Private Tales Bones and A Beating Heart

[Perrine Urahil]

She could only answer him with a happy smile, a gentle peal of laughter leaving her lips as she brushed past him and inside the inn he had spoken of for lodgings. She took a look around, elated and feeling a high that was not of her own magic's doing, and turned to reach for Val's hand. Perrine was not too sure of his current state, but it did not seem a bad idea that they walk together to keep one another from falling.

"Cosy and quiet in here... and not in a negative way." Perri commented, noting the soft music being played in the corner despite the growing lateness of the evening.

"How can I help you?" Asked the innkeeper, stood behind the bar and counting coins.

"Lodgings for one room, if you have vacancy." Perrine could not help the small smile at her lips, but it made the Healer a lot more approachable and pleasant to engage with if she had went with her standardised schooled expression.

"I have one last room. Not quite a sweetheart suite for you both, but it has a comfortable bed and breakfast will be brought to the room in the morning."

Perrine's hand tightened around Val's. Should she invite him to stay? Would that only give him an idea...? All these thoughts had taken a mere second or two to consider, but Perrine was too attached to the Pirian to let him walk away after their few hours of connection. "It shall do." She turned to share glances with her companion, smiling at him before releasing his hand to reach for her coin purse in her pocket.

 

[Val Pirian]

"Cozy" was right. The inn had a very down-home feel to it that Val had always liked when he'd come in the past, but...well, he'd obviously never been to it with Perrine before, and that put an edge on the atmosphere that he hadn't expected. The alcohol continued to course through his veins, Val still cognizant enough to recognize that he was sloshed. The frequent need for he and his companion to steady themselves against each other wouldn't let him forget.

"One last room," said the innkeeper. "It shall do," said Perrine. Val reddened. There was a lot that could mean. And if Perrine hadn't even had her first kiss until now, then...

"Are you certain? If you're not comfortable, I could find another inn..."

 

[Perrine Urahil]

Perrine lifted an amused brow at him as the innkeeper went to fetch the key after taking the money paid by the Healer. "I am uncertain of where our night will lead, but I know one thing for sure and that is I have plenty more time to learn more about you. We are both of an age where we do not need to trivialize a night spent together." The thought too had crossed her mind, leading her into a inner discussion of whether she would or would not. It was hard to tell standing here, not in the comfort of privacy to toy with the idea.

A light blush blossomed on her perfect complexion, and she turned away before it could turn scarlet. The innkeeper returned, handing her a key that she clasped in her fist and focused on the cool wrought iron key.

"Come along." Her hand found Val's again, giving him a light tug to follow. Perrine took the stairs slowly, releasing his hand to properly support each boot that found the steps and climbed, turning to grin at him once she had made it to the top. "Imagine if I had taken a fall. We would hope you remembered how to mimic my healing to make sure I was alright." She chuckled, waiting for him to reach her side before she softened her face.

"I am glad you are staying, Val." Perrine gave him a smile, small, but heartfelt. If they had already parted, she was sure she would be restless to sleep thinking of him, and the feel of his lips pressing to her own.

 

[Val Pirian]

Of all the times to start feeling bashful...gods, he was Percival Pirian for Kress' sake. Now was not the time to get shy.
"I'm certain there's plenty more I'd love to learn about you as well, my dear," was the answer he finally formed as the blushing beauty guided him along.

Val found himself grinning at her hypothetical.
"Trust me, I would not forget so easily! But to think I would simply let you tumble past me rather than catch you, my goodness! What kind of man would I be?" he teased back as he crested the top of the stairs as well.

He took her hand in his once more as they took their final steps toward their evening shelter, lifted it to his lips, and gently kissed the back of it.
"There is no place on Arethil I would rather be than here with you, Perrine."

 

[Perrine Urahil]

Perrine was smiling like a fool, smitten with the man that drew her hand up to his lips, kiss pressing to her knuckles. Sweet words tendered her, and Perri found herself taking a step forward, head angled enough to breath the same air as him. "And I too, feel the same way, Val." But she pushed down on the thought of kissing him, lips or cheek, and looked down at the key she had paid the room it would unlock.

She tore her eyes to scan the small landing, the number scribbled on the tag of her key matching the door at the end.

"I feel as if time is slipping away from us." She murmured as her hand moved to grasp his, tugging him slowly with her towards the door. Once reaching it, she found the key fitting perfectly and pushed the door wide open. It was honest, consisting of a large bed, a wardrobe, a mirror. A window was opposite from them, spilling views of the street below, where Perri had minutes ago had her first kiss. She turned to smile at him, squeezing his hand.

There was no real way knowing if she was up for another first tonight, but the Healer did not worry herself about it now, not when she merely wished for more kisses from Val. He had left her lips tingling, and now? Perri wanted his softness to bruise her lips, to allow her to not forget just how sweet he was.

"Well, the innkeeper said it was no sweetheart suite." Amusement coloured her face dropping his hand and going to shrug out from her cloak and toss it onto a chair in the corner. She sat on the bed, leaning down to slowly tackle the knots to her laces of her boots. "But it is nicer than the barracks or my small bed at the Academy."

 

[Val Pirian]

Each mention of time brought a dull ache to Val's heart. Many times in the past Perrine would have been right. A single night was all there was. A meaningless meeting of two faces that had never met before, and would likely never meet again, names barely exchanged.

For once in his life, the thought of that happening terrified him. It was an overwhelming fear that pushed its way through the swirling alcohol coursing his bloodstream and clouding his mind. He wanted to savor every moment he could, and prayed that when the dawn came it would not sentence Perrine to the halls of his distant memories.

And so Val swallowed hard, an observer in his own body as he watched Perrine pull him into their shared room. She sat at the edge of the bed, her beauty rushing over Val like a river. There was no certainty left in his essence now. Where the night might lead them now, only fate knew. At this, he laughed.

"It's...cozy. I quite like it," he said softly, sitting by her side and similarly beginning to discard his outermost layers. All he wanted to do was rest his forehead on hers, memorize the feeling of her skin, and drink more deeply of her than any drink the two had consumed that night.

 

[Perrine Urahil]

With him seated beside her, she could not fight the pull to be nearer to him still. Perrine leaned in, arms curling around his torso to hold her in place, her eyes closing as she rested her face into the crook of his neck. Her eyelashes brushed at his skin, her lips lifting in a smile. "A good way to wind down from our drinking." The blonde mused, before pulling him down with her to lay back onto the bed. Perrine let out her laugh, something so melodic and free to the ears.

Perrine sighed, smiling as she squeezed him tighter. "I cannot be the only one to think this natural." Since his kiss, she had felt the compulsion to cosy up to him, as if they had wasted enough time already by not being sweet like this. "Nor have I ever thought of myself feeling like this with someone..." And to have her own limited freedom to enjoy this.

Here, she tipped her head back to gaze into his eyes. Mere moments with nothing said, Perrine drew closer to him. Tentative and all too aware of herself now, she placed her pink lips against his soft, catching him with a kiss. How tender it was, leaving her lips to tingle with the effects still felt from her first kiss. Softly, lazily, Perrine took this moment hidden away from the street and patrons to enjoy this innocent intimacy with Val.

What felt like seconds had been minutes, and she pulled away to touch her blushing cheeks.

 

[Val Pirian]

And there they were...lying together in the same bed. Comfort and nerves fought hard against each other.
"I assure you, you're not alone, my dear...it's...surprisingly alien to me," he answered her, sinking into her and the calm and ease that came with doing so.

For a moment there was silence, yet in that moment more communicated than one could possibly put forth with words. Longing and excitement, yes, but also genuine care. Like a desire to dive into her and be dived into in turn. Dive Perrine did, and Val's heart felt full, lightning dancing from her lips to his and all through his body.

He'd not kissed someone like this since he was a teenager, yet he felt this was deeper than puppy love. When at last the two surfaced for air, Val continued to behold Perrine in awe.
"Perrine, I...I must admit, I am terribly frightened of this meeting's eventual end..."

 

[Perrine Urahil]

This shared connection and understanding was not something she thought she would ever have, let alone with someone she only met this night. What chance it was to meet his acquaintance, and now, sharing these moments they stole from the night. "Then we make plans to see each other again." She smiled, moving so that her head angled to look up at him. "I daresay I am not satisfied to see you just this once."

And for the first time, she wanted to shirk her responsibilities to see him again. To make time to be with him. Never had she wanted to be with another as much as she did now. Perrine found herself laughing. "I can request time off from Dreadlord duty, and the Initiates are scheduled for missions in two weeks... I can make time then to meet you." Because she certainly did not need her cousins or students to see her being courted by Val Pirian. Too many questions.

"So... where shall we meet in that time?" She asked, leaning in to steal a quick kiss from him. "Here in Vel Anir?"

 

[Val Pirian]

Hope flickered in Val's chest, like a swarm of butterflies taking flight.
"Again?..." he breathed. "I would like that very much, Perrine. I think I would like to see you quite often."

Val smiled and wove his fingers together with hers. Relief settled upon him. For once there was no need to rush into anything. No worries about the next morning. Just an intimate moment between two people that liked each other very much.

"Two weeks. I shall hold you to that, Lady Urahil. As for where..." he answered her, savoring the kiss she graced him with. It was something he could get used to...his thoughts turned to the matter of venue for their next meet. "That depends very much on what is convenient for you. Traveling is easy for me, but if straying too far from the Academy is difficult for you, then perhaps we should remain in its vicinity? There are quaint towns nearby, I'm sure."

A thought entered his mind, perhaps an outlandish one, but one he felt only proper to present nonetheless.
"Unless...you'd care to travel with me?"

 

[Perrine Urahil]

Something sweet swelled in her chest, catching her breath after he offered her to travel with him. It had been a physical reaction more than what she suggested, and so she found herself nodding her head, eager to go right this second with him. The idea of Val was a means for escape, for he made her stop and think about something other than being Proctor and a Healer of tje Dreadlords. He gave her purpose to remember to breath, but that moment Perrine smiled at him.

"And if I gave you near two weeks of my time, where will you take me?" Periwinkle glimmered as she peered up into his eyes through her dark blonde lashes. "Far from Vel Anir?" She had been hopeful, but there was also the account of travel time. To be stolen for a few days would be everything to the Dreadlord that put too much into her work.

Before he could answer, her lips were drawn to his once more. She stole the breath in which he would have used to answer her, but Perrine was liking the practice of kissing him, and how it left her own lips tingling in the wake of the act.

 

[Val Pirian]

Val had thought to tease Perrine with the notion of travel, but she was surprisingly open to the idea. In truth, he hadn't realized himself how wonderful it sounded. Seeing the world with a beautiful, intelligent woman, and one who seemed to like him for who he was and not what he could give her.

"Two weeks?" he parroted. It was both more time than he expected and less than he could fully take advantage of. "Goodness me..."
He pondered the question for a moment, until the visage of a snowy furred demi-human popped into his head.
"You know...I have connections in Dornoch. I've always wanted to see it in person. I hear it's absolutely beautiful."

The nobleman briefly plotted out the logistics in his head. By all means, it was feasible!
"A trip by sea to the nearest portal stone would take only a few days, and Dornoch is perhaps only a day's travel beyond. That would give us nearly a week to spend in Erdeniin's crown jewel."

 

[Perrine Urahil]

Perrine could not help the grin on her lips, nor the twitching of her cheeks at how widely she smiled at his words. It sounded like a plan, something concrete, something real. She moved to sit up, leaning against the mountains of pillows and already thinking of how excited she would be to go on such a journey. "I have been to Alliria a few times, but I have heard of only good things about Dornoch. I would love to visit with you."

She rarely took time off, even for family, or even her own health, Perrine always worked herself to the bone. The fact all it took was Val and her stirring feelings for him, how new and smitten she was... she was glad for it. For him. To remind her that she was more than capable of doing something she wanted to do.

"My father travelled to Dornoch a few times, and his stories made me wish to see it... Perhaps I would have had he not offered me up to the Academy. If I was simply Miss Perrine Urahil, a noble daughter, I could have spent some time to travelling..." But it felt much too long since she had been simply that. She felt a purpose, a drive, being a Dreadlord, she could not see herself keeping still if she were to retire so soon.

 

[Val Pirian]

Excitement fluttered in Val's chest. Confirmation! Val watched with a smile as Perrine raised up by his side, happy to see her get a bit giddy at the idea of a trip together.
"Then visit Dornoch we shall," he said plainly, as though weaving his words into law.

"It is tiring, isn't it? Being used as political pawns by our parents? My mother and father have been trying to shuffle me around the board that is the Anirian political landscape for as long as I can remember," he lamented, sitting up alongside Perri as he thought aloud. Tiring as it was, there were far worse lots in life. Such things had allowed him to end up here, after all. "I'll be in Dornoch at least partly for duty, of course, but...for the most part, it will just be you and me as simple traveling folk, free from responsibility for a time, however brief, however blessed."

 

[Perrine Urahil]

Perhaps it was foolish to show how much she looked forward to this trip with him, that it was foolish for her to place so much faith in this man she only met hours ago. But they were kindred spirits. They were both trusting in one another, held each other delicately, and in this moment, Perrine chose to forget her responsibilities in this world and dream with this man that had changed her view on her life.

"I am sure I can find some something to occupy myself with when you go attend to your duties..." She took his hand into her own, resting her cheek against it. "Unless you would prefer company?"

Perrrine made a great companion for such events, her upbringing made her the perfect party guest and always conducted her noble roles to be of the highest manners. Of course, they would not be in Anir, and there was no need to shy away from the gossip and whispers if the two were to attend an event together in Vel Anir than they were to wander the sights of Dornoch.

 

[Val Pirian]

Val had the feeling he was going to smile until his face began to hurt. Again he ran his fingers through those blond, velvet locks, his fingertips rubbing softly at Perrine's scalp.

"We shall see. I see no reason why you couldn't be by my side," he answered, happy to now cradle her face once more. He drew in and kissed her, drinking deeply from her lips. As he pulled away his lids hung low, his smile now a sultry smirk. "I think I'd be more concerned with how we might occupy our time together..."

 

[Perrine Urahil]

Perrine gave him the breath she meant for the world, but was fed back a breath of his own after he parted from her lips. Her periwinkle eyes were trained on those soft lips of his, watching as they turned upwards into a smirk that made nervous knots within herself. She dared to lift her eyes to meet his blues, and her heart skipped more than once.

"And what would you suggest, Val?" Her voice was the softest she ever heard it, captivated by the man inches from her. There was a hint of something there in those words accompanying his smirk, but it drew her in. He made her feel differently, made her feel.... admired and wanted, as if he would do his best now to charm her.

It was a game she was ready to play.

"Are you suggesting dark corners or perhaps showing me what Dornoch has to offer in their landmarks and culture?"

 

[Val Pirian]

No one did "playful" quite like Val Pirian, and being well spoken ran in the family. What helped most, however, is that Val had never in his life known what he wanted more than being with Perrine on this night. For that, his confidence bristled about him like electricity.

"Oh there will be plenty of time for sight seeing, I'm sure. There will be wining and dining, and I will show you to illustrious, cloudy mountain peaks, and to the drifting pink petals of the sakura trees along the river basins. And all the while I will hold you near to me and dote upon you with every fiber of my heart," he regaled Perrine, knowing that he fully intended to live up to those words and more. Then he pulled her hand to his lips and lay tender kisses upon them, his low and alluring stare not straying from her eyes.

"But what I am suggesting is that I am holding myself back at the moment--with no small amount of effort, I must say--and in our shared privacy in Dornoch, I will likely find no such want to do so."

 

[Perrine Urahil]

Perrine had seen many dangerous glances in her career as a Dreadlord, but never had she seen a creature so alluring and dangerous as what Val spoke of. Never did she feel such an yearning for him to make true on his word, but that noble upbringing still lingered at the back of her mind.

"Then I would love to watch you keep composure once we are in Dornoch, Val." Because if what he was doing to her now was any measure of what else he could do, she surely would be in danger to his charms, and yet she would want nothing else of him. Her curiosity was piqued, left wondering what he would look like without holding himself back as he was now.

"You tempt me, however, to test your restraint right at this moment..."

Her voice, still soft, was accompanied by a wicked gleam in her eyes.

 

[Val Pirian]

There was a long pause as Val looked Perrine over and contemplatively chewed his lower lip. His heart was pounding like a hammer. Denial was unbecoming of him, he knew...he was drawn to the look in her eye.

"By all means," he husked, then leaned forward to whisper two simple words to Perrine, his breath tickling at her ear: "Test me."

 

[Perrine Urahil]

Had she been bluffing? Perrine felt suddenly aware of herself after he challenged her, but before she could lose momentum, the blonde pushed him to lay flat against the bed and herself climbing atop him. It was not the first time she were in a position like this, but the memories were tied to combat. Trying to get the upper hand of an opponent enough to earn her praise back at the Academy, or perhaps to assert herself as an Initiate that was not to be trifled with.

But right now, Perri was looking down at a man that stole her common sense.

There was not much she could do about the blush colouring her cheeks, but that did not soften the determination on her facade. Lowering her face closer to his, hands braced either side of his head and sinking behind the pillows, the Healer placed her lips to his own and allowed her magic to coarse through him and touch the nerves that struck pleasantness in one's body.

"Forgive me... I am not well versed in playing dangerously."

 

[Val Pirian]

At first, Perrine's movements served to confirm what she'd stated earlier: she had never done this sort of thing before. She straddled him like she might straddle a sparring partner rather than a lover, and Val quirked a brow, curious as to what she might do next. Her expression, serious as it was, made Val's heart swell in how cute it was. Perrine was the picture of innocence, he believed.

The Pirian noble was more than happy to have her dive into him once more, sharing that same gentle warmth that had characterized their kissing so far, but without warning a new sensation joined in. The less familiar pulse of Perrine's magic flowed through Val's form, and suddenly he was forced to take a sensuous breath that hitched at the top of his lungs. Only when she paused was Val able to exhale, and he was left blinking and panting in surprise.

"Well...it seems you have a talent for it then, my dear. I was not expecting that," he sighed back to her, a renewed look of playfulness and fire in his eyes. "But now I'd like to try it as well."

With that, he wove the fingers of one hand into the softness of her locks and caressed her scalp, pulling her back down to kiss her once more. Just as he had back at the bar he mimicked her again, the art he'd learned from Perrine reaching back into her just as she'd done moments ago.

 

[Perrine Urahil]

She gasped, warming his lips with her breath as he played her trick on her to experience. It was not hard to give in to it's allure, and Perrine adjusted herself, easing against his body as her lips tried to taste more of what Val was treating her to. Blonde hair fell to frame both their faces, shielding them as their locked lips hungered for one another. Inexperienced as she was, Perri was proving to be a fast learner.

Her hands rested against his chest and one hand held his face, it was a needed connection for her magic to flow between them. Even with his mimicry, her magic ran an unyielding flow between the two that left them yearning for more.

But Perrine pulled herself away, her breath panting as she sat above him and wore a gentle smile on her reddened lips. "I should stop... there." Her cheeks were pink, but perhaps from enjoying their kiss than from embarrassment. In just one kiss, the way Perri straddled him was softer, less pinning him down and more melding against Val.

Biting her lip, her periwinkle eyes watched him carefully, and a small satisfied smirk twitched at the corners of her mouth. "It is best if we left a little something to explore once we are in Dornoch, do you not think?"

 

[Val Pirian]

Every moment that passed with the two entwined as they were was a gift, a divinely fulfilling sensation that left Val paradoxically satisfied and starving for more. How was it possible for Val to have needed something--no, someone--so badly and never known it? Perrine made it clear exactly how much that was the truth.

When the push and pull of both magic and makeout finally ceased, Val was also left gasping for air. He had invited Perrine to test him, and she had delivered upon that invitation in spades. He wanted all of her...but he knew she was right. How much sweeter it would be if they waited. How much more exquisite and agonizing the wait would be. It endeared Val to her ever more so.

"You are...right...of course," he panted back, nearly as flushed as she was, before renewing his embrace around her and tangling his legs amongst her own. "I'm afraid I will be unable to think of anything else but exploration in these coming weeks, my dear."

 

[Perrine Urahil]

The rest of the night had been sobering and all the while treasured by Perrine. They barely slept a wink, but in the morning, Val had helped her in securing a carriage ride to start her journey back to the Academy. It was in that carriage she had penned her first letter to him, telling him about how her night had seemingly changed her life, for she never knew she could have feelings for someone like she did for him. That he had surprised her, and she looked forward to more when it came to him.

Every couple of days, letters were exchanged between them. She would tell him about how she saw the world, how annoying her students were and often sent him drawings she had done when she should have been writing a letter to him. It had been enough to get her through the weeks, until finally the day came that she was to start her journey and meet Val at the town he had specified for her to join him on their continued journey.

Two days travel in a horse drawn carriage and Perrine was eager to see the face that had been there in her mind, and painted on many a canvas. Stepping out from the door, she was dressed nothing like a Proctor or Dreadlord, but as a member of the Great House Urahil. She wore a dress of the softest lilac, bringing out the periwinkle to her eyes. Her long hair had been carefully styled to accentuate the natural waves that did not get messed up in her travels here. Perrine smiled, looking around the area for that familiar face.

Her heart racing, her temperament giddy. She would never admit to anyone, especially him, that there had been nights she would remember the feel of his lips against her own, or that his hands were on her face and holding her there...

And how she ached for it all again.

"Val!" Perrine Urahil had never in her life been so excited to see someone, so much that she launched herself forward and barrelled into them with an embrace. The Healer buried her face into the crook of his neck and inhaled, remembering that nice scent that had been unique to him.