Dealing with Dragons (Glob!) [M]

[DragonSong]

Elora smiled and twined her fingers through his, squeezing back gently. "You know what? I am too."

She turned her head to look at him, eyes searching his face, then sighed quietly and let her head drop onto his shoulder, pressing a little closer to his side. "Thank you, Merradin. For-- well. For everything, I suppose."

[DaGlobster]

Even though it was a simple touch, a little jolt of something shot through Merradin right then. He didn't know what to call it, it didn't quite feel like attraction in the conventional sense. In his long life, he'd experienced love, heartbreak, and even had a crush, and yet this was something completely new.

She'd be able to see it in his face. He couldn't hide the small, genuine smile or the faint red on his cheeks. When she put her head on his shoulder, he spared their joined hands a final look before returning his gaze to the view.

"You're very welcome, Ser Braun," Merradin said, and he laid his other hand on his lap.

"Having you around's not so bad. You mix a good sauce, after all..."

[DragonSong]

It was hard to miss the sudden shift in him, a sort of...bashfulness, almost. Elora smiled a bit and dropped her eyes, giving his hand a soft squeeze as she settled herself more comfortably against him.

"Well, I should hope so." She smirked at him sidelong. "I've been championed as a sauce-mixer, you know. Won awards and everything."

[DaGlobster]

Merradin chuckled lightly at that, and turned his eyes upwards to the sky for a few moments before looking back down at her. A few moments of silence before he leaned his head on hers and closed his eyes, basking in the company.

"How fortunate then, that fate crossed our paths."

[DragonSong]

"Mm, I would certainly say so." She smiled and let her eyes close for a moment, just listening to the gradual, sleepy sounds of his breath and heartbeat.

After a moment, a yawn struck her and she raised a hand to cover her mouth, shaking her head slightly. "Sorry," she chuckled lightly. "I swear I'm normally more fun than this."

[DaGlobster]

"It's fine," Merradin said. Feeling bold, he released her hand and instead put his arm around her, holding nice and close in a soft embrace.

"I came here to drink and dance, but..."

He trailed off, and left a kiss on top of her head.

"I like this more."

[DragonSong]

Elora tensed a moment, then relaxed again, allowing herself to lean more into his side. "I think...I might too," she admitted with a wry little smile. She tilted her head back to look up at him. "Thanks, Merradin-- but I promise next time we go out it'll be more drinking and dancing," she added with a laugh.

[DaGlobster]

"You promise?" He repeated teasingly, and he met her eyes when she looked up at him. Once again, eye contact with her seemed to smite him just a little bit, and he found himself reddening just a bit as he raised a hand to gently brush away some of her silver hair from her face. The urge to kiss her was very real, but Merradin held himself in.

"But it was less about the actions and more, well... I get to do a nice thing with you," he admitted.

"I... I've found that I've taken a bit of a shining to you, Elora."

[DragonSong]

The knight chuckled for his teasing, but when his hand came up to brush her hair from her face she found herself sobering, just looking up at him in silence as he spoke.

"I..." She licked her lips, dropping her eyes for a moment. "That's...very flattering, Merradin. Thank you," she murmured after a brief pause. Glancing up again, she added with an attempt at humor, "Does that mean a wild dragon has a crush on me?"

[DaGlobster]

Merradin laughed a little breathlessly at her joke, and once again, there wasn't a quippy response immediately after. The movement of her licking her lips caught his eyes for a brief moment before he looked back to her.

"I wouldn't say I have a crush on you, no, but... How do I describe it?"

He mulled it over, and covered one of her hands with his own.

"Whenever you touch me, it feels like I flew through a charged storm cloud. I've only known you a couple of days, but I feel so... connected to you, every part of you, I..."

He went really red, probably too red for an ancient dragon.

"...I've lived a long life. I've been in love, I've had my heart broken and fantasies fulfilled, each more than once. But with you, Elora, I feel something deep within myself that I've never felt for anyone, dragon or human..."

Then, after a short pause, he laughed a bit to himself and covered his face with a hand as the chuckling died down. When he looked at her again, it was with endless warmth in his eyes.

"I don't even know what it is but I'm absolutely drunk on it."

[DragonSong]

She stared at him in utter silence, eyes very wide. "I..."

Her voice trailed off, throat dry, lips still parted but no sound able to make it passed them. How on earth was she supposed to answer that?! "You...I..."

She couldn't do it. She just couldn't make words happen, at least nothing coherent. Her heart skipped giddily in her chest, a combination of anxiety, youthful infatuation, wariness, and something dangerously approaching-- well. Something she hadn't thought to experience again for a long, long time. Possibly never.

"Merradin, that's...wow." Elora shook her head, turning away from him to stare out over the view. "I-- I don't know if I can-- I don't know what to say," she whispered. A little shiver ran through her and she glanced down at his hand over hers. She thought about pulling away, but after a moment she turned her hand over and laced their fingers together.

[DaGlobster]

"You don't need to say anything," Merradin said, glancing down at their joined hands as his own heart fluttered. Gods, he felt like a schoolboy, and yet he couldn't help but wince at her reaction.

"Did I say too much? I promise, I'm not usually such a sap," Merradin said, even as he raised her hand up to leave a peck on it.

"But that's been my honest feeling ever since I met you. Not as much at first but now, well..."

He held her hand with both of his.

"Look at me. Making my confessions under the moonlight and blushing like a bridesmaid."

[DragonSong]

"No, no you didn't...say too much," Elora murmured quickly, her own eyes fixed on their joined hands. She smiled softly and shook her head before lifting her eyes to his face again.

"I'm flattered, Merradin. Really, I am. And I--" She took a breath, thinking over her words. "I think I might...be able to-- to reciprocate. I just--!"

She closed her eyes again, brows drawing together in a slight frown. "I didn't think...this part of my life would come back to me so soon. Maybe ever. It's...a lot."

[DaGlobster]

At her mention that the feeling was mutual, Merradin smiled a little more warmly. She closed her eyes, and Merradin wanted to banish that frown on her face, so he put a hand on her cheek, leaning in to rest his head against hers.

"I... I don't want you to worry about it."

He paused, words caught, and then kissed the top of her head.

"...kiss me?"

[DragonSong]

"I..."

She was already leaning toward him, not even realizing she was doing it. Then she stopped, turned her face away, closed her eyes and took a breath.

"I can't, Merradin," she whispered, her voice suddenly thick, throat tight. "I can't not worry about it. I want to, gods I want to, but I...can't." Her eyes were still closed, fists clenched tight at her sides. "You saw me tonight, I was-- I was scared! Scared of a damned bar, that's-- that's not me, that's never been me, and that just scares me more and--"

She bit her tongue, shaking slightly. "What could I be for you? Maybe before, if we'd met...before. But now?" She scoffed and shook her head. "I'm not a knight. I'm not a soldier, a warrior, I'm barely even a woman anymore, I-- I don't know what I am."

Very slowly, Elora opened her eyes and raised her head to look at Merradin, tears swamping the gold in her gaze. She shook her head again. "What could I be for you, like this? You deserve something better. Someone whole."

[DaGlobster]

Merradin listened to her until she was done, frowning slightly to hear her speak of herself in such a way. It was all so bewildering to him, this new feeling. Even more jarring that he shared it with a human.

As she finished, he started shaking his head lightly, and he looked to meet her gaze. She'd be able to see that while Merradin was adept at holding himself together, she'd see the seams start to stretch in how painfully real his smile was.

"To me, you're Elora Braun," Merradin said simply.

"You could just be Elora, and that's all I would ever need."

[DragonSong]

Elora shook her head as she met his gaze, but it wasn't exactly a denial, almost something more like disbelief.

"I couldn't-- I couldn't stay," she whispered, voice trembling slightly. "Even if I thought I could ever learn to be that-- Elora Braun-- again, I...I couldn't stay with you, Merradin." She took a shaky breath and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Elora Braun was a knight of the realm. She was a defender. If that is who you need...I couldn't stay with you, here in the mountains. I'd have to go back." Another shake of her head. "If what you're saying is true, that you've never...felt this before, with a human... It wouldn't be fair to either of us. I couldn't in good conscious begin this with you, knowing I'd have to leave in order to be what you see in me."

What she saw in herself. Because as confused and scarred as she knew she still was, somehow being near Merradin made her think that maybe she really was strong enough to be Elora Braun again. It was a terrifying, thrilling, miraculous thought, and it made her heart clench in something like grief.

Elora Braun was a warrior of Adela, and Merradin was the Lightning-Eater, a creature of sky and fire and wild places. She could never ask him to sacrifice that for her, just as she could not sacrifice the ideal that made her who she was if she was ever to be a match for him. And those ideals meant that she would have to leave.

[DaGlobster]

Somehow, Merradin found it in himself to chuckle a little bit, and he gave her that familiar smirk.

"I've spent two thousand years on this world and I've never met another soul that gleams like lightning quite like yours. But this emotion, this burning desire to be close to you, It's not love, although I think there's some of that mixed in," he started.

He wracked his brains. Never had he heard of a dragon that took a human as a mate, but Merradin wasn't even sure that's what he felt right now. His face sobered up again.

"When I was with the dragon knights for those three years, I learned that there are instances where a dragon and a rider don't need to train together. That sometimes, a special human comes along and meets the right dragon, and that they just click, and Elora, I..."

He breathed out, feeling some disbelief of his own.

"...I think you might be one of those, and that you've utterly smitten me."

[DragonSong]

She stared at him for a moment, rather blindsided.

"You...think we've bonded like that?" she whispered, a combination of awe and something like fear in her voice.

She'd never wanted to be a dragon rider. She respected them of course, and admired the work they did, but that life had never seemed right for her. Honestly, she was usually scared of dragons!

Except Merradin. Some uneasiness was still there, sure, but...

She didn't know what to say.

[DaGlobster]

[*sneakily edits out the unfinished sentence in his previous post*]

Merradin seemed equally as bewildered as her, even as he slowly nodded.

"I thought it was only a thing that happened to dragons who were raised to be mounts, that they were more receptive, but..."

He breathed out, and started to redden up again.

"But I don't just think so, Elora, can't you feel it?" he said, and he gently took one of her hands, picking it up and putting it against his chest, where she'd be able to feel that heartbeat, feel the vibrations travel through her arm and straight into her own chest, and then he placed a hand on the side of her neck to feel her own pulse, thumb stroking her jaw.

"Can't you feel our hearts beating in time with one another? The way just being near you makes my pulse thunder?"