Darkest Night [DragonSong] [M]

Zero · May 16, 2019, 05:24:01 PM

"Morning." Cole breathed softly before licking his lips nervously. The closeness was nice, but it was awkward as well. It was also inappropriate. She didn't pull away from him, and he wasn't sure if he should move first. Maybe he should at least move his arm. It shouldn't be around her like that. He couldn't actually convince his arm to move. "We should get up."

DragonSong · May 18, 2019, 06:44:59 PM

"Yeah, we-- we should," Zahra agreed quietly. She made absolutely no move to do so.

Was it so wrong, to wish for the closeness they'd started to cultivate in that dream space?

She yawned, quickly raising a hand to cover her mouth, then chuckled and smiled at him a little sheepishly. "Um...five more minutes?"

Zero · July 05, 2019, 06:33:05 PM

They were both frozen for the time, it seemed. Neither willing to move, simply looking at one another as they stayed there, in the sleepy embrace. Cole chuckled softly when she asked for five more minutes. It helped put him at ease, a bit of the tension leaving his body as he relaxed against the bed. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept in a proper bed instead of a wagon, bedroll, or the ground.

"Maybe a few minutes wouldn't hurt." He agreed quietly, letting his eyes close again with a sigh. She was warm and he enjoyed the closeness.

DragonSong · July 06, 2019, 06:13:43 AM

Her smile grew warmer, more genuine, and Zahra ducked her head in an effort to hide the sudden, almost giddy flip in her emotions. "Okay..."

Slowly, cautiously, she snuggled a little closer, letting her eyes close again with a soft sigh and tucking her head carefully against his shoulder as she did.

Warm... He was so warm, and though she knew his embrace had been unconsciously initiated while they slept it still felt...nice.

Zero · July 06, 2019, 06:45:18 AM

Cole didn't open his eyes as Zahra snuggled up to him, only gave a soft little sigh and adjusted the arm around her so that he was holding her even closer. His mind still told him it was wrong, but it felt too nice to argue with.

"I've never been close to anyone like this before. I didn't know how warm and nice it could feel." His voice was kept low, barely a whisper.

DragonSong · July 06, 2019, 08:06:49 AM

Zahra tensed slightly, surprised to hear him say that, but then she relaxed again. A small smile curved at the edges of her lips and she pressed just a bit closer, her hands spreading out to flatten against his chest.

"Yeah," she murmured. "It is nice, isn't it?"

Just a few more minutes. Just resting like this, just for a few more minutes...

Zero · July 06, 2019, 11:05:00 AM

Cole felt his breath hitch slightly as her hand pressed against his chest even more. Why did he like being touched by her so much? All his physical contact with her was so different from what he was used to. With Zahra everything was gentle and warm and sweet.

Nothing had been like this before in his life.

"Mhm." He agreed without really forming a whole word. The drow felt content and relaxed, he didn't want to open his eyes. Cole wasn't ready to let go of whatever this pleasant feeling was.

DragonSong · July 06, 2019, 11:59:40 AM

The desert elf's smile widened as she felt him relax a bit more against her. Good. As understandable as his wariness was, sometimes she thought he seemed so tense that he was in danger of simply breaking apart.

Unfortunately, they really could only spare a few minutes. She knew they had to get moving soon.

Eventually, she pulled away from Cole with a small sigh and sat up, arching her back in a stretch and lifting her hand to cover a yawn. "Alright. I suppose I'm awake," she mumbled, rubbing at her eyes.

Zero · July 06, 2019, 05:09:43 PM

Cole sighed when she pulled away from him. He knew that it couldn't last forever, but he still wished that they could have stayed in a little cocoon of peace instead of facing the world again.

"Yeah, okay." The drow opened his eyes and sat up, stretching as she did before sliding out of the bed and moving to grab their things. "We can get breakfast downstairs and then we'll get back on the road. I guess we just keep heading north until we find a place we want to stop."

DragonSong · July 08, 2019, 05:07:13 PM

"Okay." Zahra nodded and swung her legs off the bed, raising her arms in another quick stretch before she stood and briskly brushed herself down, trying to straighten out the wrinkles in her clothes as best she could.

One hand went up to pat at her hair and she winced. When was the last time she'd brushed it? Gods, when was the last time she'd washed it?

"D'you think--?" She stopped herself before the question was fully out of her mouth, feeling her face heat. Silly girl. They didn't have time to waste, and she could just imagine the look of exasperation Cole might give her if she asked for a bath. He'd said it himself: breakfast and then they were gone.

Zero · September 14, 2019, 09:18:32 PM

Cole had let himself become absorbed with gathering up their things - mainly so that he wouldn't end up just watching Zahra. He did still glance in her direction as she tried to fix her clothes and hair.

Her started, but unfinished, question did have him turning to face her. Cole noticed her blushing a bit as well. It certainly made him wonder what she had been going to say. Why had she stopped whatever she was going to ask? "What is it Sweetling?"

DragonSong · September 15, 2019, 09:42:15 AM

Zahra glanced over to him, her blush deepening just a bit. Of course he wouldn't just let that go, that would be too easy.

Resigned to the embarrassment, she sighed quietly and admitted, "I feel...really gross, Cole. I don't even remember the last time I had a bath, I was just...I wondered if we might take a little extra time here."

She looked to the ground, shuffling her feet a bit, unwilling to look at his face. She was positive he'd think she was just being silly and difficult, high maintenance. He'd already put himself at risk for her so often, he'd nearly died trying to save her--she was sure he wouldn't want to spend any more time here than they absolutely had to.

Zero · September 15, 2019, 06:43:36 PM

Cole felt his eyes widen slightly, his face flushing slightly as her words sank in. When was the last time either of them had bathed? He had been so preoccupied between fighting with himself and obsessing over keeping Zahra safe that everything else had simply failed to reach his thoughts.

"Oh." The idea of stopping to bathe hadn't even crossed his mind and the drow felt embarrassed. She had needs other than just sleep, food, and safety and he hadn't been accounting for them. "I'm sorry Sweetling, I didn't even...yes. Of course. We should keep moving north as quickly as we can, but if we can spare a few minutes to stay in bed we can spare some to clean ourselves up before we leave."

He dropped her pack on the bed and headed out the door. "Come on, let's go order breakfast and baths."

DragonSong · September 16, 2019, 02:32:38 PM

A soft exhaled caved her shoulders forward slightly and Zahra found herself slumping a bit with relief. Well now she felt silly for being so embarrassed and cagey about the whole thing.

"Thanks, Cole." She smiled at him softly as she followed him to the door. "I promise it won't take long, I just..." She huffed a small laugh and shook her head. "Gods, I will be glad to wash off the last few weeks."

Zero · September 18, 2019, 12:39:26 AM

"I really hadn't thought about it until you said something. Now that you have, well I have to agree it'll be nice to feel clean again." Cole was suddenly aware that they were both a bit on the filthy side after weeks of roughing it in a wagon, and then their mad dash through the forest on top of it.

Taking time to bathe was definitely a good idea.

They headed down the steps to the main room and Cole flagged down a worker. "We'd like breakfast and baths before we leave, please. Maybe baths first."

"Right this way, sir." The woman, probably a maid, led them down a hallway that had doors on either side. "Ladies are on the left, gentlemen on the right. We'll have your morning meal cooked by the time you're finished, just return to the main room. Enjoy your baths."

DragonSong · September 18, 2019, 08:57:16 AM

Zahra smiled, relieved, and nodded as she continued following him down the steps.

She'd never thought the words "baths first" would be the sweetest thing she'd ever heard, but they were. Smiling at the woman who'd led them down the hall, she nodded and murmured a heartfelt "Thank you."

With another small smile for Cole, she ducked around to slip through the indicated door that led to the ladies' bath. The room was cozy, with a wooden tub tucked against the wall and what appeared to be an array of soaps, sponges, brushed, and a few other implements that she honestly didn't know what the purpose of was arranged on a set of shelves.

Making sure the door was locked only took half a second, and then Zahra stripped as quickly as she could and climbed into the tub--it seemed that the inn workers kept warm water handy for such occasions, which she was immensely grateful for.

Zero · November 07, 2019, 06:36:22 PM

Cole waited until Zahara disappeared behind the women's bathing room and heard the lock click into place before he moved to the door on the other side of the hallway and slipped inside. He undressed quickly and climbed into the warm bath. It had been a long time since he'd gotten to just soak inside a tub, but the drow washed and redressed as fast as he could.

He moved into the hall and waited for the little desert elf to finish her own cleaning up. Cole had wanted to make sure he was out before her. It was probably perfectly safe here in the inn, but he didn't like the idea of her being alone in this new country. They were still much too close to the border and he never trusted soldiers. He didn't think they would attack her, of course, but military men were notorious womanizers.

DragonSong · November 08, 2019, 02:36:26 PM

Though she wished she could just stay and relax in the warm water longer—for hours, if she’d had her druthers—Zahra knew they really didn’t have that kind of time to waste. So, a bit reluctantly, she scrubbed herself clean quickly and hopped out of the tub again, drying herself off and pulling her clothes back on.

She unlocked the door and poked her head out into the hall, damp hair tumbling around her face and shoulders. Now that she was actually clean, at least reasonably, one could actually make out the smattering of slightly darker freckles over her tanned nose and cheeks.

“Oh.” She caught sight of Cole waiting in the hall, almost seeming to be standing guard, and started slightly, then shot him a quick, small smile. “Um, sorry. I didn’t take too long, did I?”

Zero · August 09, 2020, 11:29:31 AM

"No, you didn't have to rush." Cole said from where he was leaning against the wall of the hall, eyes fixed towards the rest of the inn as he watched for any sign of something being not quite right. He let out a breath and let himself turn his eyes towards her. It was safe here. He knew he was being paranoid, but after the last few weeks he dared someone to blame him for a little paranoia.

"If you're done let's get breakfast then go grab our things from our room so we can check out and keep moving north. We've got who knows how long and far of a journey. It could be days, weeks, months...depends on where it feels right to stop. I'm sure we'll know when we find...wherever feels like it could be a home?" Cole shrugged his shoulder a little unsure. He'd never had a home, so he didn't even know if he would be able to tell, but as long as Zahra found somewhere she wanted to settle and be happy, then that was good enough for him for now.

One goal at a time.

DragonSong · August 09, 2020, 12:29:38 PM

"Right." She smiled at him again and nodded. "Best get started as soon as we can, then."

Gods. Why was it so much more awkward trying to talk to him in the waking world?

...Okay, she knew why. Literally everything about their strange relationship was complicated, and for some reason dreams seemed to simplify things. Of course, knowing that didn't make things any easier.

Starting toward the common room of the inn, she tilted her head at him and ventured, "Do you know what's, um..." She waved a hand vaguely as she tried to think of how to phrase it. "Ah...normal food, this far north?"

Zahra had literally never left the desert before, and with the caravan traveling this way, they'd mostly had camp rations. She had absolutely no idea how anything outside the dunes and oases worked, food included.