Galain had mounted the stairs slowly and taken his time...
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Galain had mounted the stairs slowly and taken his time until he reached the third floor and stepped into the hallway. He looked toward his left where Tay's room was and then he turned right and headed down to the end of the hall where his own room was. It was a strange thing perhaps that he wasn't rooming with Tay, but he was looking forward to a little quiet time on his own perhaps. Who knew. The room was moderately sized and there was access to the dumbwaiter. This was a good thing because some of that quiet time on his own would be devoted to giving Y'roden some creative crap without resorting to pounding his head in -- which would be completely uncreative. He sat down on the double bed and bounced it slightly. Not bad... no major creaking... and kinda comfy. And ooo... a fireplace and hey... a bathroom. Plumbed even. Galain got off the bed and checked everything out before he settled into the lone chair that sat beside the fireplace. He looked like he was zoning out. In reality he was plotting. The scent of vanilla and spice and everything nice exploded out into Galain's room via the dumb waiter. A white mist flowed up through, ending up in his lap and solidifying into the Culinary Goddess of the Universe. "Hellooo Cutie Pie!," she crowed, poking him in the nose with the end of her rolling pin. "Just bringing you a Welcoome Basket," she chirrped, pointing to a table against the wall where a basket full of goodies appeared. "Part of the Silver Dryad's new service policy and all you know." Oh my gods... Galain flew swiftly from plotting to waking up rather swiftly as he realized he had quite the armload of “everything nice” in his arms. He blinked but once before he was grinning rather cheekily. “And what sort of welcome basket might that be?” He asked, a
Transcript of Galain had mounted the stairs slowly and taken his time...
Galain had mounted the stairs slowly and taken his time until he reached the third floor and stepped into the hallway. He looked toward his left where Tay's room was and then he turned right and headed down to the end of the hall where his own room was. It was a strange thing perhaps that he wasn't rooming with Tay, but he was looking forward to a little quiet time on his own perhaps. Who knew.
The room was moderately sized and there was access to the dumbwaiter. This was a good thing because some of that quiet time on his own would be devoted to giving Y'roden some creative crap without resorting to pounding his head in -- which would be completely uncreative. He sat down on the double bed and bounced it slightly. Not bad... no major creaking... and kinda comfy.
And ooo... a fireplace and hey... a bathroom. Plumbed even. Galain got off the bed and checked everything out before he settled into the lone chair that sat beside the fireplace. He looked like he was zoning out. In reality he was plotting.
The scent of vanilla and spice and everything nice exploded out into Galain's room via the dumb waiter. A white mist flowed up through, ending up in his lap and solidifying into the Culinary Goddess of the Universe. "Hellooo Cutie Pie!," she crowed, poking him in the nose with the end of her rolling pin. "Just bringing you a Welcoome Basket," she chirrped, pointing to a table against the wall where a basket full of goodies appeared. "Part of the Silver Dryad's new service policy and all you know."
Oh my gods...
Galain flew swiftly from plotting to waking up rather swiftly as he realized he had quite the armload of “everything nice” in his arms. He blinked but once before he was grinning rather cheekily.
“And what sort of welcome basket might that be?” He asked, a shred of hope in his voice. Of course he saw the basket on the table and he slumped a bit. Then he straightened back up. Goodies were food. Food was good.
“What a lovely policy,” he murmured, giving the goddess a peck on the nose. “Care to share with me? Or do you have duties to attend to?”
"Oh I can multi-task," the Goddess answered brightly. She blinked when he kissed her on the nose, then smiled brightly. "I'd love to share." All this waking and slumping was jostling her about a bit, but she could roll with it. "There is a bottle of wine in there, some cheese, crackers, pastires, chocolate. What would you like to nibble first?"
Now Galain had an unusually "good" streak going. He couldn't explain it. It might have to do with having two incredible women in his life that he loved beyond life... He knew he'd made his choices and now... now he was incredibly happy despite the blips that zinged his "husband radar" at times. But right now his radar had... blopped.
"Share! Good! Multitask! Better!" Galain laughed aloud. "Sorry about the slumping
there," he muttered. "Uh... How's about we share the wine, the cheese, crackers, pastries. chocolate. Wait. You sayd, chocolate? Yes! That and the wine!"
Gods, would Y'roden ever know how close he'd come to immediate and evil plotting by Galain?
Oh hell, he'd know soon enough.
"Wine and chocolate it is," the Goddess chimed, "Just make yourself comfortable now." Sliding out of his lap she wiggled over to the basket and pulled away the ribbon that held the celephane in place. "Oh my," she said, "This one has Champagne in it, someone must really like you."
Humming to herself she lifted the bottle out of the basket and popped the cork, sending a spray of champagne across the room. "Whoops!" Now.. where was that chocolate?
Wine and chocolate. This was good. Galain acrobatically flipped himself to the bed and made himself comfortable. That last wriggle in his lap had him trying to retract his tongue to normal levels.
“Champagne?” He nearly yelped. “Really? How lovely! Champagne! It’s such an… ambrosia…” Oh hell, he was talking to a goddess and she should know. He did manage to catch a few droplets and licked his lips, a la Chevy Chase.
It was either an awful thing to behold or rather charming. It’s your call.
BBQ winked at the Elen as she gathered a couple of glasses, the Champagne, and the chocolate then bounced onto the bed. "Ambrosia indeed!" Handing him a glass she waggled the bottle at him, which made more of the bubbly spout out the top and drench the Elf in the process. "Ooops! Hold still! Goodness this stuff has a life of its own!" She seemed to be having a bugger of a time hitting that glass....
"Wow!" Galain gasped as the champagne sprayed all over him. He wiped a hand through his hair, removed his vest and laughed as BBQ tried to pour the bubbly stuff into the glass.
"What if I hold it for you? Or wait, I could lick that off..."
"Hold it for me!," BBQ chirped, "Lick it off!" All to happy she popped a chocolate into Galain's mouth and gazed at a pool of champagne that had collected in his belly button. "Hmmm... I think a straw might be in order!" She forewent the straw, and the glass bounced away across the bed.
Galain bit down hard on the chocolate and downed it a little too fast when BBQ chucked the straw. Pillows fell off the bed and he bit back a yelp.
It probably didn't help that he was aware of Tay's little fun downstairs and he was bouncing between having fun here and wanting to charge down the stairs and throttle
Aidan.
Fun first? Throttle later?
Oh decisions, decisions, decisions...
"Do that again after you try a chocolate," he told BBQ.
Reaching the landing Tay didn't even bother looking towards Galain's room. She had him and what he was doing completly blocked out of her mind. Reaching her room she closed the door behind her and crawled into a chair near the fire. She wasn't quite feeling herself.
BBQ popped a chocolate in her mouth and looked rather thoughtful for a moment, "Hmm... not bad... Try it again?" Well, with an offer like that, how could she not oblige?
Galain was oblivious to outside activities. What with chocolate, straws, an attentive goddess, champagne...
"We should get some bendy straws," he said suddenly. "Think of all the fun we could have then." He waggled his eyebrows and kissed BBQ's nose.
Barbie Q giggled and thwaped the elf with a bendy straw, then paused to sniff at the air. "Oh! Goodness!," she crowed, "My buns are burning!" She bounced off the bed, looked towards the dumbwaiter, then back at Galain. For a moment she paused to bite her nails... decisions decisions... "I'll be back in awhile!" In a panic she misted out and hurried back to the kitchen.
Galain sat up on the bed and sighed. He should have known better than to play with the goddess of gourmet. The kitchen always comes first. The elf wadded up a bit of chocolate candy wrapper in his mouth, then shot it through the straw.
Ah yes... spitwads.
Perhaps he could create the ultimate spitwad sculpture? Anything to ease his body back into a calmer mode as he bounced off the bed, groaned slightly and turned his back on the basket.
Maybe he'd just start a more normal fire and make himself more at home here instead.
An'Thaya had simply stared into the fire for awhile, running through an odd gamut of emotions that had been bothering her for awhile. She was old enough by now to know that life changed people, that you could never expect anything to stay the same... or anyone. Three thousand and six hundred years.... was she really that old? It seemed like just yesterday Tager was picking her up and tossing her into the air, his little Tay girl. Was it really so long ago since she had apprenticed as a Blacksmith? That Reece had come to her rescue? Since she had sailed on the Buckaneer? Lived among the Drow?
How long ago was it now since she had first met a glorious blonde elf and fallen in love?
How long had they been struggling to hold on? She had been through so much with Galain... Well over two thousand five hundred years. There had been a brief period with Elyen... she winced at the memory of his death. Such a senseless waste of a good man. And Railen... where was he now?
Did everything she touched have to tarnish? Have to die? Eventually the thoughts faded off to troubled dreams as she slept curled up in the little chair before the fire.
Did he hear a door somewhere slam? Had he heard the drifting of angry voices from below? Cool...
Galain had created one heck of a spitwad sculpture. It resembled that earth statue called Venus de Milo and the elf was more than a little pleased as he danced around it.
Just one more spitwad right there...
He aimed.
He blew.
It crumpled.
Gods bedang!
Galain loaded the all mess of spittle and paper onto the dumbwaiter and sent it down one floor to Y'roden's room.
Tay woke sometime later with a catlike stretch, blinking sleepily as she gazed around the room. Why was she up here? Oh yes, a combination of embarrassing herself horribly and a moment of insecurity. With a sigh she slumped down in the chair again and stared into the fire.
A bath... a bath would make her feel better.
Loosening the ties along the side of her breastplate she worked it loose and tossed it into the chair as she rose. The process of disarming herself took awhile longer, and she had started on the lacings of her trousers by the time she headed for the bathroom.
Tay was nose deep in bubbles and happily wiggling her toes. A rubber ducky was staring at her from the edge of the tub, and a memory of possessed malards caused her to slap the thing onto the floor. Giggling at herself she submerged, her long lock of hair floating aimlessly around her head.
Galain... She reached out to her husband, testing the bond first to make sure he was... unoccupied. Want to join me for a romp in the woods? I'll bring the ant repellant this time.
Okay. Galain couldn't miss that scream and he looked upward and then back toward his
door and beyond. He heard a muffled thud and realized that someone was really pissed off. He thought he recognized the voice behind the scream and found himself crawling into a corner and staring wide-eyed at the door.
Maybe he'd go downstairs for a drinky now?
Then he shrugged and crawled over to the dumbwaiter and started dropping bits of toilet paper down the thing until he heard a voice in his head.
Tay! M'love! Hullo! He sent back merrily. A romp sounds great! What time? Now? Did you just abuse a rubber ducky?
Me? Abuse a ducky? Never! Giggling madly she nearly swallowed a healthy dose of tub water. Now would be good, if you want to pull me out of the tub. I think the drain has caught my hair... Owie...
It was a fortunate thing that she had excellent lung capacity....
Now? Well all right. You've probably just saved your brother from something gross. Of course now I have more time to think it over... Galain was momentarily startled by the thought that Tay had gotten her hair stuck in the bathtub.
Shall I bring the shears? I'm an excellent sheep shearer y'know. Was that comment accompanied by a maniacal laugh? Probably...
Galain locked his door and headed down the hall, strode purposefully into Tay's room and swung the bathroom door open.
Yes, he was wielding shears.
Cut the hair and die. That is all she had to say about it. Help! She paused and blew a few bubbles.... What do you mean I saved Ro from something gross? She was having a hard time making the connection between getting her hair stuck in the drain and saving Y'roden..... As a matter of fact anything involving herself, her brother, and a bathtub just kinda creeped her out.
Oh no worries, love. The shears are the last resort, Galain replied, admiring the delightful roundess of the bubbles Tay was blowing. He was also admiring the delightful roundness of her back end. It was staring at him so perkily. So of course he gave her a playful swat before he settled down beside the tub and gave her hair an experimental tug.
Hmm... stuck fast. And of course the water was not draining because her hair was caught and...
It's Liquid Drano time he said a tad too gleefully as he patted her hind end again. Just keep holding that breath...
Then he froze. No... he couldn't do that either. The clog was quite alive and might beat
the living daylights out of him. Well then, there was just no help for it. Galain set the shears down, stepped into the tub and wrapped his arms around Tay's waist and began tugging for all he was worth.
Yes, this was an extremely compromising scene.
Yes, the elf was getting a kick out of it.
Yipe! Tay was sure he was trying to drown her.. or something. Several good tugs later and her hair popped free, and so did the two elves. Tay came up gasping and they both flew over the edge of the tub, landing with a squeak on top of the discarded rubber ducky. "That was exciting!," the Amazon exclaimed, "Lets do it again!"
Wait a sec... there was indeed a duckie up his butt and it especially chafed as he was still wearing his trousers.
"Mmmph?" Galain whimpered. He did indeed want to do it again, but he wanted the duck out of his ass.
A small thing.
Really.
"Hmmm?," An'Thaya asked. Sometimes it still took her a moment to dechipher his Mmmphs. "Oh! That's gotta be uncomfortable," she observed as she rolled off her husband. "Can I help you with that?"
They really should have learned after all these centuries that the two of them plus a bathroom spelled trouble.
"Get it out! Get it out! Get it out!" Galain finally exclaimed quite clearly. He'd had this happen before... it wasn't a good thing to quack when you walk.
This was the mother of all wedgies though.
Rolling Galain over An'Thaya braced her feet against his back and took hold of the ducky. POP! And the ducky was free! "There we are!," the Amazon singsonged, "No more duckie wedgy. Have I thanked you for saving me from the drain? My hero!" Pouncing him she covered his face in butterfly kisses.
Okay, the duck removal hadn’t exactly been pleasant. Rubber animals of the squeaking sort up in that end of his anatomy were just… well… Galain was trying to find the pleasure in this but he kept cringing. He reached back to rub his hind end and was fairly sure he needed a new pair of pants.
Of course he didn’t mind being pounced and covered with light, feather kisses.
“You’re welcome,” he told with a laugh, returning the kisses. “And thank you.” He laughed again. “That felt like hell. Next time remind me to take my pants off first.”
Yes, that was a mad snicker that escaped him.
"Oh heck," she said, "Just go naked, I don't mind. We'll make it a rule, mandatory nekkidness when you enter my room." The ducky squeaked in agreement.
A wicked grin lit up the Amazon's face and she kissed her husband softly. "Well, which would you rather do? Roll around on my bathroom floor for awhile? Or take that walk we were discussing?"
Galain froze a moment. Now. He usually went naked when at Tay's cottage on Whispin. It was just a... natural thing. Nake here when in her room?
Well. Allrighty. He kissed her back.
"I can do naked here. Here in your rooms. As for rolling around versus walking... can we do one, then the other?"
And of course he proceeded to roll around her around on her bathroom floor. Yippee
Now that they had tile marks imprinted.. well, everywhere... not to mention Galain had a back brush stuck in his hair and Tay found a loofa in hers...
"You taste like champagne and chocolate," the Amazon observed. That was fine with her, she liked both of those things.
“I do? Well, it’s not a bad mix,” Galain had the grace to blush as he remembered belatedly just where those tastes had come from. Rather, who. “Is there a brush in my hair? It feels… stuck… Wait, why is there a loofah in yours?”
Tay just giggled and worked on getting the brush out of Galain's hair. "Why is it I'm constantly removing foreign objects from you body?" Well it was probably better then putting them there.
"I refuse to answer that on the grounds that it might incriminate me," Galain replied as he tugged at the loofah snarled in Tay's hair. He was grinning as he tugged and tugged and then sneaked a kiss from his wife.
"Ow!" The brush came free, the loofah came free and both stared at each other, Galain's face bearing a rather startled expression.
"Too late," An'Thaya told him, "You are already inciminated." She blinked and rubbed her head, "That smarts." Tossing the backbrush into the tub she leaned down to kiss him, "Weirdo."
Settling on his chest she smiled at him and bit his chin, "So, are you still up for that
walk?"
"Damn," Galain swore softly, then grinned as Tay rubbed her head. "Sorry about that. Had to get the loofah out y'know." He gave her an earnest look. "And I'm no weirder than you. Trust me." he bit her nose and laughed, then sobered up a little.
"Yeah. I think I'm up for that walk. We'll have to take it slowly at first. It's not every day one gets a duck stuck up his butt."
"Well I'll give you that," Tay grinned, "The Alcarin's and the D'riel's seem to have a certain reputation for weirdness. A wicked gleam lit in her eyes and she nipped him back, "Taking it slow is fine." She grabbed a towel and started drying him off, "I'll go easy on you love, and we'll avoid the giant ants... and the Inca's too. Shall we head north?"
"Yes, yes they do. Just look at the twins," Galain told Tay with a grin. He chuckled when she nipped him back and sneaked his hands up to cup a pair of the most delightful cantaloupes.
Well... she could be a bit fruity at times... really...
Then she was drying him off and he was grappling for the towel so he could dry her off.
"North! North indeed! No ants! No Incas! Gods! Just a nice, peaceful amble into the woods."
Tay chuckled and relinquished the towel, "Uhm yes, the twins are definatly... odd." She loved her boys, really she did. When she was good and dry she bounced to her feet, "Clothes would probably be a good idea, as much as I like going naked the underbrush can be hell on the skin."
Grinning she bounced her way over to the closet and started pulling out her usual gear. Before she dressed she started on the weaponry, one never knew what was in this Wood. Minature leather scabbards strapped to her wrists, she looked rather interesting wearing nothing but that and metal. Pulling on her leather trousers she cinched her belt and slid her most often used daggers into place an her hips, the largest of any she carried they were strapped down against her thighs.
The cut off shirt went on next, and the breastplate on top of that. Humming to herself she laced up the side and tucked the black windows dagger into the front of it. Last came the boots and the daggers tucked inside. All in all the Amazon was a dangerous woman, but now that she thought about it, she had been rather calm over the past few centuries... odd that. "Ready?," she called out to her husband. "Do you need some dry trousers?"
Galain had relaxed upon Tay's bed and watched her dress. He'd rather enjoyed the beginning there where she'd worn nothing but skin and knives.
Yahoo!
When she mentioned dry trousers he stated down at himself. Huh. He'd been rolling in bath water after all and...
"Yeah... I suppose a dry pair would be a good idea, eh?" He said, waving a hand above his pants in a vain attempt to dry them out naturally.
Tay was well aware of Galain's eyes on her, and was highly amused. You would think after all these centuries he would be use to the sight of her nekkid. Running a comb through her hair she chuckled as he attempted to air dry his pants, "We'll be here till next week doing it that way," she told him.
Rummaging through her closet she pulled out a pair of his troursers. "I brought along a few things from the cottage. You always seem to need pants." She tossed them to him and winked, "I'd blame Lain, but there are so many other reasons you seem to lose them, or ruin them."
He could have made his own new set of trousers -- just as ragged and just as patched. He was contrary that way. But Galain loved it when he got new stuff for free. Wait, he did remember these particular trousers from somewhere. But hey. He'd gotten to watch Tay, whom he was NOT used to seeing nekkied after all these years, that being the benefit of love, and now he was laughing.
"Why blame 'Lain? It's my fault if I don't magick my clothes away fast enough when I shift." He snickered. He'd nearly left that last word without an "f".
"Because his shoulders are big enough to shoulder the blame and way to many things are your fault to begin with,"Tay beamed. "Now come on you, we can sneak through the kitchen."
The bouncey mood An'Thaya was in came crashing down around her ears. Y'roden's pain hit her like a sledgehammer. Twisting on the spot her back slammed into the doorframe, tears streaming freely down her face. The tears that Ro could never shed....
She knew Galain felt it too, but his pain was Ghetsuhm's. "Don't," she put a hand on his arm before he could even think of going to his other wife. "Give them time, give them that much. He's set her free."
Of course he felt what Ghetsuhm felt -- the most she reopened their bond his jaw had sagged and his eyes had glazed over as he stared sightlessly at a wall.
"I'm not going yet," he'd replied to Tay. His hand had blindly traveled to her hand and clasped it tightly, squeezing gently.
Then he heard the cry from down below and he snapped to and shot a look at Tay. I think... I will come back." He leaned in and kissed his wife, pulling her close to him. For a moment he almost refused to release Tay from the smothering embrace and when he did he stared into her face.
"Don't you ever slip away from me," he told her fiercely. He kissed her again. "I must go to her." He flashed Tay a memory of the day he and Enchanted parted ways. "One shouldn't remain alone too long." He whispered before he headed toward the door. He turned back once.
"We're going to go for a walk still, melda," he told her.
"Go," Tay urged her husband, "She needs you more than I do right now, take care of her." Blowing him a kiss she closed the door softly, leaning heavily against it when she couldn't see him anymore. "I'll never slip away," she promised the hard wood that pressed against her skin, "I'd die first."
Sliding down tot he floor she wept quietly, her heart breaking for her brother and his lover. It was time, she knew that, she had felt it in Y'roden's soul. But it didn't make things any easier for anyone involved. "Oh Y'roden," she whispered, "Don't slip... please don't slip..."
Whoops. Not only had she left a pleasant pine scent behind in Y'roden's room, she'd left her itty-bitty panties.
Well.
No worries.
Thermax stared at the remains of An'Thaya's room, tutted to herself and began yet another cleanup. She worked up quite a sweat, borrowed the shower and left a heel behind.
Quite by accident I assure you.
But the room was spotless.
Clean even.
Onward!
Ghet nodded, and followed Galain meekly. Everything he said was right. There probably was a bright side, but she wasn't prepared to look for it yet. It had been so long since she had been alone, for any period of time. There had been times she had longed for some peace, and now she shied away from the agony of the loneliness she would feel when Galain was away.
"Of course I believe you haven't slept in your bed. That's not even a stretch." It was only a couple of days ago, Tay had offered her her own room, and she'd blithely said that with Galain and Rodi both having their own, she didn't need one.
Long term, she could not stay here.
For the first time, she noticed that not all the tears on Galain's skin were hers. It touched her immensely that he would weep for her pain. Dropping her clothes on the floor without a thought, she reached up, stroked his cheek, and kissed him gently. "You're a very lovely, sensitive man, you know that? It's okay, I won't tell anybody."
"Oh hell," Galain breathed out, coloring a bit. "You're my soul. I know that's hard to remember sometimes. And I just plain love you. No matter what or who. I love you." He gave her a wink. "But I'll hold you to that promise."
He stared toward the small bathroom.
"Let me draw you a bath. You want bubbles? Salts? Nothing?" He was moving in that direction and he stopped to look at her. He knew she didn't want to stay here in the long term. He pushed that aside and just smiled at her.
Tears pricked at her eyes again. His kindness cut right through her. Sometimes, despite her age, she felt so terribly tiny, as if she were just a child, and soon someone would notice that she was only pretending to be a grown-up who could cope with adult responsibilities.
It was hard for her to move beyond the tight core of pain in her own soul, to touch him, and open herself up to his warmth, but she did it. Because she knew, she knew that his love for her just was, beyond condition or reproach. She closed her eyes a moment, and embraced him through their bond, aware, with a mixture of pain and wonder, that there was no longer a corner of her soul kept back from him. The hole where Y'roden had been, it would fill in time. Eventually, it would be as if he'd never even been there.
She opened her eyes and looked at her husband, caught by his stillness. "I know," she whispered. "I always know." A half smile twisted her mouth. "No matter what you do. And now, even though it hurts, there is no part of me that doesn't belong to you. I think I'd be more pissed if you weren't pleased by that. A bath would be nice. Salts, but no bubbles." She grimaced. "Booze would also be nice. Anything that catches fire easily would be good."
Galain leaned over the tub, running the water. He had savored Ghetsuhm’s embrace through their bond, and had touched her soul gently, realizing she was all there now. Gods… all of her.
He called out from the bathroom as he dumped in a handful of salts.
“I think there’s a cabinet there beside the bed filled with some stuff. And the basket there on the table has more goodies.” He stepped back into the room and moved before she could, kneeling beside the bed and opening the nightstand’s lower cupboard. A bottle of his own brand of brandy was lurking there, along with two snifters. He winked at her as he held out his hand to her, cradling the booze and glasses in his other arm.
“May I escort you to your bath, m’lady?” He asked.
Ghet smiled softly and took his hand. The warmth of Galain's skin made her realise just how cold she'd become. "So gallant," she said, her voice still rough. Her eyes were tender when she looked at him. They'd been there to catch each other so many times, in spite of all the changes in the patterns of their lives. Not every time, though. Not the worst time. That losing Galain had been the worst time just went to prove that what she and Y'roden had just done was the Right Thing.
No wonder she so seldom did the Right Thing.
She slipped into the water, lacking her usual grace, and settled back, welcoming the warmth on her chilled flesh. She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. Then she looked at Galain and wondered, what could she say? She'd said 'sorry' and 'thank you' so many times today... "Do you want to keep me company. I mean, I know I'm not very good company right now. I must be having an off day."
“Gallant schmallant,” Galain replied, pouring the brandy into a glass and offering it to Ghet when she reopened her eyes again. “You’re excellent company. The best kind. The moment I get annoying you just tell me to scat and I will. Though I’ll sulk and pout and generally make a scene.”
He poured himself a glass and clicked it against hers.
“To off days, bad company and baths without bubbles,” he intoned solemnly before he leaned in and kissed her and then took a long gulp of the brandy. It was a squinty sort of smile he gave her then as his innards and nostrils seemed to burst into flame - or at least it felt like they were.
“Sit and soak. Rest. I’m right here ogling you.” He splashed a tiny bit of water at her.
Ghet raised an eyebrow at her husband, where another day she would have laughed aloud. "Bad company," she said, and drank, welcoming the heat of the brandy, hoping for some kind of numbness.
She settled in the water, bobbing gently, grinning briefly when Galain's eyes bobbed too. "You're never annoying. You're seldom annoying. You're seldom annoying at really inappropriate moments." He was right, though: shortly she was going to need some time to herself, to remember, and grieve, and try to move on. Okay, to wallow in pain for a while, and not have to worry about hurting anyone else. She would retire to her den to lick her wounds, as she had in the past. "Stay with me until I go. If that's okay, with Tay and everything. Then I need to go home for a while. I only came here to be with... I don't belong here now. At least, not until I no longer want to break Silverthorn's jaw. That's bound to happen eventually."
She sighed, and lifted her glass to her lips, only to find to her surprise that it was empty. "How'd that happen?" Then she smiled just a little and flicked water back at her husband.
"You should get out of those wet clothes, before you catch a chill."
“Yes’m” Galain replied, working swiftly to divest himself of said “wet” clothes. He slipped into the water, easing in behind Ghetsuhm and wrapping his legs around her body. “Lean back. I make a great pillow. Meanwhile, lemme take care of that brandy shortage,” he told her with a chuckle, refilling her glass and then his.
“I’m glad I’m not annoying,” he told her. He touched Tay’s mind a moment and realized she’d gone dragon. “I think Tay’s… well, she’s Agaru at the moment so she’s up to something.” He shook his head and wondered if it was prey or play for the dragon. He lifted Ghet’s hair and kissed the back of her neck. Then he put his glass down and quietly began to massage her shoulders and neck. He let his soul slide around hers, a flickering presence she could latch onto as she wanted or needed.
Ghet sighed and leaned on her husband, in every way. She sipped her drink and shut her eyes, content just to drift with him. She had locked the pain away: she had regained enough of her strength to hold it on her own, wrapped tightly inside her. It wasn't going away in a hurry, and there was nothing to be gained from sharing it.
She smiled when he told her about Tay. "I hope she doesn't eat Aidan. Well, I kind of hope she doesn't eat Aidan, 'cause it would be entertaining." There was so much else to say, but she couldn't find the words for it. Just a little longer, and then she would go.
"Maybe she could just play with him -- make him scream a little? I like to do that... toss 'em about... it's pretty amusing." Galain replied in a thoughtful voice. He kissed the top of her head and went quiet. There were just times where words were a nuisance. It was much easier to full be. It would end all too soon as it was and the elf savored every second here. He was longing to see his irrepressible, confidence-oozing Ghetsuhm back and he understood that she'd need to find herself again on her own for a bit.
His fingers drew lazy circles on her shoulders as a silence of the most companionable kind wrapped itself around them.
Ghet's drifting mind chuckled tiredly. Play, yeah. Toss 'em about, make 'em scream, maybe chew on 'em just a little... before you knew it, they were nosing the limp thing on the ground and wondering why it wouldn't play any more.
Between the booze, and the water, and the comfort of Galain's body and soul, she was nearly asleep. Funny how emotional pain could be so physically exhausting. Galain's unquestioning, accepting silence was a balm on her ragged emotions, but she knew she had to stand by herself, no matter how hard that was. She had completely belonged to a succession of men for too long. It was time to be independent.
She leaned over the side of the bath and put her freshly empty glass down, then turned and climbed into her husband's lap. There were myriad advantages to being tiny. "I'm going to go home now. I need to work out for myself where I am and what I want. What else I want. Even if I could, I wouldn't give you up for anything. But I don't want to cling to you just because I'm not strong enough to stand alone." She kissed him warmly. "But
then I will come to you at Ringe, and marry you. Because I want to, with all my heart."
Galain returned Ghet’s kiss and then leaned back a bit, gazing into her eyes, a slight smile teasing a corner of his mouth. He traced the curve of her face with one finger and nodded.
“I’ll be there - waiting.” He said quietly. There wasn’t much more he could say except, “I love you.” He did so, kissed her again and held her close a moment more as he twined a tendril of her hair around his finger, tugged slightly and then let go.
Ghet smiled and kissed him back. "I love you, too. Here." She took off her ring and gave it back to him, wrapping his hand around it. "You can give it back to me soon."
She got up, and dressed. Then she ran up against something she hadn't seen coming. She went to make a portal back to Riker's. It was Y'roden who'd taught her how to make portals. She'd always done it using the fragment of his soul she didn't have any more. She'd drawn on the emptiness before she realised. She bit down hard on her lip and turned to Galain. "Can you do it for me this time?"
Galain stepped out of the tub too, found a towel and wrapped it around his hips. His stomach had lurched when he realized what Ghetsuhm had unconsciously done.
"This time" he told her and a golden slit of light appearered. It drew bigger until it was tall enough for Ghetsuhm to walk through. He blew her a kiss, and held up the ring.
"Until I see you again," he told her with a smile.
Home. An odd home, perhaps, but hers nonetheless. The sight and scent of it brought tears to her eyes. She turned back to face Galain just for a moment. "Soon," she said, "And thank you."
She turned back and slipped through the portal with a final wry thought: she was far too old to be "finding herself".
Galain watched the portal until there was nothing left of it but the memory of its golden glow as Ghetsuhm had stepped through. Then he started breathing again before he turned around, let the water drain out and then stood there staring at it. He moved finally when he picked up the glasses and brandy bottle and returned to the rest of the room. He deposited the glasses and bottle on the table and walked over to the wardrobe where he rummaged through his usual patchy mess of clothes, found what he wanted and dressed.
Maybe he'd eat first, sit a little and then he'd go find Tay.
Keeping a firm hold on Mira who didn't seem all that steady on her feet, Bran steered her up the stairs and on to the third floor. "Room 2 is the one we're looking for" he said, "that must be it over there." Making their way over, he unlocked the door and shut it behind them as they entered the room.
Gently, he sat Mira down on the end of the bed. "This is nice" he observed as he glanced
around briefly. Turning back to her he smiled and brushed a gentle hand across her cheek. "Come on, love. Let's get you into bed shall we? You look wiped out."
Mira closed her eyes as Bran touched her cheek. Forcing them open again, Mira half-smiled and looked up at him. "Am I looking that rough? Don't answer that...You're right, a nap is exactly what I need." Mira looked around the room for a moment, then began unbuttoning her shirt. "The room is very nice, it was sweet of An'Thaya to give it to me. I think when I feel a little better, I'd like to check out that balcony." Mira was all but mumbling as she tried to get her shirt off and talk at the same time.
"Yes, it was nice of her" Bran agreed softly. "Here, let me help." Gently he moved her fingers out of the way and undid the buttons on her shirt. Slipping it back off her shoulders, he continued "I don't think you look any the worse for wear than most of the rest of us. Quite a few are in no better a state. The dryad might even manage to be quiet for awhile simply because all the troublemakers are asleep." Amusement gleamed in his green eyes.
Mira was desperately wishing she wasn't so tired, having Bran stand this close to her while her shirt was being taken off was almost enough to revitalize her...almost. "I'm not so sure about all the troublemakers being out of the way. We did leave Laura downstairs and there's that drow, too. Zroe was her name?" Mira slipped the toes of one foot behind the heel of the other and started pushing her boot off. "You seem to be doing okay," Mira flipped her now shoulder length hair back out of her face. "but seem to and are can be two very different things." Mira's green eyes searched Bran's, "Are you going to be alright?" The look in her eyes said she wouldn't accept any offhanded, light remark.
Bran smiled slightly at the searching look she gave him. "I'm fine," he said quietly. "I managed to be ignored for the most part and on the whole I think that was probably a good thing given who we were dealing with. I'm a little concerned about my sister but there's nothing I can do about that at present." His fingers stroked down her hair as he leaned forward and kissed her gently. "Now stop worrying about me and get into bed" he said wryly.
Mira shrugged the rest of the way out of her shirt and stood on weak knees, to take off the belt that held Enkara's scabbard. She laid it on the beside table, then unbuttoned her pants. "I think Silverthorn is in very capabale hands at the moment, but I'm not sure who did the most damage to who. Nuuruhuine to 'nasse or Samara to Y'Roden." Mira's gut twisted a bit as it occurred to her that she had been too tired, too stubborn, too something to back down from the demoness's will over Y'Roden. Enkara had been right, Mira didn't know how to pick her fights.
The thought that Samara would be back brought up another thought to Mira...something about what Bran had said...the part about being ignored.... It seemed he'd left "this time" off the end of the sentence. Mira stopped with her undressing and looked back into Bran's green eyes, "Why do I get the feeling Nuuruhuine has paid more attention to you in the past?" Smiling gently, Mira softened her next comment with a brush of her hand down his arm, "And yes, I'll worry about you all I want."
Slipping his arms around her, Bran hugged Mira to him for a moment. "Those pair do seem to run into more than their share of trouble, don't they?" he said as he thought about her comment about Silverthorn and Y'roden. His expression softened as he looked at her. "There is no reason to worry about me" the fair-haired elf said quietly. "I admit that I've had my run-in's with Nuuruhuine in the past but really I'm too much like amil to be of huge interest to her. Remember I said only the females in our family have certain abilities? Well, one of those is for dark magic. It never shows up in the men at all though. It is why the women are usually considered to be darker in our family and it is the darkness Nuuruhuine is attracted to. Add that to the fact that amil was a high elf of the seelie court and it makes me of even less interest. I have nothing she wants."
Mira leaned her forehead against his chest and slipped her arms around him as she listened. "I remember, but that doesn't stop me from being afraid for you." Mira was silent for a moment, then realized how tired she really was as she stood there in his warm embrace. With a deep sigh, Mira pulled away from him, "Here, let me get the rest of my clothes off. You know, until I met up with you, I never needed naps..."
Bran couldn't help but laugh at that last comment. "Nap time with Mira is always fun" he said with a grin, "but I think on this occasion you genuinely do need to go to sleep. Helping Ro took a lot out of you." He waited until she had undressed and gotten into bed before he asked, "do you want me to stay or would you rather I went back downstairs?"
"Normally, I would ask you to stay. Somehow, I just don't sleep the same when I'm alone anymore." Mira yawned and scrubbed her eyes. "I leave it up to you. If you decide to go downstairs, just promise to check in on me from time to time...and you could always wake me up..." Mira's voice trailed off as she gave up fighting to keep her eye's open.
A gentle smile crossed Bran's face as he studied Mira's sleeping features. He did not really want to leave her anyway although he would have done so if she had preferred it. As she had left it up to him though he chose to stay. There was a chair beside the fireplace and the elf walked over to it and sat down. Leaning back, he watched the flames dancing in the hearth.
Mira snuggled into the blankets, unaware Bran had set up a vigil and drifted into what was first a dreamless sleep. As the hours passed, the darkness began to spiral outwards to be replaced by dreams of a fair-haired girl child with blue eyes that bled to black then crimson, beautiful and frightening at the same time. The scene faded into the green and silver laced spirit Mira had seen in Y'Roden. The black shard she had seen reached out a thin thread that touched Mira, first carefully, as if reading her then with a whip-crack, Mira felt heat and pain, mingled oddly with pleasure. Her mind repeatedly told her was just a dream, but her soul cried otherwise.
Soft words full of rage and seductive promise crept into her awareness, "You dare to stand between me, and what is mine.... keep in mind - for you... the darkness is not so great a fall. As long as the connection remains, you are well within my grasp... and despite yourself, Mira.... you may desire my touch."
The darkness of deep sleep returned, leaving Mira throbbing in pain, but too exhausted to
wake. Once again, she told herself it was just a dream and fitfully rolled over on to her stomach. White sheets began to stain scarlet as a scar on her stomach given her by Drey's axe began to crack and bleed.
Mira's restlessness caught Bran's attention and he started to his feet. He swore softly as he saw the blood staining the sheets. The fair-haired elf strode hurriedly over to the bed. Sitting on the edge he touched a gentle hand to her shoulder, "vanima?" Carefully he turned her over.
Mira began to wake with Bran's touch and his gentle voice, but with her awakening came the full measure of the pain. She sat bolt upright as searing flashes of color crossed her vision and she struggled to shut the doors to the agony, but failed. "Goddess! What the?" Mira hissed in pain, then gasped as she realized the sheets were soaked with her own blood and the barely discernible scar that ran across her stomach was cracked open. With trembling fingers, Mira tried to soothe the wound closed and had very limited success. The pain remained and she looked up at Bran in panic and fear.
"It won't stop bleeding! I can't get it to close..."
"Sssh...easy" Bran murmured soothingly, disturbed by Mira's obvious distress. He brushed her hair away from her face with gentle fingers. "Take a deep breath and try to relax a bit. I'm here. I'll help." He knew her panic would not help the situation.
Mira nodded and squeezed her eyes shut against the pain, then looked back at Bran, her mind racing over what had gone wrong. Her voice dropped to a hoarse muttering as it occurred to her what had happened. "Enkara was right...I'm still bonded to Y'Roden. I have to cut any strands that still hold me to him. But...it may not matter now..." Mira wasn't making any sense to Bran, surely, but she knew what she had to do and even at that, it might be too late.
"Don't let me go Bran...no matter what happens..." and Mira turned her awareness inward to her own spirit. What was once a glimmering of silver, grey and pale jade had become a mixed bag of black, two shades of green and two shades of silver. The colors that did not belong were mere bits Y'Roden's and Silverthorn's colors, as well as the black. The thin bond that remained had been enough to allow the black to creep in and weave itself into her. With courage she wouldn't have had without Bran, Mira began unwinding the threads of emerald and silver that did not belong, mentally severing them, cutting her bond with Y'Roden, only the black remained, seemingly determined to hang on. It was winding through and around her spirit like a seeping poison. From within, she felt a rage that was not entirely hers.
Mira's eyes locked onto Bran's with malice and hate...they had gone from jade to glowing red and black, the colors of burning coals. There was another spirit that refused to give ground to Samara...Nargus Blackthorn. Nargus didn't like elves and Bran was no exception, but at the moment there was a far greater threat. Leaving her eyes, Nargus braced Mira's spirit with his own. With his unexpected help, Mira slammed the door on the black, prickly thread. The bleeding began to slow, the wound began to close. Mira's spirit was once again hers, but Nargus left her with a soft message: "Remember...my help
comes at a price, Granddaughter."
Bran did not need her words to keep him beside her. He would not have left her anyway. The elf was still startled though as her eyes suddenly blazed with hate. Something deep inside him knew that that was not Mira though. Whoever it was, it was not the woman he loved.
Mira closed her eyes in relief and leaned into Bran, absently wiping her hands on the sheets. "I'm sorry, Oh, Bran...I'm am so sorry. That wasn't me, I swear, it wasn't me." Mira was slowly regaining her strength and was becoming aware of the shape her sheets were in. "Please, help me up. I have to get this off of me. I can smell it." Mira sat up in the blood soaked bed and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.
"I never thought it was" Bran said quietly. He steadied her as she swung her legs out of the bed and got to her feet. "There's a bathroom through there. Perhaps a shower might help?" he suggested.
"I think a shower would be be good," Mira mumbled and tried to smile but wound up grimacing as she stood. She leaned against him for a moment, getting her balance. "Bran...that was..." Mira sighed and plunged on ahead. "That was my grandsire, Nargus. That's the Darkness Y'Roden drove away the time I almost burned down the inn. This is the first time he's returned since." Mira closed her eyes for a moment, then looked up at Bran, "He's not a big fan of yours. He seems to think you stand in the way of his having me." She was still tender across her stomach, as if the muscles were still knitting back together. "Bran...I..." Mira had started to say one thing, but said another instead. "I'll be alright...I just have to get cleaned up." Mira slipped away from him and gingerly headed in the direction Bran had indicated.
The bathroom was nice and clean, well, it was before Mira came in. Fortunately, the tile looked like it would be easy to clean. Mira opened the door and turned on the hot water. Lots of hot water....With her shoulders sagging, Mira stepped into the shower and began rinsing. It seemed like eternity before all the blood was gone, but once it had, Mira leaned her forehead to the cool tiles and let the hot water run down her back, smiling a bit to herself as she remembered another shower, in another place.
Bran watched her go, his breath escaping in a soft sigh as the bathroom door closed behind her. If it wasn't one thing, it was another he reflected as he began to strip the blood-stained sheets from the bed. Everything always seemed to happen together... perhaps it was a knock-on effect like dominoes? He hoped she was going to be alright.
Mira lingered in the shower longer than she should have for more than one reason. First of all, it felt good, second of all, she liked the memories a hot shower invoked. Finally bringing her head up, Mira reached for a bottle of shampoo and began scrubbing her hair, then soaped off. Her skin was flaming red from the heat of the water by the time she was done and looking down, she saw that the scar had healed completely and once again was barely visible. It was as though nothing had ever happened. Mira spread her hand across her mid-section and closed her eyes, seeking any damage that might not be visible and found none. With a quiet sigh, Mira picked up a towel and began drying off.
Having changed the bed, Bran wondered what it was he was supposed to do with the dirty sheets. He couldn't actually see a laundry basket although it might possibly be in the bathroom with Mira. Shrugging, he dumped them in the corner of the room for now.
Mira wrapped her towel around her and began searching for something to rake the tangles out of her hair. She quickly turned up a hairbrush and ruthlessly began yanking the snarls out. In short order, her hair fell smooth. Looking around the bathroom, Mira shook her head at the blood splatters and grimaced. Well, time to get that cleaned up too. Mira took a free towel and soped up the mess, satisfied to see the blood came off the glazed tiles easily. Then, clutching the blood stained towel in one hand and holding the other one to her body, Mira stepped out of the bathroom.
Her eyes fell first on the stripped bed, then on Bran. "Where did you put the...Oh," Mira saw the sheets piled in the corner and dropped her towel on top of them. The mattress still had a huge stain on it and Mira wondered what they'd do about that. That could wait for now, it would have to.
"Bran..." Mira's voice came out hesitantly at first, then gained strength. "Do you think Y'Roden and Silverthorn are okay?" She was worried about more than that, but waited tried to figure out a way of asking before she said anything. Mira slipped into the chair in front of the fire, suddenly chilled both from the temperature of the room and from the loss of blood.
Bran crouched in front of her, taking her chilled hands in his own. "I wish I could be reassuring" he said to her softly, "but if I'm honest then I can only say I really don't know. Everything was fairly traumatic for most of us but especially for them. I would like to see for myself but I don't want to wake them either." His eyes met hers, "can you tell me what happened a little while ago? Why did your wound start bleeding again?"
Mira studied Bran's hands over hers for a moment as she tried to think of the words to describe what had happened. Thinking she had it worked out, Mira looked into his eyes and swallowed.
"You know I can reach into a person's soul and 'read' them...I can mend wounds to the soul as well, I just never have before. Most pain is there for a reason and to tamper with it is to change who the person is forever. What was happening to Y'Roden though, that wasn't something natural. He was being torn apart and I couldn't just watch...." Mira's voice trailed off to a whisper, her eyes fell for a moment, then looked back up. "I had to bond with him long enough to repair the damage, and to do that, I had to reach pretty deep within him. Samara...how do I say this? Samara has a thread of her own woven into him, it reminded me of barbed wire and a shard of black glass at the same time." Mira shivered at more than just the chill of the room, then went on.
"She...she was more than a little displeased when I wove him back together, I broke the hold she had on him just long enough for him to get his bearings. I think I sort of put myself in the line of fire." Mira closed her eyes as she remembered the dream. "The bond was strong enough that part of me remained within Y'Roden's spirit...I think. This is
where I get confused. I had a dream and I saw within him again, only this time, Samara...how do I explain this? She knows about that little bit Darkness in me, and I think she'd rather like to get a hold on it. She left my dreams for some reason, but I had to force the bond to break to get her completely out of me and to do that, I had to have help from the Darkness itself." Mira looked at the pile of bloody sheets, "As for the scar, I think I took a wound meant for Y'Roden."
Mira slumped back in the chair, not quite satisfied with her explanation, but it was the best she could do. One hand slipped free of Bran's and went to his face. With a thumb carressing his cheek, Mira sighed. "Had you not been here, I don't know that I would have had the courage to go back in there." Mira's eyes locked onto Bran's, the question that had been nagging at her on her lips. "Do you ever get tired of being the solid ground on which I stand?"
Bran's eyes never left her face. Her explanation was... disturbing, but only because he did not want to see her get hurt and he knew that Samara was a dangerous person to make an enemy of. "I will always be here for you" he said softly, "no matter what happens. That's what loving someone means, at least it does to me."
Mira could only search his eyes as she found that her voice failed her. Mira swalloed the lump that threatened to from in her throat and slipped to the floor on her knees in front of him. Wrapping her arms around his chest and burying her head under his chin, she grateful not only for the warmth of his body, but the warmth of his love. Certain that her soul belonged to only her now, she let her spirit say what words could not.
Holding her close Bran's hands ran soothingly up her the delicate line of her spine. Tilting his head, he dropped a light kiss on the top of her head. There were no need for words.
Mira was content right where she was, but gradually became aware of the fact that she still didn't have anything on other than a towel and with a reluctant sigh, she tilted her head up to kiss Bran on the jaw, then peeled herself away from him. "As much as I hate to, I think I should try to get dressed. I'm not helping myself get any warmer by wearing nothing but a towel. Well," Mira gave a weak laugh and slid her hands up to his shoulders. "Under different circumstances being this close to you and wearing nothing but a towel would actually warm me up." Then, bracing herself with Bran's shoulders, Mira pulled herself off the floor.
Bran's hands steadied Mira as she rose to her feet before standing himself. "I'm not sure that you wouldn't be better off in bed still" he commented quietly for the dragon-elf still seemed to be far from her usual self. The fair-haired elf also knew how stubborn she could be at times though so he didn't really think his suggestion would be heeded. "You're right though, clothes would a good thing if you're intending to be up and about. As pleasant a view as it is with just the towel you do look chilled. Perhaps you ought to consider having something warm to eat as well."
As usual, he was right, she had no intentions of returning to bed just yet, "You're probably right, but by the time we got a the mattress clean and put fresh sheets on the
bed..." Mira smiled and ran a finger along Bran's jaw. "Something hot to eat? That does sound good." Mira nodded, then leaned her head against his chest. "Thank you, for staying with me...for everything." Mira reached behind Bran's neck and gently pulled him to her and kissed him, then muttered, "Now...to find my clothes..."
Bran smiled, "why would I be anywhere else but here?" he asked her softly. He hugged her gently and then stepped back and looked around for her clothes. "Oh look, a shirt" he said, picking it up and waving it at her. "Well, thats a start anyway. What did you do with the rest?"
Mira made a grab for the shirt and grinned. "For once, I know where the rest of my clothes are." Mira looked in the direction she thought they'd be in and shook her head. "Okay...maybe I don't" Letting the towel drop, Mira slid into the shirt and leaving it unbuttoned, searched the room with her eyes. "You had them last. What did you do with them?" A dark pile in a corner caught her eye, "Nevermind. There they are." Still not real steady on her feet, Mira picked up her pants and sank to the unstained edge of the bed to pull them on. Her boots and knife belt followed next and Mira stood, buttoning her shirt. "Okay. Hot food next. Care to help me down the stairs?"
"I think I could manage that" Bran said with a grin as he walked over to her. Holding out his hand to her he said, "I could do with something to eat myself. Plus I ought to check up on Fionna. She was in the taproom last time I looked." Slowly they made their way towards the door and down the stairs.
Oh... he'd caught a whiff of something and now he knew he had two homidical wives. Well... he should known that and he adored them, beyond life. And yes, both of his beloved wives fitted well beneath his arms. He hung on to them and tightly, shutting himself up and going through the portal without complaint.
"Thirty-five hours," he said suddenl before he found himself face forward on his bed and sucking in his breath.
Had An'Thaya failed to mention that the days on Whispin translated to 48 standard Earth hours? Oh probably. "Ok, stay still you, I'm not going to heal everything, but I'll take care of those ribs and ease the edge off the pain." She crawled up onto the bed and straddled Galain, her tiny fingers probing his ribcage and wincing slightly as she found his broken ribs. "Oh this is going to hurt..."
Since losing her connection to Y'roden, Ghet could no longer heal that way. But there were things she could do. "Pain's a feeling," she told An'Thaya. "Let me deal with it. I'll just pull it away a bit. It's okay, it'll still hurt, just not as much. And if you do the big stuff, I can take care of the superficial stuff with the tricorder. You'll love it, lights blink and it beeps and everything."
Bran was still laughing at the look of horror on Mira's face by the time he'd dragged her up the remaining steps and onto the landing of the third floor. "You're doomed" he managed to say between fits of laughter. "They'll never let you live that one down."
"Blinky lights?," Tay asked, a sparkle in her emerald greens, "It's a deal... will you teach
me how to use one? Ok.. hang on... " She hesitantly let her conduit slide open, unlike her brother An'Thaya rarely used her gift. More out of habit than anything else. Tallin had been able to tune into its use and track her by it during her youth, so she had carefully avoided its use. Galain hadn't even been aware of the immense power his Amazon harbored until she had allowed him in, lending him her power to save Alcarinque.
"Hold still Melda," she murmured, "And no arguing, I'm healing you whether you like it or not." There were several sharp pops, the sound of An'Thaya's ribs breaking even as Galain's healed. She went a little pale for a moment, but steeled herself as her rapid metabolism began to heal the broken bones at an unnatural rate.
Galain wasn't moving, though he was absolutely lapping up all this attention from both Tay and Ghet. He gritted his teeth when the worst of his injuries were transferred to Tay and wished he'd remembered not to get so badly hurt when he'd been fighting.
But when did he ever remember to think first?
Mira found her horror growing when they reached the third floor and she remembered where everyones' rooms were located. "Ssssh, quit your laughing, they're right down the hall." Mira frantically whispered, blushing profusely all the while. She reached around Bran for for the doorknob, hoping she'd made it to relative safety, then another thought occurred to her. "You know, the bad news is, I bit 'Lain for tearing up my floor and the good news is, it wasn't mine in the first place...I kinda forgot which floor the room was on." Snickering, Mira opened the door and pushed the still laughing Bran inside.
Ghet grinned at An'Thaya. "It's a deal. It's a handy thing to have around him." She closed her eyes, and turned her attention inward. She took Galain's pain through their bond, and An'Thaya's through the air, pushing it away from them and blocking it off with a wall of comfort.
At this point Galain just felt really good. He also felt very loved and cared for.
He was also sure he was floating.
Well maybe not, but he was grinning rather stupidly now and wishing he could pull both of his ladies down for a good kiss or two.
Dangit.
Tay felt sort of warm and fuzzy all over, partly from the aggressive healing of the conduit, but mostly from the comfort Ghet was radiating. "There we go, just some bumps, scrapes and brusies left now," she murmured, "Feel better?" She laughed, a tinkling sound of pure joy that others outside of Galain and Jaiden rarely heard, "At least we didn't go bald this time."
Ghet smiled gently, and let the feeling go. It would hang around for a while, though. "Okay, I can deal with that. You okay, Thaya? Honey, do you still have that dermal regenerator I gave you? That one already knows you, it'll be easier."
Bran was still laughing by the time Mira pushed him into the room and shut the door behind them. "On the other hand, 'Lain could probably do with being bitten on the nose occasionally anyway. I'm not sure a reason is needed" he said to her with a grin.
"Just keep laughing..." Mira let the threat hang in the air, and swatted at Bran's shoulder, then grinned, "So far, that's the first time I've actually bit him. I think it could become a habit, though, biting 'Lain. You're right of course, its good for him, builds character." Mira sauntered past Bran as best she could, considering she still had plenty of Goldschlager in her system, and peered around the room. "Looks like Chezlar gave the room a swipe while he was putting out fires and fixing dragon damage." Apparently the mattress and sheets had been restored to their original condition, for the bed was made and the covers turned back slightly.
"Obviously a changeling is a handy thing to have around the place" Bran grinned. His amused expression suggested that perhaps Mira's goldschlager-fueled saunter was not as convincing as she might have liked.
The fair-haired elf walked over to the hearth and put a bit more wood on the fire before standing again. "You'd never know the chaos that had gone on downstairs from how tidy it is in here."
Mira nodded at Bran, "It does look nice, doesn't it," then looked down to undo her knife belt, and suddenly found that either the floor was moving slightly or her balance was off, "Oh...wow..." With a slight giggle, Mira fell flat on the bed. "Now, who went and pulled the rug out from under me?"
"Actually I think you pulled the rug out from under yourself in a manner of speaking" Bran laughed. The elf walked over to the bed and said, "here let me help with that." His fingers began to deftly undo the knife belt.
"Did I?" Mira snickered and looked at both her hands. "I don't see a rug...I wonder where it went." Yes, she was being silly, today had been fairly...odd and a bit of silliness was always welcome after stressfull days. "By all means, help all you like..." Mira suddenly sat up, narrowly missing bumping Bran on his already bruised forehead. "You realise I'll certainly need help with other things as well? Here...hold still." A light touch to his forehead with her fingers and the bruise was gone.
"Just consider me Mr Helpful" Bran grinned. He leaned down and kissed her. "Thank you" he said as she made the bruise disappear.
"I do!" Galain replied, still grinning away. "Check my vest. There's all sorts of stuff in the inner pockets. Wait, lemme check... there's a few things I've been collecting lately and they might bite."
He sat up partially and rummaged for a full minute before he suddenly held up the dermal regenerator with a triumphant expression on his face.
"There we go."
Ghet hadn't been expecting him to just have it in his pocket. She blinked and took it, then turned to An'Thaya. "Can you see? I mean, past me, not at all. It's pretty simple, I taught Galain how to do it." Hmm, that hadn't come out quite right. Best to ignore it, really. So she showed An'Thaya how it sampled the wounded tissue, then passed back over, and the bruising disappeared. "Have I missed any bits?" she asked Galain.
Of course he'd had the regenerator on hand. It had quickly become one of his favorite toys. Galain sniggered at Ghet as she tripped over her tongue, then checked everything over.
"I think I'm almost as good as new. Except I'm sure Marion was doing something to my tail when I was 'Lain. I might have to check my butt later."
"Oh wow," Tay mused, "I like that thing." She was eyeing Galain's behind curiously, wondering what Marion had done to it. "What else do you have in your pockets?," she asked suddenly, "Have you been collecting bugs again?"
"Um... yes... wanna see?" Galain pulled a miniature clacker out of his vest, then three oversized centipedes and finally a glob of worms and two slugs doing the wild thing. Galain's eyes went wide at the sight of the slugs.
"They were doing THAT in my clothes?" He reached quickly for a drinking glass and plopped the nasties doing the nasty into it. Meanwhile the clacker was going for the glob of worms and the centipedes had immediately burrowed into the bed sheets.
Whoops...
"Ewwww," Tay exclaimed, "Now I have to go find a can of raid." She jumped off the bed and eyed the bedsheets... she really, really, really didn't like centipedes. They were only one step above earwigs... nasty.
Ghet was puzzled, in that tangential and inappropriate way she was often puzzled. "Why does it bother you that the little slugs were doing that in your clothes? I mean, how often have you done that in those clothes?" She poked a centipede experimentally. Yes, as long as there were no spiders, she was fine...
Mira purred as she broke off the kiss and looked at his forehead again. "Well, I don't know whether you could tell or not, but that was trying to make a nasty knot right there. A rather unpleasant thing to have." Mira flopped back on the bed and wrapped her legs around his knees and grinned. With one foot, she began pushing her boot off, then another. "Be careful there, I wouldn't want you to lose your balance..."
"You wouldn't?" Bran said wryly, trying not to laugh. "I'll have to not do that then." Not that this sounded as easy as it might seem given that her legs were wrapped around his knees.
"Well, actually, no I wouldn't...not if you were to fall over backwards..." Mira gave one boot a shove, which somehow jostled Bran around a good bit..."Ooops, sorry." Still grinning Mira started working on the other boot.
Galain was laughing deliriously now. One wife was looking for a can of bug spray, the other was poking at the bugs and the clacker had attached itself to the bedpost and was trying to gnaw on it.
"Well lookit them, Ghet. They're... it's... just not as nice." That's all he could say.
Bran couldn't help but laugh at the mischief in her eyes. "You're doing that deliberately" he accused her with a grin, "if you're not careful I'll fall over backwards and take you with me."
"I don't think you could...I am flat on my back, just how do you plan to com...compen...adjust for that?" Just to emphasize the fact that she didn't believe him, Mira gave the remaining boot a shove, grinning madly the whole time.
Bran said, "was that a challenge?" His green eyes gleamed with laughter. "Well, let's see shall we?" The elf deliberately wrapped his hands around the tops of her legs and then fell backwards heavily without letting go.
"OH GODS!!! Don't you dare..." was all a wide-eyed Mira could shriek out before Bran jerked her to the floor. Between muffled groans and fits of giggling, Mira was able to sit up somehow and smack him dead in the middle of the chest. "I can't believe you really did that to me!" She scrambled to her knees and stradled him, "That almost hurt!" Jade eyes were dancing with a promise of retribution...
She had no idea how bad that must have sounded to those down the hall and in the room underneath...
Laughing Bran fended off her attack. "Ow! there's no need to hit me!" the fair-haired elf protested, "besides, it's your own fault. You shouldn't have said that I wouldn't." He grinned at her.
Galain's acute elven hearing picked up on the comments from down the hall. Or was it up the hall? He'd have to check that again. At any rate he was grinning to himself when he realized the centipedes, which were of a rather large nature, were escaping toward the door. They ran right beneath the floor and door and headed on toward a room from which squealing, laughing and odd comments were coming.
Food!
Why they didn't consider Tay, Ghet and Galain as food we'll never know, but it seemed Mira and Bran were infinitely more edible in their wee centipede brains.
"Me? I didn't say, "Bran, melda? Dump me in the floor flat on my back..." A snickering and giggling Mira was in the process of trying to kiss Bran and pin both his hands to the floor when she looked to the side and noticed a flood of creepy crawlies pouring in under the door. "Uhm...Bran? What are those? And why are they in here?" That was also probably an odd thing for anyone else to hear, but Mira wasn't thinking about that right now...she was thinking she was going to be really ticked if they managed to infiltrate the
bed covers....
The centipedes -- only three of them, but if they looked like a flood, all the better -- headed straight for Bran's hair.
Gold! all three exclaimed.
Tasty gold! said one.
Hairy gold! said another.
Lookit! Take its female! said the third, chomping with glee.
Okay, it sounded like a bunch of chittering but the critters were really saying this.
No. Really.
"What the? Hey, get off!" Bran swatted at the centipedes and managed to flick one across the room. It bounced off a wall and lay on its back with its legs wriggling madly, its centipede brain a little stunned.
Mira's eyes narrowed at the other two, who were making their way under the sleeve of her shirt. "You know...if the two of you like women...there are TWO females with only one male to defend them right back the way you came." The wiggling creatures stopped at her shoulder and chittered among themselves, apparently debating the idea. "Go on...out of here..." The two centipedes clambored out of her shirt with a couple of looks of appreciation at her chest, then marched right back out the door, leaving their friend behind.
"This should be fun. About the time they get under Galain's door, they should start growing...I'm thinking they'll level off at about...oh, german shepard size." Mira blinked..."I mean the dog..not a REAL German shepard..you know with the staff and the sheep..."
The third centipede had been quite dazed by its contact with the wall and in it's little centipede mind it was far from happy. The people in this room just weren't nice. He had only wanted to make friends... and that blonde hair had just tasted so good.
If it was able to it would have given a miserable sniff. Instead it rolled on to its front again and shook itself slightly. Well, it wasn't going to stay where it wasn't wanted...
Sulking, the bug slunk back across the room and under the door. Returning to Galain's room, it saw its friends were already there but it wasn't interested in what they were doing.. it just wanted to go home...
It headed for the pocket of Galain's vest and tried to scramble inside...
Of course it was now the size of a large dog...
The other two centipedes returned to Galain's room and yup! As soon as they crawled under the door they began growing.
"Oh gods!" Galain had been staring at the mating slugs, but couldn't miss the rather enormous centipedes making their way toward Tay and Ghet.
"What the holy hell?!" The elf was suddenly fully alert. Why did he think he might be getting bruised again...
Of course it was the third centipede crawling into Galain's pocket that had him screaming for help.
Sometimes he did that.
Scream, I mean.
Mira was laughing so hard after the initial scream from the other room, she thought her sides would split. "OH! Oh my gods! That was so funny!!!!" Mira's laughter trailed off as she remembered what she was doing before the invasion. "I think I still owe you...don't I?" Mira's idea of torture was a little different than most peoples'...a good indication to this was that to this day, Bran had never complained about it...
Ghet took one look at the enormous centipedes and turned on Galain. "What did you do?" Hey, it wasn't a bad call given past experience.
Fortunately, the centipedes got a nice warm fuzzy feeling in this room, and the first two curled up together on the floor at An'Thaya's feet. Of course, the third had a warm fuzzy feeling centred on Galain...
Galain was screaming again.
"I didn't do anything! I just set them free!" Galain protested as he fought off a doggy-sized centipede intent upon burrowing into his vest.
Well at this size they were just.. cute. Tay leaned down and started petting one, humming quietly to herself.
Yep.. she was just weird.
Now thats odd 'cause at this size, Ghet was looking around for the world's biggest rolled-up newspaper. She eyed An'Thaya's friends warily. "You know, this will wear off. Maybe we should shove them in the dumb waiter while they're still docile."
Oh Ghet was an excellent wife!
"YES!!!" Galain had fallen off the bed and was stuck partially beneath it as he still tried to fed off the third centipede. He'd long ago squashed the glob of worms in the small of his back and he was trying not to scream again.
Meanwhile the mating slugs had migrated to the nightstand itself and the clacker was attaching itself to Ghet's hair.
Ghet leant over and tried to yank the centipede off Galain, but it had waaayy more legs than she had hands, and she was really struggling.
And then she felt a pulling on her hair. She put her hand up. "Oh! Oh, get it off! Getitoff, getitoff, getitioff..." She wheeled around in the middle of the room trying to yank the clacker out, and fell over An'Thaya.
So far, so very normal...
Tay squeaked in surprise and went down in a heap, then squeaked again as her hair tangled with Ghet's. It was impossible to tell at the moment just WHOSE hair the clacker was in.
Problem number too, the big buggle she had been petting was growing armorous, and was rubbing against both women's legs.
So, there was a giant centipede humping her leg, and a clacker tying her and Thaya's hair in knots. "Little help here!" Okay, everyone had their own problems? "Okay, what if I... wait, that's not my hair... oh, get off." She kicked, hard, and the centipede flew across the room and whacked into the one cuddling Galain.
That was an improvement, right?
The comments from down the hall were every bit as fascinating as the ones that had emerged from this room, Bran decided as he struggled not to laugh. "You owe me? But I was being such a good elf as well" he said to Mira, a mischievous smile lighting his face. "I was being helpful and everything."
"Yes, well, you did help me right into the floor, didn't you?" Mira's smile was tinged with a bit of wickedness as she scooted back a bit so she was sitting across his thighs and pulled him up into a sitting position. "And I think as long as your being helpful, I still have far too many clothes on to go to sleep..." Mira paused and listened a moment, "I think they're having a grand time with the bugs, don't you think? I bet if one of them had a rubber ball, they'd play fetch." Mira was referring to the centipedes...
Being a good, cooperative sort of elf Bran began to undo the laces on Mira's shirt. "It could become the new pet" Bran agreed, "it would certainly be a talking point. I wonder how well it would get on with Ghet and Galain's tiger?"
Mira giggled a bit and her eyes widened..."You know, they could train two of them to stand on either side of the front door and look mean. They could be guardapedes! Yeah that sounds good..." Mira grinned at Bran, "Well, Mr. Helpfull, does this make things any easier?" Mira leaned back, giving Bran better access to her shirt laces.
Galain was flattened when the other centipede crashed into him as well and lay there a
moment staring at the ceiling before he got a grip and rolled away. It seemed the two centipedes were now taking a liking to each other.
That was just... wrong.
"Coming, darlings!" He called to Tay and Ghet and scrambled their way, intent upon saving their hair, legs and whatever else.
"Yes, thank you. That's much better" Bran said with a grin. He loosened the laces and then slid the shirt from her shoulders. "Now was I supposed to be removing anything else?" he enquired politely, "although you might need to stop sitting on me if I'm to do so."
"I had hoped we could take turns, surely you don't intend to go to bed fully dressed?" Mira's eyes slowly drifted downward from Bran's face to the opening of his shirt.
Ghet tried to look up to see what was going on with the centipedes now, but it seemed her head was now inextricably attached to Thaya's, and sitting up would have to be a joint effort. She got her hand to the clacker, but it bit her and she swore loudly. At least their problems seemed to be diminishing. "When I found out who's behind this... boy are they going to be on the receiving end of some empty but inventive threats."
Well this was a first, Tay couldn't remember ever having been attached to someone by her hair. Things might have been better had their tresses not been such a close matching shade, but that the moment the Amazon couldn't make heads or tails of which locks belonged to who. She was as sensitive about her hair as Ghet was about hers, so the dagger option was definatly out.
"I'm going to need a heavy duty conditioning treatment after this," she muttered. "Ow! Don't pull that way! Wait.. let's sit up... on the count of three?"
"Well, no. I suppose I wasn't intending to wear my clothes to bed" Bran said with a laugh. "Far be it for me to stop you if you're feeling helpful too."
"Oh, I'm alway helpful if it means I get to undress you," Mira's fingers went to Bran's shirt, "I thought I already had this almost completely undone earlier? Maybe I didn't..." Mira chuckled softly and began unbuttoning his shirt, then slid it off into the floor. "Now for the rest..." Mira pushed him to the floor and began undoing his pants. "Think we should get your boots of first?"
Mira vaguely wondered how much longer it would be before the centipede in love with Galain turned chartreause? It should be any moment now....
"The trousers would probably come off easier if you take the boots off first" Bran agreed although he had to admit that having Mira remove any of his clothing at all was a little distracting.
"You think?" Mira slipped to the floor between his ankles and sat there with one leg draped across his knee, the other folded halfway underneath her. With a gentle tug, Mira
had the first boot off and shifted her postion to grab the other...which wasn't so cooperative. Gentle tugs just weren't going to get it. "What is the deal?" A couple of more tugs and the boot flew off, Mira's momentum carrying her over backwards and onto the floor with an "Ooof!"
Bran gave a short laugh, "interesting technique" he said. Sitting up again, he looked at Mira. "You okay, love?"
The glob of worms hadn't been destroyed by Galain and had instead migrated their writhing way down the hall and just about the time Mira fell backward they were there... just in time to wriggle their way into her hair and more.
Yes. AND more.
Meanwhile...
Galain was dealing with a chartreuse centipede that had regained the "natural" order of things and was heading for the elf again.
"Loves! Oh gods! No! Get off me! Loves! There's no way to disentangle you?!" The elf went down face forward on the ground and let out a yelp. The centipede was just a little too chartreuse and a little too randy for his tastes.
He rolled like he was on fire, grimacing when he was encased in giant bug guts.
Oh... how... gross...
"I'll heat the oil for you," Ghet told Thaya. They were still talking about conditioning treatments. So far. "Okay, on three. One, two, that grey one, is that yours or mine? Just kidding, okay, three!"
The two women sat up. Now Ghet had a much better view of what else was going on in the room. "Oh, Galain, come on! That's just gross." She tried to angle her head so she could see An'Thaya. The clacker was still burrowing industriously into their hair. "We could try hitting it with a hammer..."
Galain was going to need a long, hot soaking bath after this and bed. Nice, clean, crisp cotton sheets... perhaps a bedwarmer at the end for his feet... and no bugs... this was soooo curbin his penchant for collecting bugs.
He oozed away from the squashed and yet most importantly no-longer amorous centipede and tried to make his way to his wives. But he kept slipping. It was... gross.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I'm trying to help... as you can see I'm not much good. Hey... who's grey hair IS that?"
He was tempted to use balefire. But would they ever forgive him? Hmm...
"What grey hair?," Tay asked in a panicked tone. She tried to turn her head to see, but only managed to tug Ghet's hair and ended up smacking their foreheads together. "Oh.. ow..." She was going to need some Tylenol to go with that hot oil...
Mira rubbed the back of her head for a moment, then, her eyes lighting up with mischief, one hand shot out and hooked the waistline of Bran's trousers. "I will be if I can get you out of these..." With a soft laugh, Mira sat up and leaned forward, kissing Bran tenderly and unbuttoning his pants at the same time. A deep sigh escaped her as her lips trailed to Bran's shoulder...that's when she froze.
"Bran...thats not your fingers in my hair?"
Given that his hands were at Mira's waist when she asked her question Bran could say quite definitively that whatever was in her hair had nothing to do with his fingers. "Erm.. no, not me" he said slowly.
"Well then, what am I feeling? And what just moved in my pa...!!!" Mira scrambled to her feet with a squeal of "Eeeewww!!! Gaaa LAAAAINNNN!!!! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!!!!
Needless to say, Galain had never gotten any woman out of her pants quicker than he had Mira Blackthorn....
Bran collapsed in helpless laughter. The whole situation was just so ludicrous. "Don't forget to put some clean clothes on, love, before you storm down the corridor to do physical violence" he offered between fits of mirth.
"OH! I'm not going to kill him now...I'll wait until he least expects it...I have a long memory, Vershan." Mira shook her hair violently from side to side, a rain of worms splatting to the floor. "I wouldn't be laughing...they seem to like blonde elves. I think I'm just too spicy for them..."
The worms were regrouping and dividing off into two groups...one heading under the door, the other for Bran's pant's leg.
"When...if...you get away from them...I'll be in the shower..." Mira wondered if the inn would run out of hot water before Bran was able to free himself and join her.
The slimy sensation of worms crawling up his trouser leg was more than sufficient incentive for Bran to take them off in something of a hurry. "Urgh! That's nasty!" he muttered to himself, shooing the rest of the worms under the door. He quickly murmured a small spell and blocked the bottom of the door to prevent any other nasty little surprises from coming in that way.
Finished, the elf made his way into the bathroom. "Evil woman" he said to Mira as he joined her in the shower.
Meanwhile...
The first brigade of worms had reached the door and had crawled beneath it. They were trying for a sneak attack on the Elen. Blonde hair, yum!
Peering through a face full of soap, shampoo and steam, Mira grinned as Bran stepped into the shower. "You might try using lots of soap, it seems that slimey stuff is fairly hard to get off." Mira tossed the sponge his way, as well as a wet bar of soap. Chuckling to herself, Mira squeezed her eyes shut and tilted her head back to let the water rinse off the worst of the suds.
Galain quite heard Mira and all he could do was sit up straight suddenly, a hunted look in his eyes. So that's where the bugs kept fleeing to. A corner of his mouth quirked upward and a small chuckle escaped him. Then the other corner quirked up and a mad cackle burst forth. Then he was clutching his sides helplessly as he collapsed in a fit of laughter. It increased when Tay and Ghet smacked their foreheads together before it was strangled off into a gasp of dismay thanks to a horde of slimy worms making their determined way back into the room.
"Death!" Galain exclaimed, scrabbling backward and zapping the worms as fast as he could with balefire. Then he crawled rapidly for his wives and sought protection there under the pretext of attempting to unknot their hair.
Ghet groaned and rubbed her forehead, laughing weakly. When they'd talked about a closer relationship, this hadn't been what she'd had in mind.
She took a deep breath. It was time for thought, as dreadful a concept as that was. "Galain," she said calmly. "Get the godsbedamned clacker out of our hair. After that we can work out what belongs to whom. And quickly, before those other centipedes... finish."
But then, of course, it was too late. The next crisis had already arrived, and Galain was doing something suspiciously like cowering behind their heads. Ghet leaned her head back against An'Thaya's. "Good grief."
"Oh!" Galain gave them both a surprised look. "I can do that!" With that he cooed to the clacker.
"Come here, Bubby, come to Daddy." And with that the clacker chirruped and scurried over to Galain and buried safely into his vest and into whatever weird pocket kept it from burrowing right into the elf's chest.
"Now what?" He inquired, a bright smile on his face.
The look Ghet turned on Galain was filthy, and not in the good way. "You could just do that? Whenever you felt like it? Just like that? I may have to kill you." She tried to look at Thaya, but it wasn't happening. "Think we could stand up? Think that would help at all?" She was keeping a weather eye on the remnants of the slimy door horde. "If you oiled our hair," she told Galain, "It would come apart more easily."
Bran made a grateful grab for the sponge. Soap, hot water... lots of it... That slimy stuff was icky. He reached for the bar of soap and swore softly as the wet bar slipped from his fingers and on to the floor.
"Watch out, don't stand on the..."
Too late..
"Don't stand on the wha?!?" Mira's grinning was cut short as she felt one foot slip, then the bar of soap shoot out from under her. Trying to save herself, Mira grabbed the closest thing...which happened to be Bran....
Bran staggered as Mira grabbed hold of him and tried to remain upright. There was a loud crash as they hit the floor of the cubicle. This was muffled somewhat by the fact that the shower curtain collapsed on top of them, swathing them in folds of fabric.
Galain practically wilted under the power of Ghet's glare. Yes... he could just do that...
"Yes love. Whenever I felt like it. Just like that. He likes to be called Bubby... please don't kill me." The elf gave her a pitiful look tinged with just a bit of evil mischief. He'd forgotten about the rest of the worms and was staring at his wives' hair.
Oil.
"Pennzoil?" He inquired dubiously. Where the heck was he going to get oil? There was no oil in this particular room. Maybe there was oil in Tay's room? Oh wait!
Galain held out his hand and a can of oil suddenly appeared and before either woman could protest he was pour it over their hair.
"There, nothing like a little lubrication to loosen you both up," he said a little too cheerfully.
Maybe it would have been better if Mira hadn't have grabbed Bran. One of the unspoken laws of nature held that the harder one tried to stop their fall, the worse it was in the end for everyone involved. Between bouts of laughter, stars dancing before her vision and struggles with the shower curtain, Mira somehow managed to knock over the shampoo bottle, which promptly began creating billows of bubbles. By the time she had gotten at least her head out, the hot water tap had somehow been turned off and cold water was flooding the tub.
"Bran? Are you okay...melda?"
Well, it worked, in one way. Squealing and trying to get out of the way of the oil, Ghet's hair slowly pulled untangled from An'Thaya's. She hardly noticed the pain. There was oil dripping down her face and running down her shirt, but worse it was all through her hair.
She was speechless. She stared at Galain for long enough that it sank in; yes, this was
what she'd asked him to do. She began to giggle hysterically. This could well be the prelude to homicide.
"Oh, just peachey" Bran muttered, his voice somewhat muffled by the shower curtain which still covered his head. He shoved at the fabric for a moment and finally managed to shift it sufficiently to poke his head out. "Wonderful, fresh air" he said. He held up a hand, "on the plus side, I did find the soap again."
"Well," Mira stifled another round of laughter and grappled with the wet shower curtain. A few tugs later, she finally flung it out onto the floor, "I think finding the soap maybe the least of our problems. I wonder what kind of shampoo that was?" Billows of white bubbles were filling the now exposed shower/bath area. "If I can reach the hot water tap, we might can just take a bubble bath. No sense wasting all this..."
"Sounds like a plan to me" Bran agreed. He reached over and twiddled with the taps. "Oh look hot water, much better." He sniffed, "as for what kind of bubbles, it smells like flowers to me. Roses perhaps?"
An'Thaya on the other hand was not so.... understanding. The Amazon launched herself at her husband, and fortunatly no daggers were drawn in the process. Howling a war cry she knocked him flat on his back and throttled him. "OIL? OIL?" Well ok, she wasn't very articulate, but the feeling was there.
Suddenly she stopped and stared down at him, spying the half empty bottle of oil in his hands. Snatching it Tay upended it on his head, then made a mightly mohawk out of his blackened golden curls.
Galain had been about to laugh with Ghet. He'd been realizing the terrible error of his way, the awful danger of being too literal and then...
POW!!!
He was flat on his back, a wary cry in his ear and throttling hands on his throat as he heard Tay yell out her frustrations upon him.
And then? Then he was eating oil and he felt his hair being reshaped a bit. Sculpture's hands at work here... he thought distractedly before he realized what had happened.
"But love! You guys are separated! Look! How could you strangle me and dump oil on me otherwise?!" At this point Galain swallowed a goodly amount of the stuff, gagged and began choking as he pushed Tay off and rolled away, blackend mohawks flapping this way and that.
Well now, Tay hadn't been aiming for Galain's mouth at all, so how it had ended up there was anyone's guess. Mind you there were a few people that would say it was bloody hard to miss. But that was besides the point.
Rather dismayed the Amazon pounded her husband on the back, "Are you ok?! Do you
need mouth to mouth?"
From Ghet's point of view, this just got funnier and funnier. It wouldn't be funny later, when she was trying to get the oil out of her hair, but right now it was hilarious.
Mouth to mouth? "Bags not. Perhaps he should have a thorough lube job while you're about it." And while she was distracted... "Guys? There are way too many bugs in here."
Then she slipped in centipede guts and fell over.
"I'm guessing roses too." Mira nodded. "Yes...hot water, deffinately better than the cold. Now...where'd that soap get off too." Mira fished around and stopped..."Nope, that's not it," Grinning, Mira continued searching the bottom of the tub. "Ah ha! Okay, here it is." Her hands came up with both the sponge AND the soap. "If you'll hold still, I'll see about getting you all nice and clean."
Bran grinned, "well, that should be fun at any rate" he said. His green eyes sparkled with laughter. Yes, this situation had improved greatly.
"Now then, where to start?" Mira soaped the sponge up and chewed her bottom lip, looked thoughtfully at Bran for a moment, "I think here...." Mira tilted his chin up with one hand and gently started scrubbing him. "You know, that stuff seems to be all over you..."
"And whose fault is that?" Bran asked wryly, submitting to the scrubbing with reasonable good humour. "It wasn't me the worms took a fancy to first after all."
Well, it had been the flopping mohawk that had somehow transferred oil into Galain's mouth. He was waving Tay off and slowly regaining his breath but he had the most rancid taste in his mouth now. His eyes widened when Ghet slipped in the bug guts and then widened still further when he realized just how overrun with bugs the room was.
"I think you and Shady are going to need to spray this place," he said as he stood up and balanced himself. He offered a hand to both women and then stared at himself and them. "But first a bath. A really big bath with lots of bubbles and stuff. Preferably in another room though I think the bathroom is still pretty clean in here."
Ghet looked around. Could they just walk out and leave the room in this state? Absolutely. But considering the ammount of oil over the three of them... "We should use someone else's bathroom. You think this will come out?"
"I think... we should use the room next door. I'm sure it has a perfectly good bathroom," Galain replied before he looked down at himself. "Well it better come out or we're in trouble. Oh heck, let's think of this as fun! Just think of all the stuff we can try in getting this all out!"
Galain was already marching to the door, flinging oil and bug guts everywhere as he waved his arms and hands about with excitement.
Tay shot a look at Ghet, shrugged, then followed their husband out of the room. He was more than a little odd, definatly messy, but in the long run, life was never boring.
Well honestly, to keep these two women around he could hardly be boring, now could he.
"We may have to hire a cleanup crew." She meant for the room of course.
Galain flung the door open to the next room. That was only after he'd picked its lock however.
"Welcome, m'ladies! A brand new, bug-free room complete with a bathtub and lots of towels and look, another fruit basket!"
He'd eaten the contents of his fruit basket long ago.
Rich laughter filled the bathroom as Mira gave the sponge a squeeze and watched the water run over Bran's shoulders. "I'm not so sure they weren't after you in the first place...I just happened to be the one flat on my back and closest to the door."
Mira leaned forward and reached around Bran to turn off the water, the tub was completely full by now and eddies of steam rose off the surface of the water. "I think we have enough water now, don't you?" Mira's lips were straying to Bran's neck, the sponge dipping dangerously low...
It was amazing how distracted Mira could get when in Bran's presence, it was also amazing how she could miss sounds like locks getting picked...
You know, Galain hadn't thought about why the door might be locked as he unpeeled a banana and then flung the bathroom door open. He stood utterly still, his mouth still wrapped around the banana as he took in the sight of Mira and Bran in the bathtub. He was conscious of his wives flanking either side of him as he finally bit down on the fruit and chewed very slowly.
"Hiya," he said finally, breaking the steamy silence. He couldn't stop grinning.
Mira's nibbling stopped rather abruptly as she heard two syllables...Hi...Ya...and the voice that spoke those two syllables sounded suspiciously like Galain's. Eye's narrowed, and jaws now clenched, Mira looked up from Bran. Modesty went out the window as her eyes traveled slowly up the three forms that filled the bathroom door and stopped at a carefully penzoiled mohawk.
"Did that banana come from MY fruit basket?"
Well, now there was a side of Bran she HADN'T seen before. Why did she have the feeling she was the only one in the room that could say that?
"Oh.. pardon us and the fruit," Tay stammered, "We'll just be going to find another Bran.. er.. I mean bathroom.
Yeah...
Galain couldn't stop grinning though he did have to finish chewing the banana. He swallowed and nodded.
"Yes, this is YOUR banana I'm eating," he replied. He was casting appreciative eyes over both bathtub residents and just barely held in a wild desire to laugh as Tay stumbled her way through a rather awkward greeting and attempt to exit.
Ghet was trying very hard not to laugh. Then she realised that was pointless and just laughed. What really amused her, was that given everything, Mira was worried about her banana. She pushed hair and oil back out of her face. "Um, we'll get you another banana. If you feel the need for another banana. Personally, I don't really see... shutting up now. You know, this bathroom is already all steamy and everything."
Okay, so she just wanted to see who's head exploded first.
Bran was fairly unembarassable... which was probably a good thing under the circumstances. A grin spread across his face at the increasingly surreal conversation. "Having settled the question of the bananas, can we help you in some way?" he asked the trio that had appeared in the bathroom.
Well, of course she had to say something about Galain's banana...what else can you say to someone who just barged into your bathroom, covered in motor oil, eating your complimentary fruit and escorted by two red-heads?
"Yes, would there be anything we can help you with, other than providing a snack?" Mira had slipped down a little in the tub and leaned back, her foot wandering about the entire time.
"Help us with? Well, do you have any idea how to get oil out of hair?" Yes, that was Tay, always the practical one. Though all this talk of Bran and Bananas was... well, yeah.
Bran looked thoughtfully at the three of them, "you do seem to be a little on the oily side I have to admit. What happened? It doesn't exactly seem like a normal hair product. I'd offer to lend you some shampoo but we seem to have spilt most of it into the tub. Hang on, there might be something in the cupboard."
With a distinct lack of self-consciousness the fair-haired elf hauled himself out of the tub and walked over to the bathroom cupboard.
"Bubbles," Tay said, "Banana.. Bran." She had quite lost it by this point. "Bran Banana." The Amazon was about as red as her hair.
"I can peel you another banana, love," Galain offered the nearly incoherent Tay. He looked over at Mira. "Or perhaps grapefruit might be a more interesting flavor sensation." He touched his own hair and looked at his oil-covered hair.
"It's engine oil," he said by way of explanation "Not too heave a grade fortunately."
Yes, well the view from the tub had improved a great deal. Mira sank back into the water, chuckling as An'Thaya stammered and stuttered. It was amazing that someone who had suggested a bit of...social interaction...earlier would be so surprised at seeing Bran nude now.
"Oh, wait!!" Mira suddenly sat up, exposing her top half "Bran, I think I saw another bottle over there...and its the type for oily hair. Maybe that will help."
Mira turned a sloe eyed glance at the other three, "Surely you three didn't come here for shampoo and bananas?
Galain dropped his banana peel.
"We came here for a bath actually," he said without thinking twice. Somebody really needed to hit him -- first Bran, now Mira. Gods.
"I'm going to get more fruit," he said suddenly and backed out of the bathroom, did an about-face and headed for the fruit basket again.
Oh look... a bag of nuts.
"Bath, yes..." Things weren't getting any better, Tay's eyes had wandered from Bran to Mira and back again. Damn... the view was good in this room. Perhaps she should have been following her husbands example?
Well, she tried, but she slipped on the banana peel.
Bran instinctively reached down to offer AnThaya a hand, "here, let me help you. Careful, mind the skin."
Oh, she was minding the skin alright... all six foot three of it. "Uhm, thanks.." Oh gods... the view was.. interesting from here. "And to think.. no buttons... Oh.. you've got .. uhm, bubbles.. uh.. yeah, there."
"An'Thaya? Are you okay? You didn't hit your head did you?" Mira almost stood, then remembered who all was in the room with her. Being seen topless was one thing...Mira was rather found of topless sunbathing, but the rest? "Hey!!! Get out of my fruit basket!!! What ARE you doing with those grapefruit?"
Bran looked at the amazon a little bemusedly as he helped her to her feet. "Well, no" he said, "although the absence of buttons could be due to the absence of clothes. Are you sure you didn't hit your head when you fell?"
Ghet's face hurt from grinning so hard. Where to start. It was going to be time to wave the smelling salts under Thaya's nose soon... "Isn't he cute when he's concerned? It's okay," she told Mira. "Our husband's fruit fetish is entirely under control most of the time. Honestly, we were just looking for a bath. I don't know that yours is big enough for
five, but we can try. And certainly that shampoo might come in handy."
Mira peered around Ghet, not entirely reassured Galain wasn't fondling the fruit and nuts.
"I'm not sure about five...the tub might hold that many...but the floor underneath? Oooooh...hey! Surely there's room....Wait a minute! No! No no, what am I saying?"
Ack! At this rate, she'd never get to be alone with Bran....
"Hit my head? Yeah, that must be it," Tay mumbled, "Well uhm.. yeah.. lets go find a bath Ghet. One with a little less Bran... though I hear Bran is very good for you."
Sinking back into the tub, Mira grinned as An'Thaya continued to stammer around. She kept her opinions to herself on how good Bran could be, the Amazon seemed to be having enough problems already.
"Well, try that shampoo, it should work out nicely for you..." Mira smiled cheerfully at the two red-heads, and glanced up at Bran. "I honestly have to say, today has been one of the...oddest days of my life."
"If you're sure you're alright" Bran said to AnThaya in mild concern. He was fond of the amazon and he didn't think he'd ever seen her stutter quite so much. Mira's comment made him laugh. "Well, hanging around with us lot does seem to increase the likelihood of odd days." The elf sat down on the edge of the tub and looked down at the dragon-elf. Scooping up a handful of bubbles he dabbed some on the tip of her nose.
Still chuckling, Mira swatted at the bubbles that were dangling off her nose. "I think I like spending my days like this. I wouldn't have it any other way, Vershan. Come here...I think you've quite embarrassed An'Thaya enough." With wicked smile and a quick snatch to Bran's hands, Mira jerked him into the tub. The resulting tsunami that swelled over the edge or the tub was enough to flood the floor, soak the departing red-heads and carry off most of the bubbles.
Where did that rubber duck come from???
Galain had been juggling the grapefruit while eating the nuts and only started after Tay and Ghet after he peeked into the bathroom one more time and stepped on the rubber duck.
"Have a nice time you too. Thanks for the shampoo. And yes, I have a fruit fetish." He waggled his eyebrows at the both of them before he hurried up to his stammering wife and his grinning wife.
"Shall we find another room -- again?" He inquired, dripping oil as he walked.
Bran hit the water with a splash. Resurfacing with a splutter, he pushed the wet hair out of his eyes. "Hey! What was that for? I wasn't embarassing anybody... was I?" He looked
towards the retreating forms of Galain and his wives before his gaze returned to Mira.
Impish amusement lit Mira's face as Bran's head broke the surface of the water. "I was tired of waiting for you to get back in on your own, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. And as far as embarrassing, I think An'Thaya is either frightfully embarrassed or incredibly turned on, I can't tell which way that coin fell." Mira glanced back at the doorway as Galain herded his scandalized women out the door like a greasy mother hen, then splashed a generous amount of water on the already soaked elf.
Well now she was soaked... and oily... and embarrassed.. and incredibly turned on too. Well hey, you know.
"Yes Melda," she responded to Galain automatically. He was a life saver, really. And thanks to Bran, he was in for one heck of a... bubble bath.
Ghet considered pouting, but leaving was probably for the best. New bathrooms, new adventures... She gave a short laugh and wrapped an arm around each of her companion's waists. "We forgot to grease up their bathroom before we left. Destruction should always be trail-like. Now, more fruit-baskets!"
"How did we end up down at this end of the hall anyway?," Tay asked. Galain's room was at the far end, Mira and Bran were right next to An'Thaya's room. "Well bugger it, lets use my room. It has the biggest bathroom anyway."
Retrieving a key from somewhere on her person she opened the door and dragged the other two in. Thanks to Thermax the bathroom was back in working order since the last disaster.
Bran wasn't entirely sure how to reply to that statement so, erring on the side of caution, he said nothing at all. He blinked in mock-indignation as Mira splashed him. Retaliation was definitely necessary he thought as he splashed her back.
"You're right! I should have shook my head or something, dangit!" Galain realized Ghet was right and they hadn't messed up Mira's room properly enough. "We'll have to fix that... somehow, another way." He was nodding to himself and grinning as they headed for Tay's room. It had a terrific bathroom and Ghet was sure to be pleased.
"Tay, you have another fruit basket on hand? Think BBQ would mind? We gotta have it with our bath. I've decided this," Galain stated as they entered the grand room. He sighed with relief. Now perhaps they could get cleaned up and... well... just have a lovely time.
He liked lovely times. Baths! Fruit! Bubbles!
Ghet snickered evilly. Yes, they'd go back later, when they weren't expected. Not that they'd been expected then, obviously. She tossed the shampoo bottle experimentally. They could all be grateful they wouldn't be using her own special brew. "Right, let's get tubby. Wait a minute..." If she took her dress off over her head, it would get all oily. She couldn't, of course, see all the oil dribbling down her back. She shrugged and tore the
dress all the way down the front. It made sense at the time. "We're going to need a shampooing circle, I think. And apparently fruit."
"Nice!" Galain exclaimed, liking how Ghet got down to business in the stripping department. He turned to eye Tay, seeing how spectacularly she could strip as well. Oh yes, and he got the taps running. "I get dibs on the middle!" Galain crowed. Somehow the shampoo circl would work splendidly and he watched the tub fill with hot water with satisfaction. Wait, he needed bubbles too! He grabbed a few bottles at random and poured them in.
"Well I," Tay started, then shut up as a basket of fruit and other goodies appeared on the side of the tub. "Well, there we are then." Unbuckling her breast plate she tossed it aside and started disarming. It was a long and very noisey process.
"Is shampoo going to do the trick?" Another pair of daggers clattered out of her boots as she pulled them off and tossed them aside. Off came the leather trousers and the cut off shirt, baring a body quite decorated with tattoos.
Excellent, two naked wives, a tub full of bubbles and water and… Galain paused a moment.
“It’s going to have to work. Maybe we’ll think of something while we wash.” He was offering his hands to both women before he got into the bath himself. Oil was dripping down his back now and he was realizing what a twit he’d been.
Ghet slapped Galain lightly with the shampoo bottle. "It's a circle. There's no middle. Wait, you knew that, right?" She blushed, but just a little, and just the face. "Shampoo gets massage oil out of hair, but this could be a little tougher. It may require soaking."
"Soaking is good," Tay said merrily as she accepted Galain's hand and got into the tub. She was a bit of a hygiene fanatic. The water was quickly turning.. oily.. and she was beginning to think this was an exercise in futility.
Ah well... she dunked and soaked for awhile anyway. The tub was a fair size, but no so big that she could really avoid bumping into peoples bits. She would have appologized, but being underwater sort of cuts down on the conversation thing.
Yup, he'd know there was no middle, but getting a rise out of Ghet had been worth it. They were all dunking and soaking now, and Galain was enjoying accidentally hitting bits and pieces of wives here and there.
At one point he sat straight up and blinked.
"I think we're going to have to drain and refill," he announced.
"I think you're right," Tay agreed, "Let's not get my hair caught in the drain this time though, ok?" The rubber ducky squeaked an agreement from beneath Galain's behind as the Amazon pulled the plug.
Galain shot out of the water when the rubber ducky squeaked.
"Where? What?" He found the offending toy and tossed it hard against the far wall where it squeaked, bounced and the fell into the toilet.
And then the elf sat back down in the now empty tub and realized they must look utterly ridiculous at the moment.
At least the water was running again.
All of Ghet's body bumping was entirely on purpose. Well, maybe except for that foot. Her hair was still several shades short of red, though. "We may have to refill the tub a few times. And you can fish that duck back out, boyo. Okay, look, how about we concentrate on one head at a time." She tossed the shampoo bottle at Thaya. "Let's get him all lathered up. We can scrub really hard and then hold his head under."
Tay caught the shampoo and promptly dumped a good portion of it onto Galain's head. "Keep your eyes closed idiot.. er.. melda." Sometimes things just slipped out. "Ok.. now hold still, this won't hurt a bit. Gods... blonde really soaks up the oil doesn't it? Maybe we should just shave him. It'll grow back.. honest." From the sound Galain made it wasn't an option, so she started scrubbing.
"Ack! Okay, Okay! I surrender! I yield! UNCLE!!!" Giggling and laughing Mira threw her hands up and squeenched her eyes closed.
"Uncle? I'm not your uncle... don't confuse the issue" Bran said with a laugh. The fair-haired elf did stop splashing Mira though. Still grinning he waved a bottle of shampoo under her nose. "Want your hair washed?"
Mira lowered her hands and sniffed the shampoo as it passed under her nose. "Only if you promise you're NOT my uncle...I'm not an Alcarin, after all." Mira continued to lower her hands slowly, not entirely sure she could trust Bran not to dunk her.
Bran laughed. "Well, given that I can only be an uncle to 'nasse's children and you don't look even remotely like either Fionna or Fechine I think you're safe in that respect." The wariness in her expression amused him. "I'll be good" he assured her.
For some reason Galain felt that Ghetsuhm was slightly homicidal when it came to helping him get clean. I mean really, there was that gleam in her eyes again and it had somehow spread to Tay. But he couldn't open his mouth or eyes to protest as he was buried in a lather of shampoo and he hoped he had enough air for the dunking.
Of course he'd just pull them down with him.
Hehehehehehe.
Ghet joined Thaya in the lathering, which was not unnecessarily vigorous. That wasn't possible. Still, oil wasn't as bad as pitch, and they'd got that out eventually.
She snickered, and took a firm grip on the nearest shoulder. "Okay, rinse. Ready?"
Galain had already well and truly dragged his wives down with him...
"Ready!," Tay chirped, all to happily shoving their husband under the water. She made a valiant attempt to avoid Galain's grasping arm, but he far outreached her and she wet with him with a protesting squeal.
"You promise?" Mira was still not too certain about his intentions and was tempted to look at his fingers, to make sure they weren't crossed. "I'm trusting you..." Mira turned around and closed her eyes, tilting her head back.
"I am completely trustworthy, love" Bran said with a laugh. He poured a blob of shampoo into his hand and began to massage it into Mira's hair with gentle fingers. "Why would you think I was not?"
"Well, there is that tone in your voice, not to mention the laugh..." Mira's eyes drifted shut and her grin relaxed into a soft smile as Bran washed her hair. This was something new, having her hair washed, and she soon forgot what it was she was to distrustful about...
Bran laughed softly. "Tone, what tone?" he asked teasingly. A pleased smile crossed his face as Mira relaxed. He worked the shampoo into the long dark strands of her hair and then picked up the hose from the shower. Time to rinse the bubbles out...
Mira cracked one eye open, and closed it again before any of the suds got into it, "That tone....the tone that says, 'Trust me'..." Mira felt his hands stop for a moment and she leaned back into him, shampoo suds squooshing out between them. "Now what are you doing?" Bran had gotten rather...quiet....
"I'm not doing anything" Bran said, "okay, just hold still..." The elf had finally gotten the hose sorted out and now he turned the water on and raised it so that the spray poured onto Mira's head.
Galain dragged both women down with him and for several long moments the bathtub was the scene of a lot of flailing arms, legs, heads, feet, hands, back ends, front ends... water sprayed this way and that, sloshing out of the tub and over the floor. The shampoo was knocked over, towels were drenched and then somebody's foot caught the cold water handle and then the shower and pow! More chaos ensued as the cold water hit Galain's temporarily exposed back end and he let out a gurgling yell resulting in the swallowing of a lot of soapy, oily water.
That'd clean him out at least on the inside.
Tay managed to surface and grab onto the side of the tub, gasping for air as she hung her head over the side. The Amazon was laughing, of course, as her husband screaming bloody murder, than nearly choked to death.
Fun!
Well now, that wouldn't have been too bad, except the water was ice cold! With a squeal and a shudder, Mira gasped as the cold water ran down her head and body. "OH MY GOSH! That is so cold!" In her frantic attempts to get away from the water that poured over her head, Mira suddenly and quite accidentally slipped below the bathwater.
Laughing, Bran reached below the surface and hauled her upwards again. "You could just have said it was cold" he grinned, "there was no need to try to drown yourself over it." He turned the tap and the water warmed up. "Better?"
Ghet hauled herself over the side of the bath and blew a perfect arc of water out of her mouth. That really tasted quite disgusting. Still, they had to be marginally cleaner now, right? She turned and tried to survey Galain's hair critically, which was difficult because he kept squirming round. "I think he's nearly blond again."
Choking on bath water and peering through the mat of wet hair that was now covering half her face, Mira tried to grin. "I DID say it was cold! And yes! That's much better." The feel of the warm water down her back and front for that matter was relaxing her, and after one last cough, Mira closed her eyes, enjoying the absolute pleasure of having her hair washed by the only rogue she would trust her back to.
Bran swept the wet hair from out of her face with one hand, the hose held in the other as he rinsed the shampoo out. A gentle smile curved his lips at the soft sound Mira made. There was something very pleasant about washing someone else's hair like this.
As the last of the suds were rinsed from her hair, Mira slipped around in the tub, "Your turn..." Mira's dancing eyes traveled up to meet Bran's, "Trust me?"
"Of course" said Bran, "although I ask you to bear in mind that the cold water was an accident." The elf was aware of Mira's sense of humour.
He said he trusted her, but Mira noticed he hadn't yet turned around. "Well, I can't hardly wash your hair with you facing me, now can I? I'll even let you keep the hose for a bit." Mira was reaching for the shampoo bottle, and eyeing the remains of the contents.
"Nope, thats okay" said Bran as he handed her the hose. The fair-haired elf twisted around in the tub so that he now sat with his back to Mira.
The grin she had been wearing began to fade somewhat as Bran turned around, and was replaced by a look of tenderness. She had one hand holding with shampoo bottle, the other holding the hose. Well, that wouldn't do, she needed both hands for this. "Uhm, here...put this away for a bit, Please? I don't think I'll need it just yet."
Bran took the hose from her and put it back where he had gotten it from. "Does this mean I'm not going to be attacked by ice cold water just yet?" he said in amusement.
"No, not quite yet, I'm saving that for later." Mira was kidding, of course, wasn't she? With a slightly crooked smile, Mira poured out a dab of shampoo and rubbed a bit between her fingers, then nodded approvingly, "This will work just fine." Then rather than placing it on his hair, Mira let just a bit of heat into her palms and fingers, then
spread it across his back. Mira chuckled a little, surely he was thinking she'd lost her mind, "Hang on, I'll get to your hair later," With cupped hands, she poured a little water over his back, then placed her warm palms against his skin and began rubbing each muscle, starting at his neck and shoulders, then working her way down. Already warm hands and fingers grew steadily warmer as they worked any tension from his body.
Okay, so Bran had been a little surprised when she spread the shampoo over his back but he certainly wasn't complaining. His eyes closed, his head dropping forward slightly as he gave a soft sigh. The warmth seemed to seep into his skin, relaxing muscles and soothing tensions. It felt very good.
"See, this has a two-fold purpose," Mira muttered, "Not only are you getting a massage, the shampoo is getting you clean. I always thought hands were better than sponges anyway." Mira scooped up a little more water and poured it over his back, her eyes watching it run over every muscle.
Bran gave a low chuckle. "Well, both are a good thing" he said without opening his eyes. "That feels very good."
"Well, I did owe you one, after all, I did loose a race to you once, and I believe the wager was a back rub to the winner." Mira's thumbs pressed on a part of his back that felt particularly tense and worked the stiffness out of the muscle. One thing she couldn't resist doing was pushing his damp hair aside, leaning forward and kissing him on the back of the neck.
"True" Bran murmured softly. A quiet sigh escaped him as she kissed the back of his neck.
After several moments, Mira smiled, pleased she'd all but turned Bran into putty. "I think I've got you about as clean and relaxed as I can get you." Giving Bran's shoulders one final rub, Mira gave his back a swipe with the water filled sponge, then leaned back, pulling the elf back with her. With a contented sigh, Mira wrapped her arms around him and let her head tilt back to the edge of the tub.
"Shouldn't this be the other way around?" Bran enquired quietly after a moment. "You'll have to tell me if I get too heavy." Picking up one of her hands he ran his fingers over the palm, gently tracing the lines.
"Maybe, but I'm enjoying it." Mira's eyes slid open slowly as Bran traced the lines on her palm. She lifted her head, a soft smile lighting her face, "I'd have thought by now you'd know you're not going to crush me." Mira laughed softly and leaned her forehead against his back.
Eventually the water started to cool and Bran sat up, stretching lazily. "We probably ought to move" he said to Mira, albeit a little reluctantly. The elf had been quite comfortable where he was but a tub of cold water wasn't a fun place to sit in.
With a sigh that was half-contentment, half-reluctance, Mira agreed. "Mmmm, you're right, I think I probably look like a prune by now and a warm bed is calling my name."
Mira slapped him lightly on the back, "After you.."
Stepping out of the tub, Bran held out his hand to Mira. With his free hand he reached for a towel and he wrapped it around the dragon elf as he helped her out.
"Thank you," Her gaze traveled across Bran's dripping wet form as he helped her out and wrapped the towel around her. "I hate to do this, but here," Mira reached over and picked up another towel. "Its a pity to cover such a nice body..." Mira's eyebrow angled up in appreciation of his appearance and a smile curved her lips as she leaned in close to wrap the towel around Bran's hips.
Galain squinted one eye open and blew water at Ghet.
"You guys are still chocolate strawberries though. Ha!" He immediately sat up and dunked Tay with a gleeful vengeance.
"Well, the same could be said of you" Bran replied with a grin. His gaze skimmed down over Mira before returning to meet her eyes with a mischievous expression.
"You know, we only need these long enough to get dried off..." Mira left that sentence hanging as she slid her eyes past Bran and to the door. With a final glance at his...towel, Mira turned, a smile on her face, and slipped out of the bathroom.
It took Ghet a couple of minutes to stop laughing for long enough to speak. "Honey, you're supposed to shampoo her first. And for that you're going to have to let her head up again."
Hmm... no, no it probably wasn't a good idea to turn this into a 'who could stay under the longest' contest.
Tay was biting Galain in a not so nice place. Well heck, if she was going to drown, it might as well be an exciting death. Yes?
Galain just plain shot out of the water, slipped over the side of the tub and in doing so inadvertantly let Tay up for air.
"Gods! I hope you're not rabid!" He exclaimed before he began to checking for any teeth marks or bruising.
"There, there my precious, the mean lady didn't mean to chomp down like that," he cooed before he blinked up at Ghet and Tay. "Okay, I think we need more shampoo."
Tay just stared at her husband for a moment before she snorted bubbles and laughed her ass off. "I think we need a therapist more. Hand me a banana there Ghet?"
What, she was hungry.
Ghet cocked an eyebrow at Galain. "I'm pretty sure she did mean it, you know. I don't see how she could have accidentally bitten you there." She leaned over the side of the bath
and snagged a banana, tossing it to An'Thaya. "You chew on that, we'll get you all lathery."
Galain eyed both women, whispered to his precious and then stood up.
"I don't need a therapist. I'm perfectly fine. Wait, are you going to peel that banana first? Where's the shampoo? C'mon Tay m'dear," he'd found a bottle of something and was already pouring it into An'Thaya's wet hair.
"Okay, let's get to it," he said, a gleam in his eyes.
Bran chuckled and followed Mira out of the bathroom. "That's very true" he agreed. He'd snagged a smaller towel on the way out and the elf rubbed vigorously at his wet hair.
Ghet considered Galain a moment and then made one of those statements that brought echoes of her previous career. "Certainly a therapist would be a complete waste of time."
Then she took a side of An'Thaya's head and started trying to scrub oil out of it. This had just been the weirdest day...
With a sly smile over her shoulder, Mira stepped in front of the still-burning fire and pulled her towel off and began drying her own hair. The heat from the fire felt absolutely wonderful, and still drying her hair, Mira let her wings reappear, then spread them a bit in an experimental stretch, her eyes drifting shut as the relaxing heat seeped into her skin.
The sly smile she cast in his direction made Bran give a low laugh. Dropping the towel he wad drying his hair with on to the floor, the elf dropped into a chair by the fire and let the warmth seep into him. His expression was one of quiet appreciation as he watched Mira stretch her wings. He had always thought they were fascinating. They seemed so delicate, almost fragile, and yet they were far stronger than they looked.
"So diplomatic, m'love," Galain cooed to Ghet as he took the other side of Tay's head and began soaping and scrubbing. He snickered a bit, catching a bit of Ghet's thoughts.
Yes, this was a bizarre day and he'd only been in on half of it.
Somewhere in the process of vigorously rubbing her hair dry with her towel and standing with her face to the fire, Mira realised Bran was sitting behind her, watching silently. She stopped scrubbing long enough to look over her shoulder and past her wings, a faint pink tinge creeping across her skin. "What?"
Tay really enjoyed having her hair washed, there was just something about someone else scrubbing your scalp that was infinatly relaxing. She opened an eye and peered at Galain for a moment when he snickered. The Amazon had a feeling she was missing something... A feeling she was aware of more and more these days.
Shrugging it off she closed her eyes and went about enjoying the wash.
Bran smiled. "I'm sorry, I never meant to embarass you" he said quietly, although he had
to admit that blush was sweet. "I was just being quietly admiring."
Mira's jade green eyes traveled slowly over Bran, the blush growing even more. "I don't think this is from embarrassment, Vershan. After all, we did get barged in on by the Alcarin trio tonight and I never blushed. Although for just a moment there, I thought they were going to sucker us into their earlier offer."
Of course, that had been different, Mira had been too busy trying to torment everyone involved to be modest. But, Bran sitting there in nothing but a towel, the fire creating a mixture of shadows and light outlining his features....well...
"Well, thats true enough" Bran said with a grin. "And the Alcarin trio could be considered a good test of most people's embarassability." He laughed quietly as he remembered the earlier incident. Holding out his hand to Mira, he said "care to join me?"
Biting her lower lip gently and smiling at the same time, Mira eyed Bran appreciatively. "Of course I'd like to join you..." Mira slipped up in front of him, her towel slipping to the floor near her feet. "And what did you have in mind?"
Taking her hand Bran pulled Mira gently into his lap. "This" he said simply as he wrapped his arms around her. He smiled and nuzzled her neck. "I just like having you near."
Galain had lathered up his side of Tay's hair and was now carefully forming a giant horn, seeing just how high he could make it before the sheer volume of the Amazon's hair caused it to flip over.
"Feeling good, love?" He asked, dumping more shampoo on Ghet's side of Tay's hair. "I never realized just how much hair you have. Gods."
After letting him pull her down to his lap, Mira wrapped her arms around his neck and let her eyes drift closed as he nuzzled her. "Mmmm, well, there is something to be said for just being close," she murmered. Somehow, Mira had managed to maneuver herself around so that she was sitting across his lap, her legs dangling over one arm of the chair, her wings over the other.
Ghet was just nicely gently but firmly massaging Thaya's scalp. She was quite aware that her head was next. Flicking foam at Galain didn't count.
She might also have been enjoying the whole thing rather too much.
Galain's hair horn flopped over inches from her nose. She examined the ends critically. "Well, it's better. I think we should rinse." She snickered at Galain. "You might want to keep your chewy bits out of the way."
"Yes! Yes! Chewy bits out of the way!" Galain exclaimed, quite prepared to dunk Tay into the water. He poised and then paused.
"Should we use a bucket instead?"
He was into buckets of late.
"A bucket would be good," Tay chimed in, going crossed eyed as she looked up at the soapy mass of her hair. "How many millenia have we been together, and you never realized how much hair I have?" Sometimes Galain could be terribly unobservant. "Oh... that feels good right there," she added, leaning in to Ghet's scrubbing fingers.
Ghet frowned. "Do we have a bucket? You'll have to be careful not to get shampoo in her eyes." She continued to work her fingers into An'Thaya's scalp, although that bit was pretty much clean now.
"Closeness is a good thing" Bran agreed. He rested his head against hers as he closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her warm skin. The elf was enjoying just being with her.
"Well... I knew you had a lot of hair... I've just never had to wash oil out of it and it takes a long and... bucket. Hmmmm..."
Galain left his hair washing duties to root around the bathroom. He didn't find a bucket, but he did find two drinking glasses.
"Might these work?" He asked.
"No," said Ghet. "Well, maybe, but slowly, very slowly. You could just make a bucket." She shot him a level but amused look. "Not of chicken."
Whoops, a red and white bucket had appeared and it was full of steaming hot fried chicken. Galain was already diving into a drumstick and gave Ghetsuhm a guilty look.
"Lemme try that again then," he said and concentrated a moment. A minute later a milk pail appeared. It was even clean.
"How's this?"
Now if he got it right and used the milk bucket and not the chicken bucket he wouldn't be in hot water.
Ghet sniffed. That was chicken. There were few scents she liked more than that of fried chicken. Now there was a problem. She wanted to eat chicken. And her hands were all covered in shampoo.
She grimaced. She was going to have to be strong, which was not a speciality. "Hair. Then chicken. At least hold that drumstick closer."
Ooooooo, chicken! Tay made use of her free hands and nabbed a breast.
From the bucket.
After a moment's thought she grabbed a drumstick too and fed Ghet at the same time.
Nummy.
"Oo, careful, don't get grease in the water. Wait. Okay, don't get this water on the food. Thanks, Thaya." Oh, now she had grease running down her chin. As well as oil trickling down the back of her neck. "Okay, hang your head over the side and we'll rinse."
Hey, it wasn't her floor...
Mira could smell fried chicken...the extra crispy kind with lots of seasoning on it and her stomach gave a rather undignified growl. Sitting up and looking around, Mira decided the smell was NOT coming from the fruit basket.
"Oh wow, that smells so good. Do you think that's coming from An'Thaya's room?"
Bran laughed. "Shall we go and see?" he asked her. It was a long time since the elf had eaten..
Besides it wasn't as if the terrible trio hadn't already raided their fruit basket...
Helping Mira to her feet, he pulled on a pair of trousers. Now to find the food..
In complete agreement, Mira scrounged around and found her own pants then grabbed the first shirt she could find, which happened to be Bran's, hid her wings and got dressed. When she looked back at Bran, mishief lit her eyes, "I think they still owe me for a banana and a couple of molested grapefruit. Oh yes, and there's that bottle of shampoo they took off with too." Mira slipped out into the hall, hoping the floorboards didn't squeak with her weight.
Bran followed Mira down the corridor, trying desperately not to laugh. Reaching An'Thaya's door, the elf turned the handle slowly so as not to make any noise and then crept inside. Now where was that chicken?
Mira's eyes turned back to Bran with a 'stop that' look as he almost laughed out loud. Putting a finger to her lips, her own eyes watering from mirth, Mira peeped into the bathroom. Everyone seemed rather preoccupied with shampoo, chicken grease and motor oil, and the chicken bucket had been sat down near Galain. Now, how to get it from there to here....
An idea popped into Mira's head and she grinned even more. Smiling at Bran, then arching an eyebrow, Mira searched for a smaller form in that amulet of hers, shifted and in her place was a slightly large silver fox. As soon as everyone's attention was turned somewhere else, said fox made a made dash into the bathroom, slipped on the wet, oily floor, slid into Galain's leg, snagged the chicken bucket and darted for the door. The whole process took seconds, and it was a rather gleeful, smug fox that flung the red and white bucket at the elf she had came in with.
Catching the bucket, Bran laughed and headed for the door. It seemed like a good point to
make a sharp exit...
Mira had hit an oil slick...(or was that a grease slick?) Regardless, in the fox form, she was have trouble getting traction and was scrabbling for purchase. With a slighty high pitched, canine snarl, Mira shifted into her regular form and hightailed it out of the room, following closely behind Bran, laughing the entire time.
Wait a second! Their chicken! Their lovely bucket of chicken!
"Get back here! Hey! No you don't!" Galain lunged after the fox which suddenly became Mira and dove for her, snagging her by her feet.
"HA!" He crowed.
One problem. She didn't have the chicken, Bran did.
"I've got your woman!" The elf bellowed. Well he sort of did. She was awfully slippery.
With a sharp yelp and a crash, Mira went down. If she hadn't been laughing so hard, she probably could have gotten away, but found herself in the throes of a giggling fit.
"Don't listen to him!" She managed to get out while laughing and trying to twist her ankles free, "Run, save yourself! ACK! Don't you people ever put on clothes? Leggo! What you need..." Mira died laughing again, "Is a hug..."
A large python had taken Mira's place...
After all, snakes don't have ankles, do they?
Well Mira was laughing, this was good. She was too busy giggling to make for an effective escape.
"Tay! Ghet! Help! Our chicken! Aaaagh! Snake!" Galain's eyes shot wide open. "I still have her! Ha! Get back here! Nooooooo..." Galain was scrambling backward now and thinking that both Mira and Bran would have to eat flaming death for this.
Which would be infinitely fun to plot out.
Now, An'Thaya knew how to handle snakes, but she was torn between saving Galain from the snake, or saving the chicken from Bran.
There was not a nekkid, soapy Amazon hurling herself at a startled looking Bran.
Bran grinned at the sight of Galain's face. He couldn't help it. Fending off any attacks on the chicken with one hand, he scooped up the snake and slung it over the other shoulder before making a break for it up the corridor.
Now the question was how far he would get...
"Get 'im, Tay! We'll just fry up his snake and eat her instead!" Galain hooted, watching An'Thaya hurl herself after Bran. "He's not very graceful! Trip him up!"
Galain got to his feet and cheered excitedly.
"Come on Ghet! Let's go get them!" He was already slipping and sliding the rest of his way out of the room and then taking off after the others.
Tay took Bran down from behind with a wild war cry. Chicken flew everywhere and the snake flailed about wildly as the Amazon subjected the fair haired elf to a round of merciless tickling. He might have cried out for mercy, but there was a rather large breast stuck in his mouth.
Chicken breast... that is...
Ghet finally managed to scabble out of the bath, clean the shampoo off her hands, and consume the piece of chicken An'Thaya had put in her mouth.
Right, now, down to business.
She lept out of the bath and made straight for the snake. She figured if she just shoved her hair in its face for long enough, it'd keel over.
Bran's protests were muffled by the piece of fried chicken stuffed in his mouth. The ef squirmed beneath the amazon's tickling assault. Was it possible to suffocate on a piece of chicken? He was starting to think it was. Spitting it out, it hit An'Thaya between the eyes and rebounded onto the floor. "Oops, sorry" he said automatically before taking advantage of her momentary surprise to try to escape.
Meanwhile!
The python was a bit addle pated after getting dumped on the floor with the elf who was under attack. Giving her head a quick shake, the snake's jade eyes widened at the sight of a nekked Ghet charging her way and tried to wriggle free, but about a third of her body was pinned under Bran. In her efforts to win free, the front two thirds of her thwapped the family sized side order of mashed pototoes and brown gravey, sending it flying. Said side order landed, lid off, square on Galain's......
The snake vanished, leaving a pinned-under-Bran, laughing Mira nose-to-nose with Ghet and her hair. A sudden change in Bran's weight had Mira free and with a huge grin and a loud "Mwah!" Mira kissed Ghet rather sloppily on the forehead, scrambled to her feet, grabbed the chicken bucket (which still had a few pieces left in it) and Bran's hand, then made a run for the door.
"Darn it! And I wanted those pototoes..."
Now there was a dilemma. Chase the chicken, or eat potato and gravy? She was assuming the gravy had cooled some, cause no-one was screaming. And it wasn't going anywhere,
and the chicken was. So was Mira, who had just kissed her.
She lept up, hit an oil slick, and ran on the spot for a bit. Then finally she got traction and went after Mira. Chicken. Yes.
There were potatoes and gravy on his... well, they were there! And hot! But no, Galain hadn't screamed. He'd sucked his breath in and vowed dreadful and desperate vengeance against Mira. Okay, it would a mad and insane prank of some sort... but it would be vengeance.
And he was being left behind! Wait! What had Mira done to Ghet? Hey! Stop! Aaghhh! Galain was still removing potatoes from himself. It would never come out...
Tay fell on her behind and watched Bran and Mira dash off, Ghet in hot pursuit. "Well, that was fascinating," she observed, the giggled slightly when she eyed her husband. "Need some help with that?" Crouching down beside him she smiled at the Elen, then ran her fingers through his hair. There was a slight shimmer, and Galain had his usual golden locks back again. "Much better, though I can think of several more entertaining ways to get rid of those potatoes."
Galain groaned. One wife was off and down the hall. Both prey were gone... but he had a wife left and those potatoes and gravy were soooo damn good.
Besides, it had been fun to watch Tay bounce on that delectable back end of hers. He eyed his wife.
"Yes, I need some help. It's hot. It hurts. I need first aid," he replied. He was glad to have his hair again, patting at it a bit. He eyed the Amazon again.
"Okay... take care of the taters, but include the dagger dance... you know I'm sorta sick that way..."
It'd been a while.
Tay's eyes took on an interesting gleam and she grinned at her husband, taking him by the hand and helping him to his feet. This sort of thing wasn't something you did in the middle of the hallway.
A giggle and a yelp later and they were in her room, the Amazon dancing to her own music as she fufiled her Verno's request. Course she didn't have her daggers.... but she made due.
So this should actually be the Spud Dance... not quite as exotic-sounding as the Dagger Dance. Galain didn't mind a bit. He still planned to do Mira and Bran in, but meanwhile... he trusted Ghet to snag the leftover chicken and... Tay to clean off the spuds.
He was holding the coleslaw in reserve. Biscuits and butter just in case.
Cleaning Galain was a long and rather artful process on the Amazon's part. Well heck, she had been at it for well over two millenia, she really knew what she was doing by this point. And if those potatoes hadn't been mashed before, well, they certainly were now.
Mira was scrambling down the hall, remains of chicken in hand and who knew how many red-heads behind her, when it dawned on her, she may have lost Bran somewhere in all this. She'd reached the door by the time she slowed down long enough to look, her eyes going wide at the site behind her....
Bran, with Ghet close on his heels, grabbed Mira around the waist as he ran passed her into their room. The odd piece of chicken flew into the air from the bucket he still had under one arm. He was laughing breathlessly as he slammed the door shut quickly just before the redhead reached it.
Galain was quite enjoying himself. The mashed spuds would never hold much in the way of attraction for him, but the way Tay licked them up... ohhhhh yeah... He felt a pair of eyes boring in on them and he arched slightly and twisted a bit, waving at Mira, a mad grin on his face.
Oh that was shameful.
So shameful.
"You missed a spot, love," Galain pointed out said spot to his wife and sighed. The burn was but a memory now.
Okay, so, Mira now had no leftover chicken and some serious mental scarring to deal with. Not to mention the effect vouyerism could have on an individual. Laughing until tears ran down her face, Mira leaned back into Bran, trying to ask him if he preferred a breast, or a leg, of course in Mira's case, a wing could be offered too....
Meanwhile..
Ghet had caught the stray chicken, and now stood by the closed door, quite aware of what she'd find if she went back down the hall. Now, okay, she did owe An'Thaya one, from back at Willow's wedding, but right now she just didn't feel in the mood to interrupt.
And she still had to fix her hair.
So she took her chicken and went back down to her own room.
For awhile Bran leaned back against the door and laughed helplessly until he was breathless. "I don't think we're going to be attacked further" he managed in the end between gasps for breath after there had been no mad hammering at the door. "So, m'lady. What next?"
Choking for air and wiping tears from her eyes, Mira turned and leaned into Bran.
"I have no idea what to do next. If we leave, we'll have to see, well, I'm sure they're still...
Well. I don't want to see that ever again. But I never did get anything to eat....think you can distract me for a bit?"
Mira was still dealing with the effects of her unexpected voyuerism...
Bran grinned, "and how would you like to be distracted, vanima?" he asked mischievously. "Suggestions are always helpful."
"Oh, I'm certain you could be creative..." Mira walked her fingers across Bran's shoulders and smiled innocently. "I'll give you a hint though." It seemed the hand NOT on his shoulder had returned to behaving as poorly as it had the night she'd met him...
A low growl rumbled in Bran's chest. "Oh yes, creativity is one of my strong points" he said as he claimed her lips with his own in a long kiss. His arms wrapped around her waist to pull her closer. The question now was.. who was distracting whom?
"I like it when you get all creative," Mira murmered against Bran's mouth. Both Mira's hands seemed to be inspired as well and were finding Bran's buttons and things of the like fascinating.
Creativity could be a wonderful thing, Bran decided at some point although whether or not he was truly thinking by that point was a little debatable. Given that Mira was being such a helpful soul he could only reciprocate after all and so her clothes somehow managed to find their way on to the floor.
Ok, Tay was positive she had dragged Galain back into her room first.... but perhaps she was mistaken? Blushing madly she shoved him into the room and on in to the bed. They seemed to be missing a Ghet, but the Amazon was a little distracted at the moment. Nekkid Galain.... her brain always seemed to go a little funny when he was in that state. Using a little magic to clean them both up (she wasn't about to get the sheets dirty), An'Thaya pounced her husband.
Yep... it'd been awhile.
Nope, they'd been in the hall... for a few brief and crazy moments. All that was needed to scar Mira for life. Galain lived for moments like that at times.
Right now he surrendered to Tay.
But he was also plotting.
They had a Ghet to find. Her hair was still oily.
And they had a Mira and Bran to rain retribution upon...
Now, Mira was always one to be helpfull, so with a soft sound, Mira began pulling Bran towards the bed, a growing trail of Bran's clothes getting left in their wake.
The pair half-lay, half-fell onto the bed as their knees suddenly hit the side of it. Bran
laughed and pulled Mira on top of him. "I always said you were a dangerous lady" he said to her as he buried his hands in her dark hair and brought her head down so that he could kiss her.
It was truly amazing how Galain could do that, Tay could tell he was plotting and she narrowed her eyes at him. "You know... if I'm boring you I can turn on the T.V or something. No.. wait, we don't have a T.V, I guess you are out of luck."
Galain gasped. Yes, he had been plotting. No, his mind hadn't been that divided. But he blushed crimson and immediately shut down everything else but attention to Tay.
"I'm sorry, vesse. I won't do that again."
Always fear narrowed emerald green eyes...
"Mmm, I'll let you make it up to me Verno," the Amazon told him, amusement sparkling in those emerald eyes. "Starting right about.. oh.. here."
They were going to be awhile.
Sometime later Galain found himself tied to the bed, wearing a feather boa and feeling hugely contented. Daggers, dancing, wild music and a lot of "Yes Ma'ams!" had been involved.
It had been a goodly while.
The best kind of while.
But he was still knotted to the bed post.
Gods...
Tay was feeling rather content herself, and lay with her head on her husband's chest, her long crimson locks spilling over to tickle his nose. Murmuring softly turned her head to kiss him a few times, then tickled him with the feather boa. Where had that come from? Ah well....
Finally relenting she started untying him.
Galain had been figuring he was stuck like this for a bit. He'd calmed down, stretched as best he could and grinned a lot. He'd not minded the tickling, trying to cover himself when Tay touched him. But he finally just stretched out a bit, pretending to yawn.
He was waiting you see... though he sensed things downstairs.
"Wait, vesse... is that a double knot or are you untying me?" He asked, growing alarmed at one point.
Mira had let out a muffled squeal as they fell on the bed. Laughing as Bran pulled her on top of him, she let her lips hover above his a bare fraction of an inch before she let him kiss her.
"Oh, I can be far more dangerous than this..."
"I'm untying you, ninny," she grinned, then shut him up with her chest as she leaned across to get his other hand.It was about that moment that the scales on her abdomen started itching like mad, and Agaru let out a long throaty growl. "Oh.. that can't be good," Tay muttered, using her teeth to undo the final knot. "Maybe we should go downstairs and see what the heck is going on."
With a mouthful of boobage Galain could hardly protest, but when he was free and able to breathe again he nodded, looking rather regretful.
"You're right... and Mak's here," he replied, sitting up. "Can I wear the boa downstairs?"
"I don't see why not," Tay told him, "As long as you wear something else with it." Her emerald greens sparkled with amusement as she slid out of bed and headed for the closet. She brightened when Mak was mentioned, the Amazon loved her little boy.
Humming to herself the Amazon eyed the closet. Was it a full armor day? Or a simple white shift day? Hmm... from what was going on downstairs.... armor. Soon there was the familiar clang of metal as An'Thaya armed.
He had to wear something else with the boa? Galain was profoundly disappointed, but he was soon grinning again as he watched Tay dress. Eventually he tossed the boa aside and found his own clothes. Wait... no he didn't. He had to conjure a set of trousers, boots and a vest. He'd completely lost track of where he'd actually left his clothes.
Nothing unusual.
He was ready before An'Thaya was and hovering near the door.
"Ready yet?" He inquired.
"Oh that boa goes very well with your vest," Tay said with a grin, "Though you may want to tie it around your head... maybe. Yes, I'm ready." The last dagger slid into the front of her breastplate, and she was good to go. Grabbing Galain's hand she dragged him out into the hall and headed for the stairs. It wasn't until they hit the second floor that they ran into trouble, in the form of an oil slick that sent both elves tumbling down the stairs and into the tap room.
Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
"Really?" Bran looked at Mira with an expression of mischievous speculation. "Show me."
Well, Mira was never one to refuse Bran anything and was also never one to turn down a challenge, and Bran's comment of "Show me," sounded an awful lot like a challenge to her....
With a soft growl, Mira set out to do just that, nibbling and nipping her way down his throat and chest, her hands growing ever warmer as they proceeded ever lower.
There had been a brief moment there where Bran had wondered whether that small challenge had been a very good idea. Then her hands had begun to wander lower and he'd rapidly decided it had been a very good idea. Then he just gave up on thinking all together.
"What else would you like me to show you?" Mira murmered in his ear, her lips sliding down the edge of his ear to his jaw, then to his neck. Warm fingers made certain he was near speechless, and if he could answer her, well, she still had some work to do.
Bran's fingers tangled in her wealth of dark hair as he pulled her down into a kiss. He seemed to have lost the power of speech for the moment so an answer was not really possible. A hands on demonstration was not beyond the realms of possibility though. He slid his hands down her skin.
A slight gasp came from Mira's lips as Bran's hands grazed across her skin and she shuddered at some of his more...complicated...moves. Bran was rather skilled at hands on demonstrations, and Mira encouraged them whenever she could.
Eventually the demonstration came to an end. Gasping Bran lay on the bed, his arm wrapped tightly around Mira. The elf nuzzled gently at her ear. "Was that distraction enough?" he said in an amused murmur.
Mira's fingers traced lazy lines across Bran's body, and she laughed softly, "I'm sorry, we were doing something before this?" Mira had been completely distracted...and could possibly need a bit more distraction soon...but for now...she'd give him a break. A catnap might be just the think...
Bran laughed quietly and hugged her to him. "You're very good at wearing me out" he commented drowsily, "not that I'm complaining mind you. It was merely an observation."
Mira was just dozing off as a familiar voice echoed up the flights of stairs and she sat bolt upright...
"Oh hell! Thats my..!!! Oh gods!"
Mira was on her feet and pulling on clothes, grabbing daggers and her weapons as quickly as possible, her hair flying wildly as she pulled on her shirt, her wings flaring in alarm.
Bran sat up abruptly. "What's wrong?" His eyes scanned Mira's face. Getting to his feet, he pulled on his clothes and then grabbed hold of her. "Easy" he said soothingly, sorting the daggers out for her. "It's okay."
Mira's eyes paused for a moment as she tucked the final dagger away. "Bran...its my father...he's here." Mira's eyes seemed to look in an unseen distance for a moment as she picked up on parts of the conversations with the other dragons. "Fionna! She's ticked! Arrggh he's challenging 'Lain, Damn him! He's got An'Thaya!" Mira looked at Bran, her eyes flaring with Rage. "I'm not letting him do this!" Mira pulled herself away from Bran, refusing to let him calm her, and started for the door.
All he had to feel was the slightest twinge along their bond and Adarin was there, sneaking out the proverbial back door of the palace and skimming his way to wherever his Tay was.
As it was he had a fire going, the covers pulled back, a fresh shift waiting and oodles of tender-loving care in the form of himself just waiting. He had the door open even and yes, the bathroom had long ago been cleaned up and prepared for something a bit more luxurious and relaxing.
Tay raised her head slightly as Mak headed towards the door of her room, she was still dazed, but could feel Adarin's presence clearly. With a soft smile she reached up to kiss Mak on the cheek, "You can put me down now Yondo, I'll be fine." Ok, so standing wasn't exactly easy at the moment, but she managed, shooing Mak back towards the stairs before she made it the rest of the way into ther bedroom and closed the door. Giving Adarin a weak smile she leaned heavily against the wall, "Suilad Melda... come to kiss my booboo's better again?" Her eyes sparkled with amusement through the obvious pain she was in.
"Yes. I rather like your boo-boos. Well wait, I mean that yes I'm here to kiss your boo-boos all better. Now let's get you off your feet. How do you feel? I saw you had a bath. Do you just want to slip into bed? I've got a bed warmer at the foot of the bed, a clean shift... let me help undress."
Yes, the King was going all solicitous. It was his prerogative.
"I feel awful," Tay said blatently, "I seem to be making a habit of catching furniture in the head. Though I must say, I'm rather proud of Fionna. I think I might adopt her into the tribe. Gods.. one moment I'm trying to kill myself a black dragon, the next there is just... black." She laughed despite herself, shook her head, then groaned. "Oh.... dizzy."
She gave herself over to Adarin as he started undressing her, helping with the lacing on the breastplate. "Bed.. yes... I want to lay down. I have the worst headache. I'm thinking that making the furniture fight back isn't the best idea after all. I'd likely get ganged up on by a dining room set or something."
Adarin wasn’t sure what this Fionna had done but he note a good-sized goose egg on Tay’s head and he clucked to himself, not at all happy to see it. An eyebrow rose at the mention of a black dragon, but busied himself with undressing his bondmate. He kissed her gently now and then and then just slid her into the bed.
“You want to make the furniture fight back, eh? That could have some entertainment
value I suppose,” Adarin said with a chuckle, tucking the sheets in around Tay and then settling on the bed next to her. He brushed fiery strands of hair off her face and kissed her again.
“Let me know if you need water or anything,” he said softly, his soft caresses touching her with a tiny bit of healing magic that spread through her body and buffeted her from any lingering physical pain.
"Mmm," Tay murmured, relaxing beneath Adarin's healing touch, "I just need you Verno. Aminmela ile..." Snuggling in close to him the Amazon sighed in contentment. "The furniture was Shadow's idea. Wards... I need to ward the taproom... keep meaning to..." On eye peeked open and she tugged at his formal dublet, "Take that off," she complained, "Much to Kingly for cuddling. Can you stay long?"
Her eyes had closed again, and she was dangerously close to drifting off to sleep.
She was muttering, on the verge of sleep, and Adarin laughed gently, undoing the doublet and tossing it to the ground. He unlaced the white linen shirt beneath and sighed a bit. He'd been in the midst of court duties and simply dismissed everyone before he'd sneaked away. A few courtiers had been startled, but then none of them could complain that they were basically getting the rest of the day off.
"I can stay as long you like," he murmured into her ear and drew her close to him. "Later you can ward what you like. Sleep for now, vesse." He smiled and got comfortable as well, kicking the bedwarmer out of the sheets and onto the floor. The warmth and sweet silence of the room surrounded them very quickly and Adarin kissed Tay asleep.
Tay giggled softly and nuzzled against Adarin, "Yes Your Majesty," the Amazon murmured. Giving herself into his care she sighed softly as he kissed her, and was asleep before she knew it. There was a certain sense of safety and comfort in the King's arms that was unfamiliar to the tough as nails Amazon, but she enjoyed it immensely.
Adarin had laughed when she addressed him so formally. Then he went quiet and listened for the steady and even breathing that would tell him she was sleeping soundly. He stroked her hair and set to memorizing every curve and angle of her face. He sent a quick mental request to BBQ, grinning as he caught wind of what the goddess was doing downstairs. When Tay awakened she'd be treated to a repast fit for an Amazon Queen and D'riel princess.
Tay woke slowly, making a soft murmuring sound as she stretched, curling into the familiar feel of a warm body. A smile curled the edge of her lip, knowing exactly who it was. "Did I sleep long?," she asked, nuzzling Adarin's soft white shirt. Her hand slid under the lacings, seeking out the warmth of his skin.
"Just long enough," Adarin replied, laughing a bit and kissing Tay impulsively. "I have food here for you. How do you feel?" His own hand drifted under the covers to cup one breast as he claimed her lips again. He broke away, realizing she might want to answer him.
"Mmm," Tay murmured, smiling and tugging restlessly at Adarin's shirt, "I'll feel much better if you keep that up." Food could most definatly wait. Her body was already responding to his touch, and her hands pushed the King's shirt off of his shoulders.
Ah! Yes! Adarin swooped in on Tay's lips then and kissed her again before he broke away once more and shucked the shirt off entirely. It landed on the cart of food, but the king paid it no mind. Boots and trousers were the next to go before he returned to Tay's lips yet again, shoving the covers off to reveal that glorious body of hers. He proceeded to kiss every inch of her he could lay claim to with his mouth, deciding that gentle torture was the route to go. And just when he was done with the front of her he gently flipped her over on her stomach and began another thorough exploration of her body again. When he finally found the tips of her ears he lay atop her and sighed. He was feeling rather tortured himself.
Whoa! Tay's head was spinning, and she was feeling like maybe she should have been laid out on a cart like the food. Not that she was complaining, far from it.
Good gods...
Breathing rather heavily, eyes rolling back in her head after the attack on her sensitive ears, she just.. gasped. "If you don't take me now... I'm going to have to kill you," she growled.
Adarin's response to that growl was immediate. His hand snaked under Tay's stomach and pulled her up to him. He entered her with unerring precision, his teeth sinking into her ear for an instant before he kissed the tip and sank deeply into her. It was startling to take her this way, yet it felt completely right as they quickly found their rhythm. He held her against himself, supporting her as his lips drifted along her shoulderblades. He was floating... driven with the joyous passion he always felt when he was with Tay. When they found the plateau of pleasure he cried out, losing himself in her and their bond. The tattoo on his arm burned brightly and then he was sagging against her, fighting for his breath before he turned Tay around and covered her face in mad little kisses.
Tay let out a little squeal of surprise when Adarin nipped her ear, which quickly turned into an even more surprised gasp. She arched back into him, forgetting to be startled as passion took over. Giving him complete control the Amazon dug her fingers into the bedsheets, the white heat of arousal flooding her body. If one expected the Elen King to be a quiet or docile lover, they were quite mistaken, as An'Thaya had joyously discovered. She matched him moment for moment until the tattoo flared and she completely lost it, gasping as he turned her over. Fingers reaching up to thread through his hair Tay returned his kisses, wrapping herself around him as the shaking of her body eased.
It took a moment to catch her breath, and she laughed quietly, "You never cease to surprise me."
"I think that's a good thing," Adarin said, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he grinned at her. He was rather surprised too, but rather happily so. And exhilarated. And wanting
to do it again.
But first he'd just lay here and stare into Tay's eyes and let his own body recover a bit -- he could still feel occasional tremors in Tay's body and held her close.
"Yes, it's very good thing," Tay told him, an impish grin lighting her features. "Life with you is completely exhilerating." She nuzzled closed to him, placing soft kisses on his chest and shoulders.
Sometimes half the fun with Adarin, was that he did things she really didn't expect from the Elen King.
She was learning... slowly, that he could be just as unpredictable as his nephew.
Life was good.
"Aminmela ile," she murmured, drawing him down for a soft kiss.
Those were such magical words… ‘I love you’ spoken in the soft accents of the elvish tongue. He could listen those words drip off Tay’s tongue forever. If possible, he would. Adarin grinned down at her.
“Hungry, love?” He asked in a soft voice. The snap and hiss of the fire was the only other sound in the room.
An'Thaya sighed softly and stretched beneath Adarin, burrowing into the soft sheets, "Starving," she admitted, smiling up at him, then stealing another kiss, "What's for dinner?"
"Cold cuts -- turkey... chicken... lots of cheese... fruit... some sort of mousse... Me?" Adarin answered, giving Tay a wink. That stretch and kiss had his mind definitely going hazy again.
"That last option sounds absolutely delectable," Tay giggled, "Can I have that with a side of mousse." She stretched again, just to watch the expression on his face. Yes.. yes.. that was the one. Hmmm.... yep.
Adarin blinked and looked at Tay and yes, she got precisely the expression she'd been seeking. Then he laughed, shaking his head.
"We'll go with that last option then -- and we'll see about the mousse," he replied, his mind rocketing about with images for a moment before he just settled into kissing Tay insensate, his body sinking into hers yet again as they moved together.
Ok, so there was no mousse involved, but things were still rather delicious. Tay growled softly and arched up against Adarin, her hands exploring the contours of his body. The Amazon had to wonder how she had been so helplessly ensnared by two Alcarin men. They held her heart between them, and she could never deny either of them anything. The
only thing she couldn't do, was give one of them up.
At the moment she completely belonged to the Elen King, body, mind and soul. Shaking beneath his form she let out a soft cry, tangling her fingers into his hair and dragging his head down for a tender kiss.
In that moment that Tay so totally belonged to Adarin he claimed her, a cry of his own mingling with hers. His body joined so deeply with hers that that ultimate connection was made between two people and something precious quickened within the Amazon. Adarin gasped, unable to stop himself as he drove Tay to yet another level of pleasure. He strove to remain conscious and drew back slightly at one point, still moving in her.
“My gods, Tay,” was all he could say. He was fairly certain, at the back of his mind that is, that he wouldn’t be returning to Alcarinque for quite a while.
Tay arched wildly beneath Adarin, her eyes flaring wide as her body accepted the connection. S'hean elves were quite aware of the moment of conception, and the Amazon was caught between laughter and tears as the King pushed her to a shattering, gasping relase.
"Oh...oh Adarin.. What have you done?"
Well she knew exactly what he had done, and it filled her with bubbling joy. Rothe had taken away the possibility for more children for her with Galain, and she had quietly come to accept that any more that she had would be with Jaiden.
Apparently she had been mistaken. Tears of happiness flowing unchecked she wrapped herself around her Verno and kissed him wildly.
“What?” Adarin was laying hard against her, eyes dilated as he tried to recover.
“I’ve made love to you… gotten you dinner… warmed your bed in several ways…” He lifted his head and found Tay’s eyes filled with an amazing joy that went beyond the normal happiness they felt after their unions.
“You’re crying… but you’re smiling…” His voice went muffled as she kissed him and then he pulled back, suspicious. He was a simple uncursed Alcarin - that branch that had avoided all the fun Gareth and his line “enjoyed”.
“Tay?” Adarin’s heart was beating wildly. “What have I done?”
Tay couldn't quit giggling, and she couldn't quit weeping either. Gasping for air she let her head fall back into the pillow, her long crimson locks billowing around her face with the movement. Twining her fingers around his hand she dragged it slowly down her body, coming to a stop over her abdomen. The Amazon's eyes shone as the laughter finally settled and she could breathe again. "Your child Milord....... wait," her voice was whispery, and her eyes drifted, internalizing, "No... your children, Milord."
Adarin’s eyes were big. They were round. They were full of surprise.
And they were glistening with tears.
“Truly?” He asked in a hoarse voice. “Child? Wait… children? Children?” Adarin wasn’t sure how he managed it, but he was sitting up straighter, yet still physically connected to her. His hand felt the warmth of her skin and he let his mind sink into their bond, drifting deeper and deeper until his mage’s eyes “saw”.
Two. One of each.
Adarin’s eyes flew open with disbelief and pleasure.
"Truly," An'Thaya answered in a shakey tone, barely a whisper. Her hand gently squeezed his, pressing his palm against the glittering crimson scales on her skin. "Aminmela ile..." Her soul welcomed him joyfully as he sank into their bond, and her heart leapt at the look in his eyes.
Every child she had given Galain had been with bubbling joy, but this somehow reached beyond that. These were Adarin's first children... a man who had given up hope on being a father. Her heart pounding wildly Tay smiled helplessly up at him.
Adarin bent down and kissed those crimson scales, then slid his lips upward, leaving a hot trail of kisses that finally stopped at her lips. He was moving in her again, unable to stop himself, but moving oh-so gently.
"I want to shout this from the rooftops," he said, grinning stupidly. "Babies. We're having babies. You and me. Me and you. Babies. Us. Babies!" He suddenly sat up and let out a shout of delight.
Tay giggled and reached for him, her heart and soul filled to bursting with love for the King of the Elen. Adarin amazed her. He could be so sweetly innocent, yet she had witnessed his power as well. The blonde elf was a ancient mage that could easily master her, it was him alone that An'Thaya trusted to use her conduit. At times he was so gentle, but the Amazon had felt the iron strength in those hands of his as well. He was everything a King should be, and more.
"Yes, Babies," she repeated his words in an amused tone, "You can shout it from the rooftops later, now... come finished what you started... and bring the mousse with you."
"I will!" Adarin exclaimed gleefully. "I mean... first I will finish what I've started... retrieve the mousse... and then shout from the rooftops that we're having babies." He left her but a moment and caught up the fluted glass of mousse. He wield a spoon and without further ado took out a scoop, fed part of it to Tay and then draped the rest of it down her chin.
"Oh... the sheer potential of this stuff..." Adarin's eyes went deeply blue as he continued to paint Tay's body with the chocolate stuff, leaving mounded peaks upon her already
mounded peaks before he decorated her stomach, scales and hey... that other delightful mound. But he didn't stop there. Oh no. He iced her inner thighs and ended at her toes before he ran out of the stuff and realized that... he'd have to lick her clean.
Well gee, he just had all the luck...
Tay giggled at the gleefull expression on Adarin's face and graciously let him go about his duty. "You realize I"m going to make you bathe me after this," she teased, then quite forgot what she was saying as it was lost in a gasp. At some point or another she pounced him, rubbing her body onto his and smearing the King down with a good helping of the sweet stuff. "Well," she told him, "You have to learn to share you know. I'm hungry."
Adarin would never regard mousse in quite the same way again. And he enjoyed being pounced -- that was rather fun. And the idea of bathing Tay was extremely appealing.
"I can share. I'm happy to share. Let's share!" He said, a silly grin on his face as they did indeed proceed to -- share. The sound of running water could be heard in the background as the King waved a hand and the taps in the bath turned on.
Tay giggled rather madly, likely hyper from all the chocolate she was consuming. "Mmm... you know, that stuff tastes better on you than it does on the spoon. Funny that.."
She was more than ready for that bath now, mousse has a tendancy to congeal quite quickly.
"Glad it does," Adarin replied dryly. He was grinning though and lifted Tay up in his arms, staggering a bit. They'd made love quite a bit and well...
They made it to the bath where he settled Tay into the warm water and quickly produced a natural sponge, washcloth and soap.
Tay squealed, clinging to Adarin as he nearly fell over, then giggled the entire way to the tub. "Wobbly," she grinned, then grabbed hold of the Elen and dragged him in with her.
Well, he was rather chocolatly too, and she had no problem with bathing a King. Bathrooms were generally a dangerous place to be with An'Thaya, but she was behaving herself... so far. "Have I mentioned the S'hean elves are born in the water," she asked him, "You are going to be the proud Atto of two water babies." The look in her eyes was impish.
Adarin kissed Tay's nose and chuckled.
"Water babies? Sounds intriguing. Now tell me why they're born in the water while I scrub your front. There's a lot of chocolate right there that requires special attention." He'd been startled to be dragged into the bath with her, but not at all unhappy.
"Hmmm... I think this may require some extra effort," he said in a musing tone, leaning
in to kiss the stuff off her before resuming a gentle scrubbing of her skin.
"You know.. that is highly distracting," An'Thaya told him, arching up as Adarin kissed her front. "Water babies... yes... mmm..... It's easier on both the mother and the child. Instead of coming from the safety of the womb into cold unfamiliar air, the baby is greeted by the more familiar environment of water. It is much less traumatic, and the buoyancy of the water itself makes birthing easier. Anelain was born on dry land, my other children have all been born in the water. There is a very big difference, and I much prefer the natural S'hean way."
Her eyes went slightly hazy for a moment in response to his touch, "You'll see.... or I should hope so. I know human males separate themselves from the birthing process, S'hean males are much different, preferring to be there, to be part of it. I haven't a clue what is natural for the Elen, Galain isn't exactly your typical example."
Adarin knew what he was doing was distracting, but he stopped long enough to listen, finding Tay’s explanation fascinating. He tilted his head a bit.
“The Elen tend to aid their wives if allowed. We don’t have a huge affinity for water though. A bed, hot water, a midwife and a mage… And no, Galain isn’t exactly typical.” Adarin chuckled and returned to cleaning Tay, shifting her about so he could now work on her back.
Tay blinked at Adarin for a moment. How could anyone NOT have an affinity for water? It was completely beyond her S'hean sensibilities. The Amazon let him shift her about, quite compliant in his hands, as usual. "Sounds like a bit of a crowd for a birthing," she observed, "Just the husband is involved for a S'hean birthing. No one else... unless something goes wrong. Bringing a child into the world is a rather private thing, it is considered intrusive for a non-parent to be present."
She laughed quietly, "Y'roden didn't quite know what to make of it when he was present for Shadow's twins, and he was utterly astounded that Suriel WASN'T there." The Amazon went quiet for a moment, "I assume Summerlin went with the S'hean way, Ro probably would have insisted. For some reason any S'hean elf unfortunate enough to be born on dry land ends up being rather traumatized. I know Anelain had some troubles. Am I babbling? I think I'm babbling..."
“Yes, love, you’re babbling, but it’s all right. Different races, different customs. Different races, different beliefs. Different races and sometimes, very different genetics. The mage is there to determine the baby’s gift. Nobles and royalty are born with the full potential for magery. The ‘common’ Elen has a specific gift. The mage is there to see what that baby’s gift is. Even mages have specific talents. The closest water to Alcarinque is the ocean, about 70 miles from the outer edge of the Forest, though it’s not uncommon to have bathing pools in more affluent homes. We have small springs and streams that run through the city in various places…”
He kissed Tay’s back before speaking again.
“Summerlin followed her mate’s ways at the time. I believe she’s had a pool installed into her apartments in the palace in Alcarinque.” He kissed her back again and slid the sponge down and between her legs suddenly.
"70 miles?," Tay squeaked, "I'd never really noticed, not that I've spent that much time in Alcarinque." The combination of the words and the path of the sponge brought a sudden panicked gasp from the Amazon and she pushed sharply away from him, breathing hard. Trembling hands clapped to her temples as she struggled to get a hold on herself, banishing the memory that threatened to overwhelm her for a moment.
"It's a few days' ride," Adarin had replied. And then he was sitting up straight and grasping the sides of the tub.
"Tay! Are you okay? Tell me what's wrong. Please?" He tossed the sponge away, immensely worried.
Adarin's voice barely made it through the malestrom that Tay's mind had suddenly become. Shaking the Amazon curled in on herself, tossing her head violently from side to side. Barriers began to slam into place, cutting of Galain, cutting off the D'riel web...
Grey eyes....
The cold edge of a blade trailing down her bared skin...
Her own dagger, leaving a red trail between her breasts and abdomen, then cutting into her flesh.
"Precious good they’re doing you right now, eh?"
The clatter of metal as the dagger hit the floor...
"Such a lovely thing. My son does truly have excellent taste in his women.”
Brutal hands around her throat...
A sob escaped, tears flowing freely down the Amazon's face. Why wouldn't it stay locked away? She tried.... tried so hard...
Adarin hadn’t been cut off. He’d felt and heard everything in Tay’s memory and he gasped, going stiff with shock.
“He raped you. He raped you. Tay? Tay…” The Elen King was mortified and crazed, then he calmed down. He had to - for her sake.
He fed the calmness into her - it was like the buoyancy one feels in water and Adarin was instinctive in his response, hugging her from behind and kissing her.
Shaken, mortified, shamed... all these things and more. An'Thaya's body went rigid in
Adarin's grip, her body rebelling against the touch of a man. It took a moment... though it seemed like forever, until sense prevailed. Openly weeping she gave herself over to his embrace, opening herself up to the calm he offered.
"Oh.. gods," she gasped. Unwittingly she had laid her soul bare, let Adarin in where not even Galain had tread. "I'm so sorry... I didn't.... it was my secret... my shame to bear. I'm sorry..."
He'd been ready to let go of course, but when Tay turned into him, crying, he wrapped himself around her. Adarin was shaken by what Tay had accidentally revealed. Shaken, torn, saddened, wanting to hold her and tell her it would never happen again...
"I love you, Tay," he said.
Tay was torn, shamed by her own weakness the Amazon wanted to curl up and die. Yet on a deeper more sensitive level she was grateful to finally let it out, to release the pain and horror of what Gareth had done to her. There was more.... so much more that had happened to her after that. It had just been the beginning of a succession of horrors that had driven her deep into the depths of her own mind. Her own strength had brought her back eventually. That was An'Thaya... she needed no one, the Amazon had never been one to play the damsel in distress.
But now.. she let herself cling to Adarin, giving herself over to his strength. "I love you too," she finally managed in a choked tone, then lifted her head from his chest. Emerald eyes revealed the depths of her pain, but she fought it back. Cupping his face in her hands she kissed him, hard and desperate for a few wild moments. "Adarin.... you have to promise me. Never... never, ever tell Galain."
Bran didn't say anything until he and Mira had reached their room. Then he closed the door behind them and wrapped his arms around her. "Are you okay?" he asked softly. Tilting her chin up with one finger his jade green eyes searched hers.
The sight of the pain that filled Tay’s eyes took Adarin’s breath away. He watched her fight back that pain and he felt grief. He felt disgust toward his brother and no small amount of pain. He let her take any strength she could from their kiss and then he nodded mutely, understanding a little of why she didn’t want Galain to know. He wasn’t thrilled to make the promise, but he was certain he would never, ever tell his nephew.
“I promise,” he said slowly.
Relief filled An'Thaya's eyes, spilled from them in the form of tears. "Thank you," she murmured. The Amazon knew her husband well, and no matter how badly she hated Gareth... she would not be responsible for a son killing his own father.
"I'm sorry," Tay said again, it seemed to be becoming a mantra... "Gods... Aminmela ile Adarin..." She slid closer to him then, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders, taking comfort in the feel of his skin against hers. For some reason she couldn't explain, Adarin was her safe place. No harm could touch her here. Breathing in the Elen King's
scent she sought out his lips again, erasing the darkness with his light.
It was easy.... she loved Adarin, his children were growing within her. The past could not be changed, An'Thaya had accepted that long ago. Her soul meshed with his, the conduit within sliding open as the Amazon moved into her bondmates lap. "Please," she murmured against his mouth.
Adarin never said a word, he just nodded, letting his eyes and their bond do the talking. He was her refuge and eagerly took Tay’s lips, settled within their bond and breathing in sharply, yet with pleasure when the conduit was opened. It was so amazing whenever this happened between the two of them and he carefully joined his body with hers, stunned again by the immense trust and power he literally held within his arms.
It was rather like being baptised, a cleansing of the body and spirit as she gave herself over to Adarin, bouyed in the water where she felt at home. The darkness washed away, the taint of Gareth rinsed from her skin, from the depths of her soul as the Elen King moved within both.
Part of the wound deep within the Amazon began to heal, just from knowing that she could confide in him, trust him with the pain, with the shame she had suffered and not be judged. Fear was never an element with Adarin, there was just love... just acceptance. Anything else An'Thaya had been feeling was replaced by passion and she moved against the King eagerly, her hands buried in his soft golden hair.
"Me? I was about to ask you the same." Mira rested her head on his shoulder, her voice quiet and a bit shakey. She was worried, not only about her father downstairs, but about that moment of tension in Bran...a moment she somehow knew was tied to events other than what was going on in the taproom.
"I'm fine" Bran said softly, running a hand soothingly down the line of her spine. "Why would you think otherwise?"
Mira felt herself becoming relaxed at his touch and lifted her head to kiss him gently on the jaw. "Bran...I know you better than that. I know something hit home when Callan mentioned Badb Catha, and I'm not so sure it was his remarks."
Mira left it at that and slowly pulled away from him and led him to the bed and began pulling his clothes off once more, then hers. "We need rest, Vershan and time alone together. Its been a crazy few days here..."
She patted the bed and sat with the blankets pulled back, inviting him join her. She wasn't going to push him to answer her, he'd tell her...or not...when he was was ready.
Bran smiled slightly and got into bed beside her. Pulling her into his arms the fair-haired elf gave a soft sigh, burying his face in her hair. "You know me a little too well sometimes" he said softly. Raising his head, he ran his fingers through her dark hair. "It wasn't what he said it was something I said and I should have known better."
Mira nodded silently and pulled herself closer to him, her ear pressed him, listening to his heart beat. "You forget my gift...there are times when your thoughts and emotions are open to me and times when I merely get a...sense of what's wrong." Mira didn't like reminding him of her ability, it seemed an invasion of privacy to her.
"We all say things we shouldn't from time to time, love. I think my sire proved that little truth today." Mira sighed a little and fanned her fingers across his shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.
"You're probably right" Bran said softly. "It was just when 'nasse looked at her wrists..." He shook his head slightly. "I just didn't think." His fingers ran through her hair. "It was the comment about the Choosers of the Slain. That's why she was supposed to be, you see. Gods, what am I saying, supposed to be?... that's what she was."
Mira knew little of the Choosers, she'd never been one to worship the war goddess, or for that matter, any of them. She was her own person, and would not submit to rituals or dogma, much to Enkara's dismay. She wanted know more, but held back her questions and simply lay there, listening to Bran's voice echo in his chest and his heart beat, letting him explain if he chose.
Tenderly, she slid her arm around him and kissed him lightly on the shoulder. "I suspect your sister has been many things in her past Bran, for good or evil, but that is what makes her the woman she is." Mira answered quietly, her thoughts somehow drifting away in the warmth of his company, and yet being focused soley on him at the same time.
Bran was silent for a time, letting the warmth of her presence soothe away the tension he felt as he remembered the scene in the taproom. Closing his eyes he sighed quietly and for a moment it seemed that he had gone to sleep. Then he spoke.
"Can you imagine what it must have been like to watch your sister be claimed by a goddess you consider to be evil? To be able to do nothing and to watch your parents do nothing to protect her either? To be forced to watch as she slit her wrists and let her own blood fall?"
Mira knew him to be awake, knew the rythm of his body to well to think otherwise. She closed her eyes shut at the sound of his voice, feeling her eyes burn with tears that would not fall.
"No..love. I don't." Mira managed, "But I've seen a part of Laura's soul, a part where she sliced her own wrists. It was part of her past, but still, I wanted to stop her and was powerless to change the past."
Mira remembered the horror of the vision she'd seen the first time she'd touched Laura so long ago, a vision of a sad child about 13 in a full tub of water and shuddered. She had felt the hopelessness and despair of the girl as the blood had welled up and flowed into the water, tinting it scarlet.
Bran's arms tightened around Mira. Tilting her head back with one finger his eyes gazed
into hers. "I'm sorry, love" he said softly as he saw the unshed tears in the jade green depths, "I shouldn't have brought it up." Bending his head he brushed his lips against hers.
The fair-haired elf carried his own scars from his childhood as much as his sister did but he had had no intention of distressing the woman he loved. The wounds had been just a little too close to the surface and the words had slipped out. Now he hugged the dragon-elf to him, his hand stroking her back.
Clearing her throat a little, Mira shook her head slowly and searched his eyes.
"Its not for me that I'm sad, but for you. I dealt with Laura's pain within me a long time ago. As for your parents not stopping her, Bran...Silverthorn walks her own paths, as do you. In the end, it was her decision." Mira's voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. "Vershan, we all have dark paths to walk in our lives, some sooner than others." Mira could well imagine the horror of what he'd witnessed as well as the fear and anger he must have felt.
Eventually the water grew cold and Adarin stepped out the tub and carried Tay out of the bath and into the rest of the room. He dried her off gently, wrapped her in a robe, got the fire going again and then waited on her hand and foot.
"Food? Drink? A little more wood on the fire? More food?"
He was enjoying himself -- and it was his way of spoiling Tay and treating her in the most royal of ways.
Tay snuggled into the robe and giggled at Adarin. He looked a little to proud of himself. And as for what she wanted, the Amazon was starving. A little mousse just hadn't done the trick. "You'll have to excuse my manners," she grinned, "I'm eating for three after all."
It wasn't the first time An'Thaya had carried twins, and she knew she had elven months of being very tired ahead of her. She'd be ok for the first three or four, but after that... the thought of it brought a tired but content sigh to her lips.
Well yes, Adarin was indeed proud of himself, and he moved quickly to feed Tay, pushing the rest of the food toward her and then offering to even feed her. He knelt by the side of the chair and grinned foolishly at her, feeling immense contentment when she mentioned how many she was eating for.
"I can get more you know -- food, that is. And water. Lots of water. Can you have a little mead? Juice?" Was Adarin fluttering? Just a bit.
"Juice," Tay said with a grin, "Mai'Tus juice. Calm down you, you're making me nervous." Leaning over she kissed him, smiling against his lips afterwards. "I love you Adarin." Drawing back she popped a grape into his mouth. "Thank you.... I can't tell you how much you mean to me.... how happy you make me." Cupping his face in her hands
she gazed down into his clear blue eyes. "Sweet Adarin... I want to make you just as happy."
"I know" Bran said softly. "I just wish that some things could have been avoided, that's all. But I also know that the past cannot be changed." He buried his face in Mira's hair and breathed in the warm scent of her.
Mira slid her own fingers across Bran's forehead, and soothingly stroked his hair, then brought her head up, her lips grazing his for a brief moment, the it hit her that what she had said had came out all wrong. Mira's eyes met his and her voice was barely above a whisper, "Melda...I wasn't trying to marginalize what happened, I want you to know that. I think there are a lot of things we would all change in our pasts, and those of our loved ones, if we could."
Mira had list of things about as long as her arm and left leg, truth be told, but had stopped thinking about them...until today.
"I never thought you were" Bran said equally softly. He lifted his head and smiled wryly at her. A gentle finger traced the line of her cheek. "But wishing for things to be other than they are is a fruitless exercise that helps no-one. Believe me, I do know that. But nobody is perfect, me least of all, and sometimes I just can't help myself."
Mira nodded quietly and gently kissed him again, then chuckled a little, "You? Not perfect? I would have to argue with you on that one. I've yet to find a flaw in you...all though, you are entirely too calm at times."
Bran laughed. "Is it possible to be too calm?" he asked, "I hadn't realised. Although I think it might depend on what type of crisis we were talking about. Normal ones are one thing. You are quite capable of bringing me to my knees without any difficulties."
Mira arched an eyebrow at Bran, "That's an awesome power to have over another, love. Think I should excercise that power now or would you prefer I let you rest?"
Mira fingers slid teasingly down his chest and she lowered her head to kiss him along the trail her fingers were making down his body.
"Mai'Tus juice. Okay. That's this stuff here, right?" Adarin indicated a container and poured into a glass, then laughed. "Me? Calm down? I'm making you nervous? And here I am trying to relax you." He took Tay's kiss eagerly and then settled right down, staring back into her emerald eyes.
"I love you as well. Very much. You make me immensely happy. I never thought to be this happy. I'm still... stunned." He blinked and held up the glass.
"Juice?" He asked quietly.
Smiling Tay accepted the juice, her fingers brushing over Adarin's softly before closing over the cool glass. "As long as you are happy... that's all that matters." The Amazon took a sip of the purple juice, then froze as she felt something sizzle across the D'riel web. Her
gaze flickered to the door, her mind searching out the source. An'Thaya's brow furrowedwhen she realized it was her brother... and Ghet. What were they up to now? She sent a questioning blip to Galain, then blinked rapidly when she sensed her younger sister in the taproom.B'Elya?
Strange things were afoot in the rest of the Inn. Looking down at Adarin she shook her head. "I think more hell is breaking loose downstairs."
Bran gave a low laugh. "Since when have I demanded that you let me rest, love?" he asked in an amused tone. A low growl rumbled in his chest as she began to explore.
"Well, I don't want to completely exhaust you..." Mira murmered against his skin, the sound of her voice setting off little vibrations on his body.
"Ah, but there's exhaustion and then there's exhaustion and the latter form is very pleasant way to be." Bran's voice was rich with amusement and something else as he reacted to the warmth of her breath on his skin.
Skillfull fingers drifted across Bran's skin and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Then lets see how exhausted we can get..."
Adarin eyed Tay.
"No... as long as we are both happy," he said, tapping at Tay's nose and then smiling. He watched her as she went still and then shook his head.
"This place seems to be the convergence zone for trouble," he said wryly.
"It is," An'Thaya agreed, "I'd go down.. but Shadow seems to have things well in hand. Besides, I much prefer your company." She sent a quiet touch back to Galain, then let the web go quiet. The Amazon was fairly sure someone would knock, and loud, at her subconcious if anything went wrong.
Tay's hand brushed over her abdomen, a soft smile touching her face. Happy... that she was. Life was still a bit of a confusing riddle, but the half-elf was just going to live it day by day and see where things ended up. "Is everything ok in Alcarinque? I didn't pull you away from anything important did I Melda?"
Adarin was relieved to hear that things were relatively under control downstairs. He smiled, watching Tay's hand brush her abdomen, then his face clouded up. He'd quite forgotten his duties back home.
"Things are fine. I sent everyone home for the day. Night. Whatever it was. Just the usual humdrum -- which is actually quite all right." He gave her a wry smile.
"Good," Tay said softly, brushing her fingers through the front of Adarin's hair, "I worry about you, you know. There is alot of responsibility sitting on those broad shoulders of yours." She laughed lightly, "You don't know what time of day it was? Don't they ever let
you outside?" Eyes sparkling in amusement the Amazon slid down onto the floor with the King and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his chest. In her opinion, the closer, the better.
Adarin just laughed a bit. He was used to all that responsibility and didn't mind it a bit. He hoped that one day Galain would feel the same way. He had a feeling his nephew was growing closer to that day though -- he'd noticed the boy was more settled these days. He shook his head a bit and realized he was looking into glowing green eyes. He wrapped an arm around her as well and smiled.
"I go outside... I just lose track of time. I've learned these days though when to just toss everyone outside and put the papers away. And if I'm sleeping or seeking privacy they've learned to wait. It's been rather... nice," he said, sounding a little smug.
If Tay had know that Adarin thought of Galain as 'the boy' she would have blushed. It was easy to forget how much older than she the King really was. The Amazon was a few centuries older than Galain, and that had always irked her alittle for some reason. It should not have, considering her mother was thousands of years older than her father. But somehow, knowing that Adarin was thousands of years her senior.. was somehow comforting.
"I suppose it doesn't help having to run around after me," she grinned, "I'm alot of work, what with all the tripping and falling and getting myself into trouble. I blame Galain, he's a very bad influence."
"He's an excellent scapegoat," Adarin said, a grin on his face. "Though I think it would be a pleasure to run around after you. How much work can you be? And would it really be work?" He waggled his eyebrows at her and tapped her glass. "More juice?"
An'Thaya laughed and set down her glass, "I think you are busy enough. I'm sure Argent and Dar keep you very, very busy. Though I'm always happy to help too, you know." She grinned and gently pushed him back, crawling comfortably into his lap. "I think I could take either of em in a scrap," she giggled, "Unless Gent pulled one of his dissappearing tricks. Then I'd just have to scream like the girly I am and run away." Giggling she kissed him soundly, then paused, her eyes growing distracted for a moment.
Alright melda, she sent to Galain. With Y'roden and Silverthorn? Did I miss something? No.. nevermind.. I don't want to know... Her expression was rather bemused when she looked at Adarin again.
A long time later Bran pulled Mira close and buried his face in her hair. "I think that answer to that was very exhausted" in said in tired amusement. He nuzzled at her neck. Sleep tugged at him as he pulled the blankets over them both.
Yes, he was kept very busy -- learning new things each day. And Tay was happy to help as well? Adarin rather liked that idea. He was extremely certain she could teach him many useful things in the art of fighting and being a warrior. In knowing when to be gentle and when to be fierce... He laughed when she said she'd scream like a girl if
Argent did one of his eerie dematerializing acts and watched her as she went distant a moment, knowing who she was communicating with.
"Everything all right?" He asked after a minute.
"Mmm.. I think so," she answered, tapping her fingers on Adarin's chest. "I'm trying to dream up a possible scenario of why my brother, my husband, Ghet, and Silverthorn would voluntarily take a journey together... to S'Hea of all places. I likely don't want to know." The Amazon smiled and kissed him, "Well, it'll be very quite along the web for awhile," she told him, "The noisiest people on it just went behind the wards."
Running her fingers through his gold locks she sighed happily, resting her forehead against his for a moment. "So, do you want to go downstairs? Or would you rather stay in here? " An'Thaya was amiable to either idea.
"It's a massive lovefest of the most torrid kind and we're both better off not knowing the detail," Adarin replied promptly and with a mad little grin. "As long as it keeps things quiet, I'm all for it." He kissed Tay back and sighed a bit, enjoying the feel of her fingers in his hair as he considered their two options.
"Well... we could venture downstairs -- say hi... then run right back up the stairs and hide out again for a bit. Are the natives dangerous downstairs?" He asked good-naturedly.
An'Thaya giggled helplessly, after one rather wild eyed moment at the thought of ... well never mind. "You are incorrigible," she accused. The Amazon blinked, "You come here to take care of me after someone cracks me over the back with a chair, and then you ask me if the natives are dangerous?" Her eyes sparkled with amusement, "I think you have the most dangerous resident of the Silver Dryad right in your lap though ... I'd be afraid, very afraid."
Grinning she crawled out of his lap and started searching for her clothing.
Adarin rather liked having the most dangerous resident of the Silver Dryad in his lap. He was madly and deeply in love with her.
"I'm not afraid," he said softly and chuckled as she searched for her clothes. He'd watched her expression as her thoughts had careened dangerously back and forth and he was laughing to himself. He loved her fertile imagination.
Oh hells. He just loved her.
It seemed, to Tay, that she was constantly searching for her clothing these days. The consequences of having two husbands she supposed. "You may want to find some clothes," the Amazon pointed out to Adarin in amusement. "Not that I'm complaining or anything."
An'Thaya's grin was rather mischievious and she winked to the tune of metal as her daggers slid into their sheaths. A few months from now she would switch over to simple
white dresses until the twins were born, but, at the moment, it was full armory. It was likely a good time to ward the building, since everything seemed relatively peaceful downstairs. Of course, secondary warding would have to wait until Ghet returned.
Clothes? Adarin stared down at himself. He needed clothes. Well all right. He hadn't thought about it until his bondmate... his wife... had mentioned it. And at least she wasn't complaining, he thought with a laugh.
Adarin slowly dressed, finding his clothes magically or not though his eyes were kept totally focused upon Tay most of the time. But he recognized she had plans afoot so he managed to tie his laces together and be relatively calm.
Adarin wasn't the only one who couldn't keep their eyes to themselves, the view was incredibly .... scrumptious. The Amazon smiled impishly and crossed her arms, watching her Verno dress. My... my .... my ...
"Ready?," Tay asked as the Elen did up his laces, or do you need help with those? Yes, she was completely incorigible. "No wait, I'd better stay over here or we'll never get out of here."
"Ready," Adarin replied in a strained tone. He'd found himself in a pair of leather trousers that laced up the sides and a tunic that just laced up the front. He'd obviously been in the frivolous mind of things... the trousers were not staying laced...
The tunic covered that trouble. For now.
"Help..." he did whimper, but he was getting no help from the woman he certainly considered his wife. Gods. It would be her fault if his drawers suddenly dropped downstairs.
Of course Tay didn't notice the laces, seeing as the tunic was covering them up and she had been securing one of her daggers by the time Adarin really ran into trouble. She just assumed he was plotting to ambush her over by the bet.
Way to many years with Galain.
Grinning at her bondmate she opened the door and peeked out into the hallway. "Ok... it's all clear, just be careful on the stairs Melda, I'm not sure whether they have cleaned up the oil yet or not."
Bran woke slowly, his lashes lifting as he stretched in a lazy fashion. A warm smile curved his lips as his gaze fell on the dark-haired woman lying beside him. He still sometimes found it hard to believe his good fortune. She was here and she was his wife.
On that thought he glanced at the ironwood band that encircled one of the fingers on his left hand. The simple ring was far more than it seemed, he knew. It always seemed slightly warm against his skin and there were times when he was convinced it was alive, but it was the shadow that flitted across its surface for a moment that gave the real clue to
its properties for the dark shape was in the form of a dragon in flight. Since the wedding he had been debating inwardly what he should do about it but in his heart he knew that his decision was almost a foregone conclusion.
Leaning forward he nuzzled gently at Mira's ear before murmuring, "Maararin melme. Do you fancy playing teacher today?"
It was going to drive her nuts one of these days, when her belly swelled and the only way she was going to be able to sleep on her stomach was in dragon form. But she was enjoying it now. The dragon-elf was sprawled out, laying on her side from the waist up and on her stomach from the waist down. For conveniences sake, her wings were gone...they had a bad habit of fighting with the sheets, and her dark hair was scattered about in a thick tangled mess.
Gradually Mira became vaguely aware that Bran was awake, a vagueness that rapidly burned away as he nuzzled into her. "Teacher? Mmmmm, depends on what you're wanting to learn..." Mira replied in a lazy, purring drawl. Jade eyes drifted half open and soft smile lit her face. "Good morning, Vershan...verno..."
Bran gave a soft chuckle at her drawled words and kissed her cheek. "Well, that all depends on what you're willing to teach vesse" he said mischievously, running a hand over her. Then he grinned, "although actually what I had in mind was my learning how to use the ring. It just seemed better to give it a go whilst it was quiet rather than having necessity force the issue."
Mira propped herself up on an elbow, her eyes meeting Bran's in all seriousness. "Are you certain, I mean...the dwarf said once you...well, you'd be a dragon-elf...forever it sounds like." Mira's fingers slid down Bran's arm from his shoulder to his fingers, her hand taking his, her thumb running across the overly warm wood of his wedding band.
"You know I love you as you are, Bran...I never meant for you to have to make a decision like this. Somehow..." Mira rolled over on her other side, her back pressing against Bran's chest, "I bet Drake is laughing is butt off...I know he had something to do with this. Are you sure?"
Yes, she was rambling, but in all fairness, they had been up rather late the night before...and she hadn't had a single drop of coffee yet.
"Yes, I'm sure" Bran said softly. Slipping his arms around her waist, the fair-haired elf pulled her tightly against him. "I've had long enough to think about this and I believe I know what I'm doing." Bending his head he kissed the smooth skin of her shoulder, "as long as you don't mind being married to a dragon elf?"
"Well, I don't know..." Mira eyes half closed at the sensation of Bran kissing her shoulder and stretched those last three words out, then grinned, "dragon-elves can be a tad tempermental, they tend to rush into things without thinking and...they can't cook...Oh wait...that's me." Turning back over, she could be hard to hang onto at times, she lay nose to nose with him, her eyes meeting his, "All right then, the day isn't getting any shorter, is
it?" Mira stole a kiss, then sat up, swung her feet over the side of the bed, searching for her clothes. "Now...where are my pants? You had them last I think..."
"I did?" Bran blinked at her slightly. She could still take him by surprise on occasion when she moved as suddenly as that. "Oh that's right, I did." The fair-haired elf grinned, "I think they're on that chair over there." Sitting up, he slid out from beneath the sheets and went in search of his own clothing.
He bent down and picked his trousers up off the floor and pulled them on before looking around for his shirt. It seemed to have vanished. "I don't suppose you've seen my shirt, have you?" he asked Mira.
"I didn't necessarily mean you had to put your clothes on yet..." Mira purred and tossed him his shirt, her eyes drifting from the waistband of this trousers to his bare chest, her breath catching slightly as it always did when she let her eyes linger on him. Finding the bulk of her clothing, Mira tugged on her pants, shirt and boots, her vest seemed to be MIA, so she left it at that and stood smiling, her shirt unbuttoned just one button too many for decent company.
"I could help you with that...your shirt that is..."
"Well, help is always appreciated. You know that" Bran said with a smile. The smile became mischievous as he walked up to her and trailed one finger across the skin exposed at the top of the unbuttoned shirt. Slipping one arm around her waist he pulled her close. "Have I mentioned how much I love you yet this morning?" he said softly as he bent his head to kiss her.
Mira briefly wondered if she'd gotten out of bed too soon at the feel of his arms pulling her close and his fingers skimming over her skin. She smiled as Bran's lips met hers, and murmmered against his mouth, "Not this morning, no...but you could go ahead and tell me now..." She was still smiling as her own arms went around Bran, her hands holding him rather low on his back.
Bran smiled against her lips. "Aminmela ile vesse" he murmured softly, kissing her gently. For awhile he lost himself in the feel of her against him, savoured the taste of her lips. Then, reluctantly, he lifted his head. "You are a very distracting lady" he said in quiet amusement. "However if we're going to test this ring we could do with making a move.. or I suspect we'll end up not leaving this room." He stole one last kiss and then let her go.
"Come on slow coach" he said with a teasing smile as he pulled his shirt over his head and headed for the door.
"Slow coach? I'm distracting you?" Mira stood for a moment, slightly dazed as Bran left the room. And he thought she could move fast? Muttering something about, "Next time we're alone...I'll show you slow coach..." Mira finished buttoning her shirt, tucked it in hastily and grabbed her dagger and its sheath from the chair her clothes had been draped over.
