A Stranger's Secret (Mona)

[Anonymous]

Delaine Lacroix walked past another puddle. Pausing for a second, he glanced not so desperately into the clear water. Dark eyes blinked back; the handsome scowling face became one with a genuine smile as he realised that it wasn’t a trick, the face reflected in the puddle was actually him.

It was him. The real him. Him, with the indigo spiky mop of hair, and the trademark Delaine trickster thief cheeky grin. Not some poncy blonde with poncy golden eyes. The very thought of how he looked now made him shudder. In a fit of anger, Delaine kicked the puddle, sending the water spraying. The reflection faltered for a second, before vanishing into a cloud of murkiness.

He cursed. Now his tunic was wet.

There was an interesting story behind why Delaine looked different to how he used to be. And it all started off with a curse. Well, there was a bit before that, concerning him stealing a magical amulet from an enchantress by causing her to fall in love with him. The tall, darkly handsome stranger silhouetted against the skyline. Delaine, Thief Lord of the city. No one else need know that he wasn’t actually born there, that he actually came from a small rural village. But it wouldn’t matter now anyway.

Heartbroken, she had cursed him, in the form of two metal armlets that he couldn’t remove from his arms no matter how hard he’d tried- believe him, he’d tried- and so he was turned into the person that she admired the most. The person she thought he was, and wanted him to be.

A sappy knight, who was- he shuddered- nice. And polite. And kind. It was sickening. He couldn’t be nasty anymore; the curse just wouldn’t allow it. At least no one recognised him. That would just be one blow too low.

Muttering angrily, Delaine began to walk again. Last night, it had rained heavily, but today it was quite bright and sunny. He spotted a cottage with a horse tethered to a wooden post.

His fingers itched to steal it, but…he couldn’t take another step towards the horse. He was literally walking into an invisible wall. He smiled awkwardly and waved at a passing couple, which regarded him oddly.

“Good day…fellow…strangers…� He said brightly, through gritted teeth. What he actually wanted to say was, “What the f*ck do you think you’re staring at?� But that wasn’t very nice was it?

Or professional. A professional thief was always charming, and the perfect gentleman. That was the only part of his personality which he retained, after the curse, and it was kind of losing it’s…charm. It just wasn’t as fun being polite when he didn’t have a reason to be.

He crossed his eyes and concentrated furiously. I…am…going…to give…the horse…some exercise.

He tensed. And relaxed when he found that he could move towards the horse again. There were a few loopholes in the curse, which he happily exploited. Laughing to himself, he straddled the horse and whispered soothing words to it. No one noticed the handsome blonde knight as he made off with the horse.

((Sorry for the long post!))

[Anonymous]

She couldn't have chosen a better time to decide she wanted her own baby griffen? If the handsome stranger had thought he was having a bad day, take a walk in this young farie's shoes.

"DAMN!"

Now Dainne, not a nice word! The bird that she had just screamed at didn't really seem to care, and just reared back, flashing lion claws dangerously, wings flapping to creat a semi dust storm.

For 400 points, what was she fighting? "I hate griffens." She murmured to herself. Ding ding ding!

The young wood fairy darted behind a near-by tree, hoping that the bird would stop flapping so that she could use the instrument she was fumbling with right then, a long bow. Getting it strung quickly, she waited, holding it tight in her hands, green eyes flashing around, listening for the...

CRASH!!!! THe mother griffen, not happy that she had taken an egg right out from under her nose, err, beak, had gone berserk, loathe to hit the female while her egg was tucked in a sling on her chest, but ready to kill her, steely bird eyes glistening with rage and hatred. The crash had been a Dainne's tree, which she darted out from, rolled over careful not to smash the egg, and braced herself on one knee, bring the bow up to shoot the loin/bird through the wing, knowing that it could hunt on ground and air, just wanting to hurt it enough that she would be discourged and leave.

The griffen screeched, getting madder, and charged at the wood nymph/farie hybrid in anger. She drew another arrow, hitting the same wing, making it pause and wrench the two arrows out with her teeth.

But still it came, fast enough that she rose and darted behind another tree, choosing to flee for the the moment, knowing that she'd follow. The mother did. Now they reached a clearing in the Draconi Forest, Dainne's home, being a faire/wood nymph, the only home she knew.

A mossy place, with a large pond, and a path that humans normally took leading into it. Well, if a human came now, their fault. They squared off, creature against creature. She had a long dagger out now, and waited for the mother.

She retreated.

Blinking in shock, the quiet girl sheathed her dagger and turned around, only to let out a peircing scream as she was pinned against a tree, lion in her face and feet off the ground, tricked. She really didn't want to die, and she couldn't reach her dagger because the lion had just broken her arm.

Shit.

[Anonymous]

Delaine whooped as he rode off, not caring how many people he splashed as his horse cantered down the wide path. Alright, he couldn’t help the cries of “sorry� or “forgive me� that followed, but it was still worth it. His mean streak was all he had left of him.

The number of beings he met steadily decreased, and finally, he was alone. Letting out a satisfied sigh, he slowed the horse to a gentle trot and let go of the reins, riding free style with his arms behind his head in the ultimate relaxed pose. Now this was the life. None of that fancy pansy nonsense, no pretending to be someone he wasn’t.

Delaine allowed himself to become one with the forest. Light filtered through the mottled canopy; cool shades of green that reminded him of his original roots- the village boy. Sounds of forest life rose and fell with the gentle breeze, and over time he fell into a half stupor.

Almost a year since the curse had been put into place. Almost a year of hell. And he still hadn’t found any sign of the enchantress, nor the knowledge of how to break this curse.

Just then, a scream followed instantly by a crash shattered the calmness of Delaine’s thoughts. It sounded like- here he made a face- it sounded like someone was in trouble. For the love of…was there no peace to be found?

Sighing, he let his hands pick up the reins, and jerk the horse back into action. There was no use resisting. The curse wouldn’t allow it. So many times he had almost died- when he did, he would personally make sure that the rest of the enchantress’ life be made hell by coming back to haunt her. Nothing, no force of heaven, not even an exorcism would drive him away until he made her suffer as much as he had.

With a weary acceptance he galloped in the direction of the screech and unsheathed his sword, holding it high to chop down the oncoming vines that clouded his passage. Sprawling roots threatened to trip up the horse, but still Delaine urged it on.

Just then, he burst abruptly to a clearing, where there was…a young girl…faerie even, clutching an egg and wearing short green khaki and cowering in the wake of…a griffin. Honestly to the heavens, who or what did she think she was being…doing?

He would’ve rescued her anyway, and stolen the egg afterwards, but the second part wasn’t really applicable in his present state. It was just that…the curse forced him to rescue her, and it was the lack of a free will that he fought against. Don’t get him wrong, he wasn’t that heartless.

Delaine jumped off the horse, sword held firmly, and cried, “What ho!�

He immediately went red and cursed himself. What ho? Who the hell said that these days? She probably thought he was a right ponce to be dressed up and parading around in knight wear. Then again, she was in the process of being mauled to death, so perhaps that thought wasn’t in her current state of mind.

No matter. The griffin had slowly let go of the girl, and as she slid to the ground, still cowering, it had turned around ever so slowly, fixing him with a beady eye. And it didn’t look best pleased. In fact, the look it sported was probably along the lines of, “after I finish with this I’m coming after you bitch.�

Psycho.

((Hopefully that gives enough to respond to. Do you want a battle between Delaine and the griffin?))

[Anonymous]

Cowering?
Hell no!
When the man on the white nag burst in, the griffen let her go, and she slide down the tree, ignoring the blood dripping on her skirt from the place where it had clawed her, and clutched her broken arm in front of her, sheilding the egg.
It may look like she was cowering, but, ah, NO!

What ho!
Ok, then.
Great, her rescuer was a psyhco.
Her luck.
Hurridly she unslung the egg from around her chest while the Mommy was busy with her new Knight in Shining Armor, stuck in under the tree root, and used the strip of clothe to hurridly wrap her arm, setting it into place with a loud crack.
She winced, but that done, drew the dagger from her boot and finally turned to the pair eyeing each other up.
However, the crack had made the griffen remember who she really hated right then, and turning it's back on the man, faced her again.

"Come on birdy, let's see what you got?"
She crowed at her, making Mom more angry then she already was, despretly trying to keep it from going after the male.
"Get the hell out of here, you boozo!"
She turned to shout, keeping one eye on the pacing cat, yelping as she lunged, bring up the long dagger one handed to fend off the pissed off mother.
She sliced into one of the pads of her feet, and the cat hissed, skitting backwards to begin her pace around her.
He wasn't F-ing leaving!

"Look, I can handle this myself, thank you! I can use both arms equally, and have broken it before, so I don't nee your help."
He was inching closer, with his sword drawn, and not paying attetion.
She was distracting the Mom!
"No, you idiot, don't kill her!"
And she lunged at him, heedless of the cat-bird in her way, hoping she'd stop him before it was to late...

(Sorry for the slight PP in there, if you want me to change it I can, it was just so that this part would be over slitly more quickly.)

[Anonymous]

((No worries!))

Out of the corner of his eye, Delaine saw the elf type set her arm. So she knew what she was doing then. Ah well. He would’ve put his arms behind his head and walked away whistling into the fiery sunset by now, but number one, it was the middle of the day, and number two, he was under the curse, wasn’t he?

So whilst his brain was all calm-like and coaxing- “come on legs, come this way, come on!â€? â€" his feet refused to obey him, moving instead in the opposite direction. It really did feel like he was on puppet strings; the sense of having no control pissing him off more and more. But could he vent his anger? Noooo. Though his smile was a little strained, the sparkle in his eye slightly forced. Unfortunately the faerie girl had never seen him before so to her it would appear as if he was the brave fool self-sacrificing himself for the greater good.

The world didn’t need people like him. That’s right, left foot, the world doesn’t need you, ho hum. But that bloody enchantress had obviously thought otherwise.

The griffen had turned her head away from him in response to the loud crack behind her, and still she proceeded to yell insults at it when she could’ve been halfway to Serendipity by now. Sheesh.

“Come on birdy, let’s see what you got?�

Delaine would’ve slapped himself, had he not been holding his sword. Did this girl have a death wish? And couldn’t she think of any better one-liners?

He was about to reply when she decided to insult him instead. How pleasant.

“Get the hell out of here, you boozo!�

“I think I will,� he tried to say, but what actually came out was, “Fair damsel, with your mouth so fine, dost thou wish to die?�

Fortunately the curse let him bang his head against a tree several times in despair. Why did he have to be in Shakespeare mode now of all times? A cloud of leaves and twigs fell into his hair, causing birds to fly away. Raising his head blearily, he shook the leaves out and closed his eyes, but it was too late. His brain had registered the girl stabbing the griffen, and detected the situation as “dire.�

Swinging his sword up, Delaine half heartedly charged towards the griffen, amidst the girl’s protesting cries.

“Look, I can handle this myself, thank you! I can use both arms equally, and have broken it before, so I don’t need your help.�

I know I know I know! As he raised his sword for the death blow, she lunged at him, causing them both to crash into the dense undergrowth ten feet away. The light streamed through the lush canopy, highlighting the bruises and the shadows underneath Delaine’s dazed face. Where am I? Oh yes…his best tunic had been torn, his body was a mass of aching bones and bruises, he had stumbled into a psychedelic nightmare and…there was a girl lying on top of him. That was enough to make him pause for a second.

He couldn’t tell if she was out or not, but he could still hear her breathing which was a good sign. What wasn’t good was the fact that the griffen was stalking slowly towards them, triumph plastered across her alien face.

Her eyes glowed with an inner light, making her look kind of evil.

“Jeez, that’s gonna haunt me for weeks…� he half thought half muttered to himself. A sudden thought occurred to him. His hand flew to the amulet around his neck, a small orb that seemed to change colours. It was still there, and felt cold. The first thing was good, the other he’d expected. Only when it glowed warm did it mean that he was near the enchantress.

But none of that mattered right now. What did was coming towards him, ever so slowly, ever so gracefully, and ever so murderously.

((Sorry for making Delaine’s thoughts so mean! *hugs* Is your charrie knocked out or not? Maybe if she was, then Delaine could kill the griffen and then when she wakes up your charrie will get mad. Sound good? If not, PM me…or we could start a general discussion thread for this RP. XD))

[Anonymous]

'Fair damsel, with your mouth so fine, dost thou wish to die?'
He's starting to scare me now!!!!
She winced as he came closer, wishing she could just sit down and calm her head which was pounding.
But no.
The one time she didn't need a knight in shining armor, she gets one?
The world is a screwed up place.

But what registered in his head was the fact that when she told him she didn't need help, he looked like he knew that and wanted to run the other way.
Freak.
And then she crashed into him, stopping him from killing Mommy and sending them both flying.
So, faires are powerful, bite me.
She was knocked out slightly, and when she came to several seconds later she found herself face to face with a very cute mortal.
"AHHHHHHH!"
And rolled off of him, half pushing her body up and away.

And it all came back.
"You idoit!"
She snarled at him as she tried to shakily rise, ignoring the groans of protest her body was making.
Kneeling into the broken leaves and twings, she gave a snort of laughter at his
'Jeez, that’s gonna haunt me for weeks...'
"That, you imbecile, is a crazed mother griffen."
It wasn't really her fault.
So taking a deep breath, she rose again with her long dagger, and took a few ragged steps out infront of the still laying down male.
Typical.

And it attacked her, crazy with anger and frustration.
She could feel the Mother in her head, the bright yellow pulsing with orange lighting bolts, so confused and angry.
And then she felt her blade hit the mothers leg, nicking deep, and the other paw rear in anger and send her flying, again crashing into the underbrush, though a different place.
Her last thought as everything faded was,
Why in earth did I have to make myself look like a fool that can't fight infront of some random hot stranger?
You could tell she was sick.

[Anonymous]

Urk, that girl was mighty strong for a tiny impish thing. Even if she was kind of pretty…squinting, he forced his dazed eyes to focus. Hmm…not his type. Too scrawny and too determined. Yes, she could think for herself, this one. Delaine almost slapped himself. Here he was, in the last few seconds of his life and all he could think about was the sister heartbeat pressed so close to his chest.

And then she rolled off him, leaving him open and exposed for all the world to see. Oi, get back here and be my shield! If he had the strength he would’ve raised his fist to shake feebly at her.

“That, you imbecile, is a crazed mother griffen.�

What he wanted to say was, “I am well aware of that fact, you impudent little wench.� But only the first half of that sentence came out clearly. The rest was a mass of inaudible cursing and muttering and lots of frowning as she seemed to think that it would be a good idea to go for round two.

Delaine almost screamed in frustration. Did she not know when to give up? Propping himself up, the next few seconds were a blur as faerie and griffen collided. Grinning evilly, he almost expected a small explosion. But no, the griffen won and the faerie was flung into the bushes again. Maybe this time she would stay unconscious- it would make the world a safer place at least for the next few minutes.

Scratching his chin, he frowned in disdain as bits of dirt came away with his fingers. Was he really that filthy? Grabbing tufts of his blond blonde locks, he almost screamed again, this time in horror. Who cared about the potential life death situation when his hair was a flipping mess? Oh how he wished he had his dark coloured hair again, when the darkness hid everything.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the griffen rear up, blood spurting from one of her legs as she emitted a roar that wouldn’t be out of place in a Godzilla or dinosaur movie- where did that thought come from? â€" and flung herself towards him with the grace of an elephant. As an afterthought he rolled out of the way, one hand fumbling awkwardly for his sword.

Gotcha! Gripping it tightly, he brought the sword up in an arc single-handedly and slashed blindly at the air until it connected with something, preferably not himself. Now THAT would not be wise. Luckily, it connected with the griffen and she toppled over, screeching and pawing madly at him. In response to that he quickly scrambled out of the way, sticking his tongue out at her as she thrashed the last few dregs of her life away.

OK, that wasn’t fair, and a part of him hadn’t wanted to kill her, but really, it had been an accident. Well that is what he would tell the girl anyway, when she woke up. Whistling softly, he half walked half hobbled to the clump of bushes where the girl had landed, noting the big crater-like dent she’d made. Delaine hoped there would be a pond or a stream nearby where he could clear up…and he needed to see if the horse was still here or not. But he couldn’t leave the girl here in this state by herself. Honestly, people like him could find her!

Crouching down beside her, he shook her gently, smirking. “Wakey wakey!� He was tempted to add “rise and shine� on the end but that would be taking it a bit too far.

[Anonymous]

The first thing she saw when she came to was the imbeciles smiling face, and she grimiced, ignoring the solid ache that was her body, half hoping it was a dream.
But no, and the pain that hit her made her sure she was awake.
Owwwww....
However, aside from her eyes, you couldn't tell she hurt.
However, she did reach up and hit him feebly, with it probably still hurting.
"Idiot. I didn't need rescuing."
From his point, she probably did, but she honestly didn't!
His smirking face, which was half a smile, though she couldn't see why, was cute, as she saw from this close of an angle.
But she cast that aside as all the memories from before hit her like a ton of bricks.
“Wait…� She muttered, pushing up on her one good hand, breath held in fear as she hefted her slab of bruised body up.
There, lying in the grass was the dead mother, probably better off.

With any other female, she would have burst into tears of sadness, or anger, and maybe started flipping out.
But not Dianne.
First she half turned to the male, and snapped her fingers, sending a mass of vines and roots twining up his leg, stopping him from going anywhere.
“And don’t you dare try and cut them, because they will keep growing, Romeo.�
Then she found her blade, cleaning it of blood, and sticking it back into her sheath.
Her pack was back at her hidden camp, while she had gone to go get the egg…
The egg.
It was only after she had went and gently picked up the cracking egg from under the tree root did she go to Romeo, with it back on a sling at her chest, and face him.
“Do you realize what you did? I guess not, huh? Because from the way you talk, and sorta look, you would have realized that I wasn’t killing her unless I had to, and I didn’t have to until you came along. Now, get on your horse.�
She had called to the pretty white beast as it ran terrified through the forest calling it back, and it entered as she spoke, skirting the corpse and rolling back his ears again.
“Hush, brother. It shan’t hurt thee. Stop him from getting off thy back, understand, thy beauty?�
And making sure he was on, she was off, trotting off though the woods at a pace that a human in her condition wouldn’t be able to make.

In 5 minutes, they were there, at a very tall tree with it’s roots as thick as a human. She led them through the maze, and then stopped, on a small top, wordless, just pointing.
In a nest that was under them, stood 3 more eggs, a rainbow of colors, changing constantly.
“That’s why I couldn’t kill her, and stopped you from. Or tried.�
She said with no emotion in her voice.
Hopping down, she placed her egg with them, already cracking from near hatching time.
“Well?�

[Anonymous]

“Oww,� Delaine said, blinking dazedly as he backed away. So that was what he got for saving that wench’s life?

“Idiot. I didn’t need rescuing.�

Well you sure looked like you did. He rubbed his nose ruefully and tried to keep his mouth shut in case anything weird came out. What he managed was a half hearted smirk that probably showed more of what he was feeling than his cursed words could ever convey.

“Well, that’s the end of that chapter then,� he said cheerfully, dusting himself as he hefted his body up. Slinging the sword back into it’s sheath, Delaine managed to even put a spring in his step as he thought about how he would never ever see this miserable girl ever again. No payment, not even a kiss, but hey, at least he would be rid of her! Never ever ever ever again…

And then he found he couldn’t move. Well he could, but his leg couldn’t, which put him in quite a difficult position considering how he intended to be out of here in the next few seconds.

“Wha-?� He began, but was oh so rudely interrupted by that foul mouthed wench as a mass of vines and roots suddenly sprang out of nowhere, wrapping around his leg and binding him to that very spot. You could kind of say he was rooted to the spot. Oh, the trickery! His hand flew to his sword in an instant.

“And don’t you dare try and cut them, because they will keep growing, Romeo.�

“Wha-� he tried again but all he could do was open and close his mouth helplessly as he struggled to come out with a sentence that would convey his personal feelings at this moment in time without containing a single curse word. You can tell he failed. Finally, in a half strangulated voice, he came out with “what is the meaning of this…m-madness?�

What was with this psychobitch? Inside, he moaned to himself. Why, oh why him? All he wanted was a simple life. A house, a pretty girl, a sack full of magical amulets, his own network of thieves…what did the world have against him? First, psycho-enchantress and now psychobitch! And he hadn’t even tried to steal anything from her yet! Not that he would be able to.

Face impassive, hiding any hints of an inner rage within, he watched the girl go pick up her pathetic excuse of a blade and wipe it clean. How the hell had she managed to get it dirty anyway? He was the one who’d done the fighting. Snorting, his eyes narrowed as she went to a secret stash to retrieve some other objects.

Delaine almost cried out in despair as she pulled out the obvious object that she’d been striving for. All in the name of an egg! An egg!

“Look honey, if all you wanted was an egg then you could’ve gone to the-� cough “market.� The cough was to hide the curse word he’d struggled to get in. At least his last sentence had been said with some exasperated emotion.

Suddenly she was in front of him and…was having a go at him! He could only blink and try to drown out her shrill voice with thoughts of a warm breakfast which didn’t quite work…but she must’ve gotten the message that he wasn’t listening because then, she had the cheek to give him an order!

He had half a mind to refuse, but the next second he was on his horse, which the girl had somehow bewitched to do her evil bidding. Not another spell! Rolling his eyes, he cursed the day he was born softly to himself, managing a bitter smile at her before they were off. As she ran through the forest, with him swiftly behind, he thought about what she had in plan for him with growing horror.

What if she wanted to make him her personal slave? What if she was going to torture him? What if…? And then they stopped at a tree that looked no different from any of the others. Straining his eyes, Delaine picked out three glowing objects that raised his interest. They looked magical, something worthy of his famous itchy fingers…

Right. They were eggs. Griffen eggs.

“Well? Well what?� He said just as flatly. “You were in danger. I came to your rescue. And now I am going.�

((Hmm, not much to respond to there I'm afraid! How do you want the next bit to be played out? Because Delaine is supposed to be nice, he can't have a proper argument...but...perhaps when the curse is weaker he could...yesh...that sounds like a plan.))

[Anonymous]

“Well? Well what? You were in danger. I came to your rescue. And now I am going.'
MEN!!!
She resisted the urge to kill him then.
"Let me explain something, very slowly and in small words that you can understand. I am a faire, which means I can comunicate with beasts. I was trying to talk to Mommy when you came along and broke my concentration. Now, you owe me. One baby griffen is hard enough to handle, and I sure as hell ain't raisng four on my own."
She paused to let it sink in.
"I will make you a deal, Romeo. You help me raise them, and you can keep one."
If only Dainne knew how heartless this guy really was and when he got back to normal, if ever, he would probably sell the poor baby.
"And in return, I'll grant you one wish."
Sounds interesting enough.

Don't let him escape, my beauty.
She told the horse, and was off, back into the forest, hurting all over.
She was back in a few minutes, gratful to find him there, her in a new garb and a longer blade slung over her back with a quiver.
The eggs were starting to shake, and two were cracked.
She swung down into the large cave made by a tree root coming up and dirt piling at the end, beconing up at him.
"Well? Come on."
And she started setting up camp.
A merry fire was crackling shortly, and every few mintues she went over to turn the eggs, which were still cracking.
She kept an eye on Romeo, but she wasn't so sure what mortals actually did, so it was okay.
Besides, he wasn't as fast as she was, so it was okay.

((You can have the eggs start hatching, and have him argue, but it's kinda hard to move on until he says anything. XDD And what when the curse is weaker?))

[Anonymous]

((Sorry for the late post- not been feeling too creative recently! I am thinking that maybe at certain points, the curse becomes slightly weaker, which is what let Delaine see himself in the puddle. Maybe sometimes at night, for a few moments he could become himself again? Perhaps the magic of the enchantress and your charrie can conflict at points? Hmm…just an idea.))

Rolling his eyes, Delaine shut out the stream of sheer patronising rubbish that spouted from Shorty’s mouth, and proceeded to fix his attention on the gleaming eggs in the treetops above. My, my, back in the good old thieving days they could’ve fetched a tidy sum; a new cloak, outfit and a pair of suave black gloves perhaps. Some collectors would’ve killed for such a beauty as those rainbow coloured eggs; plus a professional thief always had to look as if he were fit for the job.

“Yeah, yeah whatever,� Delaine said offhandedly during a pause, when he thought she’d stopped speaking.

“And in return, I'll grant you one wish.�

Ears perked up, he turned to her with a look of interest. “A wish, didst thou say?� Damn, he could never relax his guard for a second! Wincing at the old speech, he closed his eyes, shaking his blonde, blonde locks and took a deep breath. Of course, when he opened his eyes again the girl had gone.

Typical. But…there were possibilities in this. Delaine swung his leg over the horse’s back, and was about to jump off when the horse neighed and rocked violently, causing him to grip onto it’s mane out of sheer desperation. “Woah there, what’s eating you?�

He tried again, but got the same result. That girl must’ve done something to his poor horsy. So she didn’t want him to run away? Tough luck. Unsheathing his sword, he glanced for a second at the blade and then at the horse. It would be a real waste of a beast…just then, he heard the sound of footsteps and hurriedly sheathed his sword. The faerie was clearly stronger than him and plus she was a girl. Two valid reasons as to not fight, but if it did come down to it then he had no qualms about doing what he needed to.

For now, he’d go along with it and see what she wanted from him. I mean I don’t actually have anything else to do, do I? His hand went surreptitiously to the little orb around his neck out of habit, but it was cold. Had he expected anything different?

So Shorty had gotten changed? Delaine raised an eyebrow at the obvious vainness of the faerie, but a quick glance at himself told him that he really needed to get changed too. And have a bath.

Deciding it was useless to run away, well after she caught him, he allowed himself to be ruefully led to a cave, where the faerie proceeded to set up camp…and roast the eggs.

“Well? Come on.�

“Does that mean I get a bath, food and change of clothes?� He half joked, not expecting any answer but a stony silence from her. “Hmm, those eggs smell nice.�

[Anonymous]

((Maybe... Might be interesting... And it's okay. My posts have also been lacking.. It's the ebil school...))

'A wish, didst thou say?' Man, this guy was creepy. But she couldn't be a parent all by herself... Fuck life. Ah well, if she was lucky, he'd die later. It was nice being immortal. It was also nice not having to worry about the broken arm that was now healed. Huzzah. Ignoring him, and desperatly wanting to get changed out of her dirty clothes, she decided to ignore him on that and explain later.

"Thank you, beauty." She murmured as she passed the horse, clean and changed this time, wrinkling her nose at the male who cocked an eyebrow like he ruled the place. She was dirty, got a problem with it? For once he followed quietly, and as soon as he was standing still, she made her fire, went over and picked up the eggs... and dropped them in the fire? He didn't need to know all the secrets of the Faire-Folk yet, and so she let him sweat. He however, didn't seem to care.


'Does that mean I get a bath, food and change of clothes? Hmm, those eggs smell nice.' Having put another type of egg in the pan she had peddled off a human, she took the compliment with a shrug, and spoke. "If we are going to be traveling together, I would hope so. There's a pond that way" -she pointed- "and here's soap, and an extra pair of clothes. I can Magik them to be slightly bigger." Handed the articles that had been improved, she turned back to the fire, flipped the eating eggs, and tapped the four colorful eggs one at a time lightly.

The first one respoded by rocking harder, and the cracks that had been in them deepened. The egg started to rock, and change color more rapidly, the rainbow spinning and merging together, until it was a black color for just a moment and then in shattered, leaving a wet black baby boy griffen sitting in the large fire she had built. "Awww..." She crooned, not noticing if he had left or not. "You're so cute... And I have the perfect name! Ciaran." The baby squaked at her, plopping down into the embers at the bottom of the fire. "Now sit there and dry, Ci."

The next one responed after a few moments, the final color being a jade, and a little girl. "Papina..." Third was a little brown male, who she named Niabi, and the fourth, the one she stole, was oddly enough, a rainbow of colors. Never before had she heard of this happening, so she named the little girl, Ziazan. The hatching done, she let them sleep in the fire for awhile, looking at them happily and fixing the food, completely forgeting she had company.

[Anonymous]

((Don't worry about taking your time with posts! For me, RL has been hectic too so I totally understand!))

Delaine raised an eyebrow, wondering where Shorty had got those clothes from. Taking them in one hand, he rubbed his fingers in the material and smelled them, vaguely suspicious. Everything fine. Never trust a faerie, especially when they can magick things to be bigger or smaller.

“I am sure I will be alright without the need of your funny magic,� he said, adding a slight touch of haughtiness to his tone but she seemed to have turned away from him. Shaking his head, Delaine walked to the edge of the cave, in the general direction where the pond was supposed to be…and stopped…foot poised in midair.

He turned around ever so slowly, in time to see the griffens hatch one by one.

“What are you doing?!!� He cried, eyes wide. “Fair lady, wouldst thou wish me to starve?� Fuming, he cleared his throat and tried again. “Is it really necessary to throw away my…livelihood? Source of revenue? Potential income?�

Scowling, he watched the different coloured griffens flutter pathetically, and made a low growling noise in his throat. He almost choked when he heard the names Shorty had decided to give them. “Ciaran…Papina…Niabi…Ziazan?!?� What the fuck? “Erm…Blackie, Pukebag, Brownie and Oddball more like.�

Delaine prided himself on his imagination. He shook his head before Shorty could respond and left the cave, making his way through the thicket and winding brambles to the little pool in a small clearing. The water was crystalline, more pure than any he’d ever seen before, and he heard the soft melodic trickle of the little brooks that fed into the pool. Climbing over some rocks he made his way to the rocky overhang, and proceeded to strip off his clothing, one by one.

He shook his hair as he pulled off his tunic, throwing it to one side in disgust. The curse meant that his taste in fashion had also suffered as a result. Give me a tuxedo or smart rogue dress any day! Poncy knight mode over for now, he flexed his muscles, inspecting his tanned skin for a brief second before wading into the pool.

The water was just the right temperature, and he finally relaxed, immersing more of his body into the pool. All the tension, all his bad mood drained out of him as he sighed, living in the moment. Opening his eyes, for a second he saw a pair of dark eyes and dark hair reflected in the water, which vanished in a split second. He splashed the place where the reflection had been, causing him to lose his balance and scrabble awkwardly. Lucky no one was watching.

That Shorty…his eyes narrowed…she was one sneaky girl. Now would actually be an opportune moment to escape back to society- even his curse couldn’t be that bad, in comparison to having to put up with her. In fact, he’d gotten used to it, and didn’t fancy the idea of being bound again, especially to someone so short. Anyway, what kind of a hold did she have on him anyway? The fact that he was magically challenged? Well that could change…he remembered the other magical items he’d accumulated during his productive thieving years…if he had them now…

Slamming his fist into the water, he shook his head angrily before taking a deep breath. Calm, calm, plan your escape…he leaned back and sighed again.

((Hmm…we could have your charrie get suspicious and follow Delaine…and the squawking of the griffen could give her away, or Delaine tries to escape…?))

[Anonymous]

Oh, the human was learning! She snickered to herself as he tested the clothe, but he would find it fine, if not a bit... More girly. Though she enjoyed wearing men's breeches, that was a womans shirt she had enlarged.

'I am sure I will be alright without the need of your funny magic.'

He sniffed, and she almost turned around to smack him. But a couple hundred years of getting brusied and hurt because she didn't have the self restraint to calm down helped her now. And the fact that she had four baby's hatching infront of her at the moment. She cooed over the colored children, and only looked up when she heard him speak in that funny launangue that she used to talk to the beast's aloud.

'What are you doing?!! Fair lady, wouldst thou wish me to starve?'

She glared at him as he watched, and figured out that he apparently hadn't gotten the jist of what they were actually going to do with the eggs, as he choked out the words,

'Is it really necessary to throw away my…livelihood? Source of revenue? Potential income?'

She glared at him harder, and if looks could kill he'd be dead twice over.

"Apparently we didn't understand each other, Romeo."

And turned away. She didn't need him right now when feeding a few mouths was all that she was doing, but raising them would require two people. And damn, she needed the loser. But he was trying her patience!

'Ciaran…Papina…Niabi…Ziazan?!? Erm…Blackie, Pukebag, Brownie and Oddball more like.'

She turned in a whirl to explain to him the meaning of the names, but the
bastard had already gone, leaving her alone to clench her fists so tightly she drew blood.

"Mortal's try my patience to easily.."

She muttered, but turned back to the squaking mass of feathers and paws. You see, when a griffen hatches the color it's egg turns in the final moments tell what color the griffen will be, and named justly from that. Ciaran ment ebony, Papina meant emerald, and Niabi meant something along earth or mud. Never before had she heard of a griffen hatching multi-colored, and even now the feathers glistened strangely in the dancing firelight. Yanking off the etable eggs and hanging on the spite stripes of deer meat for the hatchlings, she sharpened a stick and   pondered what the hell was in her future. She had made a brash deal, but she needed the mortal, and becides, she couldn't just leave them along after Mr. Hero had killed the frightened mother.

So here she was, playing nurse-maid to four baby griffens, which would need to be watched, and bathed, and fed, and trained, and groomed, and a human, which would need to be washed, and bathed, and fed, and trained (defiently trained) and groomed! Gah.... But he would take away whichever one of the babies liked him the best and she would grant him one wish. Now, what were the damn rules again?

As she fought to remember, she suddenly relaized that he had been gone a lllooonnnggg time. Frowning, and casting an eye over the babies, she crept out of the cave to the pond. Thankfully, she had caught him just as he entered the water so she was spared any.... Unsightly views. She watched, blinking in confusement as he looked in the water intently and then slammed it, breaking the smooth surface. However, he looked so ridiculous afterwords that she almost laughed, but after stuffing her hand in her mouth to stop it, calmed down enough to watch again.

Watching him behave like a normal person, almost like a fairie but not really made her curious what she had taken from him when she offered him the chance to get a free wish and a griffen baby, not the egg! She had feelings, and now she started to twinge at the way she had treated him... She double tracked her steps to go back to the cave and rumaged through the bags she had fetched, thankful that baby's slept before the fed in the griffen race for at least an hour.

She approached the cave loudly this time, making noise and striding thoguht carelessly, holding a small bag. Stopping before she could get a clear view and focasing his face and face only the fae took a deep breath.

"Just lemme talk for a moment, please,"

Came her first request.

"But first... Here."

She tossed him the bag that repealed water.

"That has a clothe to wash yourself, a brush for your hair and soaps for your body."

Not waiting to see if he took it, she plunged ahead.

"Look, I realize that maybe we got off on the wrong start, mort- umm, person, but I feel like we should lay out what's going to happen. It's veyr simple. If you help me raise the four griffens until they can fly, I will grant you one wish and you can keep one of the griffens. And they learn to fly at about 8 months."

Now she looked at him, as she had shifted her gaze upward at the sky earlier.

"It's your choice. I'll feed you, clothe you, and make sure that you don't get sick or stay sick until my hatchlings can fly. If you agree, come back to the cave. If not, I keep the horse and you can go."

She smiled in a cheeky sort of way to show that she wasn't going to stay this nice, and turned away, whistling a jaunty song that was something about rainbows and fears.

"Oh!"

She turned around.

"I'm Dainne. What the hell is your name, mortal?!"

Yeah, she was done being nice, about. Yep.

[Anonymous]

Escape had never seemed so far away. Delaine had a horrible thought that his captor would be able to track him down to the very ends of the earth if she so desired. Sighing in frustration, he closed his eyes and leaned back. Life was so unfair on the magically challenged. His eyes snapped open a split second later, scanning the vicinity automatically for anything that could be used as a makeshift weapon whilst he tried to appear as relaxed and helpless and weak and poncy as possible. All four at the same time would be good.

Whenever one is approached from the behind, it is usually a sign that they don’t want to be noticed, but the person behind him was making enough rustling to be the perfect distraction for a potential bank robbery…or to wake the dead…so he deduced that whoever it was wanted him to notice them. Having said that, it was most likely to be the terror herself, the pixie who would join the enchantress in his hall of nightmares.

Still not facing her, he held up a hand, and she stopped. “I know you’re there.�

Hehe, that was very suave indeed. He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. But the fae obviously didn’t think so.

“Just lemme talk for a moment please.�

And then, before he could turn around…

“But first…here.�

Puzzled, Delaine watched the little being toss the bag to him, fascinated at how the water seemed to repel from it. If only her throw was as good as her magic. Delaine reached out and plucked the bag from the water whilst she spoke, turning it over and over in his hands…such an item to add to his collection, if he ever got back home. He wasn’t sure whether to believe her or not, but why would anyone lie to a poor defenceless naked young man?

“I’m listenin’,� he replied in a uh-huh-I’m-bored-but-do-go-on tone, as he folded his arms and rested them on a rock. If anyone could slouch in water, then it was Delaine. His face didn’t change as she made her offer; although his face looked bored inside he was evaluating his options with a shrewdness that would make a lawyer weep if they had tears to cry. Let the pixie carry on thinking she had one over him.

“Dainne, eh?� He raised an eyebrow, speaking for the first time in minutes. “Well Dainne, I happen to be called De-laine. Sounds a bit like your name…only better.� Now his grin matched the one she’d worn earlier.

“I gave you my word and I’ll be damned if I go back on it.� Not that he wasn’t already damned. Hmm, cocking his head to one side he thought intently, ignoring the pixie-like giggling that emanated from the trees like the tinkle of bells. He didn’t look that silly did he? Suddenly self conscious, he plunged into the pool, with a furious splash, and disappeared from view. You couldn’t get any privacy anywhere, anymore.

Underwater was a whole new world. A peaceful one. Various creatures poked their heads out from between the rocks as plant life swayed gently from side to side. As Delaine swam, he took long, sweeping strokes, still fully submerged. He could hold his breath for a minute and a half. Now, what had he been thinking about earlier?

“I gave you my word and I’ll be damned if I go back on it.� The last thing he’d said had sounded scarily like an echo of his past self. No fancy “thous�, “thees� or other poncy nonsense. But why? It had been meant as a sarcastic comment, hadn’t it? No, it had been sincere, but sincerity that was spiked ever so lightly with his personality. And he hadn’t had any mean thoughts either; he’d really meant it too. Boy, he was getting good at this. Maybe if he thought carefully every time before he opened his mouth, then there wouldn’t be half so many embarrassing situations.

Rising up, Delaine broke the surface, gasping for air. Dainne had disappeared, obviously considerate enough to give him some privacy. Swimming to the rocks, he opened the bag and shook out the contents. Hmm, so she hadn’t been lying. Delaine washed and dried himself quickly, rubbing his hair as he tugged his clothes on. He ended up hopping on one foot and almost fell back into the pool, much to the amusement of the tiny giggling beings up in the trees.

“I condemn thee to an epoch of thundertongue!� He yelled; going bright red as his mind registered what he’d just said. Aww crap. “Damn you to hell� had just become a hell of a lot more difficult to say.

Stomping back, he had the grace to take a deep breath and go into happy mode before he re-entered the cave. Unfortunately, it was overdrive. “Soo…what’s cooking?�

Not even waiting for a response, he went into a corner of the cave which he instantly took over and made his own. Alright, alright, the territory had to be marked. He dumped the bag there and plonked himself down, staring moodily at the griffins.

“If I can’t eat them then could you at least tell me what their names mean? And why the retarded one-� he pointed at the multicoloured one “-keeps running around in circles making weird noises?�

[Anonymous]

Sorry, post is coming, just telling you I didn't forget!

[Anonymous]

God damn poncy, no-good, fru-fru, fancy-tounge, liverspotted, cute... What? Blah! As cute as he might be in human eye's, she went for the dark haired, dark-eyed, mishevious males who weren't bi-polar. And this one, was none of those things. Shaking her head, she trotted back to the root cave, his echo of 'I gave you my word and I’ll be damned if I go back on it,' ringing in her head. He was a strang mortal, that was for sure, and she wasn't sure that she was going to enjoy the next... eight... months... Well, she thought grimly, on the bright side if he makes this difficult, I'll make it even more like hell then he did.

Snapping at the pixies that were giggling in the tiny bell voices, she got a challenge from the one that flitted out to meet her.

"Oh, hush."

She snapped, waving her hand at the pixie. But the little child pixie, a young thing that hadn't chosen it's sex yet, tinkled demandingly.

"Yes, the mortal's with me. And stop picking on him."

A barage of complaints at this order.

"I mean it! Enough picking on him. Unless you want to go through me?"

A sullen dull note sounded, meaning that they would leave him alone as long as he traveled with her.

"Good. Now do you want some food? I still have some of the sweet honey left."

The joyous tinkling sounded, and roughly 15 small pixies fluttered around her, escorting her back to the cave, where she took stock. The stripped pieces of deer meat would last a while, and it was alright cold. She had honey, and small clothe balls of herbs and other meats that would do well in soups... Plently of dough for sourbread... She was alright there.

"Well, bring me a rock."

She tinkled in there own lauange, and they complied, shooting off to carry back a medium sized rock that they placed infront of her. She nudged it with her foot, and voiced a whistle-croak demandingly. Instantly it glowed a fire red, and changed to a roughly hewn rock bowl. Dainne poured honey in it, diluting it with water, and placed it next to the fire, where the pixies immediatly zoomed to it to eat hungrily.

And then the next set of creatures wanted to be fed. One by one the griffen's woke up, the green first, the the green, the pretty brown that was showing more to be a dull dull copper, and finally the one that glittered like a topaz, all colors of the rainbow.

Ciaran began the begging first, tripping on clumsy baby paws to rise with his wings fanned and mouth open, begging for food. Copper Niabi was next, and Papina was soon to follow. But Ziazan was content to watch the other's and Dianne dropped meat down there beaks one by one, dodging the odd scratchs and beaks that flashed if she wasn't fast enough.

And then here came the mortal.

'Soo…what’s cooking? If I can’t eat them then could you at least tell me what their names mean? And why the retarded one keeps running around in circles making weird noises?'

Such a... pleasent person, was he not?

"Mortal, err, Delaine, first off, learn one of the few rules I have. Shut up if you aren't going to say anything nice."

She sniffed at him, and gathered the small female into her arms, where the griffen braced her paws on the fairie's chest to begin purring, kneading softly.

"She's hungry. Here. Feed her."

And rising, she thrust the griffen at the man, along with several strips of meat.

"What's cooking is our own meat, and eggs. Just drop it down her throat when she starts begging, like this little boy."

The black Ci had come over for seconds, while Papina and Niabi had curled up in the embers of the slowly dieing fire. Ripping the meat into smaller slices, she dropped a piece into his open beak, waiting while he swallowed, and then dropping another. When he was done, the faire watched him stumble over to his siblings and curl up, belly streached and comfortable.

"The names... When a griffen is born, the are named after the color. Ciaran, ebony, Papina, jade, Niabi, earth, Ziazan, rainbow. I actually never heard of a griffen being a rainbow color... But the feathers can be used for fletching, flying straighter then normal arrows, the saliva is a poison so powerful that it rests in the bloodstream for three days causing immense pain before killing you, you can ride on them and they are better than guard-dogs... But you don't want a list of the magical properties, do you?"

She asked, blinking up at him suddenly.

"Sorry. Part time scholor. All faires are like that, actually... We enjoy learning to much."

The pixies took this moment to rise, having cleaned out the bowl, in a swarm of laughs and tinkles, rushing around the mortal for a moment, and the the girl, before taking off into the forest around them.

"Little monsters," she growled, before offering the male a plate of food on it which she had just finished cooking.

[Anonymous]

“Shut up if you aren't going to say anything nice."

Delaine opened his mouth to protest, thought better, and then closed it. Fine, he’d play by her rules for now, but as soon as he was back to normal…he took another deep breath to steady the slight trembling that was present in his balled up fists, and slowly unclenched them, willing the tension to leave his body.

He hadn’t been angry before the curse. Now there was just so much suppressed rage which he couldn’t direct anywhere at all, and surely that couldn’t be good for him. On realising that he was sat with his back straight up, in the epitome of posture every mother brings up their son to do, Delaine made a visible effort to slouch back, feeling the rough cold stone of the cave wall grate against his clothes.

“You want me to feed-� he began, startled, when the pixie threw the tiny chicken at him with strength nothing that small should ever possess. He stared at her with protest. “Hey, watch it, do you want to kill it…or me?�

He dropped his eyes moodily to the little monster that was snapping in his lap. Delaine picked up a scrap of meat and dangled it in front of the griffen, who jumped up and down, flapping it’s wings. He lowered the meat gently, and whipped it away when it was within snatching distance.

Hmm, this was fun.

Merciful Zeus, just how far down have I gone if I’m taking pleasure from being mean to…animals?!

As soon as that thought whirled through his mind, Delaine found himself being overwhelmed with extreme feelings of guilt and shame. Blushing, he fed the griffen quietly, and gave it a gentle shove back to it’s siblings after it had finished eating.

At this point, Dianne had begun to babble on about something which he was going to let wash over him, but on the word “poison� Delaine sat up straighter.

“No, it is really interesting,� he said, putting as much enthusiasm into his voice as possible on Dianne’s hasty apology. He accepted her plate of food, and began to eat. “You’re looking at me like I do not mean it, but please, do carry on.�

He shut his mouth before the curse began to make him speak of fountains of knowledge and other silly poncy metaphorical images. Tomorrow they’d be away, and one step closer to his salvation from eternal goodness, but tonight, whilst he was here, it couldn’t hurt him to bond with his captor.

[Anonymous]

'You want me to feed-'

"No, genius, I want you to eat it."

She snarled, quietly, of course, because knowing the heartless human he would throw it in the fire, thinking her telling the truth.

'Hey, watch it, do you want to kill it…or me?'

Again, the quiet snarl, "I'd love to let it savage you, too bad it's just a baby."

However, that one was louder, just enough to be heard by him, and she settled back to watch. In a way, this was his first test. She wouldn't keep him around, even if it was part of the deal, if he was a mean person, or spiteful. Infact, she had half risen to take the young griffin back before he suddenly blushed, as though he had realized what he was doing. He was such an odd mortal... He wasn't like any she had ever met, and she had met quite a few in her time. But... His words were as different as his language, if that made sense. He was fighting himself, it seemed. His words cast her out of her reverie, and she blinked for a moment as he began to eat. She picked up he own plate, and let him ramble.

‘No, it is really interesting. You’re looking at me like I do not mean it, but please, do carry on.’

That was where she drew the line.

Ignoring him for several moments, she let her eye’s fall close, and she opened herself to the wildfae magic that spilled through her blood. When she opened her eyes, it was as though something was cast aside, and she could see him. Of course, she saw the blonde male, but himself… He was covered in a spell, cast purple, a dark, dark purple, and something underneath shifted, constantly fighting, as though that wasn’t the real him. It was a layered spell, wrought by a very talented person, but she didn’t recognize the magic… Or did she? Peering closer at him, though her face moved not an inch, she tried to see the runes that were etched in… But at the moment, a squawk set her off, jolting her, knocking the magic loose.

All right, he was either a prince or a king under a spell, (she heard that happened to mortal’s quite often) or he had gotten on the bad side of an enchantress. However, she said nothing, and only shook her head, beginning to speak.

“Well… Griffin’s are purely magical creatures. Half cat, lion, leopard, or jaguar, and half eagle, they vary in colors, but you can always tell. We have,�

And she scooted nearer the fire, where the young griffin’s had curled actually in.

“Ciaran, he’s a jaguar… A black one, actually…â€?  Her finger’s seemingly immune to the heat, danced in to scratch his cathead gently, the baby fluff very evident.

“Papina, she’s a leopard, see the spot’s, where she is gold? Her feathers may be jade, but they tend to keep the mortal feline’s colors. Niabi, she’s lion, a deep brown to match her copper coloring. And Zia…�

She had went from each curled up sleeping griffin to the next, and now she paused.

“Well, well, well…�

Came her idle murmur.

“This is a rare one. Have you ever traveled north, where they land is covered in ice and snow, all year long? Up their lives a feline known as a snow cat, white, with spot’s like a leopard. But they aren’t leopards, the spot’s are different, see?�

She gestured to the jade `Pina.

“Zia’s feather’s may be a multitude of color’s, ranging through the rainbow, but her cat part’s, her paw’s, head, neck, and tail, are white with the spot’s. Because of this, she’s a rarer breed. Griffin’s don’t like the cold, you see how they sleep in the fire? When they get older, they stop, but for now… Anyway, she’s immune to that. She’ll like the snow, play in it, she’ll like the cold, while her siblings will just tolerate it. It means that any fur she shed’s will make water-proof, very well insulated coat’s if you gather enough, and they shed constantly. If you use her feather’s for fletching, the item you are shooting at will freeze, ice coating it. For all of them, they can’t be caged. They can rust metal, clay crumbles, even as a small child it’s an easy knack to pick up.�

She had spoken for awhile now, and she settled back, feeding the fire, bringing it back to full force against any nastie’s that would roam the forest at night. Not that she was worried, but still…

“So, bored yet?�

[Anonymous]

Delaine cocked his head to one side as the pixie scrutinized him. He shivered, feeling the temperature drop a few degrees as his skin tingled and the sensation of marching ants travelled up his arms. The increased sensitivity to magic surely was a result of the curse that clung to him. His eyes narrowed, wondering what pixie girl was up to. He half had a mind to say something, but suddenly the feeling subsided. Another suspicious glance, before she opened her eyes.

“What?� He managed to convey his haughty tone by folding his arms, even if the curse didn’t allow him to sound annoyed.

But then she resumed her descriptions of the griffens. He watched her, taking in the rapture in her eyes and eagerness in her breathy voice. She really felt passionate about these runts, he admitted grudgingly to himself. Even though it was sad, it was kind of admirable.

Maybe.

Her love for these runts reminded him of his passion for thieving. Most people couldn’t see the art behind every act; they couldn’t see the detail, the care, everything that went into planning. You had to be more than a blockhead to turn this into an art. Reminiscing over, his thoughts returned back to the cave.

“So, bored yet?�

“No, not at all,� he said airily.

Glancing outside, Delaine noticed that evening had fallen. Without another word, he picked up his sword, slung it over his shoulder and plonked himself down at the mouth of the cave. Pulling his knees close to his body to keep himself warm, he angled the blade of the sword back and forth so that the light from the fire glinted in the metal.

What the hell was he doing?

Being a chivalrous so and so.

She’d argue of course.

And he’d say, “it isn’t safe at night.�

And then there’d be fighting. But if there was anything he was good at, besides thieving, it was fighting. And even though the new Delaine could do nothing but sparkly goodness, the old Delaine would’ve agreed for once, that night time wasn’t safe, especially not for slightly…pretty females. Oh, he balked at that thought.

Shorty. He snorted, throwing her another glance.