing, up and up.
[The monster is inside the cavern 8D]
And thats when the beast struck. It burst from the surface of the water and was crawling along the walls, snatching her from the staircase with a long tentacle appendage.
OOC: lol- this does not bode well for Aurora B[
When the beast struck, she had not expected it. Perhaps she should have, for a beast of its sheer size would not be easy to hide in such a secluded place- however, it was riddled with shadows, and she was already in its clutches.
It stole her breath away, and she found herself squirming and wriggling within it's grasp. She felt as if her damn breasts were going to pop at how tight he was squeezing her, and being her arms were useless and her legs were left exposed and bicycling uselessly in the air. And she was not about to become monster food!
So she bit the thing... hard.
And was soon regretting it as she gagged and tried to desperately get the taste out of her mouth. This was definitely not one of her more genius ideas...
But if only she could get to any sort of make shift weapon...
But the beast was pulling her in so close, all she could do now was...
KICK at the damn things face with all of her might in hopes the thing wouldn't eat her!
Or.. well, maybe she'd at least give it a fight on the way going down it's throat.
"Fiona!" Adaron called out, cupping his hands over the roar of the falls. But there was no answer and she was nowhere to be found. He didn't waste any time dipping into the waters and finding the same entrance she did and passing through. All that met him was complete darkness as he swam out to the other side.
"Fiona!" he coughed and sputtered. And that's when he saw the creature through the reddened vision of his left eye.
She hadn't considered Red Eye would follow her, and almost didn't hear him over the beasts's movements. But when she saw him, she spun around suddenly and twisted up her skirts.
"You! Help me out here!" She yelped. Other wise,s he was pretty sure she was done for.
SHIT!
What did she have to go and wander off for? It was things like this that made him prefer to be alone. Adaron pulled himself out of the water and ran out toward the monster only to be swatted away by an angry tentacle. He felt the wind knocked out of him and slowly he staggered to his feet.
"What the hell did you do to piss it off!?"
It was getting harder to breath- and keep back her lunch as she was tossed around by the angry tentacles.
"What!?" she yelped. "Are you blaming me for this? It just showed up!" she called, then found herself being drawn suddenly towards it's mouth. And one look at it's ugly rows of teeth made even Aurora Jane scream.
Adaron growled inwardly. Stupid woman so eager to run off on her own, and now look what'd she'd gotten herself into! All because she wasn't so keen on talking shop with him. Fine, if she wanted to get eaten that was her business. But he supposed for now, he might do something about it. Perhaps she'd be useful still.
Though he highly doubted it.
He viewed the monster through rose-colored vision, and felt heat build up within the confines of the jewel. He shot out a heated beam that tore through the flesh of the tentacle that clutched onto Aurora and dropped her to the ground.
The creature screamed and turned on its assailant. Blood oozed out of the loss of that appendage, and the creature darted for Adaron with more tentacles and turned another on it's previous prey. Aurora Jane wouldn't get far when a clawed fin reached for her legs.
Adaron held his hands in tight fists, channeling the magic in his runes, and they began to glow fiercely. Within seconds black fire appeared in his hands and he took both hands, placing them on the ground in front of the creature as it went for him. The fire traveled across the ground the first tentacle that made it past that line and ignited upon impact. An explosion burst the flesh apart. Adaron threw more fire out to the creature, each ball of black fire exploding and tearing the creature apart.
The drop to the floor hurt like hell, and left her smarting. And being winded, she was in no condition to simply flee after such an event, and soon found herself once again becoming dragged back to the beast. Wishing she had dawned another dress (but thankful she wasn't butt naked in such a predicament!), Aurora knew she'd be feeling those burns, but the other burns she was concerned about were coming from her temporary companion!
Thank the Gods he must've been a good shot, because she was free, and the beast? It now writhed in pain and began to shrink back, turning tail to run. And there, Aurora lay, heavy breasts heaving with breath, her dress nearly falling off, a red brush burn lining one half of her body, a cheek that was beginning to swell, along with her left side of her lower lip, but all she could do now was turn to the red-eyed man as she laughed.
"Nice shot." And she moved to fix the strap on her dress. Though his act was heroic, she supposed he had enough of a show, and her breast was about to pop out. Though she liked to be a cock tease, she still had SOME modesty.
Some.
"But what took you so long?" she asked, leaning one arm against the wall and attempting to stand, but her entire body was shakey, and she could only get up to one knee.
The creature was not left to rest until it was a smoking corpse in the corner of the cave. Adaron eyes her darkly, putting the fire out from his hands and the glow from the runes on his body slowly dissipated. The small fires that remained on the ground allowed for some lighting and that reflected softly on Aurora. However she looked, it remained that going off alone was a rather stupid thing to do.
"From now on, no more going off alone," he said with a huff and running a hand through his hair. "I hope whatever you were looking for was important. There's no telling if there are more tentacle monsters lurking about. You're a ripe meal."
Aurora huffed and flicked a straw red corked curl from her face.
"You say that as if I've never done it before. I do work alone. Though perhaps you're really not that familiar with my reputation," she went on, still trying to catch her breath and strength.
"No more going off alone. You want to get eaten, fine, but do it on your own time, when this little excursion is over. And put your tits away, they're getting out of hand," he said with a glare and observed the cavern. "What's in here?"
She held onto a fist full of the front of her dress.
"They are as confined in this dress as they can be." She smoothed back more hair and slowly rose to her feet, but still didn't push away from the wall.
"Besides, if I had planned to go on this sort of adventure, I wouldn't have been wearing this get up. I'm not stupid."
"You surprised me," he said with a soft then approached her. "Spread your legs. This will not do."
"Spread my what?" she clung to her dress tighter. "I think I've been man handled enough for the day. Let a lady catch her breath before you try what that monster obviously could not!" Though she tried to make light of the situation, it was evident she was still flustered, and his suggestion only made that worse.
"Just do it," he said, irritated. He didn't wait for her to comply before he pushed her back against the wall and knelt before her, quickly undoing the knot at the hem and ripping the dress in the middle so a split was formed between her legs, and proceeded yo knot wach side separately to make shorts, or something close to it.
Gasping, she didn't even get a chance to ask what he was doing before she heard the dress rip. Her face heated, but sodid between her legs. And when she saw what he did, she gave a flustered huff and fussed at her hair.
"You know, that was a rather nice dress..."
Adaron observed her flustered expression from his perch below and he gave a short. "Well it's pretty much ruined now. We'll get you proper trousers in the next village over. Now let's get what we came into this cave to get and get out of here."
"We?" she raised a brow at him.
[God I got Sid Meier's Pirates yesterday, and I cannot stop playing it. So please forgive if posties are much slower than my usual slowness.]
"Are you deaf in one ear? Or so you just have a hard time maintaining information. Or has that creature addled your sensitive feminine disposition," he replied snidely.
Ooc: no worries. I'm still adapting my life around my work schedule so my own posting is slowed.
----
"If I had known there was a.monster here Idve been a lot more careful. But can you blame a girl for seeking treasure?"
"Treasure? What treasure?" he asked. Now he was interested, crossing arms over his chest.
She mimicked his pose.
"Nothing pertaining to the heart you seek. Besides, this is a woman's job."
"Then by all means," he said, gesturing to her. "I'll be here assisting you."
Aurora simply stared at him. What a stubborn man!
"Alright, I suppose you could be useful. You fight monsters well, anyway. And who knows, there could be another, or an even bigger one than this one. You never know. Mother's tend to be very protective of their young. So, shall we?" and she gestured towards the stone stairwell she had attempted to scale earlier.
"This seems to be the only way... up."
And if he couldn't have guessed it by now, up is where she wanted to go.
Not waiting for him, she made quick work to return to the stairs an dwas making her way up and up, but the path soon turned narrow and dark.
Adaron was content to follow and remain silent. Now Aurora was willing to talk. "Fiona, I could help you better if I knew what it was you were looking for. I do not have your magical spectacles. But I do possess something that lets me see better in this grim darkness."
She paused at the top of the steps to consider what he said before turning around to him.
"Oh? Is that red gem of yours not just for shooting magical blasts and to glow prettily in the sun light?"
"Yes," he answered without skipping a beat. "I can also detect traces of magic and other energy and even heat. Like the one between your legs."
"Yes, and I'm sure you think you're being clever but I can assure you, you're not. Besides, we're not here to track heat and you're making me only ice cold," she informed him with a smirk.
"Good to know. I'd hate to distract you," Adaron replied and casually continued to follow her.
"You couldn't even distract that monster, how do you think you could get a woman's attention?" she bated back without missing a beat.
"How the flustered must retain their scattered dignity," he said with an amused laugh. "We are here for a task yes? Let us complete it." He clapped his hands together and blew into his hands and ignited four bulbs of light that floated outward and lit up the cavern around them.
"Says a man trying to protect his ego." But at his magical orbs of light, she paused a moment and stared at them in fascination. "Perhaps it was wise to keep you around." Since the magic lights could now light the way down the narrow path that continued to wind until she hears the thunder of the falls. Even the air was moist here Nd the footing, slick.
"Watch your step," he added as they neared the cavern behind the falls. "If there is anything else I can assist you with, let me know."
"Just for you to remain calm as I investigate this area. I'm not exactly sure what I'm dealing with and if the monster we encountered below was of any indication, I'd say there's still more trouble a head."
"Yes, ma'am," he said and smiled. His eyes drifted to her hips and he watched her walk away for a moment. She was the leader of thos little expedition for now.
But the most trouble she found was the slippery rock. And even that couldnt get in her way, as she moved out of the narrow path and into an open cavern beneath the falls. It was an enchanting sight, something that could only belong instory books. But the breath taking view didn't distract her long as she was quick to fetch her spectacles as she began to look around.
When she equipped her spectacles, she'd find a trial of dust in the corner, nearest the falls, and also where the ground was slickest, and it would trail deep beneath a heavy pile of rubble.
Cautiously, she approached, holding her breath as she moved forward without reservations. The glitter was so bright, it could be seen through the cracks of the rubble. Removing the spectacles, she gestured to Red Eye.
"Make yourself useful and help me move these rocks. Something lies below."
Adaron crossed his arms over his chest. "And by help, I suppose you mean to move it for you?"
Aurora smiled.
"You got it. But in all seriousness, it'd be nice to have a little help." The rocks looked heavy.
"All right, but only because you asked so nicely." Adaron grinned at her and moved toward the rocks, and clapped his hands together, dusting them off and pushing the rocks aside with ease.
Though impressed, she couldn't help but remark smartly, "Oh? Using your hands for once instead of your eyes, or your magic, or your magical eye?"
"Oh I'm sorry. Did you want to do this yourself?"
She gave him a patronizing pat on the shoulder.
"Hardly! Besides, you're doing phenomenally well and it seems you make good work out of hard work."
"Oh but I'm certain a fierce independent woman such as yourself has a more interesting solution than me lifting rocks," he said and stood back with a grin.
"Oh?" She quirked a brow. "And whatever could be more interesting than me watching you lift all them?"
"You undressing would be pretty interesting," he said pointedly.
She folded her arms across her chest, partly to hide them from his view, but also to amplify her cleavage. If she had one thing she was proud of (besides her brains!), it was that she had a nice body, one men oogle over with her even having to lift a finger.
Tease as she was, she wasn't about to just let her companion get away with a comment like that.
"That might be a good idea. And if I had better clothes in which to undress into, why, I'd undress right now. But, let us not waste anymore time. Remember- monsters could be a foot, and those rocks won't be lifted unless you give it a good try. After all, you're the muscle here, not I."
"Certainly not without an incentive," he said, crossing his arms over his own chest and stepping closer to her.
She lifted a brow again.
"This isn't a paying gig."
"Don't worry. Money has little value in this world," he mumbled as he closed the distance between them and stole a deep kiss, trapping her in powerful arms.
"Little value? I don't know what sort of world you're living in but if you ask people they'll agree that-!"
But her retort was stifled by a firm press of his lips, stealing both her breath and words away. It was a heated second, and she couldn't even recall thinking or what was even happening but after reality rushed back in, she pushed the palms o fher hand against his chest and blinked at him as she pulled away, stunned.
She gave a sheepish little grin that was mixed with just a hint of her coyness.
"Well now... if you wanted a kiss as payment, all you had to do was ask."
Though thoroughly ruffled, she still wasn't sure how she felt about that. She had just met the man, and in truth, he frightened her. But part of the danger in that thrilled her all the same. But fear, in this moment, won out.
"But now that you got your kiss, I suggest you get back to moving those rocks. I don't give away my kisses for free, you know," she told him, as if it weren't anything. But internally, her head was buzzing. Sure, she's flirted and made out and all that with men, but well, truthfully, the idea of them and any relationship was a bit frightening. And though this hardly could be called as a request for any sort of relationship, she also did not like the idea she was alone with this man in a cave so close to potential monsters that, only moments ago, had tried to kill her.
And it was then she realized..
Right, she was wearing the white dress which was still wet and...
He could probably see everything.
Typical male.
However, this conclusion still did not quell her ill at ease. And she tried her best to keep him back, but boy, did he ever have a strong grip! That in itself was rather terrifying and well...
That just meant he could totally lift up those rocks, right?
Adaron loosened his grip on her and stepped back. "Forgive me," he murmured, smiling a wry grin and bowing. He went back to work without another lapse in judgment. But he wasn't going to break his back over a salty kiss. It wasn't even that good. He stood a few feet away from the pile of rubble and clapped his hands together again activating the runes on his body, and they began to glow.
"Step aside," he gestures to her and soon crouched low, pressing his hands to the ground and there was a gentle rumble before suddenly the rocks burst outward and rained rubble and dirt, clearing a narrow path in the stone behind the falls.
Aurora shielded herself as loose specks of rock and gritty dust bounced her way, leaving her coughing once he was through. But even as she was quick to recover, she found herself almost choking at the sight- for there, on the other side where the rocks had once been, was an old rusted lamp. And as she hastily slipped on her spectacles, she couldn't believe her eyes.
Dust just glowed from it like she'd never seen before.
She was quick to act, slipping away the spectacles and scooping up the dingy looking lamp.
"Guess this was all there was," she went on, and stuffed it in belt of her dress after securing it with a few tight knots. "We can get going now. Which I suppose is out the way she came?" she went on with a catty grin.
Adaraon grabbed her by the arm for a few moments, and then gestured to the falls. "That way is faster," he said. "If you wish to go back the long way in dark caves full of monsters, be my guest, but I'm taking this way." He nodded to her and headed toward the ledge. It didn't seem that far to the pool below.
"What?" Aurora blinked. "Jump down there? Are you crazy? Wouldn't it hurt?"
She'd like to not break anything when getting out of here. But he did have a point about the monsters, and cautiously, she followed after and tried to peer through the falls, which was anything but helpful in anyways of giving her an accurate view of just how far the drop was.
"Shall we go one at a time?" he muttered. "Or just jump together?"
She felt her heart flutter and her belly drop and chill.
"Together, of course!" And she moved to grab his hand and gave him a cheap grin. "Besides, you owe me for that lousy kiss," she teased and gave him a wink.
Adaron rolled his eyes and made it obvious while doing so. "Lousy all right. I'll give you that," he said and sighed. "Well, as they say: Ladies first!" And he pushed her off first before following right after, jumping through the falls, becoming doused with waters and, hopefully, landing into the pool.
Aurora yelped the moment she was pushed, and soon found herself airborne as she crashed through the falls and along with them, before plummeting into the water below. From such a height made the pair have ample speed to fall down deep into the waters. By the time she got her bearings, she was already burning for air, and saw the surface was so far away, but desperately tried to swim towards it. She didn't want to drown! Not today, anyway!
Adaron pulled Aurora up to the surface once they landed. At least the water was deep enough to keep them from breaking their necks entirely. Or anything else for that matter.
He gave a gasping breath and swam to shore, pulling himself onto the bank and shaking out the water.
Aurora came floundering beside him, and puked out any water she inhaled when she got to shore.
Adaron glanced at her beaming. "What a rush!" And laughed emphatically. "You should see yourself. You look like a lovely drowned rat."
She coughed more and wiped off the water from her mouth.
"That's.." She coughed again. "What I was going for."
She didn't care though. She had gotten what she wanted and paused to observe the lamp at her hip.
"Let's go while the light's still up then," he said, running back down the path and relieved to find the horses still there. You never know who could be waiting around after all.
Aurora was relieved too, but mostly due to the fact they were moving again and her large companion seemed to have little interest in her treasure. And while they rode onward, she took the quiet between them as a good time to inspect he r find.
Untying the lamp from her belt, she held it up to the light and noted some words scratched into its rusted surface.
And that's when Adaron pulled the lamp from her grasp and tucked it into his own clothes. "No time for that. We've hot to make ground before dark. You'll get it back when we make camp."
Gasping, she reached for it.
"Hey! You have no right! Who are you to dictate what I do and when?"
"Please," Adaron said, pulling away just out of reach. "You'll get it back. You won't tell me what you want it for anyway and I'm fine with that. Just get on horse and let us make way. When we have some ground beneath us, I'll return it. That I promise."
Glaring, she huffed but got on the horse.
"you sound like my father."
"I'm not surprised," he hissed to himself. But with one kick, the horses were off, bounding down the path.
Her glare hardened but soon she was following, riding her horse beside his.
"So how are you sure we're headed in the right direction?"
"We follow the water. Villages and towns are built beside them. I'll have to find more solid landmarks as we go. However I was not expecting the waterfall," he confessed.
"Is that really your plan? " she shook her head in disbelief. "Then expect more waterfalls."
Adaron turned back to look at her, giving her a knowing smirk. "I always do."
Within a few hours of riding, stopping, walking, and back again, Adaron found not a village in sight. But up ahead, through the trees, he did see a waterwheel churning slowly in the stream. As they drew closer, he dismounted and signaled her to do so as well.
"Looks like a farm house. Told you somebody lived along this river. Let's cross it and say hello. Maybe we can find you some proper trousers."
Of course after hours theyd find something.
"Lead the way, captain."
Adaron cast her a sharp eyed glare at that remark. But kept on anyway. He tethered the horses beside the stream, they needed their rest anyway and he moved toward the farmhouse and brushed his hair back. He had to at least look presentable. "Fix your hair," he gestured to her and knocked on the door.
"What good'll that do? I'm wearing a ripped dress, remember?"
But she obeyed anyway, but took her time in fixing her hair. But after a moment, and there was no one answering, Aurora looked to Red Eye.
"Shall we try again?"
She took a step back to observe the building, hands on her hips. She noticed a few broken windows and the place looked worn, one side beginning to get over grown with ivy and moss. She turned to Adaron.
"Looks like this place needs a little work."
He too noticed the damage pn the house and the peculiar silence inside. Either nobody lived here, or the person was too complacent to notice their home becoming dilapidated. Adaron knocked again and when it slowly creaked open, an old woman appeared in the crevice between the jam and the door.
"Yes? Who are you to be knocking on my door at such an hour?"
"Excuse me miss. We're weary travelers stopping on a long day's journey. We were wondering if you would mind us findingw shelter in your barn. We won't take up much space. And we will pay you for the inconvenience." The woman inspected the pair and she stared up at Adaron's unusual eye.
"In the barn? Nonsense. The dust says it's going to pour. If'n ye won't be a bother, ye can stay inside. Come in now." And she moved aside for them to enter.
Aurora was taken back by the woman's use of dust. Though any relation to the dust she hunted she quickly shook away. After all, 'dust' was a phrase for the soul particulars that she and her father coined together, so it was not a term no one else could have known. Still, it kept her on edge, especially when the woman simply invited them in.
"Oh, but we couldn't possibly," Aurora went on, grabbing Adaron's arm before he got a chance to step inside as she shot him a look. No one simply let visitors into their home! Nice old lady or not....!
The woman didn't seem particular on either which way they chose to go, but she kept the door open and watch them with care.
"What?" Adaron said gently, looking at Aurora from the corner of his eye. "We need shelter. Don't worry, we'll be fine."
She grit her teeth.
"I didn't know you were this gullible," she whispered before telling the woman, "Mind if I take a look around outside, first?"
The old woman shrugged. "Suit yerselves. I'll make some tea. Come in when yer ready."
Adaron stepped out with her, once the door was closed. "What is the matter?"
She fluffed her hair and walked away.
"you didn't have to come outside with me you know."
"Well, I'm here. Tough. Now let's look around, quickly. I don't trust her anymore than you do. If she tries anything I'm sure we can handle it. That's right. We."
She shot him a look.
"Were you in the army or something?" she eyed him. "You seem quite attached to the idea of a team."
He laughed softly. "My, you are quaint. Where do you get your little assumptions? You haven't spent much time in the world at large have you?"
"No." She was indignant. "I just have my reasons to prefer solitude."
"Oh?" His tone softened with interest. "I'm sure those are very good reasons."
"Yes, now if you don't mind, I'd like to explore on my own. And you don't need to worry about me leaving. You do have my lamp."
"Oh? I thought you might want this back. No? Then I'll hold onto it," he said and spun the lamp in his grasp.
She halted at the sight. Narrowing her gaze, she scoffed.
"Didn't your parents teach you not to tease?"
"Only to tease the teasing," he murmured, keeping his hands behind his back long enough to watch her trundle on.
Her cheeks turned pink as she placed her hands on her hips.
"You have no use for the thing but to torment me." She rolled her eyes. "What great allies we are." And without much more on the matter, she simply turned from him and continued about her way, green eyes surveying the area, but barely focusing on a thing. She was too riled up now thanks to Red Eye.
Adaron considered leaving her alone but thought against it. Instead be was a silent shadow at her back. The house seemed ordinary, nothing distinctly out of place. It was a little overgrown by the garden fence. But she tended to her vegetables well, and had carrots and broccoli ready to dig up. Adaron said nothing, and waited for Aurora to make her own assessment.
She walked along the whole property before commenting to him, "Oh? Still following me? And here I was hoping you'd get bored of it. Don't you have things to fry with that magic eye of yours?"
"I have plenty to keep my interest." He said that just as he was studying the shape of her behind.
It didn't take a genius to know what he meant and to follow his gaze to see what he was looking at.
"Just keep staring, because that's as close as you're going to get to having this ass. But I hardly think, even a man like yourself, is simply following me to watch my posterior. Don't you have an old lady to attend to? Or to ensure no simple farmer came along to steal our horses?"
"There's something in the air," Adaron noted, peering from her ass to the ground. "Strange magi. Is afoot here. I can sense it. But it doesn't feel negative. There is something odd about the old woman I'll give you that. Nevertheless, we can simply camp out here if you'd like."
Adaron moved to stand beside Aurora. "I'd like to have a real shelter. But I'll leave the decision to you. That is if you prefer to remain in that dress."
She turned to him, hands on her hips.
"You mean what's left of it." She sighed, obviously irritated and looked over at the house, then back to him. "So what.." she looked him over. "You can see and smell magic now? So the woman is a mage, big deal. Some people got magic, some do not."
Just like some had souls and well.....
She did not. IT was all very irksome.
A soft rumble off in the distance let them know there was rain. She should have known. It was getting humid- and her hair, even frizzier. She sighed.
"I suppose we can't just sleep in the rain,"s he went on, and peered back at the house, arms folded across her chest.
"Come on. I'm sure the two of us can handle one old lady, magic or not. But hey, maybe she's like everyother old lady you read about and has baked us cookies. I think I'll go check."A nd she hurriedly moved towards the house to get away from him. He definitely made her feel out of sorts. She didn't like the idea he just simply... followed her. Granted, okay, she had a good body, but even he had to realize it was off limits to him.
Then again, he scared the shit out of her when they first met....
Strange how they've become unfortunate partners. Damn..
If she didn't need the dust on the items he now held....
So all she could do was bite her tongue and think about-
COokies.
Yes..
Cookies.
Oh I thought ye dears were off and gone. Oh well, I welcome you nonetheless. Come in come in," said the old woman, moving aside to let the pair pass. Adaron felt the house was a little dusty and no doubt the old woman had trouble maintaining the thing all by herself.
"Thank you, Miss-"
"Call me Miss Ginny. That's me name. Now, I bet the pair of ye are starving. I readied that tea as well. Please, help yerselves."
Tea sounded wonderful- but she wasn't going to let either know that. She simply gave a rigid nod.
"A little peckish, but I'm sure we could have managed."
"Tea is lovely. Thank you," Adaron said, fixing his own cup. He shot Aurora a look, but was content to let her help herself.
And she had her tea. And she did so without complaint, though she also did so quietly- which took an extraordinary amount of effort for a woman like her.
"So how long have you been out here Miss Ginny? It seems an awful long way from civilization." Adaron was content to make polite conversation. And when he did, the old woman smiled and went about preparing stew.
"Oh all my life, sir....uh."
"Dairen." Adaron smiled, though he knew the name was not his own. "And this is Fiona."
"Oh your wife is lovely, if you don't mind me saying so."
"Oh, but I do mind. She isn't lovely at all. She's positively stunning."
She could have choked on her tea. She knew she should have stayed closer to the sea. It always made for a more convenient form of a get away when she could sneak onto a ship! But now, stranded in land and with two strangers she wasn't quite fond of- and had to pretend to be 'Dairen's' wife?
Gag her with roughage!
"Oh, but not as stunning as my sister whom he married first. It was tragic, really, the way she died in the factory. They said it was an accident. Her body completely mangled. A terrible way to go," she went on, delicately sipping at her tea.
"Yup. Right into the meat grinder. It seems her whole family has bad luck with how they die. Tragic really," Adaron went on and stared at Aurora with interest.
"Yes, it was quite overwhelming and it was too much for Darien to bear alone... So, here I am."
"Well that's my sad story. Perhaps, Fiona would like to tell you hers."
"Oh I'd love to hear it." Miss Ginny went about settling three bowls of stew in front of them and fixed her own tea, soon taking her seat.
"My story?" she laughed. "But its so mundane compared to yours.
"Oh, everyone has a story dear. I'm sure ye've got quite a colorful one to tell by the looks of you."
"Oh, don't let my hair deceive you, but if you want to know the truth, I used to in a secret organization for the queen." and she leaned in to lower her voice. "But it was top secret, so my lips remain sealed until death."
Mis Ginny laughed and poked Fiona hard with a gnarled finger. "You are a charmer ye dear. Now tell me the truth, darlin'. I ain't gonna live long enough to tell anyone."
"Well, if you want to know the truth, I was the black sheep of my family and have done nothing significant in my life, and this poor man over here was the only unfortunate soul to take me in as a wife. But we're not really the romantic type, if you catch my drift. We just felt like we owed one another, and after Felecia died.." And her eyes grew distant at the thought. "Well, we keep each other company, even though we don't necessarily get along."
"Oh, how romantic," Miss Ginny stated, despite Aurora's clear indication that they were not the romantic couple. She looked to Adaron expectantly. "And what's your side of the story dear?"
"Oh I second everything that Fiona said. We actually get along better than she lets on. She's just a bit...demure about the ordeal. Sometimes it feels as we're strangers meeting for the first time. You know what they say about the comfort of strangers." Adaron sipped his tea quietly.
"That is....so romantic!" And Miss Ginny went and ate a mouthful of stew. "It just makes me miss me Arnold so much."
Clearly this woman had no idea what was or wasn't romantic. She could only pity the woman when they reminded her of her husband.
"Speaking of which, if we are to stay here, I would prefer my own room."
"Sorry dears. Only one room is available upstairs and that is mine, dear. The rest of 'em are full of clutter, really," the old woman went on. "But ye can stay down here in the parlor. There's more room anyway. I have some blankets and pillows ye can barrow."
"Oh, but I don't mind clutter. You should see our house. It's practically unlivable we have so much junk.
"Nope, that's me rules, dear. I do apologize, but please make yerselves at home dears. And by gods woman, eat up!"
Though that soured her mood greatly, she forced a smile and went about eating the food. Once they were done and shown around, her mood got worse, but she was tired and growing impatient for just a place to sleep for the night.
Adaron could sense her irritation but didn't say anything regarding that. He finished eating in silence and when the blankets were set out in the parlor, he settled on the floor after thanking Miss Ginny. He spread out onto his blanket and pulled his pillow beneath his head, staring up at the ceiling.
But then he remembered their deal and sat up. He took off his robes, at least his shirt and he was down to his tunic and unbundled the lamp that he had taken from her. "Here," he said.
Begrudgingly she set up her own bed on the floor but avoided him as best she could. But once he placed the lamp in front of her, that was all she could think about as she hastily snatched the it.
"Thanks." And now that she had what she wanted, she began contemplating leaving before sunrise. And naturally not telling him.
Adaron just watched Fiona for a moment. "Did something happen to you?" he asked.
She was torn from her thoughts at his question as she stared at him blankly before blinking.
"Happened? Are you referring to the marks from that monster? Because yeah... I still got those,"s he said with a huff. "But it was worth it," she quickly adding, smirking as she held up the lamp and used the dim lighting int he room to inspect it. Strange how some of the items she collected seemed so simple, plain...
and without value.
Except to her. The dust? That was priceless. But hey.. no one would understand. She was like a vampire, or something- like a monster without a soul-
Except she looked and acted like a normal person but....
She always felt a little... off...
and when she realized what she was......
That stuck with her for the rest of her life, like a scar, every reminding her of her plight.
"Something did happen to you," Adaron replied solemnly, ignoring the diversion of the remarks about the monster's remains. "You lost something important to you? Something you're trying very hard to get back. Trying to...fill that emptiness, yes?"
"You'd like it to be that way wouldnt you?" she went on thoughtfully, studying his face. "Are you trying to view me as some mystery to solve? Because thats so cliche... Even for a man who can shoot lasers from his eyes."
[Is lasers a medieval term, even in a fantasy setting?]
Adaron looked up toward the stairs, seeing if Miss Ginny was anywhere in the vicinity. When she wasn't, he shifted over to his bag of supplies and pulled out a bundled bottle. It was a small wine bottle he managed to sneak in with the rest of the stuff, and he took two of the tea cups that were empty by the table and set them back down in the sleeping area.
"I think...you're interesting. That is all, really," he murmured gently, only glanced at her once or twice before opening the bottle and pouring a small portion into the cup in front of him. "Would you like a drink?" Waiting to pour some into the cup in front of her.
Ooc: No, but it is now XD
"As much as having a drink sounds nice, I'd rather have several drinks. The aim is to get drunk. But perhaps later."
[Except that it's not. :U *whine and cheese*]
"No need to get drunk," Adaron said, tilting his head, and pouring some just in case she changed her mind. He took his cup and slowly sipped it. "Just to wind down and relax. Tea is nice. But wine is better for that." He smiled a little and looked down at his cup.
"Huh... strange. I don't see you as the tea type."
Adaron raised a brow at her. "Oh I do enjoy a decent cup now and again. It's good over cookies or biscuits. I prefer cookies."
She tried to hide her smile.
"And you like cookies?" she looked him over. "For a man with lethal magic that shoots from your eye and likes to jump into events like some wild, warlord, you sure have strange tastes."
Even wine seemed strange to her. She presumed he'd be the mead or rum sort.
He smiled a little, it flickered. He couldn't help it. He reached into the bag of supplies and pulled out a small bundle in the napkin. Untying it, it revealed all sorts of cookies he'd nabbed from the general store. "Help yourself," he said, gesturing to them. And he even grabbed one with chocolates burrowed inside it for himself.
She just stared at him for a good long while before waving it off.
"I think I'll pass. I'm exhausted and I'd like to be able to sleep as well as I can tonight. I've already got too many strikes working against me."
"Oh? And what strikes might those be? One can never take small luxuries for granted," he murmured and took a bit of his cookie. "These are delicous. You should try the chocolate ones! There's even a double chocolate! Dibs!"
"You just worry about your cookies, and I'll focus on sleep." And with that, she rolled onto her side, back to him.
"All right. But you don't know what you're mIssing," he said. In the minutes that followed, his crunching could be heard. And rather loudly at that.
She tried to ignore him but boy those crunches were loud. And irritating. She could only hope he'd try to get some sleep after his snack.
[They've got to relate over something sometime.]
And that's because he was doing it deliberately in her ear, each crunch slow and loud.
Ooc: But she's trying not to!
She opened her eyes and glared at him.
"You're getting crumbs on me." Then with a sigh she asked, "Do you need something?"
"What? I'm not bothering you. I'm just enjoying some cookies. With some tasty wine too." And gave another loud crunch.
"Oh, my mistake. In that case," she sat up suddenly so her big hair hit him, knocking the cookie from his hand while she began to scoop up her bedding and moved a few feet away from him.
That hair had a peculiar scent to it and the ends tickled his nostrils. Adaron grinned. He just stared at her. When she laid back, he quietly scooted closer to her and resumed eating cookies. He sipped his wine and proceeded to inspect the map he'd stolen earlier.
This was quite annoying and invasive. And she had to wonder just how many cookies he had. And try as she might to ignore him, she couldn't and found herself gritting her teeth.
And that's when she sat up.
"Do you have a particular vendetta against me? Or some ulterior motive that has you constantly annoying me like some fly? Because I thought we were going to sleep. But evidently, you're trying to be creative in your ways of preventing me from even thinking about some rest, peace and quiet."
He actually hadn't been crunching that loud, and if he was, it was only in contemplation. He looked up at her and then to her pillow. Then back to his heart-skin map. "I was a mercenary once," he spoke, quietly humming a soft tune. He glanced up at her. "I was a damn good one. I killed a lot of people for a lot of gold. They were...inconsequential. I used to set up competitions between my men, to see who could kill the most in a single raid, and have a bonfire and revelry. It was glorious." He gave a small smile in rrecollection. "Not so much now as it was then."
He sniffed and took a bite of another cookie. It was the chocolate-chocolate one. He broke it in half instead. "But I was captured one day and tortured, made a slave by the very people I used to kill for sport. Killing people nonchalantly gives life no meaning, nor does the gold that it brings. I received no substance from that life and it took me a long time to stop hating myself. Despite the darkness one may find themselves, giving up on yourself is the worst thing you could do."
Only then did he take a bite of half the cookie. "I know you don't care. But I just wanted to tell somebody that."
She went rigid as he went on with his story, and though she hadn't asked about it, nor anything about him, it was a nice change of pace from the path they had been taking. The story made her soften some, but the silence that came after he was done speaking made her stiffen again, if only because it felt strange to finally have something to make him seem more human than just some crazy man with a red, magic-shooting eye.
She gave a shrug at his words, as if it wasn't that big of a deal, but avoided looking at him, and his sweet smelling cookies and wine.
"It is what it is," she told him simply. "Sometimes it's good to get things off your chest."
And her own chest ached. She missed her father. He was the only person she could trust in, confide with- and she had much to say to him, much to ask-
And suddenly, her stomach growled in protest. The smell of the cookies was just too much.
But she tried to ignore it. But the growling had been loud.
He nodded. "Very true," and poured himself another cup of wine. He looked at her when her stomach growled.
And surreptitiously slid the cookies closer to her.
She felt awkward, but accepted it anyway.
"Looks like your cookies woke up my stomach," she told him lamely, before taking a bite and chewing it carefully and soon found her eyes lingering over his red jeweled eye.
"I'm happy to share. The wine is good too," he said and pushed her mug, still filled partly with wine toward her. But he didn't pish it all the way.
Sighing,s he accepted it, seemingly with some reluctance but at this point, it might seemed to be more for sure.
"Thanks," came her reply, sweetly, but flatly. She didn't wnat to think she was beginning to warm up to him. But a few sips from the wine seemed to calm her. Then again, it didn't take much for her to get drunk. She rarely drank.
Adaron just drank slowly and offered her the other half of the chocolatey chocolate one. "You feeling okay?" he asked. "You can hold your wine right?"
She raised a brow at him and gave him a glare.
"What?" She waved off the idea. How preposterous! "You're looking at a very self sustaining and worldly woman. Do you think I'd get as far as I am today if I couldn't hold a little wine?"
And with that, she nearly drank the rest of the wine in her glass to prove it, and once she was done, she gladly accepted the cookie and ate it.
She must've been drunk because now she was freely talking to him. Whereas before she was content to ignore him and show him her hair rather than her face. Adaron grinned, hiding his amusement.
"Oh, is that so? Looked to me like you were drinking juice from squashed grapes at that party. I think you're bluffing," he snickered with half a laugh and poured her another cup of wine.
"How would you know? You were at that party for all of five minutes."
"Five enough minutes to know you weren't having a good time. But that may have been because I showed up," he snickered, snapping another cookie with his teeth. "Or it could've been because you were waiting for something more interesting to show happen. That's what happens when you're in terrible company."
She rolled her eyes at his lame attempt to make himself seem impressive.
"If you were actually paying attention youd know I was with no company."
"They were wise to vacate your personal bubble. They obviously only just learned how icy you can be," he muttered again, eyelids low.
"Icy?" she laughed. "As if you can speak. You hardly know me. We're practically strangers."
Yet... She knew so much more about him. Unless he was lying.
Adaron kept that wry smile playing on his lips. Though his mouth was momentarily covered by another sip of wine. He set it down in front of him. "We don't have to be strangers," he added thoughtfully. He shrugged.
"Well, the way I see it is that we're temporary companions who have made an alliance over a treasure map." she was about to take another drink but paused. "Why are you so keen on not being strangers? After all, once we get the treasure, we'll part ways and probably never see each other again."
"I'm aware of this yes," he replied, watching her for a moment. Soon his smile returned, followed by another sip of wine. "However it might make traveling together more bearable if we knew just enough about each other. And I know we won't see one another again, so what would it hurt?" He dusted his hands off and examined her face. "And...you intrigue me."
She gave a surly smirk.
"And revealing any truths would take that intrigue away."
"Oh quite the contrary," he answered, taking her mug of wine and sipping from it. "It would only increase that intrigue even more. I can assure you that. Or at the very least, assuage my interest."
"What? Growing tired of Fiona already?" she teased, taking a moment to study his face. She couldn't tell if he was handsome or not. The jewel was too jarring for her eyes to see anything but.
"Red Eye has grown on me," she told him, brushing some might wisps of his hair from his face. But quickly, she curled her fingers back. "You need a hair cut."
A brow was slowly quirked upward. "No, I'll still call you that," he said, sniffing out a laugh. His amusement simmering when she reached forward and pushed away his hair. An odd motion, but one he thought best not to linger on. "I do not. It's a perfectly acceptable length."
She wrinkled her nose.
"Then what's the point? I could make up any story and name I want and youd still call me whatever name tickles your fancy. Though I'm still surprised my reputation never made it to your ears, or youd know more about me by now. Welll.." she sighed thoughtfully and took her drink back. "As much as anyone could."
He snorted a soft laugh. "You think I'd believe that hearsay? Not at all, Fi-Fi," he said. "I'd like to hear it from the source. Whatever you wish to tell me. There's no way I would know it was a lie, not without further investigation. But I would hope there would be some trust between us, however mild."
"Do you think that because of the lake monster? Some hero's dues, or something?
"Not at all," he replied with a shake of his head. "Merely because we are for the moments companions. Simply a mutual ground of understanding between two people."
"Yes, but people aren't mutual, and really, we owe each other nothing." But even at such a phrase something about her look changed. She looked tired, perhaps sad or reflective before she took her drink and finished the rest. She then stuffed it back into his hand.
His hand paused on hers for a moment. And his eyes softened for a moment. "No, we don't," his voice came in a whisper and he held her hand in his, palm to palm. "Not every soul is out to collect a debt. Some people give because that's what in them to do." His eyes, or eye rather, was solemn, meaning every word of that. His other hand reached forward and brushed her hair from her face. He searched her features but a moment, pulling his hands back and wrapping the cookies back up, stuffing them back into the bag.
He took the map, putting that away as well. "Good night, Fiona," he murmured, smiling a little before laying down on his own pillow.
Shedidnt like the strangeness he elicited from her. She felt weird. Whatever it was, she blamed it on the wine.
"Goodnight, Red Eye," she told him through a sleepy yawn and rolled I her back was to him to sleep. And oddly enough, as she slept, she somehow ended up very close to her companion as she slept soundly. Perhaps as she slept, she craved more warmth.
[Yes, somehow, she ended close :U]
There was a lot of movement in the night, and Adaron ended with his chest to Aurora's back. His face was buried partly in her hair, arm wrapped around her waist, holding her close. He stirred sometime in the early dawn, and he could see it was still quite dark and mist covered the ground.
But 'Fiona' was content to keep on sleeping as she grumbled and turned around, burying her face in his chest.
Unusual and somewhat alarming behabi. But not unwelcome. In fact his arms remained where they were and he just watched her sleep.
It wasn't until something made her stir as she furrowed her brow and groaned lightly, but still, she hadn't opened her eyes.
Adaron leaned slowly and kissed at her neck. He did it only once, leaning back when he felt her stirring again.
The kiss made her shiver as she moved a hand to swat whatever it was away, but when she felt her hand smack Adaron, her eyes opened as she just stared at him.
He stared back, pulling his arma away and bundling them underneath his head. "Good morning."
"Er..." She stared at him closely and their close proximity with a blush.
"Couldn't stand to sleep alone?" she said smoothly, trying to be nonchalant about their intimately close proximity. And as she moved to fluff her hair, she checked to make sure she was still in her clothes.
Good. At least it didn't seem she did anything stupid.
"I'm afraid my poor constitution just couldn't handle it," he murmured and gave a small grin. He sat up, turning side to side to stretch out from laying on the hard floor. He brushed hands through his hair and looked up at the stairs. "No stirrings from the old woman. Maybr we can find you some pants. Shall we look?"
It was only then she was concerned by the state of her dress as she fixed the front of it, giving the man a small show.
"Pants among other things," she sniffed.
"Then come on. Up. Let's see what wardrobe we can rummage through."
"So I guess we're going to help ourselves?" she asked as she stood.
"Of course. Not without compensation of course," he said a made for the stairs.
"And what do you propose to pay her with? Cookies? Or did you eat your whole secret stash last night?"
"Patience Fiona. Patience," he soothed and pet her floofy hair. As they ascended the stairs, he furrowed his brow, the stairs somehow covered in cobwebs he didn't recall being there last night. "Do these stairs look dustier to you? Like they haven't been cleaned in a decade."
Once at the top, that floor fared little better, and looked as dilapidated as the outside of the house did. And there was no light, nor a sound, nor a soul. Except perhaps the rat that scurried over Fiona's feet.
Shooting him a glare, she noticed the same when her hand ran along the dusted and gritty banister. She frowned as she looked at her hand.
"We must've been drunk and didn't know it to miss that."
But upon seeing the rat, she clung to Adaron's arm with a gasp.
He looked at her and pat her hand. "Very drunk indeed." He pressed through however, as the rat scurried away and he kept his steps as quiet as possible. Ginny had mentioned only one room being available, and true to her word there was but one room. And when he peered within he saw skeletal remains covered in an old woman's nightgown and laying in the bed.
He felt his stomach drop, not for sight of the corpse, but because they'd only seen Miss Ginny the night before and there was no doubt in his mind that these remains had been here for some time.
Aurora froze in her tracks.
"That's morbid. Looks like our host is a ghost."
"Seems so," he whispered and whispered a small prayer to whoever was listening. He turned to Aurora. "Look for some clothes. I'll be back."
"What?" she grabbed his arm. "You're just gonna leave me here?"
"I'll be back," he said with a nod. "I'm just going outside." He pat her arm and gently peeled it from his. When he ventured out, he took some flowers from her garden, the ones that were the most beautiful and plucked the petals from them. He returned a few minutes later and spread the petals around the bed, the stems as well until they formed two circles. He stepped in the outer circle and went to his knees, gently whispering a prayer. His hands signed in the air and the runes on his palms emitted a soft glow and there was a gentle gust in the room, stirring the petals but for a moment until it calmed shortly after.
She could not believe he just left her in this creepy house alone. Though she tried to protest, he was already gone. Moving towards a window, she noticed Adaron and followed him to the next window where she watched him pick flowers.
"What the he'll is he doing?" But when he returned, she held her tongue and grumpily watched.
Adaron stood back and admired his work for a moment. Then looked to Aurora. "It's a blessing. In the hopes that her soul finds some rest. Sorry, again. Let's get you some clothes," he said and gestured with his head. He took her gently by the handand proceeded to explore the other rooms.
But before he could, her hand gripped onto his in a crushing grip.
"Are you not the least bit... Bothered by the skeleton? I mean the woman was alive yesterday...."
Truth be told, he was, but not nearly as much as Aurora was. "A bit," he answered. "But I think she'd been dead a lot longer than yesterday. She as hospitable. And I think maybe she can rest now. Let's not linger."
But Aurora kept him in place.
"A little?" she made a face. "And we both saw her alive yesterday! We even ate her food!.
"Some spirits...live in recurrence," he said. "They do many of the same things they did so often before when they were alive. But if it makes you feel any better...it did send a few chills up my spine. Which is why I would very much like to get what we came here for and leave."
She grit her teeth.
"And you expect me to wear haunted clothing? Can't you be like other men and at least offer to buy me somethin'?"
Adaron snorted at that. "Haunted clothing. Look, if you don't want anything from here. Then let's leave. You wouldn't take anything I would give you anyway. You barely took a cookie and some wine."
"Well that's... different."
Adaron paused and looked at Ginny's wardrobe. He let go of Aurora's hand and stalked over go it. Opening it, he found a rolls of leather and a sewing kit. "Let's go," he said, snatching the materials and taking the bag. "I can fashion you some trousers. I'll have to take your measurements of course."
"You've got so much talent and bravery. Yes, lets get out of here."
Once outside, Adaron took then back through the woods. The trees smelled fresh of rain and the crisp air was pulled into his nostrils by a sharp breath.
The horses were happy to have company again and Adaron's horse nuzzled against his neck. Once they were taken care of, their findings were strapped and put away and soon they were mounted and off again.
After a good long while of silent traveling, it was Aurora who broke the silence, asking, "So.. Where does the map way we go."
"Cryptic symbolism. Many discussions of animal gods and pretty much saying to find the heart of a god, we must prove out worth at some place called the Traitor's Gate, deep in the heart of the desert."
"Cryptic indeed. In fact, its so encrypted that it doesn't make a lick of sense."
"Such is usually the case when it comes to seeking more answers and only questions come," he said and soon stopped the horse. "Now would be a good time to get your measurements. The day is bright and it'll let the horses rest for a moment."
She raised her brow, but merely shrugged. "If you say so."
She swung her leg over as she dismounted and tethered the horse to a sturdy oak that had a nice bed of sweet smelling grass beside it, and the horse was grateful as it ate.
"So.." she turned to Adaron. "Do you even know how to take a woman's measurements?"
"I'm sure I can learn on the fly. And if I'm fumbling, you can correct me," he said nonchalantly.
He spread out the cloth and took a tape from the sewing kit. "You'll need to remove your dress I'm afraid. I'll need to get accurate measurements."
"Ha, ha, very funny, but I am not standing here, naked. The dress is meager anyway. Just measure over it."
"Then simply hold the leg parts up. Please. I promise not to look," he said with a nod, crouching before her.
She lifted a brow.
"How can you measure what you can't see?" she put out her hand. "Just give the measuring tape to me. I can just do it."
"Just cooperate. This will go by a lot faster," he said and proceeded to measure her calf already.
"If co-operation were something I were used to or wanted to do, we wouldn't be in this predicament. But fine." She folded her arms across her breasts. "Measure away. But just know this'll be the closest you'll get to frisking me."
"I have no interest in frisking you, dear," he said with a laugh and was gentle in his touch. He'd untied the knots of her ripped skirt and rolled it up, but kept it low enough to keep it modest. And he wrapped the tape around her thighs each, careful in taking his mental notations.
"Says the man with his hand on my leg."
Adaron just grinned up at her and proceeded to measure her inseam.
She just huffed in response, arms still folded as she looked away.
"All right. I think that's good enough," he said and stood from where be was. "Oh, I did forget the waist. And wrapped the tape around her hips. "All right good. Thank you Miss Fi Fi."
"Thankyou," she sighed, then cut him a look. "You know, sewing pants is no easy task."
"Neither was saving you from a giant tentacle monster, but I did that," he said with a grin as he started to lay out the material and carefully measure everything out. Indeed, it wasn't easy, but his hands worked quickly and meticulously. The only thing that seemed to have trouble was the thread going through the needle's eye. As if he couldn't see the irony in that.
He just had to remind her of that. But he had a point. So she simply stayed quiet until she saw him struggling with threading the needle.
"Here. Let me see if. My father showed me a trick to get it into the eye every time."
"Very well." He handed the thread and needle over to her. He was curious to her method and said nothing to interfere with her concentration. He noted that she'd mentioned her father, but didn't comment on it. So far, she could've just popped up from the ground for all he knew. But indicating she had family was something else entirely.
Once in hand, she waited for him to look at her to know he was listening. Then she held up the needle, then the thread and took it between two fingers before placing it between her lips, just enough to moisten the tip and flatten it. Then she held up the eye so he could see, and slipped the thread through with ease.
"See? Just a kiss to the thread and he's ready to go." she gave a patronising pat to his shoulder and gestured,"Just keep that in mind as you work on those pants. I'm going to see if I can't forrage us a snack."
Of course. Why didn't think of that? Still, he smiled when she handed it back to him. He kept his head down and started to work on her trousers again. "Don't wander too far, dear? Avoid monsters if you can."
"Dear? And what's with this bothersome worrying? You're starting to sound like an old man."
Adaron peered up at her. He gave her a pointed look before turning back to his work. "Excuse me. I forgot you were a Do-it-yourself kind of woman. Just stay safe all right."
Smirking, she gave a light wave.
"You forget I'm more used to working alone. Then again, I was an only child. Even still, I don't see the need nor care about having a partner. You're just lucky I am able to put up with you. Either way, have fun with those pants!" And she was off to forrage.
"I remember. Now git. Before I throw you over there," he mused, content to work on her pants. At least now he had some peace.
Unfortunately, foraging came up rather fruitless as she surveyed the area but she haopened to find a river, but getting near it was a problem, for it was thick with swampy grounds and Aurora didn't exactly feel like getting that dirty for some water, so she continued her pursuit for berries, but the second she found a patch and began to pluck a few, she felt a smarting itch run up her leg and when she peered down, she screamed and raced towards the swampy waters and wasted no time tripping into it to relieve herself of the fire ants that had been mercilessly biting at her legs.
And there it was! Adaron rolled his eyes and stood immediately, but she had vanished from his sight. He didn't bother calling for her, but did bolt through the trees. And when he found her, he sat perched on a boulder, watching her scratch at herself with much amusement.
She was dancing around likecrazy, her entire body quickly getting coated and her dress stuck to her form. And by the time the ants were stopped, she noticed a certain someone watching her.
Adaron stood on the boulder and shook his head. At least she was still alive.
She stepped out of the mud and brushed some from her shoulder.
"No monsters for you t rescue me from this time, though those ants were rather cruel. But see? I took care of it." she paused to observe him. "How go my pants?"
He held them up. "Just about finished," he said. "Let's get back to dry land and try them on you."
"That sounds like a good idea, but let me find some place tovwash off. Ibwoukdnt want to ruin your lovely trousers with mud."
[Phone typos <3]
Adaron gestured to her. "Then be my guest," he said with a nod. "I'll wait for you back by the horses."
At the suggestion, she rolled her eyes.
"Thanks, but it might take me some time. As far as I've seen, the river on this side is surrounded by swamps and mud."
"Then come back to the horses and wash up with water by hand. You don't need the whole river."
She quirked a brow at him.
"Oh really?" She gestured to her voluptuous form.
"I'm pretty sure our meager waterskin won't be enough to wash off all this." She did have mud up to her shoulders."
Adaron gave her a bland look. "I'll make it enough," he said with a nod. "We can refill them again when we cross the river."
"It won't do much..." But she simply shrugged as she approached him. "But I suppose it'll do. Though I can't say I'm found of how being covered in mud feels. Not sure what the deal is with mud baths. This just feels gross."
"That's because it is," he agreed and helped her out of the mud pit. And back to the horses. The stallion whinnied at the sight of Adaron and went about nuzzling the mare. She wasn't having it and turned to bite him. Adaron laughed.
"Boy doesn't that look familiar," he snorted and pulled a water skin from the saddle.
She raised a brow.
"Doesn't what look familiar?" she asked, looking from Adaron to the ornery horse.
"The nipping," he said and grinned at her. He simply shrugged and took a piece of cloth and wet the rag. "Here, for this I am certain you don't need my help."
She gave him a grumpy look.
"I don't see what you're referring to." But once the cloth was offered, she hastily took it and used it to clean her face, first.
He merely shrugged and as she washed up, he went about fixing the remains of her crudely made trousers. Actually they were probably better made than anything she'd fashion herself, and he had the mind to stitch in pockets as well. Figuring she probably liked to store things on her person.
Once wiped down as much as she could be with the meager accommodations, she gave a quick, "Thanks." And handed the dirty cloth back to him before studying her hands. Well, she supposed they were as clean as they were going to get.
He sniffed in laughter, watching her struggle to get clean. At the presentation of her hands, he dumped more water on them and gestured to the pans. "Go on and try them. I hope they're not too tight."
She made a face and looked from him to the pants.
"Are you crazy? And get mud all over them?"
After all, the rest of her was just filthy!
She made another face. "You know I'm thankful for your labor, but honestly, not even I'm cruel enough to ruin them by doing a quick fitting while covered in mud!"
"Oh for Gods' sake!" he huffed and snatched one of the water skins. He poured water into his hands, turning it into a small ball that twirled just above his palm. Gentle words that whispered kept it stable and he dropped the bag, focusing the water ball. After a few spins it began to grow and twist in his palms until the water ball was as large as his chest. Then he hurled it at Aurora, smacking it hard against her flesh, and splashing her all over. Then he grabbed a piece of his own robes, ripped it and started to scrub her down.
She wasn't able to even properly react when a giant water ball formed before her. And before she knew it, it smashed into her, soaking her to the bone. But it was not her sudden wet state that had her outraged, but the pain that sparkled through her as she lay there on the ground and was suddenly man handled by him and a rough cloth.
When she was finally able to come enough to her senses, she popped her fist hard across his face.
[It's cotton! D:]
Adaron rubbed his cheek, stopping and handing her the cloth. "Come on. This ain't an uphill battle."
She sat up suddenly.
"You just hit me with a large ball of water!"
"You said the amount in the waterskin wasn't enough!"
She stared, mouth agape.
"WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH YOU HITTING ME VIOLENTLY WITH A MAGICALLY BALL OF WATER!?"
"It wasn't even that hard. Stop being a child," he hissed an got up. "Sorry. But you were getting nowhere. I was just trying to help."
"Child!?" her voice grew shrill. "And friends don't help without asking, first! Especially when giant water balls are concerned!"
Really! What kind of person did that? Then again, had she forgotten already how she met him? The party wasn't exactly something she wanted to remember though. Adaron was terrifying.
His tone softened in curiosity. "Friends?" he asked. He tilted his head. "And if I asked, would you have let me?"
She gave a sniff.
"I might have considered.... Especially since then we could talk about it and you know, figure out a less painful solution."
Adaron chewed on his lip for a moment before looking at her. He smirked, unable to help himself, before he suddenly burst in laughter. "You look like a wet cat," he snorted, laughing harder. "Your hair is all doused!"
She tried to glare at him but it proved difficult when she too, was smirking. "Such are the consequences of being hit by a giant ball of magic water."
He laughed hard enough to hold his belly. "I remember learning how to do that. The water ball landed on me and knocked me out cold. I didn't wake up for an entire day."
Aurora was taken back, but his laughter was infectious so it was hard to keep back a smile.
"Really? The great and powerful, trouser sewing Red Eye was ever a novice that hurt himself?" in reality. Despite hearing his story, she found it hard to imagine he had a past.
"I swear it's true," he said, sobering a little. "And my name is Adaron, but Red Eye is acceptable for now."
"Adaron," she smirked. She was thankful he told her, since she was pretty sure he gave it to her earlier. But well, she forgot.
He shook his head, standing and giving her a piece of hia robes to dry off with. "Go on and dry off, and try on those trousers."
She took the robe piece and moved to dry herself. But her eyes remained on him suspiciously.
[My dog is dreaming 8D]
Adaron had gotten up to relieve the horses of their saddles. And proceeded to brush them down. Because it'd been a while since they were tended to and saddle sores were not a good idea to have.
By the time she approached him again, her hair was pulled up, her shirt was hanging too low, but her trousers were perfect. In defense, her shirt was really a dress with rips and ties along its bottom. Either way, she was starting to feel more human again.
"Looks like you can retire from treasure thief and take up tailoring. And what I mean is, the pants fit."
"And fit well, might I add," he remarked, examining her form. He gave her a pleased nod and put away the rest of the tailoring supplies because one could never know when ripped pants might be a problem.
The horses were cleaned and happy, except for the constant nipping of the female to the male. But otherwise they were content. Adaron made a small fire and sat, eating quietly, no longer worrying about his companion's pants problem.
"You should take pride in this work. Its not like everyone can just see the perfect pair of pants, especially for the opposit sex. It makes me wonder if you aren't a tailor in disguise. And I bet you grew famous from it that kings sought you out for a coat."
He was surprised. Was she actually making a joke? Adaron peered up at her from the jerky he was tearing between his teeth. "I have been told, I do have an astonishing attention to detail," he said, just smirking. "I thought you were offended at me having to look you over. I thonk you still are, you simply know when to time in some flattery."
"Well, I suppose you can't help what sex you are. But a good job does deserve praising. And I am a fickle woman."
"And what does it matter what sex I am?" he asked, curious now. "Are you saying me being a man offends you somehow?"
She laughed.
"Hardly, I'm saying you, being a man, can't help but let your eyes indulge."
"Surely. But I am not without respect. If it offends you, I can stop," he offered. "It's not as if anything will come of it anyway. You cringe at even having to share the same air as me." And he chuckled at that.
Bristling, she retorted, "Thats because you stole my treasure and and... Are a rather frightening individual!"
He could understand that. Adaron frowned just a bit and looked at the tattoos along his body. "Ah," he mumbled. "I see. I don't mean to be. I suppose I've yet to learn when it's appropriate to use my power and when not to. My apologies."
"Wait... Hold on, is that an apology?"
A brow turned upward at her disbelief. "Well, yes."
"You know there are others you should apolgise to as well. Like all of those people you scared the daylights out of. Though, I'm pretty satisfied with at least getting mine," she told him with a smirk as she continued to dry off. "Okay, you can turn around so I can try these pants on with at least some modesty."
Adaron made a face at her. "Didn't you already try them on? What's that on your legs? Or did you want to take them off only to try them on again, to really admire the craftsmanship?" he said, smirking at her.
OOC: I totally messed up my original post since I forgot she tried the pants on and made a fuss lol
(this is what I get for rushing out posts while waiting for the bus after work!)
Anywho... I've decided to just go with it >D
She just stared at him.
And stared.
And stared.
And stared some more. Then her brow twitched.
"Er..." looking away, she gave a shrug and fluff to her soggy hair. "I just meant er... well, I didn't mean that I just...." Blushing, she finally went on and sighed, saying, "I guess I'm just used to pulling your leg and giving you a hard time to realize I had already obliged you and.... Perhaps it might do us some good to find a place to sit down and have a real civilized meal. That way, I can think and act straight."
Because that was embarassing! She never slipped up over such things! Why would she do it now? Perhaps it was a fluke. And she tried to be content with just that belief.
Adaron tilted his head. He patted the seat beside him. "Please. Let's just eat and relax. I have bread and jerky and some berries I found. They smell pretty good."
She sighed through a laugh.
"I meant sit down at a tavern or something." but she still took the seat beside him. "Well, suppose we shouldn't waste those berries.
"We'll make arrangements for that. But we're quite far from any main road. Unless you'd like to be the navigator." He ate thoughtfully, peering at her with his normal eye, much like a crow would watch from above.
"Can't say I'm familiar with this place particularly," she went on, popping a berry into her mouth. "Wilderness is wilderness. I just wonder how far we've come from the sea. The humidity still indicates we must be near the coast still, as does the terrain. The soil still seems a lot sandier here than in a place like Arca or Reajh."
"You've been to Reajh?" he asked, interest perked.
She munched on a few more berries.
"I've been to many places. Just about any you could imagine."
His grin turned wry. "I can imagine quite a few," he muttered back. "What's Reajh like?"
"Well, there's a reason its famous for its architecture. The buildings are beautiful, like none I've ever seen. And they're impressively tall, unlike the majority of their men. I think that's why certain houses rose to power, they were able to breed taller men. But in the same breath of its gorgeous monumental buildings, the streets are actually rather clean, though if you get to near to the sewers, you could say other wise."
Adaron listened with interest, chewing slowly on each berry he ate. He felt sort of funny, light-headed and very elated. He squashed one between his fingers and smirked at the smooshiness of it. "Short men? Sounds about right," he snorted. "Did you spend a lot of time in the sewers?"
"Hardly. And before you ask, no, I didn't spend time with many men. Connlaothians aren't exactly my cup of tea." And she went on to eat a few more berries. "You ever been there?"
He didn't know if he was feeling funny because of the berries, or if the wine was finally catching up to him.
"I don't think I was even going to ask about that. But thank you for the info," he said with a nod. "No, tis one of the few places, Ihave never been. Seemed a little strange what with those antimagic soldiers and all."
"Yes.." she stared at him thoughtfully. "I wonder if such a thing could effect your jeweled eye." She tilted her head. "Does it hurt? To have that instead of your eye?"
"Yes," he said after a moment. "But I'm pretty used to it. It hurt the most going in. And is pretty bad going out." He gestured to her hair. "Does that feel rather heavy?"
She smirked. "What do you think? And what do you mean out? Out as in out Out? Like, it can be removed?"
He laughed. "You won't get to keep it, if that's what you're after," he said. "I've tried taking it out. It always pops right back in."
"That's not what I.." she made a face. "You've tried before? Ew, that's gross."
"It is. I agree in every way. It's not as gross, as say, having irritable bowels, but icky nevertheless." He chuckled. "You never answer questions about yourself. Or if you do, they're artful dodges. Is having us a little more than acquaintances really so nauseating? Or are you just prejudiced against guys with jewels for eyes?"
"Its probably the latter. My father warned me to look out for men with rubies for eyes."
"And he would likely be right. Most other men would be barbarian monsters. And use their eye to try and charm you."
"Charm?"
"Yes," he emphasized, going about it nonchalantly. "Charm you. As strange as that sounds."
She shook her head.
"That's not what I meant. What I meant," she went on with a sigh. "Is how would a jeweled eye be able to become a...." She talked with her hands. "Something that could even be a... charming feature? I mean, I'd never consider that one of your striking features- even if it can strike."
"Really? Because you've been staring it ever since we left Cerenis. And you must understand the jewel wouldn't be beguiling. Many barbarians actually have personalities and perhaps you'd find that actually charming."
And at that, she spat out a laugh.
"That's because its strange!'" she gave him a patronizing pat.
He barked a laugh at her. "I know that. Staring, however, does not help."
"No, but at least I have a good reason." she continued to stare. "How does it feel?"
"Surprisingly glossy," he said with a grin.
"And here I thought itd feel... Rocky."
"You can touch it, if you want."
Snorting, she shook her head.
"No thanks."
"Fine. Suit yourself."
She continued to eye him.
"What will you do if we do find the real heart? Or when."
Adaron returned the gaze, tilting his head a little. "Why are you interested the old objects like that lamp? What is it about the dust? I remember you reacted strangely when the old woman said something about dust."
"Hrmmm, you seem to have a keen memory. But believe me, it's nothing of consequence to you."
"Then you have found your answer," he said with a respectful bow of his head.
She smirked.
"Clever reply, thief."
He only grinned back and finished his share of the berries in silence. That was until he saw Aurora's face was turning swirled. "Do these berries taste funny to?"
"No, why? You think you picked bad berries?" then again, she had only eaten a few.
"Your face looks funny," he said, narrowing his eyes at her. "When did you turn purple?"
"Purple? I'm pretty sure I'm not purple."
Adaron was flipping out. And he just stared as snakes started to crawl out of her nostrils.
Aurora cringed.
"Stop looking at me that way or I'll punch that jewel deeper into your face," she warned.
But he kept staring and tilted his head the other way.
And it was only then did she think she saw anything funny, but was good at her word as she gave him a hard shove.
"Quit with the staring or I'm taking the map myself and getting the hell out of here."
When she shoved him, he instinctively reached up and held her at bay. "Don't move," he said. "There's a giant spider in that tree above you." He couldn't be sure if what he was seeing was real or not, but the sooner they got out of here the better.
"Spider?"s he instantly froze, her teeth gritting hard. What sort of forest did they run into!? First a tentacle monster in the cave, now this? But despite wondering what the hell he was going on about before, she now just thought it was from the terrifying spider she had yet to see!
"Well, can you like... kill it?" she asked, too afraid to move. "YOu know.. shoot it until it's dead with your eye magic?"
"Probably," came the reply. "But where there's one, there's two. Then three. And I don't know if I have the energy to kill them all. Let's just out of here. Slowly."
Perhaps it was the small dose of berries laced with fear, but she nodded and took his hand.
"Yes... nice and slow..."
But when something suddenly jumped out of the bushes, she screamed to high heavens and took off running, more than likely spooking Adaron and the horse in the process.
And at the sound was when the spiders chittered and shot toward them. Adaron was on his feet fairly quickly, snatching up his supplies and running for the horses. He jumped on one and smashed heels into it's side, the animal screeching and trying to beat between the trees.
Aurora hadn't considered racing towards her horse, because frankly, she was too terrified and just wanted away from any eight legged creatures! So as she continued to run and spotted Adaron on a horse, she gave a cry and flailed and arm.
"Hey, Red Eye! Over here!"
She was basically asking to be rescued.
Why didn't she run toward the horses!?
Adaron huffed and turned the horse around, the other one just running off into the trees at the sense of danger. The stallion whinnied wildly and when he turned, he saw one of the spider's closing in on Aurora, he pointed. "Look out!" he cried.
He formed a ball of ice in his hands and hurled it past her head. And when it struck the spider, it chittered, screeching as the ice impacted its legs and froze them solid. It wouldn't last long for the ball wasn't very large and the spider was too strong. He got close enough to her and pulled her up into the saddle.
As the ice shattered, the shell of its legs exploded, liquid oozing out of it.
Heart hammering inside her chest, she could not believe what was happening, and when she was suddenly scooped up and on the horse, involuntarily she clung onto Adaron, eyes wide and heavy bosom pressed to his chest.
Adaron was busy steering the horse between the trees. The stallion, though spirited, was terrified and more creatures crawled out from the treetops, trying to cut off their exit.
"What sort of place did we walk into? I've never been to a place with so many.. many... monsters!"
And she had been to a lot of places that should!
"I don't know! But we can figure that out later! Let's just try to - HO SHIT!" Adaron turned the stallion hard on the reins, though the horse was already whirling around a cairn of bones, and heading toward a thickened web. He felt fire burn in his hands and he tossed a ball of fire, incinerating the silkened trap and they tore through the burning embers.
She could feel the tickling, falling ash and flamed webs rain down upon them, and for once was thankful she had very thick and resilient hair. However,t hat did not stop her from worrying if it might get caught on fire, but she didn't dare check to look, for her face was buried against Adaron as they whisked through the massive trap, unknowingly beneath a very large and upset spider who had spent a great deal making her web for the eggs she was ready to lay.
And that was the spider that soon leapt upon them. It moved deftly from the tree, knocking them both from the horse as the animal spooked and got away.
Adaron landed with a roll, turning up to peer face to face with the menacing face and multiple eyes.
Aurora fell, tumbling to a land not too far from Adaron, and though it seemed the spider was about to attack, it turned its gaze curiously towards Aurora before moving to stand over her instead.
"Fiona!"
And at Adaron's call, the spider struck.
And with that bite came fire that scorched past Fiona, and set the spider ablaze. The chittering in protest ceased quickly and itsshriveled into a roasted pile. Adaron flew toward her and scooped her up without warrant. Now was no time for pleasantries. The venom would burn and burn swiftly.
Too stunned to move, aside from clinging onto Adaron, Aurora paled as she stared in wide eyed surprise.
There was no other means of escape. He felt his body grow lighter, the runes igniting along his body as he jumped upward and turned them both into a flutter of feathers, flowing high on a rushing wind. And outward they flew until they were safely away from the nest of spiders. Only then did they materialize, in a ditch off a rising cliff.
Disconnected was the only word she could think of to explain it. But it definitely felt like falling. She definitely lost sight and all her other senses, and when they reappeared her nose burned clean to her brains as she swooned and tried to hold back from vomotying, which was useless since she did so anyway.
Adaron turned her and watched her puke her guts out on the ground. Meanwhile he observed the bite mark on her leg and knew they had to do something about that immediately.
She paused when she was finished emptying out her lunch, nearly puking again to see the flecks of berries mixed in with her breakfast. She rested the back of her hand to her lips and waited a moment until she felt confident enough to speak without puking as she asked, shakily, "What.. what was that?"
"What was what?" he asked before the gestured her to move as far away from the puke as possible, if at least to keep her wound clean. It was a shame the bite had ruined the trousers that he'd just made for it. But not dying was a key goal in this endeavor.
"I'm going to take these off, we've got to deal with that bite fast, okay. This is probably going to hurt. Brace yourself."
She clutched at the side of her head and groaned.
"I... I don't know. I feel so strange. All tingly.. Sick..."
"Keep it down please." Adaron slipped her trousers down, and revealed the nasty swelling on her thigh, carefully grasping his hands around it. He felt where it was tender most before slowly squeezing and sucking in a deep breath, using magic to slowly pull all the venom from the wound.
The poison was already making her hot and bothered, as she itched at her clothing.
"Just hurry!" This was torture and she felt so disconnected from herself. That was, until he sucked at the poison. That made her jerk as she yelped in pain before howling and digging her fingers into his shoulder.
"G-gods! Are you trying to kill me?" she cried.
"We leave the venom inside, and you'll definitely be dead. Just pull my hair if you have to. We've got a few more to go," he said and went in for another suck. While his mouth was not applied to her skin, instead he pulled in from a breath a distance away and the poison began to leak out in dark green dribbles, trickling down her thigh.
"Don't give me permission to do that or you might not have any left,..Gods!" And the weird, painful sensation of the venom draining made her cringe.
Adaron focused on draining and pulled more venom out from both holes. His hands compressed around her thigh, pushing out tainted blood until the swelling had gone down significantly and he soon stopped, and held his hands over the bites, keeping pressure on the holes.
As she felt mroe venom and blood be sucked out, she grew light headed, and clung to Adaron, nearly losing unconsciousness as she groaned. A hand slipped down, gripping over where he pressed against her wounds, and it almost seemed as if she were trying to thread her hand together with his.
A slow breath seeped out of him. Adaron leaned back and looked at her, then her hands, and let her fingers thread into his. "You okay, now?"
Once their hands were locked, she gave a squeeze. "I... I don't know. I.. Feel flushed, drained..." She leaned into him. "Dizzy."
He pat her hand for a second. And eased pressure on the wound. "I'll need to clean this up and patch it. Do you think you can keep down some water?" Because it was the one thing they still had.
"Well, I'm not making any promises, but I can try."
He chuckled lightly. When the waterskin was in hand, he cupped some it in his palm and doused his own face, then cupped some more to help her drink.
She choked down the water and hungrily asked for more.
Adaron gave as much water as she would drink until he pulled it away. He poured water instead on the wound and took another piece of cloth from his robes. At this point he might well just disrobe. For now it would serve well as supplementary bandages.
First he cleaned them and then bound them gently. "It'll still ache, but let's hope now that you survive," he sighed like a parent might to a troublesome child.
"You're right about that. It still does hurt," she frowned and turned to look at his face. And that's when she smiled.
"Thanks. You know... That's twice you've saved me."
"Twice? Has it really been that much?" He met her gaze then chuckled a little. Hands finished their wrapping around her thighand he sat beside her. "You know both our horses ran away. Now we have to go about the task of finding them."
Aurora rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, but maybe one of them doesn't count since you could have barbequed me when we first met."
But at the comment on the horses she sighed and shrugged.
"Or we can walk until we find a place to steal a new pair of horses."
"No, no. You can't take it back. It was twice," he said and smiled. "We don't have much of a choice, but to walk. If you can that is."
"It seems many things we aren't given a choice. But I'm not sure I'm up for a walk just yet." she made a face. "It already feels like I was running a marathon." she gave a flip to her hair."My skin is all clammy and gross and I just feel hot all over."
Adaron nodded and laid against the trunk of a tree across from her. "If you need me to freeze you a little bit, just ask."
She raised a brow at him.
"Is that supposed to be a joke?" She gave a sigh, smiling anyway as she tried to get comfortable herself. "I think going from hot to cold is a bit extreme, don't you think? And who knows what cold magic might do to any residual poison you might have missed."
"I could always just douse you with water instead," he said, smirking, eying her chest.
Smirking, she rolled her eyes.
"I think I'm injured enough, even still so, from your earlier exploit against me with water."
"It'll be a gentle soak, I promise."
Tucking some hair behind her ears, she looked him over skeptically.
"You expect me to believe that? Just because you saved my life doesn't mean I can still fully trust you." She teased. "Besides... I'm tired. I won't be able to sleep if I'm all wet."
"Go to sleep all hot and bothered then. I'll keep watch," he said. Adaron sighed a little and took off his upper robe, balling it up and handing to her. "For your head."
Aurora just stared at him.
"Are you really offering me your shirt?"
He just stared at her for few long second. "You don't want it?"
"I think you just don't want it so you can walk around without a shirt," she said simply.
"I'm not completely naked. And it is merely a loan. If you don't want it, fine," he said and retracted his hand.
She smirked and turned away, saying nothing and trying to think of something to focus on other than him. But he did look rather good without his shirt.
He watched her from the corner of his eye. Smirking he threw the shirt at her, watching it land on her face.
"Hey!" she pulled it off her face. "What's that all about?"
"To use like a pillow," he said.
Sighing, she fluffed the robe.
"Won't you get cold?"
"I'll be okay. You just nearly died. Again. Get some rest, you deserve it." Adaron smiled just a bit before getting comfortable against the tree at his back.
She tried to get comfy, but even with the robe, she was restless.
"Ugh, whyd you have to rescue me," she frowned. "Now I just feel..."
He furrowed his brows, curious. "You feel what? It wasn't my intention to make you feel weird, if that's what it is."
She shook her head, irritable.
"Hot, cold, strange, weird... All of them at once is just taxing. And though I feel like I'm made of lead my body feels as if it's made of quills and my mind is in a race."
His brow furrowed deeper. "I can help you sleep if you want. I know a few useful techniques."
"If they contain a club to my head, I don't care. I just don't like... Feeling like this. Makes me feel terrible, weak and child like."
He laughed and got up, crawling to her, and plopping down beside her. "Okay. Look just lie down and try to relax. I promise you'll be asleep in no time." He cracked his knuckles and wiggled his hands. "No magic, I promise."
She flopped beside him.
"Magic or not, do your worst."
"Okay." He rolled her into her front and started to knead the muscles of her back.
At first she wasn't sure what he was up to, but the second the massage began, she moaned; loudly.
He snickered, he couldn't help it. But he bit his lip and held in a snort. "Feeling good?" he mumbled, and kept the pressure light, deepening then lightening it again.
"Yeah," she went on through a lazy breath. "My shoulders and back are tense. So don't be stingy there."
He snickered again and was sure to give special attention to her upper back and shoulders. They were in fact very tense. But his hands kneaded into the muscles with acute attention until centering down her spine and rubbing at her lower back.
"Let me know if you need my hands elsewhere. Or if you just fall asleep, that's fine too," he mumbled.
"Just keep working your magic," she went on with a wave of her hand. "I'm too into this nice feeling to want to think... Or talk."
"Very well." He figured she'd just fall asleep anyway. His hands continued to work into her, rolling along her sides and then up her back again, gentle and applying pressure where needed.
Aurora sighed contentedly. And her soft moans would fluctuate depending on where his hands would favor.
It'd been a while since anyone had the opportunity to enjoy one of his massages. Not that Adaron was one to give them away freely. He just smirked and kept his hands working against her neck and shoulders. "Still feeling good?"
She gave a limp nod.
"You should consider a career change. My entire body feels like putty."
It was then that at last he stopped and laid down beside her. "Good. Now you can sleep. Good massages are hard to come by."
"Yeah..." she went on drowsily. She closed her eyes. "And so are good men." And she immediately felt awkward for saying that.
He just laughed. It seemed there would be no end in that. "Both are true enough," he said with a chuckle and laid back against the tree, closing his eyes too.
But she couldn't leave it at that as she turned to him.
"What I mean to say is.... In many situations, you've proven yourself to be.... Not like most predictable men."
"Predictable how?" he mumbled. "You mean men that would leave you to die?"
"Well, no, I meant men who expect payment at every turn. Why do you think I was wearing that dress? Men are predictable every time there's the possibility of sex."
"Ah, well, men are predictable in that aspect," he opened his eyes sleepily. Now she had his curiosity. "Then why dress in such a manner? Is the intention to tease these predictable men?"
"Well, yes. The aim is to get their attention. Men will slobber out anything just to get near a woman with big breasts. It's helped me get information on countless occassions."
He snorted, rather loudly at that. "That's certainly true. So what are your moves? Drop as much dress as possible. That's for certain. What else? Squeeze them together? Do a shimmy?"
Aurora rolled her eyes.
"Sure. That's all there is to it," she replied, sarcastically.
Adaron laid back again. "So then...what are your moves? What sets you apart from the rest?"
She smirked and moved in just a way that he could get a nice view down her dress.
"Oh, its really just the subtle things."
His eyes flickered, but strayed back to her face. "What else you got?"
"Oh please, naturally the rest involves talking. But I make very good use of my tongue."
His brow quirked and his eyes remained mildly entertained. "Tongue. As in you shove your tongue down their throat? Or you smooth talk them? I find both very hard to believe."
She rolled her eyes.
"That's because I'd never dream of using that skill on you."
"You also wouldn't because you're such a prude," he said, snorting laughter.
"Well, one must be prudent with such a skill," she went on with a tired sigh. "Besides, I've got better things to do with my time than to act like a whore all day long."
"Good. Because there are more important things to do. Like get some sleep." He grinned a bit and turned on his side.
"Says the man who just questioned me with interest," she jested back.
"Because it was the most you've said to me since we've traveled," he said with a soft chuckle. "I like the way you speak is all."
"LIke the way I speak?" She made a face. "What? Haven't heard a woman with this sort of accent to her voice, have you?"
"Hrm? Not your accent. Just the way you explain things. Just thought it was nice that's all." He closed his eyes, feeling himself grow sleepy.
"Explain things?" she silently chuckled at that. "You don't get out much, do you?"
Though the same could be said about her! Most of her social interactions are to simply get information. So she really only knows how to go through the motions...
But now that she's more or less stuck with Adaron...
It was just...
Strange to just.. talk to someone, especially a man. Though she supposed it'd be strange with a woman, too. She just preferred to keep to herself.
He did fall asleep though kept one ear alert at any strange sounds that lingered nearby. He opened his eyes in the bleary dark but did not move, and kept his breathing light.
Eventually, she fell asleep too. She had been through a lot that day, and only began to wonder what sort of bad luck she had gotten. First that monster in the cave.. then the spider. THough it was strange..
It seemed the spider had chosen to attack her over Adaron. Maybe it was afraid of Adaron and could sense his power? And when she fell asleep on that thought, she began a fitful rest, dreaming about Adaron burning down her father's home- and all of their hard years of work trying to figure out the secret of the dust.
At first he thought the restlessness came from the trees. However the sounds were much to close for that to be true. Turning, he stared at Aurora's fitful sleep and did not disturb her initially. Whatever turmoil she dreamt, it was better for her to work through he thought. But it wasn't easy and soon his hand shook her shoulder. "Wake up," he said gently. "You're having a bad dream."
The moment he woke her and she saw his face, she immediately slapped him with angered fury. But that slap was enough to even jerk her out from the nightmare as she gasped and reared back.
"A.. Adaron!?" And frantically she looked around, confused that she was not at home.
That slap woke him up if any sleep yet remained. He blinked at her, holding his cheek. "What did I do?" he asked, startled.
Aurora grimaced.
"I.." She placed a hand to the side of her head. "Er..." She finally began to realize...
"I guess... reacting to... my dream?"
Though any memories of the dream were quickly fading.
"Er... sorry. Though to be fair.." she went on with a frown. "I wouldn't know it but you could have deserved it. I was asleep after all. It could have been out of reflex."
He blinked at her. She couldn't be serious. "How could I deserve it. You were sleeping fitfully. I was only trying to wake you from your nightmare. And whatever it was, evidently I was apart of it." And he smirked a little.
She blinked.
"Oh.. I think you were.."
But then she frowned.
"But I can't recall much of it... something with fire and you standing there- and I just.. have this feeling of anger."
"What do you recall? Someone destroying something?" He had a feeling it he that was doing the destruction. But he waited, watching her. "Are you okay?"
She clutched a hand to her breast, as if that might still her racing heart.
"Ugh.. I don't know," she went on, raking a hand through her hair. "Yes.. destruction. Maybe I was just recalling how we met."
"I see," his voice went quiet. "I at least made an impression."
"Do you want another slap?" she quipped. "But really.." Her expression turned more sincere. "I.. don't think I meant to."
He snickered, rubbing his cheek gingerly. "Don't worry. All is forgiven." He tilted his head and looked at her hand. Before long he grabbed it and held it palm up. "That was decent slapping technique. I applaud you."
Aurora's face twisted in confusion.
"Applaud me?" she pulled her hand away and raised a brow at him. "You're a strange man, Red Eye."
"You still called me Adaron," he said, smirking.
She gave an exhausted snort.
"And here I was afraid I'd forgotten it."
Which was true- for a time there she wasn't sure she remembered his name at all. And just a second later, it just naturally rolled off her tongue. At least she had remembered it right. It could have been embarrassing other wise.
As if slapping an innocent person wasn't embarrassing enough. He just smiled. "I suppose I'll take that as a compliment. Fiona."
Fiona.. Right. He didn't know her name. Smirking, she closed her eyes a tired my revealed, "Most call me Aurora, Aurora Jane." But maybe she was too tired or he might be to remember or care as she closed her eyes to sleep.
Aurora Jane. Huh. Now that was interesting. He smiled a bit before lying back. "Suits you," he said with a sniff. "Aurora." And watched her a moment before closing his own eyes.
When she woke up, she really had to pee. She shot to her feet and dashed behind a thicket and was soon signing with relief as she relieved herself.
[I forgot she's not wearing pants 8D]
He covered his ears at the noise, grumbling a bit. But that did not stop the curiosity of a wolf that lingered nearby.
Ooc: man, she's got all kinds of bad luck
Once she was done, she stepped out and began to move towards Adaron, but something caught her eye as she froze. And soon she was chuckling.
"Is that morning wood or are you just that turned on to see me without pants?"
[Well she is a ginger.]
Adaron opened a tired eye. "What are you talking about?" He sat up and looked her over. "I have perfect control over my body thank you." Maybe if he pretended not to notice it would go away.
"Well, at least you've got that going for you. So I suppose you just wanted it... up?" she teased.
His hands immediately covered his groin. "Would you stop staring at it? What, you've never seen an erection before?"
"Why?" she asked with a sly grin. "Maybe I like seeing you flustered for a change."
"That can only mean one thing. You like me." He smirked at her, despite the blush on his face.
She blinked and stared at him a moment before laughing.
"Well, I do need to keep you around to fend off monsters. Though I have to wonder if these monsters aren't attracted to you!"
"I would hope not," he said, quirking a brow at her. "At the very least, I wonder if they are the only thing attracted to me."
She gave a soft huff and smirk.
"Well, next time we see a monster, let's set you two up on a date."
"Very funny. Now get over here. Let me take a look at that leg. I can clean it out and put on some new bandage cloth things. That is if there's even any thing left of my shirt."
"You know, Adaron, I'm not some helpless waif. I do normally adventure on my own. I would hope you'd presume well enough that I can handle a little leg wound on my own."
The blinked at her with a deadpan gaze.
"I'm well aware of such, yes. You've pointed that out to me more than once. Now, get over here. Those are very large holes."
"Oh, so demanding. So they're a bit larger of a wound than I'd like, I suppose scars won't kill me when it finally does heal. But I have a sneaking suspicion you want to help me just to touch my legs."
Adaron just got up and knelt beside her thigh. He just rolled his eyes at her. "I'm just trying to help you. Gods, that's a nasty bite. How do you feel? Woozy? Dizzy? Annoyed?" At that last one he smirked at her.
"How about turned on?"
He rolled his eyes again. "I'm serious. I need to know you're being affected yet by the venom."
"Honestly, I feel fine. Well, aside from my leg feeling stiff and sore. Oh and drafty. By the way, about my pants... Think you can sew me another pair?"
"I can patch them up probably. "I hope you don't mind being pantsless for a while," he sighed with somr exasperation. Bit flickering eyes back to Auoroa, he smiled. She'd been through as much as he had, and had thus far been a trooper. "You're tougher than you look, Aurora Jane."
"Oh? And here I was hoping I looked tougher than I am. But I'm not exactly one to give up easily and-" and thats when she spotted the wolf, which suddenly charged at Adaron.
"Oh my god.. A wolf! Behind you!"
It sunk into his arm before Adaron even realized the creature was there. Adaron growled, though the wolf was fiercer and held true. But it wasn't the only one either.
Aurora gave a yell, and unthinking, grabbed their water skin and clobbered the biting wolf on the nose, which was enough to have a second wolf lunge at her.
Adaron could think fast enough to use his magic and used brute strength alone to throw the heavy beast from his arm and against a tree. The wolf yelped, the tree cracking from the devastating smack. He was wary of more wolves, the ones that surrounded them, and kicked at one that lunged toward him. Only now did his hands glow fiercely with magic, the runes on his skin igniting.
She managed to dodge the wolf lunging at her, but not without it knocking her over by the miss, which had it's body knocking her over by her shoulder. She scrambled behind a tree, and when she saw the one wolf Adaron smacked against another, she took a few hesitant steps away from the one she tried to use as a shield when she noticed the rest of the pack circling them.
"Adaron.. it might be a good time to use that magic now! You know, before we become their next meal!"
Magic right. That's what he was doing.
And with another clap of his hands, and forced his breath into his palms, his hands turned the earth, the roots of nearby trees growing at accelerated rates, smashing into wolves that lunged at them, or trapping and ensnaring those that got too close. For the wolves that closed in on them, one lunged for Adaron's neck, knocking him down and biting deep into the meat of his shoulder.
Too stunned to move, she watched in horror as one of the wolves managed to get close enough to Adaron that the two were brought to the ground, and none too gently. She found herself calling out his name and rushing to help him, but Adaron's magic prevented her from getting much closer as a tree shot out of the ground and tossed her aside.
She had the breath knocked out of her,a nd winced as she peered up from where she lay. Gods she felt so pathetic, and could only pray the wolf hadn't killed Adaron.
The battle was a blur, and though wounded, Adaron had managed to toss the wolf aside, blood seeping down from his neck and shoulder. The pack was larger than he expected, but several impaled wolves later and all that could be heard were the whines of the defeated and the silence of the dead.
He dropped to his knees, panting, gasping for breath. "Aurora!" He crawled over roots that had remained gnarled and found her body lying on the ground.
SHe would have gotten up to try to help..
but well, what remained of her clothing, was now strung up with thorny vines and tree roots, even some tangled in her hair.
She winced as she looked up at him.
"I tried to help..."
Seemed she hadn't thought it through in running into the magical battle zone. Then again, she felt she could be more helpful if she had any of her supplies!
"Are you...stuck?" he asked, seeing the thorns as if pinning her in place. He climbed over the debris and carefully tried to pry them by hand.
"Just a little." And she winced when she heard a tear. "Careful now, there's not much left to this dress!"
There was laughter somewhere. Was that him? Adaron was a bit too spun around to know, and he focused on breaking and prying her from the vines and gnarled roots.
His hands bled by the end of it, palms scratched and cut and sore. He freed her at last and looked at the state of her clothing. "At least you're alive," he said, panting a little and feeling a little woozy from the bloodloss. Once over the burrs and thorns, there on a vine was his shirt and what remained of her pants. "They're salvageable."
She took a look at the pants and just flopped back into the ground with a groan.
"You know, I don't think any of my expeditions have EVER gone this badly. " But she laughed anyway.
"If this is amusing, you have a wicked sense of humor," he said, smirking. He threw his robe over his arm and handed the pants back, knocking the thorns out of it.
"Sorry. Don't mean to get blood all over 'em."
"What? You're bleeding? And here I thought you couldn't bleed, or would have glowing blood like those symbols that appear on your body. What are those anyway and more impotsnt than that, are you okay?"
He huffed a bit, staggering on his own two feet. "I'll...I'll be okay," he hissed lightly, the wound on his shoulder throbbing. He wobbled and leaned against her. With effort they were out of the circle of thorns, and stumbling through the underbrush. "Those are runes. Tattooed all over my body. They provide powerful magic to those worthy enough to understand them."
But it soon became apparent that he was not okay and stumbled backwards into a tree.
Seeing him fall, she moved to grab his arm.
"Come on, you're over doing it. Just sit a minute, ok?"
"I'll be fine," he panted, but even he didn't really believe it. Adaron did sit though, perhaps by force, as his legs gave out from under him. "My shoulder burns."
"You did get bitten by a wolf... Here, let me look at it."
He hated being weakened in such a manner but it couldn't really be helped. He opened up his neck and shoulder for her to expect.
"Wow, those bites are deep. Here," she took the pants and pressed them to his wound. "Can't have you dieing on me or else who will be there to save me from monsters and wolves?"
"Hey I made you those. Just use my shirt instead. It's more accustomed to getting dirty," he panted, wincing at the pressure of the wound. But a thought struck him.
"I thought you couldn't wait to be rid of me?" he snickered.
"The pants are already on it," she said, keeping them pressed against the wound. "Besides, at this rate we'll both be naked come nightfall." But at his last comment, she grinned.
"You've become a useful asset." she pat his shoulder. "And my father always taught me to hold onto things of value."
Now that was an interesting tidbit, but by that standard, Aurora was quickly becoming a liability. Still he chuckled at the sentiment. "Thanks. Or not. I'm not sure." Another laugh. "I'd always knew I'd be useful for something."
"I dont know... That red eye you stole sure seems to give you extra points in the useful category."
"And if not for the eye, at least muscles can do well enough on their own." He looked at her, smiling all the while. "You speak fondly of your father. Do you remember him well?"
"Remember?" she laughed. "He's the only living relative I have. He and I are close and he's pretty much the only person I trust."
Interesting. And explained much.
"Wow," he murmured. "Not a lot of women can say they have fond memories of their fathers. Can't say I remember mine at all.Save to say that he scscrewed my mother and I was born. That's about it."
"Having both parents is over rated. I think my father did a better job than most."
"Then you are luckier than most," he agreed. "Treasure it."
"Trust me I am. I plan to go back home once I'm done here."
He grew silent at that, putting a hand on hers. "How's that wound?"
She peeked under the pants.
"Still nasty," she said, making a face. "But the bleeding has gone down. Even still... We'll need to clean it."
"We can't do that here," he hissed, wincing again. "We'll need to find water...maybe we can skirt around that nest if spiders, find a river." He looked at her, patting her hand in order to lift himself up with aid. "I can walk. And...I'm sure we both need a bath."
Smirking, she asked, "Are you saying I smell?"
"Like sweetwater and blood," he snickered.
She rolled her eyes.
"Come on, Stinky. Lets see if we can't find us a nice hot spring."
"Yes, Madame Naggy," he said. Off they went grudging along at a painfully slow pace. Adaron felt faint most of the time. Also slowing their progress was one of the wolf corpses Adaron insisted on bringing for meat and fur. It was a setback both of them would have to deal with for now.
But soon, thankfully, there was some water nearby. The glory of being near the sea he supposed. But as inland as they were at least the water was fresh, and steam billowed up from it.
She gave a whistle.
"I'll be damned."
The water was a site for sore eyes.
"Need help getting into the waters Or should we race?"
"I think I can manage. You go on." In fact he gave her a nudge and followed along.
Disrobing was uncomfortable, but he managed and slipped into the steaming waters without underclothes. He had to scrub everything after all.
"I guess you're not the racing type?" she said, cheekily, after he pushed her along. But she paused a moment in mid-swiping of her hair to observe him and his struggle. But after a moment, she thought nothing of it, and kept her back towards him as she herself discarded what was left of her clothing. It wasn't like he hadn't seen everything through the damn white dress every time she got wet anyway. And he was too injured to try something funny.
But as she moved to step out into the waters, she couldn't help but wonder how ironic it was. To think, she had been thinking about a hot spring and had no idea they'd actually run into one!
She slowly let herself step out into deeper waters, and once it was up to her shoulders, she released a contented sigh at how the heat worked wonders on her aching body. It was then she turned to Adaron as she worked at pinning her curly hair ontop of her head.
"Need some help there?" she asked, seeing he was still having a time removing his clothes. "Just think, once you're free of that damn clothing, heavenly, hot waters await you to soothe away all your aches and pains."
[Thank MacGuffins for hot springs]
He gave a teasing glare, as if he were really such an invalid. Adaron managed to slip out of the rest of his clothes and with a smal slip, he sunk into the heated waters. "I'll let you have that snip of sarcasm," he sighed. She was right though, the heat was already working wonders on his body. He hadn't realized how sore he was until he was chest-deep in these waters.
"Let?" she laughed. "You know... I don't need your permission to do that."
"Indeed," he sighed contentedly, closing his eyes. "I'm too relaxed to let it bother me I mean."
"Relaxed?" she chuckled. "It seems the hot springs work quickly on you."
"Aren't they working for you?" Blinking quickly, he peered up at her. Wading toward her, Adaron helped pinning her hair up and gestured to his wound. "You were tending to the his yes? At least it mostly stopped bleeding."
"Well, yes but-" But before she could finish her thought, she felt his hands moving along to help pull up her hair.
"Er.. thanks." She cleared her throat. "You have no idea how hard it is to maintenance hair of this magnitude." She paused a moment, chewing on her lip as she peered over at what he exposed of his wound.
"The hot springs should help soothe and clean it. So don't go picking at it or anything."
And she found herself feeling under the water to where her own wounds were, and recalled when Adaron pressed his lips against her skin..
and sucked out the poison.
She felt her skin prickle as she looked away. Strange.. to feel a chill in the hot springs.
"I wonder how deep these springs go?" she mused, back to him as she swam out deeper.
"Well, feel free to explore them as you please," he sighed, observing his wound and letting the waters soak into it. He sighed again and scrubbed his hands along his skin. Might be a good idea to get off some grime.
She gave a light laugh as she moved out into deeper waters.
"I can't touch the bottom here! It's also a lot warmer. Glad I put my hair up." She gave a flick to a loose piece. "If my hair wasn't frizzy enough, you should see it when I have to battle it in humidity."
He observed her head. "Have you ever considered cutting your hair to make it more manageable?"
She laughed, giving a twirl to a sprig.
"Yes." She turned to him. "Many times."
"You should cut it again. Besides, I can't imagine it feels pleasant when you're burning up."
"I might consider it when it gets unbearable. It's just annoying right now, but i'll live. Besides," she smirked. "I actually like my hair. It's not like you see this sort of wild fire curls occurring naturally everyday."
"Of they're a copper a dozen," Adaron waved his hand. "Cut it off. It's no real use to you on your head. In fact, you might be able to make something out of it. Rope comes to mind."
"Or a wig," she said, recalling the first time she was forced to have it cut.
He laughed. "Or a wig. I might need to have long red hair some day."
She turned to him, wrinkling her nose.
"You'd look ugly in curls."
"How can you be so sure?" And with that he waded up to her and moved behind her so that his head was over her shoulder and he draped stray strands of her hair over his head as if it were his. "How do I look?"
She tried not to show she was uncomfortable with his naked body so close to her's, so she simply folded her arms across her chest (to show her attitude, plus hide her breasts, even though it was a gesture that amplified her cleavage. She peered over at him and gave a snort.
"Like I said." She flicked some water lightly in his direction. "Ugly."
Shaking her hair off of him, she gently floated away from him,a nd sunk down in the deeper waters so that just her head was exposed.
"You have a red, gem for an eye. I think that's good enough. Most men only have their family jewels. Should't you count yourself fortunate?"
"I meant as a nifty disguise." He chuckled, noting her tension and tilting his head. She certainly had no qualms touching him. He moved back to where he was and went about cleaning his wound again. It would likely need stitches and he wasn't happy about that.
Once alone, she released a breath and just let herself float leisurely about in the water.
"I could stay here all day."
"You don't mind getting all pruny?" he asked after a minute.
"Pruny?" she laughed. "Why should I care about that? All I care about is some relaxing time where we're not having monsters attack us."
"Well, enjoy it while it lasts," he sighed contentedly. Adaron had some trouble scrubbing his back. "Hey, could you get my back for me?"
She blinked and stared over at him.
"What?"
His demonstrated themselves to be not as flexible as he thought. "I hate to ask this, but could you wash my back. I can't really reach. The shameful result of having too many muscles I suppose."
She swam over to him slowly and gave him a poke.
"That's the lamest excuse I've heard to date. And I've heard some bad pick up lines."
She tilted her head. "Why dont you just admit you're either too injured to do it, or not flexible enough."
"Oh gods! Please. I'm not flirting with you if that's what you're thinking," he said, laughing it off. "I can't reach. Are you gonna help me or not?"
"Hrm, I don't know. A back wash may cost you."
He gave her a half-suspicious, deadpan look. "Cost me what?"
She returned his deadpan look with one of her own.
"One million gold pieces."
"Do I look like I have a million gold pieces?" he countered.
"Well if you sold that gem," she said, pointing to his eye.
"If I sold the eye, I'd be less useful to you," he chuckled. "But if you want a million gold pieces, you'll have them. If you wash my back first."
"On second thought, I change my mind." she swam up to him. "How about you find me a nice, dusty relic and we'll call it even?"
"Anything you want, just get to it please," he griped a bit, turning his back to her.
"Oh? Anything?" she teased, moving closer. "You might regret that later." but with a shrug, she got to work.
Deep down he knew he would, but his tense back, relaxed as soon as she started. He refrained from sighing, not wanting to seem as if he were too into it.
He didn't need to say anything for her to know he was enjoying this. She found herself smiling and after working at his back to get the grime off, she began to gently massage his shoulders.
"Wow, your muscles are tight. Feels like rocks. Do you lift boulders all day or something?"
He sighed. He couldn't help it. Maybe she was a virgin, maybe she wasn't, but he knew a good massage when he had one. She wasn't as untalented as he thought. "Well, it has been a rough few days," he said with a grunt, smirking even. "Cave monsters, giant spiders, wolves, ghostly old ladies. I can't imagine you being in better shape, what with your leg and all. Ah! Right there! That's a knot."
"The entire thing is a knot!" she laughed. "Thankfully for you I have some skills in this department."
"You?" he said incredulously. "Have skills in art of kneading flesh?"
She rolled her eyes.
"You know..." she went on, kneading harder. "Most men view me as a minx." and she leaned forward, breasts pressed against his back as she breathed the words against his neck. "Its very helpful when trying to get what I want." and he'd feel her hand move through the water, heading towards his front, between his legs before drawing away so the only thing thatd touch him were the flutter of bubbles.
He chuckled. "A minx? A tease, perhaps. Not a minx." He'd be more surprised if they didn't see her as more of a nuisance. Adaron could give her props for using her looks to her advantage, however. "They must be foolish men to fall for your wiles. But then most men are weak."
She laughed.
"Precisely. But what we have is nice. You do all the work while I find monsters to chase us. No fake flirting necessary."
"Good. All the flirtation is physical, that's always preferable to words," he said, dunking his head beneath the waters, soaking his head. He threw his head back, blowing out water from his nose.
Aurora turned away as he splashed water on her.
"Oh? You claiming all of that rescuing was you just trying to flirt?"
"No. I mean all that damsel in distress was you trying to flirt," he said, splashing more water at her.
"Me?!" she laughed. "Then you must not have a lot of experience with women. i, for one, am not exactly willing to put my life on the line just to get the attention of some man."
He was just joking of course. But he wasn't about to let her off that easily.
"And yet you did. On multiple occasions."
She stopped her massage.
"You hAve an interesting theory. But you know what I think? You obviously enjoyed the rescuing, considering you've willingly done it three times and are too bashful to admit it since you're prideful."
[Wasn't she already done with the massage?]
Adaron smirked and turned to her. "I did it because I assumed you were more useful alive than dead," he said. "And because you are starting to grow on me. Unfortunately."
Ooh: lol maybe?
At that, she simply laughed and looked away with a sigh.
"My sentiments exactly," he said with a chuckle. He shrugged and just about finished in the spring, walking back to his discarded clothing and rummaging for the sewing kit. His shoulder couldn't stay open.
And while he did that, she lazily lounged in the water, watching.
He felt eyes on him, but made no comment on it. She was an odd duck. An odd duck posing as a graceful swan that honked like a goose. And he snorted loudly at the thought.
"Care to share what's so funny?"
Oh, had she been listening? Peering at her, he shook his head. "Oh, it was nothing," he said, quickly sobering his face. A smirkrremained however as his eyes lingered on her for a short time.
She shrugged and looked towards his sewing kit,
"You gonna need help with that?"
"I would certainly welcome it," he said.
"Well, turn around so I can step out of the spring."
What, afraid he would see more than his share?
He turned around, hands instead fumbling with the needle and thread again.
Seeing him turn around, she moved to exit the spring. She threw on what was left of her dress and moved over to his side.
"Here, let me have a go at it."
The thread went into the needle with jealous ease. But Adaron wasn't going to hold sewing against her and turned so that she could tend to his shoulder. "You ever sewn flesh before."
"I can't say that I have. But the angle where this wound is located.. you sure you can even reach it to sew it yourself?"
"Probably. But I honestly think it'd just be easier if you did it."
"Alright, but no complaining later if the job is less than decent." she held the needle at the ready. "You ready?"
"I'll brace myself. Go for it," he said and averted his gaze. Not that he was ever so squeamish.
"I'm sure a big strong guy with one magical eye like yourself can handle a little bit of flesh stitching," she teased, giving him a patronizing pat. Then she set to work, eyeing the wound and moving to press the flesh together. It wasn't as easy as it looked, for the damn skin didn't want to stay put, so as she began to sew, small, irritated sighs escaped her, but she kept at it, and had to keep tightening the string to make the flesh close tight.
"There." She moved to tie off the thread. "Now instead of some gaping wound, you have some sloppy stitches instead."
He watched her handiwork, smirking at her and admiring the sloppy stitches. "Better than I could do. Now that I think about it, those gaping holes in your pant leg ought to be fixed." He rolled his shoulder carefully. "Didn't rip open, thanks."
"Well that's a relief. I'd be afraid if it did rip open we'd have to dig that red gem of yours out and use it as filler."
"Why are you so interested in digging it out? Would you like it in your eye instead?"
She laughed. "Of course not! Especially if it means id lose one of my pretty green eyes."
"Then I'd suppose you'd like it as a necklace instead?" he wondered.
That made her genuinely laugh.
"Of course not. Could you see me wearing that thing? I know I want to draw attention," she went on with a fluff to her hair. "But jewels of that caliber speak... other messages that I'm not exactly trying to communicate. A man see's a rock like that on you...."
And it was at that she paused to consider it, as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
Adaron was curious what more she was going to add. He ran his hands through his hair, shaking out the water, pushing it out of his face. He redressed, slipping back into his trousers and he found himself smiling, admiring even, but soon averted his gaze and looked to the wolf carcass. Couldn't let that fester.
Her eyes followed his.
"So whats the plan? Wolf legs for dinner?"
"It's food. Best not to waste it," Adaron said. He glanced at her. "Did you want to help"
"Well, I can't say I'm that experienced but I never turn down a chance to learn."
"Then come sit by me," Adaron said, patting the rock he was sitting on. It was long and flat enough for the both of them and Adaron prepared the skin for cutting. "Are you more used to dinner already being prepared for you?"
She snorted.
"You really think I'm some rich girl?" taking a seat, she turned to Adaron. "I'm just not used to meat all the time, and when I have it, usually another has had it prepared."
"I never insinuated rich," he said, curious, as he removed the skin from the wolf after disemboweling it. It wasn't a pretty task, but it was one he'd done on a number of occasions. "Just, you don't seem the type to do something if you can get someone else to do it for you," he said, smirking. "You've got to get your hands dirty. Here. Just lift the skin and cut as you go, slice gently. You don't want the blade to slip and get your own hand."
"So by getting my hands dirty, you mean get wolf blood all over them. Sounds like an interesting first date," she teased. "So you mean like this?" She tried what he suggested and let out a soft squeal.
"Oh my gods, this feels so weird!" she laughed. "I can't believe I'm sawing off some poor animals skin!"
"A poor animal that tried to eat you, keep that in mind. Keep going, you are doing well," he said.
"Oh thanks for the reminder," she told him with a sarcastic smirk and roll of her eyes. "But you know what? This is pretty gross!" she laughed and looked down at her blood soaked hands.
"Good," he murmured and helped her peel the rest if the skin from the wolf carcass. "I'm gonna warn you now. Wolf meat isn't very delicious. But its better than starving to death." He nodded to her and went about cutting off the chunks of meat the skin revealed. "Too bad we don't at least have some pepper," he mused. "Say, could you make a fire?"
"I suppose, but let me clean my hands off, first."
Adaron watched her for a moment as she went. And he turned the wolf over, piling the meat as he went.
Making a fire wasn't so difficult. She first piled some smaller twigs to fuel the base before using larger pieces to construct a teepee of sorts. Once that was done, she gathered up some dry leaves and pine needles and turned to Adaron.
"Red Eye," she said, sweeping hair from her face and smearing a little dirt on her cheek and nose. "care to help start this fire with your magic?"
"You can't start a lil ol' blaze?" He tsked and moved to the tower of sticks she made. With a spark of breath he huffed into the kindling and the sticks started to smolder. "Now just blow into the flames. Nurture them."
"Oh but can't you do that?" she asked with a bat of her eyes. "You seem so much better at this nurturing business."
"Not unless you want to finish cutting the meat," he sighed, going back to work.
"Guess you're not a multi tasker," she went on with a shrug and poked at the fire.
"And just what's that supposed to mean?" he said, tilting his head.
Smirking, she continued to poke the fire and pretended not to hear him, back to him.
And with that he flung a piece of meat toward her. "You can cook it, can't you?" he asked. "Clean it in the water first. Spring should be hot enough to cleanse it."
And she managed to catch it, small splatters of blood getting on her cheek. She grit her teeth.
"Well.. Where's the rest of the meat? Might as well clean all the steaks at once."
"By the gods, Aurora!" He huffed and stood, going about transporting the wolf meat to her until he'd gotten most of it.
She couldn't help it. Her smile was hard to contain when she saw Adaron get angry. There was a certain type of satisfaction that came along with it and she purposely remained quiet. Once she had all of the meat, she patted his hands.
"That's a good Red Eye. Now don't you worry, I'll clean these steaks good." BUt by the time she was bringing the haul of meat over to the water and began her washing, she hadn't noticed quite yet the fire was beginning to die off.
Adaron sighed loudly again and turned to the dying blaze. He laid down on his belly and blew gently into it and the fire grew. When it started to take, he sat down pulled the skin before hin, skinning the fat from it.
She was actually surprised to see what he was doing when she returned, and a bit embarassed. She placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Here, don't waste all that hot breath. I finished cleaning the steaks. I can take over from here."
"Wait. I have an idea." Adaron stood, giving her seat back and moved around looking for a set of sticks. When he found enough, he began construction on a lattice, one to be erected just a few inches over the fire to make it easier to cook the meat. Once finished, he stuck it into the dirt and took a piece of meat, and it hissed as fire stung the bottom of it. "How's that?"
Her eyes danced.
"Perfect. It's just perfect, Red Eye."
Adaron gave a wry smile, just a flicker of it. "Good," he said, going back to work at fixing the skin. It was a fine pelt. And he was sure he'd find something to do with the rest of the bones. No point in letting them rot out here in the sun.
She poke at the meat with a stick from time to time, checking it on occasion to see how the meat was doing. The smell of dripping fat sizzling in the fire made her stomach growl.
"Whether these are tasteless or not I think my stomach will welcome it."
She gave another poke to the meat.
"They seem to be cooking pretty fast." She flashed him a grin. "Your little contraption works wonders. My father would be impressed."
But only because of its simple mechanics!
"Did he tinker a lot?" Adaron asked, smoothing out the underside of the fur and taking it to the water to clean it.
"Tinker?" she laughed. "He's the one who came up with and designed most of my supplies!"
But it was only after she so enthusiastically stated that that she realized- was that giving away too much. She cleared her throat and looked away and kept her smile in check.
"He's a very intelligent man," she went on, poking at the meat again. "He could put many of the Serenian scholars to shame." And in her eyes, he already had.
"He's still alive then?" Adaron murmured, idly conversating, and only looking up at her when he noted the change in her voice.
"Well.. yeah," she went on, as if that claim were obvious. "Did you think I was just some woman who was all alone in the world with nothing better to do than seduce men at grand parties to steal antiquities from? Please. I make acquaintances fine enough and yes, if you must know, my father is."
But she didn't quite see how it was any of his concern. Why was he being so nosey?
Okay she was trying to deflect him. He could take the hint.
He said nothing else in response to that and went about finishing up that side of the pelt. He went on with the rest of the tanning process, thought kept it off to the side, so the general odor of turning the pelt into a proper piece wouldn't be so obvious. There were still the bones to tend to. At least there were some supplies in the bags to deal with that.
Adaron sighed and kept himself busy, fixing the holes in his clothes, and thankful the stitching on his shoulder stayed together. He took a long thigh bone from the wolf remnant and carefully began to sharpen it into a flattened edge. Could be useful.
"You sure are keeping yourself busy. I think these wolf steaks are done if you want to eat them before they get all dried out."
"You eat. Go on. I'm not all that hungry actually," he said, not sparing a look at her direction.
"Oh? Is the wolf meat that bad? Come on, I'm not eating it if you're not."
Adaron laughed, peering up at her like a stern parent staring at a stubborn child. "Oh? Just a minute ago you were griping about how hungry you were."
"Yeah... but I'm still wary about where the meat came from. That thing did try to eat us, first."
Adaron stood up from his work and jabbed the meat with the point part of the almost bone-knife and took it too his teeth. It was cooked, and smelled appetizing, and he bit hard into it. It was juicy and dripped down his chin. He sucked up the juices and put it down. "Seems good enough for me."
She stared at him skeptically.
"Let me see that knife."
"It's not finished. It's just a point for now," he said and offered it to her, handing it off handle first.
"I know. I'm not using it because it's some finished masterpiece." and she proceeded to use it to retrieve and cut her own steak. And the meat wasn't bad. She handed back the bone.
He stared at her. "Really? You couldn't just use your teeth? I thought you were a jungle woman." And at that he laughed.
"Sorry," she said with a smirk. "But one of us should at least remain civilized."
He stared at her for a time. "And that's exactly what I was trying to do, jungle woman."
And at such a comment she snorted a laugh.
He took the bone knife back, washing it out in the hot spring. It wasn't quite ready for use yet. Still needed to be sharpened down to the marrow.
"You know, we've been awfully busy on this little adventure of ours. Don't you think you ought to, oh I dunno, rest?"
What a curious little notion. Adaron stopped sharpening the bone dagger and examined the bones, then back to Aurora. "Wasn't that what we did in the hot springs?" he said. "Rest as in what exactly?"
"Yes, but look at you." she gestured to the bones. "You've been working ever since."
He observed his hands. And stopped. "Okay. Rest. What like just sitting and doing nothing?"
She smirked.
"Something like that. You know doing nothing actually does Something." she pat him on the shoulder. "It helps relieve tension and stress..." and she moved to lightly squeeze his shoulder in a half hearted massage, when she paused and made a face.
"Kia's name, you're tense!" And she dug her hands in for a firmer massage. "Your shoulders feel like rocks!" And she smirked, adding jestfully, "guess it's not just your head that's hard."
Adaron turned his head in a double-take when she grabbed his arm. He didn't stop her however, but part of him was wary. She'd never been this "friendly" before, after all. He just observed her. Eyes narrowing in suspicion, he gave a wry expression. "Are you some relaxation expert?"
"Hardly," she laughed. "I'm anything but."
Adaron laughed at that. "Well, from your grip, one would hardly think otherwise. You have very strong hands."
"All the better to dig for treasure with, dont you think?"
"I couldn't agree more," he chuckled and tensed a little when she hit a stiff spot. "Ow. Cramp."
She paused, blinked, and poked the tough muscle.
"Geeze, do you haul rocks for a living?"
"Ha...well, it so happens, I once did...for a while. Long story," he said, chuckling and rolling his shoulders. "It, ah, wasn't fun."
She tried to contain her laugh.
"That explains a lot!"
"Like what?" he griped, smirking as he turned to look at her. "What are you trying to say exactly?"
"Oh? You need me to translate?" she smirked. "And here i felt I wasn't being cryptic!"
"Oh, patronizing me? How very clever," he chuckled. "Although I prefer you clarify, I can see it is evident you do not possess the words to do so."
She rolled her eyes and leaned in a bit more to apply more pressure as she massaged his stiff shoulders.
"Just enjoy the massage, okay?"
That was the idea, wasn't it? Only the gods knew why the pair of them could make such simple things complicated!
He sighed in resignation. "Fiiine," he murmured, leaning forward a bit as she pressed her hands deeper into his shoulders. "Whatever this is for, thank you."
"Well," she went on, still smiling. " I do owe you something for saving my life a few times."
"So you feel you must repay me?" Adaron muttered, letting his body move to the rhythm of her massage.
"Maybe..." she playfully said into his ear. "Unless you're going to take advantage of it." her fingers dug in more. "I'm not exactly a fan of monsters."
He laughed again, amidst a contented sigh. "Take advantage of you? What like steal a kiss?" He rolled his neck a little, feeling relief at every squeeze of her fingers. "I can't say I like monsters much either. Oh? Would you look at that. Seems like we have something in common."
"A kiss?" She made a face. "Didnt you already try that once?" And at his monster comment, she said, "I'm not sure I can believe that. Seems as if you are in cahoots."
"Yes, I tried it. And look what it got me. A ripped shoulder, and one odd adventure after another," he laughed. "But no, I don't fancy fighting monsters. Do you think we secretly planned battling each other all along, just so I could rescue you and sweep you off your hair?"
She snorted.
"That is what I'm replying."
"That is sorely not the case," he chuckled. "I don't go around looking for damsels in distress."
"That's not exactly what I meant, but if you did, I suppose you're not half bad at the rescuing part."
He hrrmmmed a little bit and shrugged. He turned around. "Your turn," he said, wiggling his fingers. He massaged her shoulders from the front. "Then what did you mean?"
She tensed when he turned around to face her.
"I just meant the monsters... Maybe you're a monster magnet," she went on, lamely.
"Maybe," he chuckled. Then rested his hands and pulled away, sitting quietly, looking off to the water.
And she went quiet, too.
He took the bone back in hand and then the other with the knife. He saw her from the corner of his eye. "Hey come here," he said, gesturing his head. "Have you ever done this before?"
She eyed him.
"Can't say that I have."
"Come I'll show you," he said, smiling.
Sighing, she moved closer to him and peered down at his tools.
Though feigning some frustration, she was curious.
He scraped some bone from the forming blade. "It's simple. And maybe you'll have no use for it in the future, but it doesn't hurt to learn something new, eh?" He scooted over for her and showed her the bone again. "Just take off a little bit at a time. We'll burn the edge of it to temper it, then shave off a bit more. Here you try. Just hold each item firmly in hand."
She observed him before taking the items into her hands. It didn't seem too difficult, but her first strike was clumsy. About three strokes in, she began to get a better feel for it and a rhythm.
"So like this?" she asked, holding it up for him to inspect.
"Yes, perfect," Adaron smiled and nodded. He breathed into his hands forming a ball of fire in his palms. The runes on the backs of his hands glowed. "Now carefully run the forming blade into the fire and let it darken."
She tensed at his magic but had to laugh.
"Oh? And using my fire isn't good enough for the task?"
Adaron did a double take, clearly an unexpected reaction. "What? I considered it. But frankly, I figured you'd simply argue that magic fire would be more convenient. Besides, I wouldn't want to ruin your lovely fire temple, by removing some kindling."
"Oh? And why would you have to remove any of it?"
"Nevermind that, just put the bone in the fire," he replied. This was getting to be a very long process.
She couldn't let anything just be easy. Of course, she also didn't know why she was doing it now. The pair had been finally getting long, both being congenial to the other. Perhaps that was all the reason enough she needed to be a bit difficult. Either way, she sighed but nodded, and moved to jab the bone into the magical flame.
And just like that, the fire disappeared and Adaron yelped when the point of the bone knife went into his palm. He clasped one hand around his palm after pulling the blade out.
Aurora jumped back.
"What- what just happened!?"
"You jabbed the blade in the fire. And subsequently my hand," Adaron mumbled out, quivering.
"What?! Well, why was it attached?!"
He shook his head. "It's all right, Sunshine," he said and opened his jabbed palm. He took a bit if dry dirt in his other hand and sprinkled it into the wound. "You were just itching to stab my palm, I'm sure." And he laughed at the thought.
"Oh, please, if I wanted to stab you I'd make it obvious of my intentions. But here, let me take a look at it."
Adaron opened his palm to her. "Perhaps it wasn't the intention. But it is forgiven nevertheless."
She sighed and shook her head.
"Never the less, you trusted me with a sharp object," she replied with a grin.
"My mistake then," he chuckled, palm itching a little. "Maybe the sand wasn't a good idea."
She smiled through a sigh.
"You're suppose to keep wounds clean."
"Sand stills the bleeding," he said, watching her work. "Lessons learned in the desert. Clean it when able. Fire to cauterize the wound. Stitches when necessary."
"Yes, I know I know. I do have some survival skills, you know. Besides, you should clean the wound first and apply pressure to it," she went on, doing just that. "And this wound isn't as big as you think. It should heal and hault in a timely manner."
"I surrender to the care of you, good nurse," he said with a nod, putting pressure when needed.
"Yes, well... Its for your own good."
He watched her work in silence, contemplating her handiwork and then examined the bone knife. He smirked. "Well, you finish that then. I'm going to lie down for a bit."
"Oh? You're gonna trust me with your tools when I'm all alone?" she teased, even going as far to bat her eyes.
"At the risk of knowing better....yes," he said, plopping down and reclining back. "That's enough relaxing for the evening."
"Enough relaxing?" she smirked. "Are you bored already?"
He stretched his muscles, taut against his skin. "I'm still relaxing. Just reclining. You should try it."
She smirked.
"And here I thought you were trying to get me to work."
"When you're done working," he said, snickering. "I expect a very nice knife to be presented to me when I get up. A bone knife made by your hands specifically."
She set the bone knife down beside him and smirked as she plopped onto the ground beside him.
"Then you have a lot of dreaming to do, because I'm not about to let you be the only one of us to relax!"
She rested her hands behind her head and nestled into the ground with a sigh.
"I've had a long day, too, you know."
And she smiled thoughtfully as she looked up at the sky, then closed her eyes.
"Oh, you've had a long day? How so, dearie? You poor thing. You look absolutely horrid. Look at what the weather has done to your poofy hair," he said with a smirk, looking over to the pile of wolf meat. Well, he supposed he could eat before he relaxed completely.
So he got up and sat by the fire now, heartily munching on the tasteless meat.
And as Aurora lay there, her stomach growled a bit.
She smirked.
"YOu should share."
"Share?" he said, glancing over his shoulder at her. He shook his head and continued to eat. "Hmm, let me think. No."
She snorted.
"What a rude and selfish gentleman you are. No wonder you don't have a woman. I bet you scared them all away."
"Hmph. None of them are woman enough to try and take it from me anyway," he said, continuing to munch.
She laughed.
"Ah, ha. I believe we're no longer talking about the same thing."
"I believe the answer is meat on either case is it?" He smirked up from his meal. "If you want some, come and eat. I won't stop you."
"Hmm.. And if I've decided I don't want any now?" she asked, thoughtfully.
"Then more for me."
"And your fat ass," She cut back, playfully.
"Oh, so you were looking? I'm flattered," he said, winking at her.
Rolling her eyes, she replied, "I suppose someone ought to do it before it gets as big as your ego."
"Oh, my ego's big huh? Didn't know you were looking at that too," he chuckled.
"It's so big I don't think anyone would need to look."
"I'm flattered nevertheless," he chuckled, shifting closer to her and kissing her on the cheek. "Thank you."
And though it was just on the cheek, the kiss caught her off guard as she looked at him with a blush. She shook her head.
"What a strange reason to thank anyone."
"Is it? I suppose it is. I don't have many people to thank." Adaron ripped a piece of wolf meat between his fingers and offered her some.
She raised a brow.
"And what's this?"
He smiled. "Consider it a peace offering."
"Peace?" she laughed, but it sounded awkward to her. "I'm pretty sure we've already got that."
"Are you sure you don't want it?" Adaron asked, eyebrows raised. "Your belly says otherwise."
And her reply was a sighing raspberry.
Adaron shrugged and took the piece for himself, munching on it idly and slurping up left over juices.
She lazily watched him, a hand curled under her chin.
"You think we should move out? I mean we've been at this camp site for some time."
And she wasn't known to linger anywhere, except her home.
"We should really rest before we move on. If you'd like, you can sleep first, and I'll keep watch. Just in case any bogies want to come out and sniff your farts," he said, smirking at her. But in all seriousness in the condition they were in, more specifically he, travel would be arduous and frustrating.
And he already had his hands full with her.
"Sleep?" she laughed. "What? Here?"
"Yes," he said, nodding. "Stuffs already laid out. And I'm not moving."
She couldn't believe this.
"Why? We really should keep moving." She cocked her head curiously to one side. "And if we keep moving, we could at least search for an inn."
"In the middle of the wilderness?" he said.
Aurora went quiet, even blushed a little as she laughed.
"Well.. you never know. Gotta be optimistic, yes?"
"Look, just rest. I'll keep watch. Then we can get moving and look for a real inn of some sort," he said, finishing the rest of the wolf meat in his hands.
"Yes, mother," Aurora replied sarcastically. But she just couldn't sleep as she flip flopped like a fish, sighing as she was unable to get comfortable. Sitting up, she looked at him. "Maybe you should rest and I'll keep watch." She gave a flip to her hair. "I'm just not that tired, and you're the one that suggested needing the rest."
She as just going to be stubborn about this wasn't she?
Adaron rubbed his hands together, looking around. They seemed concealed enough and the fire was going out. He moved over toward where she laid and laid beside her. "Just lay down. Close your eyes and breath slowly. I'll even tell you a story if you'd like."
She looked at him suspiciously, even though she was having a hard time concealing a smile.
"Why would I do that?"
"Because then I might have to spoon you," Adaron said, sighing contentedly and stretching out.
"Spoon me or a story? I don't know... Both options don't seem like good choices, but I guess a story," she said with a relinquishing smirk.
"Good choice. I'd suffocate beneath the blanket of your hair," Adaron chuckled. "Okay, storytime. Let's see...Once upon a time there was a girl that lived in the middle of the wilderness. She was all alone, fished for food, made her own clothes, bothered nobody. She was very young, maybe fourteen or fifteen. She liked her quiet life. She bothered no one and liked that no one bothered her.
"One day, knights came to her cottage..."
And that's when she stopped him.
"This story is pretty boring."
"Good, then it'll put you to sleep," he said. He went on with the story. "Knights came to the cottage and banged on her door. They declared they were hunting a basilisk in the area and demanded if she'd seen one around. She said no and went about her business. The next day the knights returned, stupefied that such a naive woman could continue living in a forest with the threat of a basilisk so close. They asked her this very thing. 'I don't bother anything. And nothing bothers me,' she said. The knights grew irritated, determined not to let this young woman foolishly throw her life away. They arrived the third day and demanded to be let inside her cottage. She did, welcoming them with a full table of food and drink. They were stunned and gladly accepted their hostess' generosity. She asked why they had come this time. 'Why to rescue you of course!" said the lead knight. 'Oh, but I don't need saving. I bother no one and no one bothers me,' she replied. 'Why do you not understand this?' 'Because we are knights. It is our duty to rescue maidens and damsels.' Suddenly she cackled. 'Then who is going to save you?'
"The knights laughed at her jest. 'We are mighty. And none but knights of greater valor could destroy us,' they said. She just smiled and replied, 'Then you are set in your minds then?' They all agreed heartily. Then she opened a hatch beside her. 'Then I hope you've had your fill,' she said. 'Because my pet is awfully hungry.' And out came a great basilisk and devoured the knights. She pet the serpent that protected her home. 'I bother no one, and no one bothers me.' The end."
For a good long while she stared at him.
"So... What you're saying is I need a pet monster. Interesting."
"Oh, you're still awake?" he asked, leaning in close and kissing her neck. Just once. And he laid back. "Take from the story what you will."
She froze, then shivered at the kiss. Her neck had always been a weak spot. Not that she'd tell him she enjoyed the sniped attention.
"Of course I'm awake. I'm not as exhausted as you'd like me to be," she countered smoothly.
"Well, you should be, we were nearly killed several times over," Adaron sighed and looked over at her. "You wanna wrestle?"
She gave him a funny look. "What? Why would I... Wrestle?"
"It'll make you tired," he said, peeking over to her, and resting on his side. But he wouldn't give her much time to react before he rolled over her and planted lips against her neck, blowing raspberries and then letting her go.
Her yelp was shrill as she nearly leaped from her skin and quickly turned on him, smacking him while wiping off the spit on her neck.
"Ugh! Adaron! What the he'll are you doing?!"
"This!" Adaron rolled onto her again and blew raspberries against the other side of her neck.
Aurora jerked back with a squeal, arms shoving Adaron aside in attempts to escape.
But she wouldn't when his hands came around her waist and danced along her ribs furiously.
And that's when her head bucked hard into his.
And would have made her see stars where her forehead collided with his chin. He reared back, rubbing his chin and looking at her. "You okay?"
She winced, head throbbing but the second she spotted an opening, she pounced on him, pinning him to the ground.
Adaron didn't have much of a chance to react when she pinned him. He still held his chin and stared up at her. And despite his throbbing chin, he leaned and kissed her.
She would've dodged it had she known, but the second his lips met to hers, she moaned desperately and kissed back fierce enough to steal his breath.
He leaned into that kiss, returning that ferocity and wriggling his arms put until he could put the around her. His lips worked sensually against hers, slipping in some tongue here and there.
Lost in the moment, she kept her body pressed tight to his, lips locking and tongue tasting his mouth. She had no idea how far She was going with this until her hand cupped his face and her finger brushed over his gem eye. That's when she stopped, lips itching, breath hitching.
But any distraction was short lived when Adaron grabbed her wrists and he sat up, placing her hands on his body, where the robes he was wearing were ripped, and he kissed her just as sensuously again, letting her hands explore the crevices of his form.
She was only human, and denied herself so long the indulgence of flesh. So to be able to feel the soft, warm flesh and strong muscles under his clothes had her whimpering all the more. And though embarassed by the noises she made, she ignored the blush heating her body and just kissed him.
Unlike before, it seemed the pair had the same tastes for kisses, as her lips became soft, sweet and surrendering by each palpable kiss. It was divine and something she' never admit she wanted, needed. But for the moment she was powerless as fingers trailed up and down his body, smoothing over flesh with a mind of their own. And soon lips moved to the sweetness of his neck where she kissed through breaths and moved upwards to nibble at his ear.
He groaned at her attentions. His own hands found their way around her shapely body and he turned his head opposite hers to nurse at her throat, suckling on that flesh. Her pulse sped up, surging with haste as he'd sensed before, breifly in the caverns.
Perhaps it was the duress of their journey that led to a moment like this and Adaron panted hotly against her skin, leaning down toward her heavy breasts and kissed the tender flesh therein.
Why did she want this? Why couldn't she think or breath? It was like she was moving through water, everything was slow and surreal. Though her pulseseemed to hammer, like his as her lips made their way back down his throat as she growled his name.
"Oh you said ny name again, instead of Red Eye," he chuckled against her neck, turning away for a moment to focus on the ties of her top, trying to shimmy it off her.
She shivered and grit her teeth.
"Don't let it go to your head,"she moaned, though she could feel it affecting his other head.
Adaron whimpered slightly and the soft fabric of his robes were shed. He shifted beneath her, settling her weight on his lap so his excitement wasn't so very obvious. She'd feel it still, however. But he was too flushed to do more than free her of the confines of her top.
Was it the dry spell? It wasn't like Adaron went out to get hot and bothered on a regular basis. He had his priorities first and foremost. But yes, it seemed even in the strain of survival the need for another was palpable. Just as her lips was palpable with the small bites he'd placed on them.
Adaron threw her top aside, and his hand gently cupped her left breast, thumb running over the tip of it. He could be gentle.
It was a nice surprise, and though she knew and used her body as a tool, there was something different when both parties were mutual as she let out soft breaths of appreciation, hands smoothing down the warm skin of his back.
His hands were callused, rough to the touch, and feeling the hardness of her nipples beneath his palms as his hands cupped her breasts. They were lovely breasts indeed, though heavy, and well-rounded.
Adaron turned them over, leaning Aurora onto her back, as he leaned over her and let his hands rove down her hips, shoving her pants down.
Calloused or not, his hands were welcome as she arched into his touch, releasing soft breaths of appreciation as she herself continued to explore all crevices of his muscles and skin.
Of all moments between them, surely this one would have been the last. Adaron, however, was eager to explore her body, to learn those curves and he found them in her hips and legs as be shifted those trousers off, the ones he had fashioned for her. His hands drifted to her sex, fingers finding her clit and gently caressing it.
He'd find his fingers damp, and her sex, hot. Any reservations she had towards him seemed moot as her hormones raged, and her breath hitch at the contact and naturally she arched into the attentions.
Adaron moaned loudly against her chest, taking a breast into his mouth and suckling hard, generously lapping at her hot flesh, and letting his fingers lip inside her. His thumb continued to roll over her clit, exploring her wetness eagerly.
She hadn't wanted to moan, but did. She hadn't wanted to cling to him so tight nor arch up to take in more of his finger. But she did, and all the while a subtle fear buzzed in the back of her mind, thinking back to a past moment like this, but kisses to his warm shoulder and fingernails digging into his neck said other wise. And it seemed whatever apprehensions she had only fueled her desires harder. And it took every once of her being not to beg for more.
To feel her hold on him drove him onward with desire. He slipped fingers in more until he was four in, half-palm deep and massaging the walls within. He kept his kisses eager, light, but sensuous against her skin, turning to her face against his shoulder and coaxing her lips to move with his. Adaron, moaned softly, tongue exploring the confines of her mouth, and encouraging her to explore as she pleased.
He softly breathed her name, hand moving across her body to his own, and moving toward his trousers. He shifted them off of his hips, sliding down until he was as bare as she was.
The game grew more dangerous, and a chill tingled through her body at the sound of his pants dropping to the ground. She knew she should have told him to stop, she knew she should be careful, but her mind and body had other ideas as hands moved to stroke down his back, then rear, then smoothing down his inner thighs before she found his rock hard member. She shivered.
"Say my name again, " she moaned. And as she gripped his sex, lips vibrated against his as she moaned and shoved her tongue inside his mouth to wrestle with his.
Her touch made him moan, shiver. Her voice sent the runes of his skin aglow. They flickered with light and energy and he massaged his lips against hers, hungrily. "Aurora," he murmured her name, turning one of his hands to feel along her hands that gripped his member. He'd never been a small man by any accounts, in girth or length. His other hand moved along her hips, gripping enough to push her a little closer, enough to brush his tip against her sex.
And the simple, soft brush was all it took to have her eyes flutter closed and her moans intensify. Her grip tightened, hand sliding up and down the length of him as her legs spread open wide before him. It had been too long- and who would know or care if she let herself foolishly fall in with a man? And the very fact he was so much a man, with too many unique features to recall, it only aided in stoking the fire that yearned for a deeper connection she was too afraid to seek out or claim.
He continued to brush against her sex, easing the tip against those slick wet folds. Her grip made him whimper, trembling as he positioned them just so, leaning over her on the ground and hiking her hips against his. "Aurora Jane," he muttered breathlessly, muttering sweet nothings when he finally felt his tip make entry.
She couldn't deny her eagerness, or the boldness of her desires to hear a man actually moan her full name, her real name. He was, after all, the first man ever to do so- The first man she'd run into her actually got to see, and now to feel the real Aurora Jane. And he'd soon realize it wouldn't just be his tip inside her, as hands moved to the small of his back and her body arched up to take in what she could of him-
and despite the pain, her tighteness around his swollen member as it filled her-
it was beyond heavenly, and the burning, wonderful feeling set her sex spasming with heat made her hips buck first as the two began to fuck- because surely, this was out of need and necessity, and not love- even though perhaps there was some fondness between them both.
Maybe she'd forgive herself later for this, or hate herself in the after math, but for now-
For now, she just enjoyed herself, allowing one moment of sin, of bliss- in a world that was finally real and not riddled with webs of lies and make believe.
He couldn't help himself, the shudders that coursed through his body upon entry made him tense in control, until he was firmly within her lap. He eased in, careful not to bring discomfort before his hips started to move ahainst hers. Slow at firat, tasting her walls and the grip on his sex. He undulated his hips, keeping her close to feel as much of her as he could. "Gods," he breathed, pumping slow and picking up speed.
The hard slap of his hips against her only added in the still painful pleasure each thrust brought. But it didn't take long for her body to adjust, to warm up to his presence, as finger nails dragged along his bare back, while lips moved to bit and breath and suck hungrily at his ear and neck.
A man's body was never difficult to please and every hungered thrust grew more still. Adaron listened to her pants however, to her breaths and the sighs she elicited. He matched her pace, holding her to him so that she might feel all of him. Adaron moaned, moving faster and harder now, feeling tension grow.
Fairly prudent with men (despite when feigning the seductress to get information), she did have a natural hunger for such things, and normally only fantasized of them on her own. A few mistakes in the past lead to a few fun romps, so perhaps this one could just add to the mix.
But oh to be claimed, to be taken so eagerly by Adaron- a man so powerful and strong- and not to mention, terrifying!- it was more than she could bear. She writched beneath his attentions before panting, "Let.. let me on top."
For she was fairly certain if she tried to force him, it could prove difficult. He was much larger than she- even though she was no scrawny woman by any means. She smiled at the thought of trying it, and nibbled at his ear again, and breathed huskily, "Let me ride you." It was purred.
Adaron trembled at those words. And he obeyed, turning over his back. He wanted her to ride him into oblivion and all ready he could feel his eyes rolling into the back of his head. Gaze remained half-lidded, peering up at her as he settled her onto his hips. Adaron panted, moving his hips in a slow rhythm, feeling her still.
He could sense hot blood roaring in her ears, and his own scorched within his veins. His fingertips tingled with magic, surging through and dancing in fiery sparks along her skin.
If the tinges of magic hurt, she said nothing, or was none the wiser as her own eyes rolled back before she closed them tight. Her sex gripped him, all of him at such an angle and was slow to move her hips at first, simply enjoying the very real feeling of being on top of- and in charge of- pleasing them both.
Where the runes painted his skin, glowing alight on his hands, he gripped her hips and the patterns on his flesh temporarily decorated where he touched, leaving a resonant sting of pleasure, coursing through the both.
He let her work to her need, to her pleasure, groaning beneath her as she took control. He wouldn't deny her. He couldn't, not when after all they'd been through, they both deserved a moment like this.
Deserving- yes, but there was something more about this moment than just a tumble in the hay. The way he touched her- the way his foreign magics moved her, it was surreal. She felt her pleasure rising in a pool between her legs, her breath growing shallow, voice deeper with moans the closer she got to her peak, but each time she was running away with her hips rolling, she'd stop, let her sex squeeze and taste his, before she'd move again, letting his cock hit her in just the right places at just the right moment while doing this in a cycle. It seemed she was tormenting herself, not allowing the final build to her climax-
But in a sense, this was pleasure, and if Adaron were like every other man...
She didn't want this to end when they were both singing to the stars. Oh no, if she was going to have sex with a man, she was going to wear him and herself out thoroughly!
She felt as if she were seeing her brains as she continued to roll her hips to her rhythm before she moved just so that her legs kicked around up and over his and she was straddling him backwards. With his dick still deep within her, she paused a moment to enjoy the new angle, before moving her hips again and reaching down to massage his balls. Though he no longer had a view of her ample bosoms as they bounced heavily each time she moved, he'd have a perfect view of her back side, which glistened lightly with sweat and a blush. She had a very nice form, after all- curvy hips, tiny waste, and a nice amount of meat on her body that spoke volumes of just who she was.
Just when he thought she was about to let herself go, he had braced himself. When it didn't happen, he breathed out a sharp pant of frustration, one that eased out in a heated whimper. He was glistening with sweat and his palms gripped over her own damp flesh. "Aurora," he whimpered again, feeling her sex feed off his cock, every pressure building up over the last. A low steady breath kept him somewhat under control, just enough to keep from falling over the ledge.
He watched her turn on him, riding him at a new angle and made his own eyes roll deep into the back of his head. Adaron moaned, throat going hoarse and the magical pulses growing stronger. Her hand gripping, cupping, massaging his sack made him tense and tremble, no doubt round and supple in her grip, and where his hands were placed against her backside, tingling ounces of fiery magic danced up along her spine.
He pushed himself up onto his elbows, hips working to encourage her. "Don't stop," he breathed. The ball massage, fingers taking their time, applying gentle pressure to the roundness of them, thumb running over one side against a firm warm palm, alone could have made him cum right there, but instead he held back, closing his eyes and breathing out slowly.
She smiled at his words, hips still rolling.
"I won't."
Adaron moved slowly with her, feeling his cock slide in and out of her in timed precision. He sat up, leaning front against her back as she rode him out. His hand reached forward to her sex, finding her clit and slowly working it. She was driving him crazy all ready, and he saw no reason not to return the favor.
Gasping, she hadn't realized his attempts until it was too late, and soon she was leaning back into him, feeling her fires grow hotter as her sex pulsed wildly.
"Gods... Adaron..."
His finger worked slowly, and even managed to slip in one or two beside his cock as they fucked harder. He thrust upward into her, leaning over her shoulder and letting leverage work itself out.
"G-Gods!" her breath hitched, her body leaning into his. It was like he knew what her body was begging for- and she was so heated she nearly came. But she was so close, and though she tried to hold back, she was about to explode.
Lips pulled and sucked onto the lower lobe of her ear, Adaron biting lightly, panting heavily where he could. He moved in long, hungered strokes beneath her, though she still remained atop him. He could feel her trembling, and though he wanted her to have her pleasure, if she was keen to draw it out, he would agree. He retracted his hand, although crackles of magical traces traversed across her belly. He craned his neck, kissing along her throat as he continued to work with her. No words could come, and he kissed her instead, biting down on her lower lip.
Whimpering, she rolled over, coaxing him to crawl over top of her.
Adaron followed rolling over onto his knees, adjusting repositioning behind her and coaxing her legs apart. He guided his cock within her wetness once again, holding her his flush to his. He stoked that fire still, gripping her hard as he pumped slowly, then deeper, letting her feel all of him.
She moaned and writhed and rocked with him, sexing squeezing his tight as she felt him work her body.
"Gods .... Red Eye.." she moaned.
"My...name...is...Adaron," he gasped, breathing hard, groaning hoarsely as he rocked harder against her. "Gods-Aurora! I'm close."
She smirked, knowing he'd say that.
"Oh? And here I thought you liked your pet name," she went on huskily while nibbling his neck.
They twisted around somehow in their romping. And Adaron held her flush against him, thrusting faster until she could feel the slap of his balls. "And...what does...that....make you? Big Red?" He laughed and bit her ear.
"What happened to Fiona?" she asked through pants.
"I like Big Red. Your hair after all...is pretty much everywhere," he laughed, rocking harder against her.
"You're having sex with me yet you laugh?" she couldn't believe it, and might have chastised him more weren't she so close to her peak. She closed her eyes. "Don't think I will forget this the next time you may try to undress me..."
"There'll be a next time? Oh, darling, I can't wait," he panted, laughing but that was soon forgotten when he captured her lips with his in a sensuous kiss.
She let out a soft yelp of protest but that soon turned into a muffled moan. She couldn't think straight and panted against his lips.
"I.... This... By the gods!" she was so close but it seemed her own body was torturing her as she found it difficult to reach that hungering peak.
Adaron only took her whimper as encouragement and wouldn't stop until she reached that fateful peak. He worked his hips harder, in rhythm to hers, ensuring she could feel every swollen part of him. He wanted to feel her tremble, to sing his name, tosee the white of stars.
It was too much. Her hand shot out, "A..Adaron... S..stop moving your hips." she closed her eyes tighter. "I'm. I'm close. Let me ride it out," she begged.
Adaron did pause, just long enough then although he trembled with need.
Once he stopped she gripped him tightly and pulled her so close to him it felt like she might crush him, and soon she was rocking wildly and feeling that familiar pooling burn between her legs. It had her tossing her head back and sobbing with ecstasy.
As she sobbed in her passion, Adaron could do little to hold on much longer. He shuddered and abruptly burst within her, and he clutched tightly against her.
Now spent, Aurora collapsed against him, breathing hard and feeling sticky. But she was too exhausted to do little else but breath.
Adaron panted hard, but kept his arms wrapped around her, not wanting to let her go. For now anyway. He was content to hold her, and there was a glow that spread through him from the center of his belly. He lightly kissed her shoulder, squeezing her to him.
She could have fallen asleep right then and there, but the sound of a voice made her eyes open as she froze.
"Hello? Is someone there?"
Adaron turned back to look at the voice. It was young, that was for certain, and that of a small child as they wandered through the woods. The child paused, staring at them with wide eyes for a while. "Who are you?" he asked, staring between Adaron's jeweled eye and the woman with poofy red hair.
At that a woman behind the child approached as well, and pulled the boy against her legs as she eyed the pair. "Who are ye strangers?"
Not liking being caught in the act, she grabbed for her clothing and pulled away from Adaron. Her nose wrinkled as she felt his seed dribble down her legs. Pressing her pants to her breasts she told them, "We're no one of your concern. Just travelers passing thtough."
And she shifted uncomfortably as the woman's son oogled her. It must've been his first time catching a man and woman naked and entangled together. She just hoped theyd go away! They ruined the moment!
[The fact that there even was a "moment" for her says a lot and is rather surprising xD]
The mother immediately pulled her hand over her son's eyes as she saw them part. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Me and my son were set to wash our linens! Forgive us!" she said. Adaron was still flush for that moment. He stood up and cleaned himself up. He dressed and secured his clothing.
"It's all right. We were just leaving," he said and went about to gather their things. The woman eyed them before gesturing back to their house.
"We were just about to have lunch. Would you...care to join us? My name is Muriel, and this is my son Jack. We live alone in thag cottage just up the path." And kept her hand securely over her son's eyes.
"Thanks but no thanks," she replied, hastily dressing. "We're rather busy and have gotten distracted enough."
Adaron looked to Aurora and he bowed his head to the woman. "Thank you. But as my companion said, we ought to be on our way."
Muriel smiled between the pair. "It's quite all right. It's nice to see such a loving couple. So uncommon these days. Well don't let me stand in your way."
She smiled and departed with her son.
Once they were gone, Aurora sighed and grumbled, "loving couple... Right." And the sarcasm was thick. She turned to Adaron. "Well that was fun. I suppose it's time to move on." She gave a fluff to her hair.
Adaron made no comment on it, although he raised his.brows and gave a nod. Once they were ready to.continue, he kept his thoughts on the task of getting through these trees. The wolf meat was packed away, though he munched on a piece of jerky.
After a wall of walking in hot blooded silence, Aurora eventually found herself steaming.
"How do you suppose that woman and her son could even live in such an area? Those large wolves would have eaten them by now."
That way she could have AT LEAST enjoyed her mistake to have sex with Adaron. Oh well, she already was beginning to plan on ditching him the first moment she could. Dust aside, she'd rather not stick around. Now that they had sex...
It would just be too weird to remain with him. Even if it was, you know, fun and felt amazing. But she kept telling herself she simply needed the relief. He was a scary man after all. And certainly there wouldn't be a next time!
She seemed content to not want to talk about it, which, for Adaron, felt just fine. He was content to let it lie. Maybe it was best to pretend it never happened. He instead focused on the path ahead of them, remembering it was a long way to Essyrn from here.
Then she broke the silence.
"Wolves stay away from most civilized areas. Perhaps she is a mage and wards herself against them," he murmured, even sighing a little. "It's just as well that they are dead now." He just wished they still had their horses.
She snorted.
"You would say that," came her quick, haughty reply.
Adaron cut her a look. "I did say it."
She cut him a look back.
"I know."
"Then at least we agree on something," he said with a chuckle. He observed her behind for a moment, smirking at its shape.
She huffed.
"Wish we still had our damned horses," she muttered.
She hadn't had sex in ages, and her legs felt all wobbly and weird. Not to mention each step brought more of his juices dribbling down lightly between her thighs. It was very uncomfortable, and her walking may have only appeared stranger for it.
Adaron looked at her gait. They really needed a place to clean up. He stopped for a minute and cut through the trees, away from Aurora's path.
Hearing him move astray, she turned and made a grunt of annoyance.
"And just where do you think you're going?"
"I heard something," he said, and even jogged until he knelt in the soil. Moving some foliage around he found just what he thought it was. "A spring! I'd like to scrub down a bit. I imagine you would to." And started to undress.
Aurora was taken back. She looked around.
"What if someone sees us again?"
Though cleaning up did sound nice.
"Why don't you wait until we find a bigger water source?" she hissed over a whisper.
He was already cleaning his chest and stinging at the red welts she'd made with her nails. "Do you really want to wait?" he asked, scrubbing at his abdomen.
Her frowned deepened as she gave an indignant fluff to her hair.
"It's not my fault you made us.. it, so...." she wrinkled her nose. "Sticky."
He undressed and scrubbed up his ass and manbits before settling that he was clean enough. "You're turn, I'll keep watch," he said with a chuckle.
Aurora huffed.
"Keep watch of what?" she asked, hands to her hips.
"Of intruders?" Geeze, wasn't sex supposed to make people mellow and relaxed? Although Adaron kept his smirk to himself.
"Like the good job you did earlier?" though it hadnt truly been his fault.
Adaron scraped off the water on his skin. "I'll do better this time I promise."
Turning around, she quickly undressed and knelt in the small stream. Sex was such a messy affair, and so she remained sitting in the shallow waters to let the moving waters carry the filth away.
Adaron dried himself idly, but from the corner of his eye he watched Aurora clean herself up. But he didn't make it obvious and also turned his head away when she looked at him. "So, how was it?" he found himself asking.
"It?" she asked, sounding a bit defensive in her confusion.
"The sex," he went on bluntly.
And his bluntness made her laugh.
"You want an evaluation?" she eyed him over. "What? Has it been a while?" she teased.
He hated that he was blushing. And instead played it off as being heated from the sun. "Honestly? Yes," he said, and he tilted his head. "And probably for you as well."
She threw her chin up.
"I know it was obvious I was desperate, and all I can say is it was needed at the time." She played on nonchalance with a shrug. "So I can't say if it was bad or good." ....Or at least felt incredible in the moment. "Though I think any work involved was a wash when that woman and child showed up." It was definitely a souring moment, to be sure.
"But don't worry about it. I think we simply both needed it," she went on, having long finished cleaning up and redressing. She fixed the strap on her dress. "I don't think an evaluation is needed. Besides," she went on with a sigh. "You can just think of that as some form of payment for dealing with all those monsters for me. However.." And here she eyed him. "Don't start shaking out demons from trees just to get laid. I know how desperate men can be."
And she could tell his eyes were still taking in her form.
Goodness, maybe she did need another lay to loosen her up. "Duly noted," he said, bowing his head. "I vow not to fight any monsters in the hopes if getting laid."
He gestured to the path they were taking before and started back on it.
"Good. I'm glad we're in agreement." And they continued in silence.
And Adaron lingered for a time to allow her to go first. "Ladies first," he said and gently slapped her ass.
The silence could only last so long. Aurora got bored easily, but tried not to let Adaron get the better of her. Though each step they took, her mind kept reeling over what they had done- and she kept berating herself. To think...
This man.. this man who she had once feared she simply lost her mind with and...
She sighed hotly, and tried to shake out the thoughts.
"We should rest a moment. Find a stream, get something cool to drink."
[Wasn't Aurora a virgin? Or was that only allegedly?]
He paused long enough and peered at her with a raised brow. "Very well. You pick the spot." Although knowing her it'd be where some creature resided. How she survived this long, he didn't know. He just smirked, waiting to see what she'd come up with next.
Ooc: I considered it but I dont think itd make sense :T
She eyed him.
"You know you're going to help look."
"Very well," he said. "You give me your criteria and I'll help you find something that is suitable for the both of us. Or you, at the very least."
"We just need a place near water, preferably one without monsters or thorns... Or is that too much to ask?" she asked, giving him a few petty blinks with her long lashes.
He rolled his eyes. He supposed it wasn't too much to ask. "Just be sure to ask the monsters not to eat us, while you're at it." He laughed and started to scout. Being in the Riverlands there were plenty of water sources and it seemed within an hour they found a small stream that cut across the forest.
"Sure.. whatever." She rolled her eyes and continued forward, and was happy when they finally found a place to rest. She was thirsty, and took some time to test the waters first before scooping some up into her hands for a drink.
He looked her over, smirking at her. She really did have a nice shape. And his eyes lingered on her behind as she took a drink. That was before he joined her beside the river.
After having her fill, she moved to lay against a moss laidened tree.
"So when do you think we'll find the real heart? We should take this time to study the map."
"Right," he acknowledged as he reached into his trousers and pulled out the map. It was odd to have something so ancient held together over time. The rolled skin was burned in, a path etching south between mountains and dunes. He slid it over for her to examine. "What do you make of it?"
"I see a bunch of scribbles and etchings, but nothing too familiar with this sort of scape." She wrinkled her nose and continued to examine it. "The mountains seem strange, not forming a range but a series of them, see? There's nothing like that in Connlaoth, Adela or Serendipity."
Adaron nodded. "Then as I suspected, this must be deep in the heart of the Moraki Desert." He sighed. "Just when you think you've left it for good, it drags you back in."
He observed a portion on the upper part of the map. "Does this look...ripped off to you?"
"Why do you presume the Morakai and not the Kishan or Hyotian province?" And she peered down at the rip, frowning.
"I could blame that on the map keeper."
"You assume I ripped it, but I hardly had any time to examine it in our long trek this far. " He scratched his head. "The stories claim it to be south. I guess that's as good a place as any to start."
"Or we could at least invest in some maps. Make a comparison." As opposed to searching blindly, which was nearly the same without having a map at all.
"I suggest we head to the nearest city."
"Cerenis? Might be a bad idea to head back there," he muttered. "Onward. A proper city would be a nice change of pace."
She sighed.
"Come on, it's been sometime since your debacle. Besides, we can buy you a cloak to hide your head," she went on with a patronizing smile and pat to his head.
"We move on," Adaron replied adamantly. "If I had any intention of going backwards, I would have done it all ready. We go to the next town. First we make it out of this mire."
Sighing, she nodded.
"I suppose finding a road to civilization of any kind makes the most sense. Well, What direction do you think? Though I suppose South is as good as any. Come on." And she lead the way, following the opposing direction of the moss on trees. Eventually a road was found, but the closest place of refuge was a small village nestled beside a marsh.
"The village of Huhnthe. Hrmm, not a village that looks or sounds prominent, but I suppose we could at least stay here for the night and catch a meal. I'm famished."
It was a vague relief to have her leading the way for once. And it was a decent chance to get a glimpse of her behind too. But other than that, Adaron was for little conversation and he kept watch the other part of the time. As the village appeared soon enough, it was another relief to go along with the rest.
"A meal and a bed. Sounds good. You look like you're interested in doing the talking too. I'll just stand here and look pretty."
"Look pretty?" she looked him over with a smirk. "How about hiding your Red Eye? Or at least don't draw any more attention to yourself than that. Last thing we need are villagers with pitch forks chasing us off."
"I'll try to be subtle," he said, winking his red eye at her. It did feel odd to slip the lid of thin flesh over crystal stone, yet it was a thought Adaron had long since pushed from his mind.
They wandered nearby to what could only be the only inn in the entire village. It looked like a lot of time and care went into keeping it a comfortable place to sleep. And in quiet villages like this, one thing people wanted most was peace. For the moment, he was content to bask in it as well.
Adaron was a bit tired of camping out in the wilderness, and the state of their dress was entirely worse for wear. So one could image the look on the innkeeper's face when she gazed at the pair when they entered into her establishment. It was a mix of displeasure, curiosity, and wonder at seeing new blood in her place.
"Well, I'll be sixes and sevens too if I came in lookin' like the pair o' you. You look dangerous, big fella, but as long as you don't start tearing up my place, we won't have any problems."
He winked at the woman, smirking. Putting his hands up in innocence too. "I come in peace. It's her you'll have to worry about." He nudged Aurora, smirking.
Aurora gave a roll of her eyes.
"You don't have to worry about us, I keep the big man in line. Its not too hard. Most men are easily tamed by a nice pair of breasts."
The woman noted that before giving a small smile.
"The names Millie and its half a silver dues for a room a night. Food and bath are extra. Fire wood comes with the room if you can chop it. Now how long would you like to stay? I expect payment upfront."
[Half the inns in the world have someone named Millie in them.]
"Tonight will do. Thank you ma'am," he said, and slipped a silver he had hidden in his belt and placed it on the counter. She eyed him for a moment, before taking the silver and testing its quality with a few hard bangs on the counter. When she was satisfied, she smiled and slipped the coin into her cleavage.
"Right this way then," she beamed, and gestured for the pair to follow.
Aurora didn't waste much time, once in the room and Millie dismissed, she took her claim of the bed.
"Ahh, feels good to be on a bed again."
"What? You think you're just getting the bed?" He asked and made a tch! sound. He put his torn robes aside moving toward the bath in the corner. He didn't waste time undressing and was thoroughly ready to enjoy a proper bath. Water had already been set nearby. It could be warmed in the hearth and for the meantime that was just what Adaron waited for.
Aurora just made a feeble attempt to wave him off. She was too exhausted. And closing her eyes, she found herself falling asleep alot faster than even she could have predicted.
Adaron cut only a brief look her way as she fell asleep on the bed. She earned it to say the least. He bathed as quietly as he could, and washed his clothes as best he could. They were laid out by the hearth to dry. His hands were smooth, gentle and when they removed the clothing from her sleeping form.
That too was washed and draped out to dry. A blanket was wrapped around his waist, and another draped over her as she slept. Smells of freshly cooked food would waft up around the room. Steak, stew, sweet cakes, bread, and cookies. Still, he ate quietly and sipped from a cup of wine.
And it was the smells that roused her. Sitting up as her stomach growled, the blanket slipped off her body. Gasping, she yanked it back up and exclaimed, "Adaron! Where are my clothes and why am I not in them?!"
He turned back at her gasp. "I washed them for you. They're soaking wet still," he said. "I didn't want to wake you. You look like you could sleep for a week." A soft chuckle.
"Are you hungry? Millie was generous to give us all this food. Stew, steak? I had a bit of both myself." He took a bit of a freshly baked cookie and he offered her the others on the plate.
Keeping the blanket clutched to her form, she narrowed her eyes to him and out a hand out.
"I'll take the cookies for now at least." And awkwardly she scooted to the edge of the bed.
"Cookie delivery dispatched," he said, grinning and taking up what was left of the cookies. "Would you like something to drink with em?"
"Why? What do you got?" she asked, brightening a little at the smell of the cookies. Her stomach growled as she snatched one and ripped into it with her teeth, moaning as if she was in the middle of some heated sex.
"Fresh pail of milk, wine, and water," he said, quirking a brow at her. He watched her take a bit for a second, before moving to grab some milk. "It took some sweet talking, but Millie was easy on the food soon enough."
He took a bite if sweet bread in one hand, handing her the milk with other. "There's more food if you wish me to serve you."
She took the milk, drank some and took a few more bites of her cookie.
"Serve me?" she had to laugh at that. "The all powerful Red eye wants to serve? What? Is this offer because you actually have a conscience and feel bad you stripped me while I slept? Because you should be," she went on, snatching up another cookie that she munched on. "Feel guilty, that is." She drank some more milk.
"But sure, serve me my Red Eyed servant.And while you're at it, more cookies, please." And she shoved the last one into her mouth.
"Why should I feel guilty?" He laughed a bit. "You're clothes needed a good cleaning. And I had perfectly practical and innocent reasons for doing so." He popped some sweet rolls onto her plate. "That was the last of them you ate. Take it easy. You have a lovely shape as it is."
She just gave him a dead pan look.
"You?" she picked up the sweet role. "Innocent?" She rolled her eyes at the idea.
Adaron gave her a lowered look, as if he could see her through the veneer of the blanket. He smirked and sat at the edge of the bed. "As innocent as a flower," he laughed. "You sound like you have no faith in me."
She hugged the blanket closer.
"That's right, I have no faith in you. Did you forget how we first met?"
He shifted closer to her, hands on either side of her hips. His form loomed. "I do. And you couldn't have looked more radiant," he chuckled. Adaron reached across her lap to the sweet roll and snatched a piece of it, popping it into his mouth.
She placed a hand to his chest.
"You're getting crumbs on my blanket."
"Really? I hadn't noticed. You can just brush them off," he took her hand, dragging fingers across his skin, and brushed his own across the crumbs on her lap. "See? Just like that."
She paused a moment, only because her body heated before snorting.
"I'm naked, not lame. I can brush the crumbs off myself. Now.." she shoved the milk into his hand. "More to drink, Red Eye."
"You sure you can handle it? I mean milk can be pretty strong. Hmm. On second thought, you're fairly resilient." He moved back to bring her more, placing it on the beside table along with a glass of wine. He took a sip of his own.
"Thank ful he wasn't close anymore, she let her body and mind calm down a little before drinking her second glass of milk. Last thing she needed was to get turned on again. Though the sex was good, she wasn't sure seconds was a good idea.
Adaron motioned for her to turn around. And before she could protest, coaxed her with strong hands. "You're way too tense, you know. Relax. Here, I can loosen you up," he said, turning his body so that he straddled her, and kept the blanket firmly between them.
He gripped her shoulders, thumbs pressing into her muscle with even pressure.
"Hey, what are you-" But before she knew it, she was eating pillow. Turning her head to one side, she sighed and tried to look back at him, but the angle made that difficult.
"A massage? I have to wonder if you're not doing this just to touch my naked body again."
It felt nice so she refrained from a second comment, and also held back any groans to make him think she was enjoying it- which she was, but he already knew that, didn't he?
"Well, that's a bonus I assure you," he murmured, digging his hands deeper against her body. His palms pressed adequately, dragging down toward her spine until he felt the muscles tense then ease.
"Take a deep breath. You need a lot of work." He chuckled, pushing her hair aside and keeping one hand along her neck, dragging them down her back, repeating the motion again and again.
Gods did his hands feel heavenly. Her eyes fluttered close as she continued to fight back a moan, but she did obey him and took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly and trying to do it as quietly as possible. Yes.. This was nice.
He felt the rumble of breath escape her, fighting back the moan. Leaning over her, he gently kissed at the nape of her neck, hands now massaging her shoulders, sending tingles dancing across her flesh.
The kiss caught her off guard as she released a half moaned breath all the while tensing, wincing even as she inwardly cursed herself for such a response.
"H-hands only," she half groaned. Really, what was he trying to do? Seduce her again? She was in no right mind to fight him back either, but she hated the fact it made her seem vulnerable, weak.
"Hands only," he said affirmatively. He chuckled and brought hands down to her sides. Fingera dug deep into her ribs, but gently and without agitation. "Just like that?" They felt along the sensitive flesh along the sides of her breasts, pressing down then up along her lower back.
She held her breath until his fingers were on safer 'skin' before sighing,"Y-yeah, like that."
Adaron kept his hands on safer skin for the moment, leaning down to kiss her neck again, lips lingering this time, growing bolder and kissing her earlobe, nibbling on it.
She shivered and tensed again, biting her lip as her hands clenched into fists.
"Hey!" she turned to him, glaring up at him. "I thought I told you to stop!"
He eased up from her. "Just looked like you needed it," he said, climbing off her and sitting at the edge of the bed. He sipped the wine, easing out a hearty sigh.
Blinking, she stared at where he had once been before turning to him.
"What? What would you presume that?" she asked, defensively.
"You are an awfully good actress... Except when it comes to hiding your tension. I was simply trying to ease it. I apologize for crossing the line. But darling you need a kiss...and need it bad," he said, smirking as he sipped more wine.
Her eyes flared a moment before cooling on his form. She sat up, blanket half falling off before snatching his drink. She drank nearly half of it before stuffing it back into his hand. She exhaled.
"I think you're delusional and are the one who wanted that kiss." She looked around. "Where are my clothes?"
"They're drying by the fire," he said, chuckling at her with cool eyes. He set his drink aside. "Shall we take a look at that map again? If you can promise to keep your hands to yourself that is."
She gave him a narrowed look. Really! Whose hands were all over whose!? She turned from him and put out her hand expectantly.
"Very well, let's have a look at it. It is what we were planning to do."
He produced the map exquisitely, handing it over flatly into her palm. "Be careful with that, dear."
"Careful? I wasn't the one who ripped it." And with a sigh, she settled back and began to study the map and immediately felt the familiar pull of intrigue. Despite having some lingering scents from Adaron, the map itself was still crisp with the feeling and aromas of antiquity. Her eyes were quick to take note of things, like what sort of parchment it was made of, how worn it was, where the creases were, what ink was used, the stains- what sorts (grease, blood and like wise) while looking over the strange layout of mountain ranges.
'If the edges weren't so perfect, I'd wonder if there was more to this map than we're holding- small tears aside."
As he watched her trace over the creases, he studied them with interest. And saw a crease he hadn't noticed before. "You may be on to something. Look how the etching seems cut off there. Something told me this map was incomplete. And look there, 'rata'. Doesn't look all that complete... it's cut off."
"'rata'," she repeated, pursing her lips and plumping up her cleavage, which was hard to tell if it was on purpose, or just something she couldn't avoid.
Adaron remained focused on the map and hadn't really noticed her cleavage. Not initially anyway. Eyes flickered over to her form a moment, before drifting up to her expression. He saw the confusion apparent there. "Where do you suppose another half for this map might be?" he asked. He remembered something she had mentioned before but of course didn't elaborate on.
"Dust. You...follow dust, don't you? Could you follow the dust of this map to it's other half?" he asked.
She gave him a look and sighed.
"That's not how dust works. If I could follow it, my life would be easier, but instead, I'm here playing guessing games with you."
"Then explain to me how it works," he said, breathing out a sigh of forced patience.
She gave him a look.
"I thought we were here discussing the map, not my infatuation with dust. Besides," she released a sigh of her own. "Now is not the time." Never would be a good time.. but he was just so damned nosey. She supposed he was just trying to make small talk- either way, it was irritating.
She rubbed at her neck, thinking back to when he tried to give her a massage. and to his kisses. She felt her skin bump over. What was his game with that? But when she had had enough of looking at the map, she turned to look at him and involuntarily paused as she looked at him.
Had he always been standing that close to her? A silly question to ask, but she had to wonder why it made her feel... strange, on edge. She cleared her throat.
"You don't happen to have any maps on you? Or a journal of places you may have been-"
And that's when she paused ot consider her own journal, but she wasn't about to bring that up.
Adaron had merely been trying to extrapolate on something that could possibly help, but she was content to drop the discussion, so he didn't press. He was silent, mulling over where the other half of this troublesome skin-sheathed map could be located. He'd remembered the expedition where explorers had gone to dig up the Heart in the desert.
But if there was another half there, they would have found it.
He sighed and considered her words. "A library. We need a library. We would find the maps we need there."
"Yes, but you seem to hate big cities."
"I don't tear apart every city I pass through," he said sourly. Face mulched a bit and he glanced at her from a sidelong look. He knew she didn't much care for him - not that he considered that their little excursion of the flesh would somehow change that - but she had about as much personality as a brick. Instead, he flicked a grin her way and raised a brow at her.
"Thankfully I'll have you along to better navigate a world of such delicate social infrastructures."
"Oh, is that so?" she went on, giving him a smirk. "Who says I can take you anywhere? Trust isn't that easily achieve, Red Eye. But we need to focus on the map if we want to get anywhere.." And as she pondered an actual solution to this, she went through her things and produced her spectacles.
Flipping through a few lenses, she looked the map over. There certainly was a lot of dust on it, but it seemed the parchment itself may be what was containing so many soul particles. Never the less, she continued to study it, trying to see if there was some sort of a pattern there.
"It's a start at least. I won't admit I'm happy to say that your idea was good all along, but it seems it's back to Cerenis we go."
Aurora was more than elated Adaron had consented. Truthfully, she was missing the cities the longer she was out here- perhaps partially for normalcy, and partially because she wouldn't feel so alone and 'trapped' with Adaron. But it seemed, for now, both were partners in crime, and as they traveled, they ran into a farmer making his way towards the coast to trade. Lucky for them, he was going to Cerenis, and wasn't someone who appeared to know either of them (or if they were with a bounty on their heads).
He was kind enough, with warm brown eyes and silver hair. Aurora could only deduce he must've been rather handsome in his youth, and actually felt sorry for the man when he revealed he recently lost his wife, and before that, a few years back, their only son.
Times were tough all around, and it was sobering, and though the road was long, Aurora felt herself getting adequate rest- even when she had to, at times, cuddle up beside Adaron as they moved eastward. It was rather nice to have the company, and perhaps the third wheel made her feel a bit more comfortable all around, so cuddling seemed less dangerous and foolish than when they were alone. But it was hard for her to shake off how much Adaron seemed to be trying to seduce her. Did he think because they had sex she'd be so easy? Or was there another game he was playing? He was a man, after all... perhaps he was just playing up his role as one, wanting sex about every hour of the day.
She supposed were she not so stubborn, or was a woman so easily swindled, she might oblige him and go at it for a few rounds. But she knew the first time was dangerous enough- and though doubting she was able to get pregnant (would it make sense when she had no soul?) she didn't want to figure that out later down the road, either.
Her eyes focused up at the stars as the wagon continued to roll down the bumpy road. She would have considered walking along side it, but she had done that for a few hours now and had retired to the wagon. The farmer said he had a few more hours left in him and he'd park the wagon when he thought he'd call it a night. So with little guilt she crawled back into the back and looked to Adaron, but found herself staring for a bit longer than anticipated and cleared her throat as she looked away.
"I can smell it- the sea. We're getting close," she murmured.
[Loool. He flirted with her like a handful of times. Now she thinks that's all he wants? xD]
The trip back to where they started, frankly, was exhausting, but Adaron made it through somehow with little complaint. He wasn't one to go back, but there was a good chance they would find what they needed there. And to think it'd been right under his nose all that time. He spoke very little to the man that escorted them back to the city, and was thankful for Aurora's presence to serve as a buffer for conversation. He had important things to think about after all.
The nearer they got to the city, the more alert Adaron became. It was quite obvious they would have to keep a very low profile here. He'd been looking out the back toward the road they came on, before sensing Aurora's presence. Turning back to her, he nodded and straightened in his seat.
"We might need new clothes," he suggested, looking at the rolls of cloth amidst the bales of hay in the rear of the farmer's wagon. "Or something less tattered?"
"Leave it to me," Aurora said with a pat to his hand. "God gave me breasts for a reason, and I'm pretty sure we'll stop at the small town of Nair before going to Cerenis. You'll be less conspicuous there," she went on with a smirk.
At least there was some use to her. "Fine," he said, smirking back. "I'll let you do the talking. But if we get in trouble, at least I'll know who to blame." And just as she predicted, not far from where they were, there was Nair, and the farmer called for the pair that he was stopping.
The town was quaint, mostly inns and a few shops. It was a popular thruway to Cerenis, and business was dictated by the traveler. Getting rooms weren't a problem, though the size of them left much to be desired. She hadn't expected them to stay long, so while the farmer was napping in his own, tiny room, Aurora went down to check out the inn's food, and to inquire about a nice hot bath.
And as she was relaxing in that bath, Adaron made himself comfortable right outside her door, reading a local map drawn up by a nearby cartographer. He was quiet, making no indication of his presence. But if she thought she was going to quietly slip away, she had another thing coming.
When she stepped out of the bathing room, she nearly tripped over Adaron. She clung to her towel.
"ADARON!" She growled. "I almost killed myself over you!"
He sat up and soon stood. "As flattering as that is, don't die yet darling. I still need you," he said, smirking. And eyeing where her towel clung desperately to her body. "I was only here in case some assassin attempted to infiltrate and kill you while you were bathing."
"Ha, ha," came her lame reply, rolling her eyes as she looked down at him. "I don't think I can believe that, but if you're looking to get another view, you got another thing coming." But then she saw what he was holding and curiously, she bent down to look at that.
"Is that a map?" And she moved to yank it from his hand.
"Just of the local area," he said and willingly handed her the map that she was so keen to snatch from his hands. He made a small grunt, and gestured his head for them to move from the bathing room. "But perhaps the cartographer has more like it, perhaps leading south. But we still.need to get to Cerenis," he said. "Once we know where to go, then we can look into it."
"Naturally," she went on, still reading the map and making her way towards her room, where she placed the other map on the bed beside the new one, but saw no real connection as she frowned.
He lingered in the corner, shutting the door behind him. Seeing her frown wasn't promising, but at least it was one less place to look other than Cerenis of course. "Well, things will be better tomorrow I'm sure," he said, smiling.
She sighed and shook her head, raking a hand through her wet, red hair before peering over at him.
"Your smile isn't helping."S he notice the closed door and sighed, then looked to him. "Do you mind?" She turned to him, moving to fetch her clothes. "I need to dress."
"I don't mind at all. Please go ahead," he said. He bowed his head and excused himself. "Have a good night. Aurora." He gave her a jewel-eyed wink, and closed the door behind him.
Though a good night is what she wanted, after drying herself and dressing, she headed down into the lobby, approaching the bar and ordering herself a drink. It was black as pitch outside, no moonlight coming through the windows. It was strange. And no winds.
Once she got her beer, she drank it down swift and ordered another, and while being the only patron and left to her own device, that's exactly what she did- she pulled out a small trinket and began to tinker with it. It had been broken for a while now and she had meant to return to her father's in hopes to have it fixed, but maybe she could have another try at the compass.
The problem was it had sand in it, and water, and oil, and fire had burned it, and she had dropped it more than her fair share (including one time off a cliff...)
She wasn't sure it could be salvaged, but at least it was a nice distraction during this restless, moonless night.
The night wasn't the only thing restless. When at last sleep did not come, Adaron left his room and tried to stifle the unease in his belly with an evening walk. But nothing helped. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were somehow being watched, even followed. He tried to assure himself it didn't matter. Let them come and they'd be ash in no time.
Returning to the tavern below the inn, he was surprised to see Aurora tinkering with something at the bar. He made no mention of it since she seemed to sour at everything he asked regarding her interests. He just watched her, sitting at the stool by her side.
So engrossed was she, that when a tiny screw fell loose, she swore in so many languages and bent to reach it, only to see a pair of legs on the stool beside her.
"HOLY SHIT!" And off her stool she fell.
"Whoa!" he said. Adaron shifted his arms down in time and snatched her shoulders as she tumbled from the stool. And propped her back up.
Instinctively, she clung to him, eyes wide.
"ADARON!"
Then she hit his arm, hard.
"Gods.. you scared the piss outta me! Why didn't you say anything?"
"Ow!" His arm stung though not really. He released her back into the chair, resuming his own seat. "I wasn't trying to disturb you," he said. "But yet again you're still alive and in relatively one piece."
Brushing wild sprigs of hair from her face, she gave a snort and looked him over.
"What are you still doing awake?" And she turned from him, scooting in towards the bar and lookin back at her 'toy'. "And don't say because you were hoping to get lucky."
She wouldn't let him live it down he kept trying to put the moves on her! Even if...
Well she would't let her thoughts dwell on that much.
He rolled his eyes at her, smirking that she would even assume such a thing. "I couldn't sleep. I took a walk. I came here and watched you mess with your doodads, all right? That's the sum of it. Do you think that maybe subconsciously you're trying to get lucky with me? Because clearly you're still thinking about it."
"Hrm.. I want that as much as I want to spill my beer on your lap-"
Then she paused, realizing her folly. "I mean.. as much as you want me to not spill it on your lap." She blushed. How embarrassing.
"And it's not a doodad.. it's a compass, I'll have you know."
Brows raised at her stumble in words. "You should never drink alone, dear. You'll ruin your lovely complexion." He straightened, looking over to the compass she was fiddling with. "What are you trying to do to it?"
She forced a flat smile.
"Trying to get it to work. Its been broke for a while now. Why? Can your red eye fix it?"
"I think you just need to balance it," he offered. "But you seem more technical than I. What's your problem with it? Just won't point north?" He was genuinely curious, sobering enough to lean forward on his arms.
"Kind of, but it's more like a limp dick," she said with a laugh. "Not that youd know that problem," she flirted, taking a sip of her drink. "You know... Ive been meaning to ask you.... But I might be thinking into it too much..."
He quirked a brow, and he smiled, if only a little, looking between her and her beer. "Sure," he nodded to her. He waved to the bartender to have what she was having and he eased the foam into his lips, taking a small sip of the beer. He wasn't much for beer, but he wasn't going to let her drink alone. "What were you wondering about?"
She gave him a sharp look,t hen sighed and turned to him more fully.
"Everytime... or rather, sometimes," she went on, trying to form the right words. "Well, you keep trying to kiss me... ever since... Well, you know. Since we had a little fun... were you thinking it was anything more than that? I had presumed we were simply getting out our frustrations."
Oh they were talking about it. Adaron shifted a little in his seat, chuckling. "I see that this has clearly been on your mind for some time." He lingered over his beer. "No I didn't make it out to be more than it was. I understand we are only traveling companions temporarily. I..kissed you a handful of times, yes. But only because it looked like you needed it. Not because I think you're after my hot stuff."
She shot him a look.
"No, not because I'm after you. It's the other way around." And she drank down her beer, and tapped the table. "Another please."
"Darling if I was after you, you'd know it." He chuckled as he watched another beer slide across in front of her. "I apologize if you took it the wrong way. Maybe I was just trying to help you relax."
She didn't even look at him, glaring at her new mug of beer.
"If you were that horny, you could have sought a whore."
"If I were so atrocious, why did you kiss me back?" he countered with raised brows, taking a sip of his own beers.
She snorted.
"It was an accident."
"I think you did it expecting it to be terrible. And was surprised when it wasn't. Ye of so little faith."
"What? That makes little sense. Why would I choose to do something awful?"
"Of course it does. To further dispel you of any further notions of kissing me. But I'm a little scared, I'll admit, now that you know they're good, you might try again. You are the wily sort."
She huffed.
"You can try to pin this on me, but I'll just ignore it." although she knew that wouldn't help, What else could she do? She shouldn't have brought anything. Though smirking, she did add, "though you do have skilled hands."
He stared at her then. He didn't need to ask her to repeat it, but he didn't stop the smirk that played on his lips. "And you have lovely breasts," he said. And sipped his beer nonchalantly. He made a face, looking at the bottle. "How can you be enjoying this pisswater? It's pretty gross."
"Is that why you think your skilled hands belong on them?"
"They don't belong anywhere," he said pointedly. "Did you like it that much, you want me to grab them here and now?"
"I think you like them that much that's why you're proposing it! And this piss water is just a cheap drink to get me wasted before bed. It's been a while since I've had a drink and the road has been long."
"Indeed it has," he agreed, content to move away from the topic of her breasts. He smiled and took another swig anyway. "Long road. It'll get longer still."
She sighed.
"And endless." Setting her nearly finished beer down, she let her fingers trace along the lip of it.
"Don't tell me you're losing steam all ready?" he asked, laughing at her.
She just flopped until her face was buried on the table.
"I just might be. And here I thought the alcohol would make me feel better."
Adaron frowned. He wanted to help, but no doubt anything he offered would be construed as trying to get into her pants. So he just squeezed her shoulder.
At the squeeze, she sighed.
"Can you get me another beer?"
His tone had a sense of sympathy. "I think you need something stronger than beer. How about a wine? Maybe a brandy?"
"How about both?"
He signalled the bartender and down came a bottle of red and brandy. Adaron poured a glass of wine and a glass of brandy, taking a knock back of both for himself. "Want some food with this too?"
"Why? You buying?" she asked, giving a tired smirk as she sat up and accepted the drink.
"Of course," he said, smiling. Food came then, steak and rice and steamed vegetables. After road rations, it was a practical buffet.
Now with five drinks in her, and another round coming her way, Aurora seemed to perk up, smiling drunkenly while moaning over her steak.
"You know.." she went on, pointing at him with her fork. "Sometimes you're not that bad."
Adaron was picking apart some cake. "Sometimes? I suppose that's a compliment. Thanks. You too."
"Well, we survived this far, haven't we?" she told him with a drunken grin. Then she eyed his cake.
"Here, give me some of that. I changed my mind. I think I do want cake." Where as before, she had fervently declined.
Adaron could distinctly remember not offering. But if she could muscle it down, he saw no reason not to share. "It's delicious." He savored a bite, shopping off a piece eating it teasingly. It wouldn't remain all his though, and he pushed the cake toward her.
Her eyes lit up and she took a fork full, enjoying it with a roll of her eyes heavenward.
"We should order the whole cake next time," she said between a second bite. "Because I'm going to finish this slice and you can't stop me." And she had another large bite. "Gods.. I love cake."
"Like.hell you will!" Adaron countered her fork with his and scrapped an even larger piece for himself.
But she let out a squeal, grabbing the piece bare handed off his fork and shoving it into her mouth.
At that he grabbed a fistful of cake and squashed it against her face.
Stunned, she just stared at him as it crumbled off, before giving a war cry and hurling a piece at his head.
He dodged it and took the entire plate of cake and followed that into her face.
She tried to dodge but the plate splatted into her hair, eliciting a shriek from Aurora as she leaped from her stool.
"ADARON!" he roared, raking fingers through crumb laden-ed locks. "I'm going to kill you! It's all smashed into my hair!" And though she tried to beat on him with cake covered fists, she was too drunk to actually do much, and ended up losing her balance and falling towards him.
And the weight of her fall made him tumble backwards from his seat and land hard on the ground. But despite her drunk cake-covered rage, he was laughing. It came into a rolling bellyache, as he was held beneath her weight. He looked at her for a moment before licking her cake covered cheek.
"Hey! You two! Get out of here! This ain't no place for this foolishness!" the bartender cried out.
"I will after I kill this man!" Aurora cried- and tried to do just that.
Unfortunately for her, he wasn't nearly as drunk as she was. Adaron grabbed her wrists and flipped her over, pinning her to thefloor. "A fight that can be handled elsewhere," he said with a wink. He got off her, dragging her with him until she was on her feet. He then threw her over his shoulder and headed up the stairs.
She growled, beating on his back.
"Put me down! Adaron! Put me down this instant! We're getting cake all over the floor and our clothes!"
"Really? That should be the least of your worries," he said with a nod and when they reached her room he dropped her on the bed, kicking the door closed behind him.
She scrambled to get on her hands and knees, rather than remain on her back the way he dropped her, like some beetle stuck on it's back. Her hair was a mess, falling out of it's tail with wild sprigs going everywhere. Because of its volume, the cake mess itself was lost within it, not that she'd be easy to let Adaron forget as she glared back at him.
"Maybe it should be the least of your worries!" she accused, finger pointing drunkenly at his face- or what she thought was his face. It almost looked as if he had TWO faces. Two Adaron faces? That meant two Red Eyes..
Scary!
"Now get over here.. wash my hair. You ruined my shower earlier. Now fix it!" She went on, demandingly and ending her phrase with a few hiccups.
"Demand and demand. And you don't even say please," he said with a click of his tongue. He obliged however, scowling at the mess her hair had become. "Wow you really take this mess seriously." He pulled the pitcher of water from the table and instructed her to lean forward so that she was leaning over the basin.
She obliged, but ended up falling off of the bed.
He felt bad, just enough to not let her drown in her own drool. He turned her over and draped her hair into the basin, and quietly started to wash it.
"Even I can admit this is a little weird," he said after a while.
She gave him a smack, sort of, but she was a little drunk, so it might not have really hit him as she flailed her arm some more until she did.
"Hey.. maybe you're a little weird. Just get the cake out! DO you know how long it takes to maintain this sort of hair!? It's not easy, I'll have you know!"
"I'm beginning to feel the heaviness of that time," he said, smirking at her. Her hand was still on his face and he didn't remove it. She could barely handle her own coordination.
"It was good cake though wasn't it?" He smirked as he pulled some from her cheek and ate it. "So good."
"Hey! Don't eat that, its mine!" And she tried to take it from him, as miniscule as it was.
He swiped a piece of cake onto his thumb and offered it to her. "Here then! And enjoy it while you can. Cake that good comes along maybe once, twice in a lifetime."
Once offered, she licked and bit at his finger, holding onto his arm with a strong, unyielding grip.
Drunkard bites were the worst. "Ow!" he hissed, yanking his arm back.
But she clung to it and growled.
"Where's the rest of my cake, Red Eye?" she went on with a shake.
"It's mine!" He growled back and licked at her other cheek, claiming the cake that resided on it.
"Ack! YOU!" she squealed, wriggling and trying to shove him away. "What do you think you're doing!? You just licked me like a dog. YUCK!"
"You keep yapping like one," he huffed and got off her. Adaron stopped washing her hair, sitting against the dresser behind him. And suddenly he started to snicker.
Aurora just sat there, eyes unable to focus.
"Hey- where'd you go?"
"Here," he said between laughs. "I'm here. Like I have been and likely will be. Your hair is a mess."
She huffed and turned to him.
"Didn't I tell you to fix this?" she went on, holding up a threatening fist.
"Like I could be scared of you," he laughed.
"You should be!" But when she attempted to stand and lunge at him, she ended up falling on him instead.
He just kept chuckling, even as her weight pressed down on him. His belly soon hurt from so much laughter, and he tried to catch his breath.
"Stop laughing at me! I really do need you to wash my hair!"
"Just cut it off and you won't have to worry about it any more," he said, snorting and working to contain himself. "And stop whining about it. It'll be a good place for animals to nest."
"CUT IT OFF!? WOULD YOU CUT OFF A LION'S MANE!?" she waled defensively. "AND MY HAIR IS NO RATS NEST!"
Adaron wrapped arms around her and pat her back like he was consoling a child. "There there. No need to cry."
But at the sudden contact, the close embrace-
Aurora felt the alcohol wish to return from whence it came.
ANd soon she was hurling, with absolutely no finesse.
It was a near miss. Or near hit. Adaron didn't know which before he turned her away from him, her puke puddling beside him. "You need to learn to control your body missy," he said, shuffling out from underneath her. He made a disgusted noise at the puke that did get on his shirt. He pried it off, scowling as he threw it into the basin. "Gross."
"It's not my fault," she coughed, nearly puking again. "It's YOUR fault." ANd she pointed a sharp, accusing finger at his face.
"I don't know. I mean now all of my nefarious plans are foiled now that you've cleverly figured them out."
She looked at him, then burped a laugh.
"THat's kind of what I mean!I think I'm getting too much used to you being too around and you know, stuff."
"Aurora Jane. You're drunk. That's the truth. Now clean up that mess, this room is for rent!" Adaron huffed and scrubbed out his shirt. Thank goodness he wasn't keeping it.
She snorted and gave him a shove, or tried to.
"I'm too drunk to clean. Why don't you do it?"
He caught her arms and gestured to her sleeves. "Take that off. I'll have sympathy for you this time. But not another. I've done enough cleaning in my lifetime."
"Pfft, What Do You know about cleaning?" she asked, drunk and failing to remove her shirt.
"Certainly more than you," he said, unbuttoning her blouse, and pushing it off her shoulders.
"HA!" she laughed in his face. He'd definitely get a nice whiff of her beer breath. "You think you're so funny, you and that Red Eye of yours," she went on with a sway. "Though I guess it could be sexy," she went on thoughtfully, her clothes half hanging off as she stared dopily at his face.
"Yup, still drunk." He made a face at her breath, but shook his head anyway and pulled the shirt from her form. That bath had done her wonders, were it not for her drunken disposition. He was a little buzzed. Maybe a lot of buzzed, but the room needed cleaning. Moving from her to the mess she made, he scooped down to plop it into a bucket and chucked it outside. The rest just needed a washing.
She snorted and gave his arm a sharp poke.
"Maybe you're still drunk, Adaron."
He stuck his tongue out at her. A smirk played on his lips, however. Adaron finished washing out her shirt then his.
She tried to grab for his tongue.
"No tongue unless it's being used for kissing!" she drunkenly threatened with a flirt.
Her aim was horrible while drunk. He just swatted her hand away. "I wouldn't kiss you. You just puked."
"Oh, ha, ha." She wobbled a bit from where she sat. "Say- is that because you're afraid you're kissing is that bad I'd wretch again?" And she barked out a too loud a laugh at that! Being drunk, she thought herself very clever.
"No because I don't want to wretch," he said, laughing. He tossed some water at her. "Rinse your mouth out and then we'll talk."
She gasped at being splashed, but hrmphed her way over to him and the water and did just that, and even went so far as to brush her teeth with a finger.
"I cna't see how water will help." She made a face. "I can still taste it."
And she felt a bit nauseous from it.
"That's what you get for drinking so much. You're lucky. Anyone else would've just let you lie in it."
She snorted.
"So you think of yourself as some kind of hero?"
"Damn straight. You should be revering me right about now."
"Oh, and worship you, my mighty hero!" she went on, and went so far as to bow before him over dramatically. But she was laughing all the while. And she remained bent over in her bow, body shaking from the giggles. But after a moment, she sighed, closing her eyes.
"I'm tired."
Adaron wrapped an arm around her, helping her up gently. "All right then. To bed with you."
She groaned.
"Why couldn't I sleep there?" but she didn't protest being carried. She just curled up against him and buried her face against his chest. He smelled nice. And his warmth was nice too. And him being shirtless was also a plus. She sighed, content.
"Because your butt was in the air, and you will complain endlessly about your back being jacked up," he laughed. He carried her to the bed, setting her down gently and squaring the pillow under her head. "Sleep. But I can't promise you'll have a pleasant morning."
She snorted.
"Why? Because we didn't have sex?"
"Because you'll have one hell of a hangover darling."
She gave a hmph.
"And you're not one hell of a hangover?"
"I'm a little ball of sunshine," he chuckled and looked her over for a good long moment. "You're obviously still hung up on me." And he stuck his tongue out at her again.
She tried swatting at him, but her hand got caught on his shoulder. She didn't try to move it, as she lay there, half snoring against her pillow.
Adaron shifted her arm down to curl against her. He didn't know if leaving her alone would be smart. Drunk people weren't known for reliable decision making. He moved over her, crawling over her to lay beside her. He sighed a little, staring up at the ceiling, soon closing his eyes.
And as he settled in beside her, she curled into him, an arm resting across his chest.
"I love you," she half muttered, half snored.
And thus resumed the ceiling stare. Well, for a minute before he just rolled his eyes at her drunkenness. Adaron didn't realize how tired she made him. But soon his eyelids grew heavy and he settled into the bed, softly sleeping himself.
By the time she woke up, she was making a puddle of drool across his chest, her own body draped mostly over his form as she groaned and lifted her head, moving to clutch her temple but afraid her head might explode if she did.
"Gods..." she wrinkled her nose and paused, realizing she was laying topless... And across Adaron's bare chest.
Adaron's eyes fluttered open, his own head throbbing as he woke up. "Fuck," he muttered, tone soft. "Oh hey." He took part of the blanket and dabbed it on his chest, and the corner of her mouth where she drooled. "How you feeling?" He brushed her hair from her face, curling a curl behind her ear.
She just stared at him.
"Did we have sex?"
"Uh, nope." His hand checked her ass. "We've both still got pants on."
Groaning, she gave him a shove before burying her face in her pillow.
And a muffled, "Good," was heard.
A weak hung over shove, and really she just shoved herself since she was on top. He scooted over on the bed and made a face. He didn't want to bring up the "I love you" and chances were she wasn't going to remember it, and it wasn't like it bothered him. But an amused smirk did play on his lips.
She gave him another pathetic attempt at a shove. Then turned to him, giving him a grumpy glare.
"Where is my shirt and why aren't I wearing it?"
A.grumpy glare that was met with an impromptu smirk before he grabbed her face and kissed her long and good.
THe kiss was most unexpected, and it had her reeling. She'd have tried to pull away sooner were it not a really good kiss. And frustrated as she was, she needed something like that to cool her down. But her pounding head reminded her of her plight as she finally tore her lips away with a gasp.
"Gods.. how drunk was I?"
Licking his lips in the aftermath, Adaron laid back and wiped at the corners of his mouth. "You were pretty out there. You hurled in the corner and on my shirt and yours." He gave her lips a tug, biting at her bottom one before sitting up.
She gasped, and leaned away from his attentions.
"I DID WHAT!?"
"Your shirt is right there, hanging by the fireplace. And...still soaking wet."
She peered over at it, but lunged out of the bed to confirm it with a groan.
"ANd I bet I just took this off willingly," she said, sourly.
"You were happy to get out of it," he said. Adaron moved to light a fire, hands warming with magic and igniting a spark that lit the kindling.
SHe turned with a huff, glaring back at him.
"And you didn't offer me another shirt?"
"There aren't any more. And I don't have another. It's not my fault. I just did what I could to help." He eyed her before moving over to the basin and changing out the water.
"Help?" she still clutched her head. "By what, staring at me topless all night? For all I know you jizzed all over and that's why we're half naked."
Adaron laughed. "Wow you really don't remember what happened? That's good I suppose. Leaves the worst of it from your memory." He looked at his crotch, caressing it a bit and shrugging. "No jizzing. But you seemed pretty eager to makeout with me."
Her face paled before it heated.
"What?" SHe groaned and buried her face into her hands. "How much did you let me drink?"
"You were downing beers before I came along. And you got drunk all on your own." He approached her and pat her shoulder. "I'll go down and get you some coffee and breakfast if you want."
She eyed him.
"And what about a shirt?"
"Your shirt is drying. I'll only be a moment." He didn't wait any longer before going down stairs and returning with eggs, bacon,sausage, and two cups of coffee.
By the time he returned, Aurora had made a make shift dress out of the bed sheet. She shuffled a bit when she saw him, making sure she was modest enough before hearing her stomach growl at the scent of food.
"By the Gods, that smells like heaven."
He smirked, eyeing her cleavage. "It is." He moved over to the table and set the tray down. Sitting he fixed his coffee and sipped it, picking at the bacon and snapping it with his teeth.
She wasted no time on the eggs, shoving mouthfuls in along with sausage. She moaned as she was chewing it alla nd swallowing it down, even chugging down half her coffee, uncaring it was still a bit too hot.
"Gods... if only all this food could cure my head ache I'd be in heaven."
"Slow down and it'll last longer!" He chuckled at her, eating slowly and savoring each mouthful. He too moaned, making a show of it, even louder than hers had been.
She snorted.
"Not if that means I'd get less food than you." And she went on to snatch a piece of bacon that was closest to him and popped it into her mouth.
He stared at her, unsure if what he saw really happened. He saw her enjoying it and felt his face heat along with the rest of his body. He snatched up a sausage from her plate. He chewed it quickly. "Quit it!"
She grabbed another strip of bacon, eating it loudly.
"WHat? I can't hear you over how much I'm enjoying this food!"
That was the only warning she got before Adaron shot out of his seat and grabbed her wrists, pulling any remaining bit from her mouth and sucking the juices off her fingers.
Yelping, "Adaron!" she couldn't help but wriggle and laugh. "G-gods!" she laughed some more. "What are you doing? That was mine."
"And now you're going to watch me eat all of it!" He held her wrists with his hands and leaned down to pick up some bacon with his teeth. "Mine!" he mumbled as he chewed it.
She laughed.
"What?" Shaking her head, she tried to fight his grip. "Oh, come on! Not even you're that cruel!"
He stuck his tongue out at her and sucked the juices from her other hand.
Which made her giggle.
"STOP! ADARON! STOP THAT TICKLES!" And she continued to try to wrench her hands away. Why the hell was his grip so strong!?
"No. This does," and his hands wriggled on either side of her ribs. His face was planted beside her neck, where raspberries were blown in abundance.
Wrists freed, she cried out and whacked him, hard, with her hands before trying to push herself away from him.
He cackled, throwing his head back. "I win!" He howled, and took more bacon from her plate, stuffing it into his mouth.
"Fine, have your bacon, but the sausage and eggs are mine!" And she snatched up both plates and dashed off to the other side of the room.
"Don't you dare!" Adaron bolted after her and jumped over a chair, throwing his body on hers and tackling her onto the bed.
And the eggs, sausage and it's juices went everywhere. And all Aurora could do was stare in horror as sausage link after sausage link rolled off the bed in greasy little tumbles onto the floor.
And Adaron scarfed down mouthfuls of sausage that remained.
"Ugh, get off me, Adaron. Your too fat. Must be all those sausages you eat," she went on souredly, trying to wriggle away, her clothe dress coming loose in the process and she- reminded of her pounding head ache.
He stopped just a few seconds before leaning over her, one hand on either side of her head. He swallowed the last of the sausage before a hand idly pulled apart the sheet she'd wrapped herself in. No words were said, he just felt along the space between her breasts, before covering her again. Something looked disappointed in his eyes, and he pushed himself off the bed, cleaning up the mess they had made.
She hadn't said anything either, too surprised to speak when he half undressed her. And when he was gone, she released a breath she hadn't known he was holding, but could still feel the hammering of her heart in her ears. She moved just enough to tug her sheet more modestly closed, and shuffled awkwardly to the bed side. What was with that face? It was almost as if...
She internally shook it away, and kept quiet as she went to help him clean up the mess, too. She was still wondering, through quickened heart beats, just what had happened.
He finished up and checked the fireplace, satisfied that their clothes were dry enough. "Here. This should do for now until we can get proper attire. I'm sure the farmer that took us here is already well on his way."
"Well on his way?"
"On his way to leaving of course," he said. He winked at her and redressed himself. Once he was ready and the room was restored to a semblance of its natural state, he moved to the door, awaiting her as well.
She sighed and stood up.
"Just making sure I didn't miss anything else while I was drunk." And she half turned away to redress.
"Well, you did tell me you loved me," he said. "But you were half passed out by then. And that's pretty much it."
She paused in mid dress before barking a laugh.
"Joking aside, my head can attest to my stupidity. Although..." she went on, fastening her shirt. "How magical is that eye of yours? As in, can it cure a migraine?" she asked, following him as she rubbed her temples.
Smiling, he tilted his head at her. "It can disintegrate your brain and make it leak from your nose and ears," he said. "Let's be on our way."
She glared at him.
"That's almost tempting."
He rolled his eyes. "Just hurry up."
She followed him down, none too quietly to where the farmer was preparing his things to move out. Cerenis was still a ways to go, but at least they were close. A day or so's ride, she could only pray. And hauling her own stuff into the wagon, and helping the old man, too, she eventually made herself at home int he back of the thing, letting the wagon lull her and her still aching head.
The rest of the ride was done in silence. Adaron soon fell asleep in the corner as the smell of the sea grew stronger and the evening glow of city lights came before them.
Aurora was dozing off herself when the wagon hit a rock and jerked leftward, catapulting Aurora onto Adaron's lap.
And the resulting landing caused Adaron to jerk up and hold his crotch. "Damn woman!"
She would have scrambled off if she had caught her balance.
"Come now," she went on with a patronizing pat. "Not like we were using it."
"You wouldn't like it if I just squeezed your breasts. So just settle down," he said, holding her tightly to him. He gave her a playful smirk before biting her lip.
She smirked and bit him back, then pat his wounded parts.
"Careful there, Red Eye, " she smirked. "Playing with fire might get you burned." And she tossed her red hair for emphasis, trying to oh so nonchalantly slip off his strong form.but she didn't have to, for another pot hole and apology from the farmer had her spilling off Adaron, and this time she found herself pinned awkwardly beneath him.
He would've been content to just let her go were it not for that second bump. Geeze! Was this guy just the worse goddamn driver in all of the Riverlands? He landed hard on top of Aurora and he softly apologized. Turning back to the driver, he growled out, "Are you blind?!"
"Yes, sir. Sorry! Horse does all the seein' for me!" The farmer just smiled at them, eyes hidden under a pair of colored lense spectacles.
Adaron sighed and rolled off Aurora, only for another bump to hit his head against the side paneling.
Aurora scooted towards the back of the cart.
"It'll be safer walking."
He'd resumed his corner seat, and sighes, ruffling his hair. "We're almost there," he said. "Just brace yourself for any more." He observed the driver as the road went downward, the sound of crashing waves growing as Cerenis drew near.
"No one ever said I was patient," she told him with a wink, then slipped out the back and began to walk alongside the cart. The smell of the sea was thick, and the winds, most welcomed. The back of the cart was a bit stuffy for her- and her legs felt as if they were going to cramp. So she stretched out her limbs and smiled as she moved alongside the bumping cart.
Luckily it didn't matter if they walked or rode now. Once at the city gates, the farmer was paid for his help and they were left to their own devices. Adaron avoided making himself conspicuous, and observed their state of dress. "So what about those new clothes you promised," he asked.
SHe smirked at him and let her eyes trace over the roof tops of the city as they entered down the main street towards the square.
"How about over there. Looks respectable enough," and of course she was pointing out the finest looking tailor shop in all of Cerenis.
He frowned a bit at the shop. "You planning on flirting your way to that fabric? I can't afford that." And crossed his arms over his chest.
And oh so smugly she replied, "I never said you could." And she began to walk that way.
"At least she was good for something," he muttered beneath his breath. He followed her into the tailor shop, lingering behind to observe her.
And to his surprise (probably), the tailor was a woman, who took one look at Aurora and huffed.
"YOU!"
Aurora grinned.
"That's right. I bet you missed me!"
The tailor gave a stamp of her foot.
"Kiss my ass! As if I missed you!" she went on, sneering at her and looking her over, than Adaron. She sneered at him as well. "Whatever it is you want or need, I haven't got the time for it." And she turned away from Aurora towards the back. "I have a customer I'm dealing with and I don't need you and your friend mucking up business." And she hissed the last part across the room, eyeing up Adaron for good measure before disappearing into the back.
"Mister DaVinter! So sorry to keep you waiting! Here are the swatches you were looking for!"
As the tailor was preoccupied in the back, Aurora gestured aroudn the place.
"See if you can't find something that'll make you look dashing. But it has to be prefabricated, so look for one large enough to fit with little to no alterations."
Well she certainly made a point of setting him on a near impossible task. Adaron had learned to sew and mend his own clothes for years and finding something "dapper" and actually fit was quite a task. But he said nothing and looked around.
He spotted a leather coat, something quite large and probably unfinished at the tailcoat ends of it. A shirt was draped beside it, and he took the liberty to quickly undress and throw on those clothes.
And as he undressed, she watched him behind a mannequin dawning a blue gown.
"It looks like that might fit you well," she told him, eyeing the two dresses near to her, and tapping her lip in thought as to which one would look the best. The blue looked a tad small, and had a bit more lace than she'd like, but she wasn't sure the dark, near black green one she was eyeing was appropriate for travel. It was more riding attire than anything, and was made of velvet. That might be too hot to travel in.
Adaron fixed the lapels on his coat before turning to Aurora and examining the gowns. She was right in her assessment, and he saw the same shortcomings she saw. "What about that one behind you? Its no flashy color, but it looks durable and practical."
She turned to look at it, wrinkling her nose.
"Oh, the orange leather one?" She shook her head. "You should realize I look horrendous in orange." And she continued to move through the sea of clothes, but was a bit disappointed there wasn't more to select from. At least she had time. She could hear her 'friend' having a difficult time iwth her patron.
That's when she stopped at a black dress with gold threading. It looked like it'd fit...
But it was definitely a stranger fashion. Something more... Essyrni in flavor. She turned from it to look elsewhere. Maybe some men's pants or shirt might work. But she was still a fan of showing off her legs and chest. Dresses were still better for that one.
"Look, if we're stealing this stuff, let's make it quick. If you need pants, there are some brown ones over there," he said. He moved over there and draped them over her ass. "Try them on. Quickly!"
She huffed but slipped them on, and looked at her ass in a mirror.
"It makes my ass look big."
"Good then they fit. Just grab what you like and let's begone. Your friend looks like she's finishing her deal."
She cast him a glare and saw a long, purple duster and yanked the coat from it's rack. Pulling it on, she headed for the door and stood there, opening it and fluffing out her hair.
"Coming along, Red Eye?" she asked him with a playful smirk.
Her smirk was met with a glare, and he followed nevertheless, squeezing the muscle of her ass as he passed her, and kept beside her. And when there were sudden shouts behind them from DeVinter, he snatched her hand and pulling her along with him.
Aurora's smirk was broad by the time they had finished running.
"I feel like a child again," she went on with a sigh, relinquishing her hand from his and smoothing down her purple jacket. "I think I rather like this coat," she went on, admiring it. "Simple pattern, stern fabric- and I dare say it brings out the green of my eyes." and she looked at herself down in the fountain water's reflection before grinning over at him.
His panting became light, and he nodded to her. "As much as I'd like to stand here, admiring your eyes, we should really find the libray," he said, and soaked his face with a handful of water from the fountain.
"You mean the library behind us?" she went on, cocky as ever.
"Yes. Now if you please," he said, starting in the direction of that quaint building.
Aurora Jane took her time int he library. She rather liked the smell of the place, and the idea of being surrounded by so many books.
Adaron did as well, going a ways from her entire enough to examine the shelves. Essyni books seemed like the ideal place to start.
That's when she appeared behind him.
"There, that one up top. Think you can reach it?" Though it was a few shelves above even his tall form, she gave a pat to his shoulder. "Just stand on your tip toes and I'm sure you can reach it. But make sure you grab the right one- labeled Maps of Southern Le'raana."
He gave a sound of thought and turned to wrap arms around her waist, lifting her up so that she could grab it. "Maps if Le'ranna, right?"
She gasped, squirming a little until she realized his plan.
"Right... Of Southern Le'raana." she corrected, and retrieved the book with ease.
He set her down and slipped the book from her hand, flipping through it slowly and lowering his brow in thought. He scanned the different maps according to region, and frowned in dissatisfaction. "These maps are recent. Very recent. We need historical maps I think, none of these city names match the last letters of our map."
"But even a recent map may have clues. Things change over time. Come.. let's check out the history section." Peeling the book from the table, she slipped it under her arm and made her way towards the aisle.
Adaron followed her lead. Where the history books resided, the whole section of the library was a mess. Scrolls were tossed over books that were missing their bindings and while there was no organization here, Adaron did not look daunted. He only moved forward to begin excavation.
His digging produced results after a few minutes, a worn book barely hanging by its threading. He blew the dust off the cover. "Maps of Ancient and Hystorical Societies by H.M. Rommilard," he read. "Did they know they spelt historical wrong?"
"Really, some civilizations had a totally different language, spelling included," she reminded him. "I'm sure it was something lost in translation. A minor consequence and detail I'm not fully sure I care about." She smirked at him and proceeded to point at the map.
"See how the Serha plains are similar in name but the spelling is wrong? SUHR-A PLAINS."
"All right sour power," Adaron sighed and flipped through the pages carefully. He smiled as he found the maps that went further south. "Let's compare them to the recent maps in that other book."
Although, at his suggestion, Aurora caught sight of a sign posted at the end of the aisle. She picked it up and read the wooden inscription.
"Larger maps available in lower level." And she peered down the hall to a recess where she could only deduce a stairwell was. "Why don't we take all of the books down there?"S he smirked. "It would offer some privacy and hopefully more opportunities for us in our research."
"All right," he agreed and gathered the books up in his arms. Stepping quietly down the hall, he made his way downstairs and into the dusty underground. He set the two books on the table and wiped a space enough for them to work in. It looked like somebody else had been down here at some point, but for now they were alone.
Adaron pulled a magnifying glass from an old book that'd been collecting dust and held it over the pages.
"Since its advertised, you'd think they'd maintain this place better." She plucked a cob web from her shoulder and cast it aside before taking a seat. "Its so dim down here. Let me see if there's another candle I can light."
Adaron poured over the map and turned them over carefully. The paper was aged and he was almost afraid to let his fingers linger on it. He set his own map dow., spreading it across the table and waited for Aurora to return. With the light, he squinted at the old set of maps.
"It doesn't seem to match up. But if you turn it this way, the land looks similar to that of the heart. But I don't see anything ending with 'rata'"
"You're right," she said with a with and plopped down beside him on the bench. "Although maybe we're looking for the wrong thing. 'rata maybe is 'atar... Or maybe the t isn't a t, but an l? Then we'd have Allar, a duchy in Connlaoth but even that makes little sense." Sighing, she folded her arms across the table and dropped her head with a groan, only to send herself into a sneezing fit.
Adaron sat beside her, tired of leaning on the table. As she started to sneeze, he put a hand on her shoulder and pat it lightly. "You all right?"
"Dust," she sneezed. "Up my nose," she sneezed again, "ugh!" She sniffled. "You wouldn't happen to have...ACHOO! Ugh.. A handkerchief.. Would you?"
A handkerchief. Did people even carry those around any more? He searched his pockets, finding only mothballs that be threw out. "Let me.see what I can do..."
He pulled a blank page from one of the books and offered her that instead.
She blinked, then smacked him.
"Adaron! What are you doing? That'll make me sneeze more!"
He simply shrugged and set the paper down. "Well, nothing will stop you from sneezing, dear," he said with raised brows. "This whole place is covered in dust."
And that's when she paused after another mighty sneeze, her eyes alight before she turned around and began to dig through her bag. She pulled out her spectacles with a wry grin.
"Dust... thanks for the reminder. We could be sitting atop of oodles of it and I would have been too busy trying to chase after some others we may never find."
She flipped through a few lenses, pausing as she stared at Adaron's face-
and focusing on his Red Eye.
"Although I've seen it before.." she mused, referring to his eye. "It's strange to see a person possessing dust."
He wondered if it was actual dust she sought, or just some kind of magical residue... He made a humming sound in thought and stared back at her, red eye and all.
"You're not the only one, evidently," and he chuckled. "Why is dust so drawing to you?"
She stared at him for a while before her smirk lessened.
"What draws a moth to a flame? A craving, perhaps."
"In my experience, nothing gives a craving quite like magic," he said and leaned in toward her, eyes inspecting her with her spectacles on. He made a soft pout before turning back to the map. "So what do you make of this?"
She actually though his little pout was cute. Not that she'd admit it. She flipped her lenses up and raised a brow, then looked down at the map and closed the lenses again. But this time, she found herself whispering, "By the Gods....."
There was a map sparkling inside this book's map- and in dust no less!
"What? What?" He stood and shuffled the objects around the table to give them more space. "What are you looking at?"
She flipped the lenses up and down a few times before exclaiming,
"There's a hidden map... right here infront of us!"
Yanking off her spectacles, she handed them over to Red.
"Take a look for yourself..... because I think we figured out where 'rata' came from..."
"Gods... You're right!"
Now there were words he never thought he'd say.
"Aurora you're a genius!" Because right there in front of her was a map illuminated in the page by the dust that she was so fond of, illustrated not with ink, but with a leathern surface that seemed similar to that of the Heart he'd stolen. It was hidden within the page. "Irinrata."
And he grabbed her face, sandwiched between two hands and kissed her fiercely.
In spite of herself, she moaned breathlessly at the kiss and gave him a lopsided grin.
"I figured I ought to be good for something. But that word...Irinrata... Elven, you think? Of perhaps old common?"
"Irinrata sounds Elven to me. But what's more now we have an actual destination," he said, still holding her face and giving her a second kiss, smiling against her lips.
And at that soft kiss, she whimpered.
"Oh," he said, pulling away briefly and taking off her spectacles. "You'll want these back." And gently placed them on her face.
But she took the glasses off, setting them aside before she leaned on to steal another kiss.
He took in a surprised breath, stolen indeed by the kiss. He leaned into her, pushing hair past her temples and lips were soft, palpable and molding against hers.
"You know," she mused, through more kisses. "I rather like kissing." And she gave him another soft one. "And I must admit, you are awfully good at it." Her lips then moved to kiss over the tatoos along his neck.
"Really?" he chuckled. "I'm surprised you'd say that. You're not so bad yourself." A soft moan and his hands shifted down to grip at her breasts, holding them gently in powerful hands.
"I'm surprised I'd say that too." She smirked against the skin of his neck and traipsed a hand up his strong back. "Though maybe I'm not the only one here thinking that."
"I like it," he murmured and turned his lips against her neck. Arms swept around her and pulled her form flush to his. His kisses were delicate and deliberate, dragging along her throat. "But maybe we shouldn't get distracted," he breathed.
"Oh? You think so?" she asked, placing kisses up towards his ear.
"I.gods...know so," he said. He felt tingles all over where her kisses traced. He leaned his head in toward her neck and gave a powerful hicky.
She shivered at his attentions, smirking.
"It doesn't feel like you do," And she turned to him in kind, nursing hungry kisses at his throat.
Adaron leaned into her. His hands had minds of their own, pushing down along her sides to gently trace fingers on the fabric of her skirt. The cloth was spidered up along his palms, and his fingernails raked along the skin of her thighs. "You doubt me?"
Smirking at his attentions, she said, " And now I'm even doubting what we"'re doubting," And a hand smoothed down his chest, then lower.
He hadn't been mindful of where her hand was tracing, just that her touch left a trail of goosebumps in their wake. His breath hitched, and he just smiled against her lips. "You're a clever girl, I'm sure you can figure it out," he murmured, kissing her deeply.
"Clever to know when a man's aroused," she purred, working at his buckle, then plucking open the buttons of his pants.
"And just where are you going with this?" he asked with a groan. He ate her lips hungrily, biting and nipping at them as he pulled up her skirts and shifted them around so that she was pressed to the table.
"I'm not sure exactly," she laughed through a breath. She leaned in, kissing him deeper, but his pants were still left on him, although they were hanging by, which she could only presume, was his hard on, or they'd be on the floor by now in a pool around his boots. "I just felt like kissing..."
And her body felt like doing so much more.
"Well, you know what they say, kissing leads to smooching. Smooching leads to spooning. Spooning leads to forking," he chuckled and looked down at the state of his trousers, which were exactly in the state Aurora assumed they'd be. He shifted the lip of his pants around his hips, manhood bouncing in the downward pull until it stilled when he leaned against her. He took her hand, leading it to his groin to feel the whole of him.
"Oh?" she began coyly, gripping his cock firmly in her warm hand, "It looks to me like you simply want to skip the silverware and eat dessert with your bare hands." her grip tightened. "And I'm rarely wrong in my presumptions."
He grunted beneath her grip, but only returned her gaze with a smile. "I aim only to please," he murmured, capturing her lips once again. Skirts were lifted, fanning across the table, his hands exploring on their own the supple flesh of her inner thighs.
"I think you aim to please yourself," she teased, chuckling as her hand slowly moved up and down. "You know we shouldn't be doing this," she whispered into his ear.
"If that were true, I'd be alone down here," he muttered. He kissed along her ear. "We could stop if you want. If you're afraid somebody might catch us."
Aurora shivered.
Stop. He now left it up to her if they stopped. She was the one responsible for this. But recalling his words, she pressed lines of kisses back towards his mouth.
"Who would find us?" A hand scooped into his hair. "Who would care?"
He moaned breathlessly against her lips. "Well, it is a library. So we should be as quiet as we can so we don't disturb the others," he said between juicy kisses. Every motion of her lips made his more palpable, moving sensually againsy hers.
"But you're not offering me a quiet activity," came her breathy reply through kisses, her hand moving more quickly. "And I never like to hold my tongue."
"I'll bit you're lip for you if it'll help," Adaron suggested and pressed his body close to hers. He felt the tip of him press to her heat, eager to slip within.
She gasped at their contact, her own sex spasming with equal hunger and heat for entry. This was beyond awful, but she couldn't help it. Were she not so stubborn, she knew she and Red Eye would have had a lot more sex. But when she got this excited....
She supposed a quick bought of fun in a library could only be good for them both. A hand dug into his hair as she leaned forward, letting his tip press just a little bit into her heat.
"But it's not lips that make noise," she purred through a heated breath, and stifled any attempts at an answer by smashing her lips hungrily into his. And before she knew it, she was arching into him enough-
that his entire length slipped inside.
He gasped and moaned at the sensation of slipping inside of her. Her whole body burned and made him shudder in breath as he sunk in deep inside. Hands firmly grasped her hips, lifting her up easily and coaxing her thighs to hook around him. Adaron bounced her slowly and intensely in hunger, keeping his moans in check despite the need to do the opposite.
"Aurora, gods," he breathed, planting her on the table and looming over her with need.
She clung to him like a second skin, moaning hotly against him.
"Adaron..." her moaning voice echoed his as she arched back, coaxing him to take his need.
They didn't even have to be completely undressed to move in heat as they did. Adaron crawled atop the table with her, cock moving in deep as he kissed along her jawline and below her ear, teeth scraping against flesh.
It was a crude sin, letting herself be swept away in the moment. Perhaps she shouldn't have lusted ever, perhaps this was punishment to allow herself to get tangled with him in such a precarious place.
Or perhaps it was fate both were so foolish.
It didn't matter, all she knew was she had the lead she had been seeking for her entire life.
And her entire body was soon shaking in that ecstasy.
He fed upon it, draping her with his body until they were covered in the dust on the table. Adaron sealed his lips to hers, feeling her need until he rolled them both over, firmly placing her on top.
Aurora gasped, her entire body clinging to him as they flipped. Once upon him, she found herself smirking through a deep and needy kiss. Her hips were rolling as she stared down into his eyes, her own, half lidded, and said nothing. Only breathed.
Adaron kept steady eyes on her as their bodies remained joined. Her heat both stilled and thrilled him, making him reach for her breasts, gripping them gently. Hands drifted down her body, holding her hips. "I..care for you, Aurora," he panted. His hips jerked up. "Gods above!"
At such a confession during such heat, she couldn't help but laugh through her pants.
"I know," came her saucy reply, as she leaned boldly down and kissed him hotly. "A man's tongue is always loose when a woman's ontop," she teased. But though she tried to brush it off, she couldn't help but feel a tickling thrill rise through her.
I... care for you.
What did that even mean?
[Ha, if I didn't know she wasn't wearing pants, I totally would have thought she was laughing through them 8D]
Adaron kept himself in check and holding back the urge to thrust deeper up into her. He rolled with her, panting hard.
"My tongue can be looser if you want," he said, teeth pulling and tugging on her lower lip. His body clung close, form skin to skin. Blood burned hot, spreading the heat of fire wherever he touched.
Moaning, she felt herself shiver at his words. Roughly she grabbed his face and kissed him fierce, shoving a tongue hastily inside his mouth.
His attention stemmed only for her, and he kissed her back hungrily, moaning and panting as their bodies roiled together. Adaron rolled them over, taking her with need and holding her fast to him.
Finding him once again ontop, she moaned loudly through another kiss. Her back hurt from the table, but the pain went well with the pleasure. Her sex tightened as he moved at this new angle, eyes fluttering half closed before they rolled back into her head so far she swore she saw her brains.
"Gods..." her hands scratched up his back and fisted into his hair. "Gods you feel so good," she breathed.
"Aurora," he grunted loudly, desperately as he neared his peak. The whole of his body shuddered, holding the load back a few more times, securing her body to his until they were truly one. "I'm...gods, Aurora Jane... I could simply burst now," he kissed her ravenous, lips are as he worked her heat until she was ready.
At the confession, she nearly burst herself. In response, she simply whimpered through his kisses, her sex throbbing, squeezing, clutching as her own hips began to rock, wilder and wilder.
He nursed her sex until the heat over took them. "Come with me," he panted, rocking hard to her rhythm.
She didn't stop moving, in fact, her already heated pace grew wilder.
"Gods..." she shuddered, "Yes.. please fuck me harder.. Yes!"
Their bodies took another possession of their own. Adaron was sweating hard through their clothes, holding her so close to him, it was as if she was apart of him.
His body shuddered unable to contain himself any longer. He cried out, bursting within her and contuing to nurse the sensation for as long as it could last.
He wasn't the only one bursting as Aurora threw her head back and screamed. The pleasure was immeasurable, her body like a rush of flames while her sex nursed off of his until she shuddered into a heap of contentment. And a long sigh soon followed.
Adaron rolled off her, laying back on the table and panting heavily in the dust. Suddenly he sneezed and dust billowed up everywhere.
He laughed looking over at Aurora's face and drew shapes in the sweaty dust on her cheeks.
She lay there, catching her breath and just let Adaron draw.
"We should probably get back to work..." but she didn't feel like going anywhere anytime soon.
Adaron laid his hand along her waist, ceasing his doodles for a moment. "It happened again," he sighed. "I thought it was good. ....You?"
She snorted.
"Of course." She stretched a little before releasing a sigh. She thought over his comment while staring at the ceiling. "Just don't... let it go to your head. We're still just traveling companions," she reminded him. "And I.... just got a little excited."
She kept her face cool and collected before finally smirking at him.
"But you're welcome. Looks like you could have used that," she went on before moving to step off the table and dusted herself off some more. She turned back to look down at the maps and frowned.
"Where are my spectacles?"
And she bent over to see if they had fallen off the table during their little escapade.
Adaron gave a sniff. She thought quite highly of herself, but he couldn't help his amused response to that sort of attitude. Oh, sure, it was all for him.
He chuckled and simply shook his head. "Whatever you say," he muttered, tilting his head to watch her bend over before producing the glasses from beside him. "Here these belong to you." And handed them to her.
He fixed his clothing, buckling his trousers back up and moving back to examine the map.
"Thanks," she said, taking the spectacles back and trying to will away her blush. Once settled over the bridge of her nose, she smiled down at the map and smoothed her hands over it. "I can't believe it's really here," she breathed. She leaned in closer, and began to commit certain pieces of the map to memory.
"The lands.... they still seem so... foreign." With a sigh she finally leaned back from the map and removed the spectacles, resting them ontop of her head to give her eyes a rest. Perhaps we ought to take these with us for good measure. Who knows how long it might take us to figure out where the maps actually lead."
And she had been so excited at the prospect of getting closer to her goals. But seeing how the map was still not matching up iwth what she knew of the world, it was becoming a puzzling problem that made her newly relaxed body, tense with frustration yet again.
"So we deface these books and tear out these pages. Now you're thinking like a true adventurer," Adaron said with a smike.
She gave him a deadpan look.
"You needn't make it sound so barbaric... Even a glorified barbarism." she shook her head. "But it is a good idea..." And not the first time she's done it. So she went about removing the pages. "I don't think they'll be missed after what we've done on them anyway."
"I don't know if it's safe to say we're even the first people to do that on these pages...in this room," Adaron mused.
After the maps were obtained, he went about putting them away and gathering them in his arms. Something tinged at the hackles along his neck. He stilled himself, pausing long enough to stare at the doorway...
"Someone was watching us," he murmured.
She smacked him and snorted, "Yeah right. No one comes down here."
Adaron frowned and shook his head. "I'm serious," he murmured. "Let's just get our stuff and be on our way as soon as possible."
She rolled her eyes.
"Serious.. right. And I'm the Queen of the Niafi." She moved to help fetch up their things, then paused, and glanced over her shoulder. She thought she had seen something but...
Naw. It was just Adaron's paranoia getting to her. So she shrugged it off and turned to him.
"Okay, I think that's all of our stuff. Shall we?" and she gestured towards the stairs.
"Okay Queen Niafi. Let's roll," he said and headed back up the stairs with the items in hand. The book went back on the shelf and he waited a while, listening and watching around them. It wasn't enough that they simply where they shouldn't have been, but the distinct feeling of being followed set a terrible sensation in the pit of his stomach
He walked out then, casually, with his arm tucked around Aurora's shoulders and saw something move from the corner of his eye, but it was only the library's resident cat.
Aurora too, noticed the cat, only because she had to look at where Red Eye's arms had gone. Why did he feel the need to stick so close to her? Sex was just that- and well...
Okay, so she needed it and now they had to travel together as if having sex... (and sex again) as no big deal. Because it was no big deal. Just sex. Just two adults indulding in some crude love making in a public library's basement...
She tried to shake the reminder it had been really good out of her mind as they walked up the stairs-
But she had a nice distraction when they climbed all the way to the top- because a pair of town guards spotted them immediately and shouted,
"That's her!"
"Shit."
And Aurora turned tail to run.
Adaron had been holding onto her securely enough that when she turned to run, he was yanked along with her. Despite being caught off guard, he was swift enough to keep up, and only when they were well on their way parting through a crowd of people did he realize what they were running from.
And certainly not what he thought they were at first running from.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you're running from the law!" he hissed, pushing a man aside that walked in front of them.
"Did you forget how we even met?" she called back to him through pants as she ran. "Just move faster. I'm not exactly good at escapes, but I am cunning at outwitting those while I'm on the run. So just move!"
Clearly this was the best time for a conversation.
Adaron rolled his eyes and kept on moving with Aurora. His legs moved more quickly than her, and when he saw an opening he pulled her along into an alleyway and down the slim partition of a chapel wall and the outer fence.
"Quickly. Get inside," he hissed and shoved her into the doors.
She couldn't help but mutter, "A chapel?" but wasted no time in entering. She was never a fan of such establishments, but she supposed it was as good a place as any to hide from the law. Her eyes observed the place, and she felt relieved to - at the moment, seeing no one in the main hall where they had slipped into.
"So what. you think we ought to wait here and do some prayer?" Though she tried to sound flirtaious, it was hard to hide the anxiety and growing fear in her voice.
"We're just two souls seeking spiritual succor," he said in a hushed tone and led them across the array of offerings to Kia. Serendipity was a relatively open nation when it came to worship, and the smoke of incense wafted up through the air, stinging his nostrils.
"Here, take this," he said and with a quick yank pulled a cloth draping an altar leaving the contents above it undisturbed and flung it over her shoulders and head, concealing her in some part, he hoped. He heard the footsteps of their pursuers drawing near and he ushered them both down toward a tower rising from the rear of the chapel. There was very little in the way of parishioners, and the ones that were there seemed to be deep in meditation.
He was quiet and carefully slipped them up the steps.
Her heart was hammering wildly inside her chest. She wasn't sure if going up a tower was a good idea. If anything, wouldn't it trap them if their pursuers were wise enough to follow them to the top? But she said nothing, simply moved along until the cool air from the belfry could be felt on her warm, sweaty skin. And she leaned against the cold stone walls and looked out into the city, before finding herself unable to keep a smile off her face.
"Something amusing?" Adaron asked with a curious lilt to his voice. Their venture up the steps was met with a trapdoor leading to the tower top, and he paused a moment to listen below them.
"Only that we're trying to hide in a church."
"And we don't belong in a church? The pair of us?" He chuckled and in a spur of the moment, he kissed her cheek.
She raised a brow at him and tried to hide a smile.
"Are you aiming to make things worse?"
"I don't understand how a peck on a cheek could possibly make things worse," he said and kissed her again, this time a little more lingering.
"We just had sex on the library table," she growled, moving to return his kiss with one of her own.
"Oh did we? Care to refresh my memory?" He smirked, kissing her again, pressing his forehead to hers.
Teeth sunk into her lower lip, tugging at it until it flopped back.
She gasped, but was more amused than repulsed. Her eyes even glittered.
"Oh, you would try to egg on an encore," she said, jestfully hitting his side but she kissed him back none the less, even daring so much as to step up against him so their bodies were flush.
Forms flush to flush, he found his arms snaking around her. Breath hitched and he even moaned a little against her. "Gods, you taste so sweet," he said between kisses, turning his head here and there and lifting her off the ground and fiercer against him.
"Oh? Is that so?" came her playful reply, but she didn't fight it, only indulged.
"Is this wise to be doing it now of all times?" Adaron supposed it was moot now to be asking such a question considering he was all ready peeling at her clothes.
"What- you trying to frisk me or flatter me?" she asked through another kiss.
Adaron stopped and panted heavily against her, lips sore and bruised from their mild escapade as it were. Already his hardness pressed against her leg. "Well, what do you think?"
She laughed and kissed him. "I'd say both."
"That's a pretty good guess then," he chuckled between kisses, wrapping her fully in powerful arms. Desire was setting in, heating his blood and making his heart hammer loudly.
Kissing him was nice. Perhaps a little too indulgent, since it wasn't until they grew closer did she pause to hear...
"Someone's coming-"
"Then we probably shouldn't linger," he panted, pulling away. It was a bit too inconvenient to have a hard on in this moment, however there wasn't much he could do about it right now.
"And where should we go?" came her quick response. "They're coming up the stairs!" Even still, her eyes peered out onto the roof top. THat was a dangerous option, though it might be the only one.
Adaron didn't think any more of it. He ran up the rest of the tower's steps, and burst through the trapdoor that led to the top turrets of the chapel. He pulled Aurora along with him until he slammed the lid shut and clunked along the walkway, listening to the calls of the guardsmen below to spread out their search.
Aurora held her breath as she followed.
"Well this is a good situation. What do we do now?" It wouldn't be long before they would be seen.
"Keep moving of course. And hide your hair, it's like a giant red lantern!" Adaron took her hand and pulled her along the roof. As truth would have it, it was him they spotted first and guardsmen shouted to head to the roof.
Adaron circumvented around the tower's edge until a crack in the wall opened up to a short leap across an alleyway. It was better than getting caught, but a fall would surely break their necks. He decided to take that chance. With a running leap, he crossed the crack and grasped fervently at the roofing of the next building, holding himself up just barely.
It was easier for her lighter form to make the jump, but she kept an eye on him when he stumbled. Getting her footing quickly, she urged, "Come on!" And took his arm, guiding him along.
Adaron stumbled after her, leaning on the narrow edge and allowing him to balance as he walked along.
"Where too now? There are lots of ledges to choose fro."
"The hell if I know! It wasn't exactly my idea to run across rooftops!" she went on, rushing forward as quick as she dare. "Let's just.. choose one!" And she saw a nearby ledge and turned to him.
"That one looks good enough to me." And with a nod, she moved and leaped across, landing hard on loosening shingles.
Adaron saw the shingles. He saw that she landed. He saw it all mid-air as he followed her.
And it seemed to bring little fortune for him. When he hit the roof he slid downward, scrambling and failing to catch it in time. He fell, hard and could hear the snap of a few ribs. Magic couldn't have helped on such short notice.
While he was still reeling from the fall, he could hear the face approach of footsteps, and soon there was the cold steel of a blade against his throat.
Aurora had to slap her hands over her mouth to keep from crying out. She knew that fall had to hurt, as the tingling sensation that that very well could have been her chilled her to the bone.
But she knew there was nothing she could do in the moment, nothing that wouldn't compromise herself and wouldn't harm Red Eye. She cursed, and soon the men were looking up at her.
"You there- woman! Get down here or we'll cut your friend's throat!"
She cringed, hesitating. She never thought she'd find herself in such a predicament where she'd actually cared if another were to die....
"And if I do give myself up?" she called down to the men, who all exchanged glances before looking back to her.
"He won't die here on the streets."
"Don't you fucking dare!" Adaron barked up, only to have his face clipped with the pommel of the sword. He growled and blood dribbled from both the back and front of his head.
"Come down!" the guard called.
"Run! Goddamn you, run!" Adaron cried out again.
"Shut the fuck up!" Adaron was quickly shackled and dragged to his feet, although he resisted greatly, despite his wounds and the stiffness in his back. "Take him away. We have something special for this ape."
Aurora hesitated, watching with a cringe as they shackled him. And it was only as he was beginning to get dragged away did she realize what he implied- and thought into it-
What did he mean for her not to give herself up? Did he honestly think she'd let him play the hero so she'd be indebted to him?
As the men were quick to fight with Adaron, Aurora moved to climb over to the other side of the rooftop, vanishing from view.
The dungeons were cleaner than he expected and they didn't treat him any rougher than he had to. Adaron was cleaned up very little and given water and bread before he was shoved into his cell. Damn, this may as well have been a fucking hotel.
Even the bedroll wasn't completely eaten away.
How long had she been running? Exhausted, she made her way to the prison and studied it from the shadows. Certainly they wouldn't have cut his throat by now. Of course, that didn't stop her from sneaking into the prison. And though relieved to see he wasn't dead, she had to tsk.
"Here I come to rescue you but you look so comfortable... I think I'd feel guilty unlocking the door," she went on with a twirl of the keys.
Adaron crawled up from the bedroll. "You came all this way? For little ol' me?"
"Little?" She gave him a once over and a smirk.
"Yeah, yeah, just unlock the gate. Hurry before the guard comes down here!" He didn't bother to think that maybe she took care of them. Or if she just managed to slither her way down here. He wasn't going to question his good fortune now of all times.
Adaron leaned forward against the bars, awaiting for her to unlock it. What else could she be here for? Unless, it was for the map...but that was confiscated from him upon arriving here. It was too bad those guards didn't know what they took from him.
"I dunno.." she went on, leering him through long lashes as she approached the bars. "Maybe I came down here just to admire you all locked up..." But even as she spoke, a hand fished through her pocket; albeit it a slow action as she looked for his salvation item.
"Do you know what they did with all of your things?"
She had taken enough time to search within the jail- it seemed they didn't keep whatever they took of his on the premise.
"Probably taken it off into the Jailer's office. If they even have such things here. If they had any brains at what they had that was," he said. He shook his head and reached across the bars swiftly to press his face against them, kissing her hot and deep.
He let her go after a time. "Do you have the keys?"
Grinning smugly, she took a step back so that when she held them up, he couldn't reach.
"What kind of thief do you take me for?"
Adaron didn't know whether to try and strangle her, or just break open those bars himself. He pursed his lips, thinking a moment. "You're an excellent thief, Aurora," he murmured, grinning even at that admission. It was true after all. But he still needed to be let out. And if she didn't, he hoped she didn't think she could get away so easily. The guards failed to realize his eyes was something of value as well.
"Can the lovely and beautiful Lady Theif, please release me from my cell?"
Her entire being now oozed with coyness. Her smirk grew leftward as she dared to take another step forward.
"And if I like to see you behind bars?" She looked his body over rather appreciatively. It was kind of nice knowing he was kept in his place..
She did have a complex of power.. perhaps just a bit. Reminded her she had an ego to fuel, after all.
"I think i can arrange for you to have me properly restrained, in a much nicer setting, if you release me. Please?" Adaron murmured, leaning his face against the bars. "I swear I will do you no harm. I have been properly reformed."
She rolled her eyes.
"Spare me." And she moved to unlock his door. She saw what his eye could do.
And she was right to finally relent. Still, Adaron gave a gracious bow to his head and stepped out. "I am in your debt," he promised and closed the cell door quietly. "Now let's go and see if we can't stir up more trouble than we're worth."
She gave a brief, musical laugh.
"Like a little kid," she mused, tossing the key aside. "Let's at least make this worth our time, shall we?" She still held a ring of many other keys, her fingers moving through them like pages from a book.
The map had been taken from him. But the prisoner couldn't have been that large, right. "So," he began, conversationally. "Just what are you wanted in Cerenis for? What other things have you stolen?"
"Oh? You're curious about my criminal history now?" Her eyes glittered. "How about we discuss this over a drink? I think you owe me about twenty after all this."
"Fine. It's a date," he winked at her.
As they navigated through the prison, Adaron stopped short around the corridor, as guards were coming down their way. He pressed his back to the wall. It was a pair, but between them, Adaron would rather avoid conflict if necessary.
He reached for Aurora's hand, grasping it gently and focusing on the darkness they were concealed in. Except their forms did not blend, but seemed to fade temporarily into the wall reflectively, a chameleon cloaking effect. And he pulled Aurora along behind him as the guards passed.
Aurora wanted to scream. What was he doing? The guards were...
She held her breath, hearing her heart beat inside her ears that it was deafening. But whatever it was that had happened...
The guards had walked on by.
Only one of them stilled, his companion walking along and he shivered. "Weird," he mumbled. "Felt like a cold gust went through here.". His companion laughed.
"You're afraid of ghosts, are you now Robert?" And the first man smacked the back of his head.
Adaron carefully eased them out of it before he paused at a door at the end of the hall, locked. He saw a bronzed sign next to it that read, "Inventory. Keep out.".
"If anything important is here, it's probably behind this door. If not, the warden has it. You wanna try one of those keys?"
She gave a roll of her eyes.
"Tried it. Trust me, there's nothing worth two licks of salt in there. Come on," and she gestured for him to follow her.
For fuck's sake
Adaron sighed uselessly against the door and tilted his head at her. "If you're so certain then, I'll just have to take your word for it. Considering you've got the keys, you'll take the lead," he suggested and followed close behind, clinging to her like a shadow.
"There's storage elsewhere, but I know for a fact none of the men visited the attic. I'm thinking it's been hauled over to the twin building over there," she went on, pointing outside a window as they passed. "Only problem is, I'll need to figure out who might have the key. Can't say there'd be one for sure on this set." Clearly it'd be a problem they'd fix once it came up. They had to sneak out of the building first. At least Aurora had already handled most of the men on duty. She paused to ensure there was still no one watchin goutside, then she opened the door and gestured for Adaron to follow.
It was a sound plan for the moment and Adaron wasn't just going to wait around for them to get caught. So outside they went to skirt around the building just as she opened the door. There it opened up to a long stretch of stone walkway, a bridge overlooking the city between those two towers. Adaron saw no one else on that bridge and took off with a run when the moment was opportune.
He paused at the door, pressing his form against the wall when the guard on the walkway above them maneuvered beside his perch, his bow in his hands and he casually looked out for any trouble. Adaron kept himself low and quiet, waiting for the archer to walk away.
Although stealthy in her own right, she perhaps had some sort of a chip on her shoulder, for when the archer had passed from view, Aurora simply sauntered on over across the bridge to the next door. Found the lock, she looked it over to see if she could pick it, but knowing the guards would be back soon, she had to abandon it and gestured for Red Eye to stay hidden. He was kind of large and bulky anyway.
From where hse was pressed against the side of the building, she looked around to see if there were other paths, and other guards on duty and hints of a place or a man, that might house the key. She didn't think she'd be so lucky, so as she waited, she began to rummage through her pockets to see what she could use. The lock itself wouldn't be an easy one. But it wouldn't prove as difficult to open as a jail cell door or main jail office.
Then again, she could be wrong.
The archer returned to view, looking out towards the eastern side, and Aurora swore he was lingering too long on his rounds this way. She looked over towards Adaron, obviously anxious, but what else could she do?
Then a bird shat on her head.
Yeah... this wasn't exactly going as planned. Though sh esupposed it could be worse.
Adaron couldn't wait any longer. The more they did, the higher chances they had of getting caught. He growled a little, looking up at the archer above them and he shifted his form into a black cloud of feathers flowing upward toward the perch and reappearing behind the archer.
"Huh?" the man grunted, swiveling about as Adaron chopped him with an open hand strike on the neck and he dropped to the bottom of his perch. Adaron searched his person, finding no key and laid him out so he was less obvious. Throwing himself over the ledge, he landed with a roll and looked to the door.
He pointed an index finger toward the center lock and his hand glowed brightly for a brief second before a small bolt of energy projected into the keyhole and burst through the iron with a soft sound. And he gently nudged he door open. "After you," he muttered, gesturing her through before following inside.
By the time he had returned, she had cleaned the bird shit from her hair. Thankfully he alotted her at least that much time in his disappearance. She didn't even have a chance to think he might have up and abandoned her, and in fact, was impressed when he managed to simply use his magic to open the door. She gave him a smug, small grin.
"Oh no, I insist," she went on with a bow. "After you."
Of course, she would be smug now of all times. And the moment Adaron shuffled along inside, he snatched Aurora's hand to pull her in behind him. Adaron paused and kept to the walls, avoiding any illuminated areas.
"You said it was up in this tower, or down?"
"Up," and she even gestured. "Down would take us through some... more unsavory prisons I'd rather not think of. But there should be another locked room with some stored items and I'd bet my bosoms our items are there."
And if she was wrong, well..
she had enough bosoms anyway that a reduction might actually help her back, which she took amoment to stretch it until it gave a soft crack.
"Please no, your bosoms are lovely," Adaron murmured with an appreciative glance. He quickly moved toward and led the way up the stairs as the tower circled above them. He paused, noticing the quiet. There were more men up ahead, and he looked at Aurora. There wasn't room to hide, but what could they do but fight them?
Aurora sighed and began to pluck open the front of her blouse.
"Bosoms really are lethal assets. I'm surprised no one's outlawed them yet." And with a flounce of her hand, she was nearly falling out of her clothes as she sauntered her way on up towards the men above.
"I heard there were a few lonely men up here waiting for a reprieve," she went on, fluffing her hair and giving flirty bats of her lashes. And if the men were taken aback that some random half dressed woman was there, they showed no signs of it as all of them were exactly what she had hoped for-
a bit sex crazed and antsy. Too bad most of them looked like older men.
"My, my," one of them moved coyly towards her side, taking in her breasts as if they were being served on a platter. "I was just thinking about stopping at the whore house. Looks like I won't need to." He drew Aurora in close, a hand to the small of her back as he admired her face.
"And a pretty one too. And look at this body..." His large hands moved across her form appreciatively, kissing her sloppily before moving down to suck and moan against her breasts.
The other men began to crowd around.
"Hey, Egen, don't hog her all to yourself!" one of the rougher looking men said, moving in to slide his own hands in and moved quickly up her legs.
"Man, between her legs are on fire- much like her hair." He pulle dhis fingers out, sniffing at the moistness appreciatively before licking it off. He cracked his neck. "Here, let me have a first go at her. I need to blow a load something bad." And he was working at his buckle. "Come on doll. he can get your ass. I want that puss." And he was already on a chair with his rock hard dick out.
All Aurora could think was 'Well that escalated quickly- and was far too easy....
How long had these men been on duty?
But soon she felt the fat fingers of Egen moving inside her and he groaned as he kissed at her neck.
"Why do you get her pussy? Gods.." She could feel his dick rubbing against her side through his pants. "How about I get to fuck her first?"
"Keep your pants on. My dick's already out," and the other man grabbed Aurora by the wrist and yanked her clean onto his lap. He wa alread working at rubbing his dick against her while Aurora played up the part of the whore.
Redeye better hurry his ass up. If she actually had to fuck these dirty old men....
Before Adaron could stop her - or before even considering any other options - Aurora was gone, sauntering up the stairs and flaunting her boobs. He could hear their voices and the sticky situation that this goddamn broad had brought herself in and he frowned deeply. Not simply because she didn't invite him to the party.
Gods, he wasn't in love with the woman! But he'd be damned if he was going to share her with anyone else.
Adaron squeezed his own leg, grumbling as he bounded up the steps, watching the distracted guards for a moment, taking in the sight of Aurora displayed the way she was and he felt his heart pick up. Adaron swallowed thickly before maneuvering up the steps and letting his runes glow along his arms. He pushed outwardly with an invisible force and knocked the guard behind her off her back, his head thudding hard against the stone wall behind them.
"You shoulda kept that dick in your pants. Ain't gonna do you any good out here," he hissed and kicked the chair out from underneath the older man. Before Aurora could follow that way down, Adaron snatched her wrist and pulled her up against him, his arm wrapped at her waist, and he kissed her fiercely.
He just stared at her a moment while the second man tried to get back on his feet. Adaron glared at him from over Aurora's shoulder and sent a hand out, a bolt of electricity arcing from his fingertips and zapping him until he was still on the ground, his keys dropping uselessly.
While the kiss was a nice surprise, the heroics were not. Those she planned for as she watched each man drop appreciatively. She was still spilling out of her clothing as he held her against his side, she, planting her hands flatly against his chest and grinning.
Even still, she had shivered at the burst of electricity as it sent more than a few men onto the ground. Oh my, it looked like her nipples were sticking out. She used one hand to carefully tuck herself back in.
"Oh, what a jealous husband you would be," she teased, now batting her long lashes at him. "Though I'm a bit surprised you didn't fry off his cock. He had touched me with it, after all," she pouted. Some how the man he just zapped still had out his raging hard on. She supposed she could appreciate that. How many men could keep that up after being zapped by electric? Though she had to wonder if he tried to use it, would he zap a poor girl? Oh.. heavens, wasn't she the intended fuck?
"Shall I get the keys or would you like the honors?"
Adaron gave her a stern expression, and although he was grinning, and his eyes were drinking her in, he gently released the pressure he'd had on her lower back that had pinned her against him. He gave a grunt, looking her over and bit his lower lip. "Later," he hissed.
Now that the way was clear, Adaron moved to pick up the keys and moved over toward the door the men were guarding. He stuck the key into the lock and with a click it opened, and he kicked it open, seeing items collected inside of it.
"The map's gotta be in here somewhere," he murmured and took her hand, yanking her into the room with him.
Aurora would have preferred to saunter, but it seemed Red eye was determined to get this over with quick.
"I told you it would be our best bet to look," she went on, slicking back a curl of red hair behind her ear. "I suppose, " she went on, sighing at the daunting mess before her. "We get this started." And she went about rifling through the first pile of papers nearest the door. But that's all it seemed to be, papers. No, the map was on another sort of parchment all together, and so she abandoned that pile for another, looking or it's texture, rather than anything else.
Get things started. Now it sounded like she was going according to plan. Hm. Well she did have certain assets he just didn't possess.
Adaron looked her over, her clothes not even entirely fixed right. He reached for her shoulder, turning her around and leaning in to kiss her softly at first. His lips were warm and palpable and he had fingers buried deep into her red hair.
"It's later," he murmured, an arm snaking around her.
She had not exactly prepared for Adaron to suddenly get so affectionate, but she wasn't complaining. She liked the way he kissed.
"You know there might still be other guards lurking around," she reminded, not that it seemed like she cared, as she kissed him back, her own hands roughly clinging onto him to keep him close.
"Well they'll just have to be satisfied with their own fucking hand," he chuckled with a soft growl, kissing her back with soft nips.
Adaron clung powerful arms around her form, lifting her clear off the ground and encouraging her legs to curl around him. "I don't share," he hissed, kissing her hotly and pinning her to the door.
He didn't have to coax, her legs naturally wrapped around his to keep his strong body held close. And at his words, she felt a thrill of heat coarse through her veins as she moaned and kissed him back.
"Oh? So you're going to have sex with me here only because I used my body against those men? Mmm..." she kissed him, holding his face. "I'll keep that in mind when I want to get you riled." And she kissed him again, this time coaxing his mouth open and wrestling her warm tongue with his.
"But I can't deny I'm a fan of this," she purred. "Having sex in .. such a dangerous location with men so close to capturing us... Dare I admit I'm... pretty soaking wet right now," she admitted , eyes hooded as she smirked.
"I would have had sex with you anyway," he murmured and reached down to test the heat she promised him. Yup, a swipe of his fingers across her sex certainly proved him correct. Adaron looked at the slickness on his fingers and cleaned them between his lips.
"But I didn't like them having you.". He kissed along her neck and throat, his hand freeing his member and he filled her to the hilt, taking it slow and deep.
It seemed their foreplay was brief, unless you counted their entire mission into getting here. Not that she minded, because her moans couldn't be contained the moment he filled her. His sex was so hot and it's girth made her sex stretch as she nursed her muscles around him, eyes clenching tightly as her toes curled inside her boots.
"Gods... this should be a sin,"s he moaned, lips finding his as fingers gripped into his hair, clawing into his scalp as she moved gently, panting as she did so.
Then she smirked, thinking abck to his comment.
"Do you think I'd like them fully have me?"
They had gotten a mouthful.. and some finger tasting....
She supposed Red Eye came at the right time in 'rescuing' her. It seemed those old men were just about ready to start a threesome.
He keep each movement slow and sensuous, letting each small shift make his body twitch and soft shivers coursed up and down his spine. He kissed her back, mouth trapped by hers and letting her fingers get tangled in his hair.
He was cutting through her like a knife through butter. And soft moan escaped him as he kept her pinned to the wall. Gods, did she have to talk? Hmm, well, he liked their rutting and he growled against her lips.
"Yeah, I did." His voice was a hiss, and he tilted his head down to bury into her bosom, kissing her breasts, taking a hardened nub between his lips. "Men like, generally don't take no for an answer." Adaron breathed heavily against her chest, flicking a tongue along her nipple, holding her with one arm and letting his free hand, grip her other.
He broke his face away long enough to look at her. He angled his hips, letting her sex nurse on his, and he watched her face, tilting his body to exactly the angle that made her twist the most.
She made all kinds of faces in the way he moved, but once he had all the right points aligned, she melted, her moans coming out, a will all their own, as she panted and whimpered and moved with need. The pleasure was a poison, and if it killed her, she didn't care. They were in a world of trouble already. Anyone could walk in on them. They would be exposed. They were vulnerable. But they were also on the top of their game. And that's what made it all the more delicious.
Her cries grew as her orgasm nearly peaked, cheeks bright pink, as was the swell of her breasts, which bounced heavily each time he fucked her- and despite their mass, somehow her breasts were always pert and perky, a pair of tantalizing pieces for him to gobble on up as they fucked.
"Gods. Aurora," he murmured, whining, panting as he thrusted hard and deep. She was so soft and wet, and there absolutely no resistance as he moved into her. He kept his face planted to her chest, ensuring to evenly lap at each breast with tender lips and tongue.
His head tilted to the side if only for a second to catch his breath, his face rested against her bosom, his hands hiking her hips up against his. "You feel so damn good," he hissed, shifting his head to meet her gaze. "Come for me," he panted, undulating his hips and hilting her fully with each thrust.
When he hit the right spot, he kept going, although his hips worked hard but meticulously, and he wanted her to brim with heat until she practically exploded. He kissed along her neck and throat, his free hand grasping at her breast again, massaging the nipple, squeezing and gripping, using every touch he could manage to push her over the edge.
Why did it have to feel so good? Perhaps it was because she normally never gave a man the real time of day (or the bad time of day) to enjoy these sorts of things for any consecutive length of time. Sure, she'd had plenty of sex with men she traveled with (most of it was actually rather bad, but when she opted for sex more than once, the man was normally pretty damn good at it- especially that one librarian that surprised her the one time and had her eating out of his hand. She supposed Adaron was like that in some ways, too. Definitely a surprise, though she had a feeling he was powerful in bed, she couldn't have presumed he'dbe any good.
But how many times had they fucked? And fucked in inappropriate places? It was becoming a thing and well...
Who was she to complain? In fact, she was here to merely oblige. If he wanted her to come- why hold back? It didn't take long before she was screaming his name, cries echoing in the mostly vacant room, save for the pair of them, and the papers now scattered around and other trinkets half hung and locked away in wall tucked drawers.
But Gods, did that orgasm ever feel good. And she was already writhing for another one, turning around and putting her ass out, wanting Adaron to fuck her like a dog as she lay her front down across the table, feet ont he ground, but ass up, legs together to keep her sex nice and tight-
He'd have to plunge into her tightness if he wanted more sex again-
and she had a feeling that's exactly what he'd want.
"Come on. You're turn to come for me," she cooed over her shoulder, red hair a wild mess of untamed sprigs.
Feeling her come all around him had him hard-pressed to keep from bursting inside her himself. Adaron held his breath and his face was flushed red from holding back, body trembling as she came down from her high. And his head was splayed out against her when she shifted around. Adaron blinked at her, biting his lip as she laid herself out on that table.
He hadn't came, not quiet yet. And even as he was still hard, his heavy cock bobbing with movement, and slick with her heat, he positioned himself behind her, gripping her hips and letting his hand squeeze and pull her back against him.
In turn, he stepped forward and plunged in deep. The tightness she made, squeezing her legs together made the entry excruciatingly pleasurable, and he gasped, hissing as he pushed himself in slow and deep, filling her with his manhood, and he was all man. "Gods," he hissed, biting his lip as he started to thrust, one hand pressed into her lower back to press her down. "How can you possibly be so tight?"
Already their bodies were coated in sweat and flesh raw between them, but that did nothing to deter him from fucking her against that table, not even the threat of being caught. And woe to anyone that dared into disrupt them before they were finished.
Aurora clung to the table, sweaty body sticking to wood and paper alike. Her moans came from deep in her throat as she tossed her head back to coax him into more.
Adaron shifted and began to move deeper, slower and reached forward to grip her hair, pulling it back as he adjusted himself and turned his hips enough to find the spots that made her writhe the most. He moaned loudly and shot his eyes to the door, hearing movement behind it, and the sounds of a guard approaching, hand jiggling the door knob.
Moaning, she lifted herself up on her toes and kept her body angled higher so he could go deeper. And she could feel him to the hilt. His balls slapping against her swollen clit helped send extra zings of pleasure through her. Her moans grew louder, her hip bucking, fiercer, before she felt herself crying out in pleasure again as somebody started to bang on the door.
"They open that damn door, I'll turn them to ash," he growled and pounded into her harder, feeling the runes along his body become aglow with magic. They surged into him and into her when he felt himself brimming over the edge. A few more thrusts and he jerked her back against him, coming hard and feeling his seed leak from her sex.
He pressed hard against her hips until he was finished and pulled out, cleaning himself off with a stray paper, crumbling it up and flinging it to the side.
Sill a fist banged on the door, and Adaron hiked his pants back up onto his hips, securing the ties. "Look for the scroll," he panted, looking at her from the side and giving her a sly grin. He leaned forward momentarily to steal a kiss. "I'll take care of our company."
It didn't take her long to find it as she held up the piece of paper he wiped off on.
"Found it," she chirped. "It's about as sticky as I am. But hurry up because I'm still horny." Danger was an unfortunate aphrodisiac of hers. She smirked when she got a whiff of the map. "It even smells like us. How nice. "
Still? Adaron only smirked at her as he moved out the door and made short work of the guards that tried to gut him like a fish. They were no match, but he gave them an A for effort regardless. And he patted the guardsman's head as he laid slumped against the wall, his dick no longer hard.
"Poor sod," he hissed and opened the door for her. Taking Aurora by the hand, and the map in the other, they started back down the stairs. "Once we're outside, we fly, okay? I hope you're not afraid of heights."
"Fly?" She questioned, naturally stepping over the slumped guards. She smirked. "And here I thought we just did that. "
He laughed and once they were down the stairs and back to the door, Adaron clasped his arm powerfully around her, securing her body to his and met her gaze for the brevity of the moment. She looked wild and unkempt, her hair everywhere.
And Adaron set his runes along his body aglow again and when he opened the door, shoving passed a group of guards that were running toward them from the other side, he took them up onto the ledge and jumped off. As the wind caught them, they both vanished into a flock of feathers, a murder of black birds flying off over and across the city.
They would reappear in an alleyway, Adaron huddling her in a tight embrace and the warm glow of those runes gradually leaving him. Already the sun was setting.
When they flew, she felt her heart beating in her throat. Upon touching land, her heart was still hammering as she grinned.
"You're good at a quick escape," she quipped, touching her hair and o only then realizing it's state as she fussed over i t.
Upon release, he let her fix her hair and once they were free, he was even more vigilant now than he was before. They needed some place to hideout to better inspect that map and while he didn't quite know Cerenis. He looked out, the coast was clear and took her hand, striding calmly down the street.
"Okay, Redwig," he murmured. "You know this place pretty well right? Do you know a good place to hideout around here?"
She gave a roll of her eyes. "Any place that's a tavern would do. This is a port. There are a lot of travelers coming and going. Just with those facts alone it makes this city one of the easiest to hide away in. However, you and I might be a bit noticeable around here."
Redwig and red eye.
"It might not be a bad idea to just catch a ride on one of the ships due to leave." Then again, were they finished with everything they came here to do?
"Then that sounds as good a plan as any," Adaron sighed. Sure the answer may have seemed obvious, and they were much closer to the port than previously. His arm slipped around her side, holding her as he might hold a lover and he sighed again, taking in that fresh ocean air.
"Let's do just find a nice quiet tavern," he murmured, looking down at her sideways. She was a pretty thing, and not a bad lay. He couldn't trust her of course, she was out for herself much like he was. But for this partnership, he willing to give just enough trust to finish out what he needed to do.
The Opal Tavern was rowdy and rough with people as they entered and no one paid any attention to them when Adaron purchased a room for two and he ushered her up the stairs.
The Opal Tavern. She'd been there before. She got some good leads here on the exact hear they were both seeking. It was laughable she'd be back at this place- this adventure seeming to be one large wild goose chase. But then again, most of her adventures ended up this way. she had a knack for trouble and was always tip toeing the thick of things. Thankfully she was wise enough to gracefully step above the mess rather than step into it. She didn't need to leave any messy tracks behind. Then again...
She studied Adaron as they entered the room. He himself was a messy track if she had ever saw one. Perhaps this town was as good as any for her to make a quick get away from him. But then again, as her eyes took in his body... she started to get some other ideas in mind. She was, after all, just a bit jolted still from their little rendez-vous back in the jail.
She looked away from him to a large bed to share. Maybe there was no getting around it, as her hands smoothed down the tops of the blanket as she took a seat upon the bed.
"Stiff bed," she murmured, testing it with a small bounce where she sat. "Stiff drink could fix that and we can be sleeping like lambs." She smirked at him. "Think we could get a bottle of rum?"
A messy track that Adaron full intended on cleaning if he had anything to say about it. He didn't like leaving a trail behind if he didn't have to. The moment he'd arrived in Cerenis after that bloody map it'd been one big mess, and one he was determined to have pay off at some point.
"A bottle of rum? Yeah most likely." He shifted around toward a decanter that was empty, glasses that were unused, and a lonely glass container of whiskey. Empty. "I'll get one, you look over the map." A few minutes passed and he returned with a full bottle of amber rum that he placed on the beside table and sat beside her on that bed.
Gods, she wasn't joking. The bed was as stiff as a rock!
Adaron made a face and spread out the map over the sheets. "It's a long way into the desert from here."
she had been studying the map. A strange series of symbols were cut off on the left hand side. Almost like out were a warning. But their path lay dead south. And the result was worn.
"A long way. " she repeated, eyes still glued to the map. "If we traveled by boat or dragon it could be quicker, " she pointed out with a smirk. "Here, poor me some rum. I'm thirsty."
She wanted him to pour her a drink. Adaron smirked. Far be it from him to leave a lady thirsty. He did as request and pressed the underside of his palm against hers, cupping her hand to the glass.
"You say a dragon. A just where my dear are we going to get a dragon?"
She raised a brow.
"There are plenty of dragon riders for sale in Adela," she educated. She went to lift her glass to her lips, and her brows raised further to see he was still holding her hand. She went and drank greedily anyway. "Why? Are you worried?" she asked, wiping at her lips. There was a playful twinkle to her eye as she pressed, "Never been on a dragon before?" Truth be told, she had only ever done it once before. It was exciting.. as well as frightening. And pricey.
"I'm not worried persay," Adaron admitted. He licked his lips. He knew what flight felt like on his own terms. And he admittedly had little experience on top of a dragon - an animal powerful enough to decide it's own path. "But the fact that I've never been on one does leave me a little bit at a loss. What about you? You've been on a dragon?"
"For starters, you have to be smart when hiring the rider. I can't say I'm well versed on dragons, but I can read people well enough and know money can go a long way." She smirked and tipped her head his way. "We could at least look around. And who knows, find one to pop your cherry," she added with a wink.