Private Tales Choosing Sides

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
For an instant, he thought he had gotten away with it cleanly. He barely even had time for the flash of guilt for the trick.

Arwyl felt his balance shift before he'd even noticed her firm grip about his wrist. His left leg went forwards to try and make a stable base, but it was far too slow in the water. The silt gave way under his right foot and he twisted and went down with her.

Arwyl closed his eyes, going in face first. He felt a collision that was definitely not the stream bed, but Tessa. He opened his eyes to find just how close they were beneath the surface.

Wicked glint still in his eyes, he tried to give a gentle push to ensure he resurfaced first.
 
She let out a water logged umph as Arwyl landed on her. She was definitely going to have to kill him. He would be her first kill. It was confirmed.

Tessa felt his hand push gently against her - suspiciously close to her chest - and she pushed off the bottom to join him in rejoining the world of the breathing.

"I...hate...you...so...much!" She seethed between shivers. "I demand warmth and more warmth!" Tessa laughed out. Wishful thinking again.
 
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"Warmth and more warmth," he echoed back. Arwyl could not prevent his lips from quivering as he spoke, but at least his teeth didn't chatter from the cold.

The water couldn't wick away the devilry in his eyes. Their tussle had left them uncomfortably close, so she would not be able to miss it. Arwyl grinned and took a breath to steady his shiver.

"Then may I suggest..." He lifted his left hand from the water. It was slow and deliberate so that she knew it wasn't another attack coming. He wanted her to tense up, but not like that.

"That we..." He let the words hang again to try and draw her in. Arwyl gently lifted a strand of her hair that had become plastered to her face. With slow care he threaded it back over her ear. His thumb traced the shell of her ear, the touch entirely deliberate.

"...find a patch of sunlight on the bank to dry in."

Arwyl waded past her for the bank. Assuming that she didn't assault him for that and drag him back under, he made his way for the bank and took his time stepping up and out of the water, glancing over his shoulder to see if she would watch.
 
Tessa's breath caught when he pushed the hair behind her ear and drew down her ear. Her eyes narrowed at him but he was gone a moment later. A patch of sunlight to dry in did sound fantastic.

A smirk quirked her lips as she watched him slowly saunter out of the water. He was absolutely trouble and he was growing on her even if he almost got her killed. She was enjoying the view when he looked over her shoulder causing her to just shake her head and smile at him.

Tessa did not take her time getting out of the water. She was too cold to linger longer than needed. She was sure he could enjoy the view just fine once they were laying in the sunlight.
 
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At least the air was quite still. Arwyl bundled up his clothes in his hands, looking up to the trees to find a gap in the canopy. The breeze only faintly rustled the leaves and drew out the goosebumps across his pale, freckled skin.

The sun was up now, rising fast. Finding the canopy led to a grove with a wide stretch of grass where the sun fell.

The sunlight on bare skin was divine. He laid down on the soft grass and let it chase the droplets of water away. He would have closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation, except that he was watching Tessa quite intently now.

There was no shame in his open gaze, none whatsoever.

"I don't suppose you have any mens clothes back at your farm?" he asked idly. The conversation seemed entirely out of synch with the intensity of his expression.
 
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Tessa was already warming up and she looked forward to letting the sun dry her completely. She was not looking forward to putting her disgusting clothes back on though. At least her body was clean...that was one plus.

She was keenly aware that Arwyl was staring at her so she took her time laying down in the soft grass. She say it was payback for dunking her but she could see that her form of payback was no punishment for him. Quite the opposite actually.

"I do," she turned her head to stare at the elf who had so completely uprooted her boring life. The clothing belonged to her parents. She had never gotten rid of it. She did not need to add that part though.

"Stop staring at me like you've never seen a naked woman before..." Tessa smirked mischievously at Arwyl.
 
"No," he corrected. "I am staring because I want to."

There was definitely a difference. Most did not look half as radiant as Tessa in the early morning sun. It certainly took his mind far away from the shitty position he had put them in.

Arwyl didn't always take full responsibility for his mistakes. This time he wanted to. He would, of course, protest to Kaius that he had no idea a Dreadlord would be sat with a his sketch in hand. He had still put Tessa in the line of danger.

"Your cuts healed well," he said, using the pretext to test the waters. He reached out, curling a finger around her chin. His eyes chased a bead of water that rolled down her neck. The next instant so did his fingers, dribbling down until he reached her collarbone.
 
"Skin to skin contact with the earth," Tessa breathed out slowly. His fingers were tracing the water down her neck slowly. "I have a special connection with the earth." She was trying to keep her voice steady now but it was failing as he ran his fingers along the soft skin of her collarbone.

"She speaks to me," Tessa managed to get out before turning her head to Arwyl with a smirk. She studied his pale, freckled skin and let her eyes roam from his face. That smirk still playing at her lips.
 
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He hadn't been slapped. Hadn't recoiled either. Young as he was, Arwyl took that smirk as a challenge.

"That's fascinating," he said, and he meant it. His own magic was so absolutely specific that he always liked learning about other mystical arts that his people possessed.

"And what can you do with that magic?" he asked. His tone suggested that he expected a lengthy answer, but his hand had mischief in mind. Fingertips traced along her collarbone to her shoulder and back again, this time an inch lower. Arwyl was going to test her concentration.

He should have been looking out for their pursuit, of course, but they felt well secluded.
 
"Whatever I ask really. At least that," she took a sharp breath as his fingers went lower. "She hasn't told me no but she," pause. "She warns me about danger if I am making contact."

Each time his fingers finished their line, they went lower. Slowly setting her skin on fire. "Healing...help with difficult...crops..." Her eyes found his and she smiled slowly.

"You are making it very difficult...to answer..."
 
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Much to his delight, she seemed willing to play the game. Arwyl was unrepentant in lavishing delicate attention across her skin as he continued his prompts. His expression might have been serious, but his body language quite obviously revealed his enjoyment of the game.

"So right now she can tell you what is around us?" he asked. Thumb trailed down over a swell, traced a circle and went back up.

"If there are any hunters closing in on us? Or if we are quite alone?" He waited quite patiently for her answer.
 
Tessa swallowed audibly at his next question and nodded. Before she could answer, her breath caught and she closed her eyes as she enjoyed his exploring.

Alone. Good elf. Like.

Tessa let out a rye giggle at the earth's answer to her silent question. "The earth likes you...she thinks you are good...and we are alone..."

Her answer was jagged as her heartbeat sped up and she finally opened her eyes again.
 
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Arwyl tilted his head to one side in a statesmanlike manner and gave a slow, thoughtful nod. It was as if he was attending a seminar on the subject and not battling with the deep throbbing yearn that was pulsing through his veins. A shiver ran across freckled, dimpled skin that was not caused by the breeze.

"I am good?" he asked rhetorically, as he tried to prove otherwise. She had such long legs, he was certain every time his gaze followed them that it would get lost along the way.

"So with this power you can touch the earth and reach out across hills and valleys..." he said, as his hands played out a corrupted demonstration across the landscape he had available. "...and find out what there is around you?"
 
Tessa smirked at Arwyl as he emphasized his question against the flesh. She was warm but she couldn't be sure of it was from the sun or her partner or both. Definitely both but leaning towards the elf who wouldn't stop tormenting her so gloriously.

Tessa may have been sheltered and naive about many things but this was not one of them. She had grown up near a small town with human teenagers. There were only a few things teenagers got up to when bored and not all humans hates elves.

"Yes, although...I don't know...the furthest I can go..." She guided his hand down past her stomach, "with my power..." She breathed out as new chills ran through her.
 
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