Recent content by Ariel

Ariel held her until her shaking stopped, and for some time afterwards. It was deathly quiet except for their breathing, which was starting to make the ice around them sweat. Her whisper reached him in the darkness, and he answered just as quietly, "I think so." A thin tube opened through the...

Heartbeats. Humans had such noisy heartbeats. They lay together in darkness with the most dangerous hunters above them, and all Ariel could hear was the sound of Katja’s heart thundering in her chest. All he could smell was her hair amidst the crisp ice. All he felt was her heat from within this...

They were being closed in upon. Fae voices bounced throughout the caves and mixed into an unintelligible din. His wonderings about the lodge's protective magic had been answered, and it was quite clear that it favored fae tenants above mortal trespassers. Ordinarily Ariel would have been...

Ariel did not let his face show how much Katja had just revealed to him, though his gently pointed ears did perk at Evander's name. He continued to lead Katja on their slow passage through the caverns, pursued by the constantly warping reflections of themselves. Evander. The name made his neck...

Her curiosity fed his ego, and Ariel went with it perhaps a little too eagerly. He answered her questions, but kept details appropriately vague. The Winter Court was vast, home to enough fae that "you would never meet them all in one lifetime." The animals and plants, being a particular...

Ariel smiled, a beautiful and warm smile that threatened to melt the snow at Katja's feet. He knew exactly what he was doing. "This way." The walk was nice, almost nice enough to make him forget his worry about Katja's equipment and how stupid he'd been to just leave them in the open. It was...

“It will be fine,” Ariel assured her. “That lodge protects its dwellers. It will hide your items.” He had no idea if that were true. Yes, the lodge did have an enchantment to protect its dwellers, meaning that the doors would lock against those with hostile intent, or maybe it would hide the...

Ariel smiled at her closeness. Just a few hours ago she had been positively hostile, refusing his food when she was starving and his warmth when she was cold. Now they seemed almost as friends. Almost. “Faerie society has been here ten times that long and still doesn’t,” he agreed with her...

"Well... if we see any I'll let you know," he smiled back. Her hand felt very small in his own, and very fragile. He knew very well that humans were not made of glass but he had, for some reason, a difficult time reminding himself of this in regards to Katja. Perhaps it was the small treasure...

Humility was a good feature, though like many human women Katja wore it a little too heavily. She had the air of someone who’d been told she was not extraordinary in any way. It was a chief injustice, he felt, to have ones self worth hidden with lies. “Reading already puts you ahead of most of...

She surprised him. That was rare. Older humans never seemed to shut up about death but the young ones, they hardly ever wished to discuss it. He certainly would not have, not at Katja's point in life which, he assumed, was barely beginning. He settled back as well and tented his fingers...

The chocolate had the desired effect, and Ariel let his cup of pale tea warm his hands. He watched her with a face of benign attention, watched her reaction to his ridiculous flirt, the doubt behind her sarcasm, and then the spark of curiosity and, yes it was there, wonder that lit up behind her...

Ariel laughed like a bubbling stream, and he set down the book that he had thoroughly ignored. "Trap you? I certainly hope I don't appear so wicked. If I wanted to trap you it would not be an 'attempt,' but no, you are not a prisoner." He reclined further on his own couch setting his hands...

No rush, enjoy the conference!!

Mortals were entertained so easily by so little of what the fae had to offer. And yet, he thought, stilling the smirk from his lips, this one had taken quite a bit more to soften her defenses. Oftentimes his face alone was enough to convince a human to go along with a plan or suggestion. There...