Private Tales Foosty Gobshytes

[Kaius]

Oh Kai?... Gods he melted at her touch. For a moment he couldn't feel an ounce of pain as he leaned into her palm, though his eyes darkened like a threatening storm as he looked over her own injuries. She was alive. But it didn't make him any less pissed off.

"I'm alright." he assured with a frown. He wanted to tell her they'd pay, wanted to assure her that it would be alright and they'd escape, but he couldn't help but fear the eventuality that his luck would some day run out. He could only pray that it wouldn't be today, not this time, not now that he knew her.

His jaw clenched as he fended off the urge to hold her. He wasn't sure how much time they'd be left alone here and so they had to get to work on an escape plan. He made a silent promise to himself and ran his hand across her brow with a small smile.

"What do you say we get out of here, hm?.." he smirked, and groaned as he pulled himself to his feet and staggered toward the window to peer out and get a view of where they were. The town was as dank and miserable as Vel Anir only much quieter, a small outpost, perhaps. It wouldn't take them long to reach the trees if they managed to get outside, and there was no large walls for them to worry about.

A cart was stopped nearby and two merchants were taking their time unloading wine barrels from it. Kai's brow quirked and he gestured for Riley to take a look..

 

[Riley]

"Good thing Arwyl isn't here to hear your groan like that or else he'd call you a grumpy old bastard," she smirked to hide her wince as she, too, stood. Fingers ran over the rope burns along her wrists. She stepped up next to Kaius, hazels narrowing as she got a better view of where they were. Small outpost. Thank the stars they weren't to the capital yet.

Fingers wrapped around the bars on the window and she tugged.

Nothing.

Worth a shot.

She began feeling along the wall, looking for loose brick. Something. Anything.

"What about the door?"

Voice was hushed. This place seemed surprisingly tight. They might have to hide on either side of the door and take the guards down when they came for them. She didn't see many other options.

 

[Kaius]

Kai's lips twisted in feigned amusement.. "I am a grumpy old bastard.." he commented dryly as he pressed his hand to his side and glanced down at the slick crimson that coated his hand. He huffed and swore in elven and limped his way over to pick up the ropes they'd been bound with, wrapping the ends of it around both sets of knuckles. It was as good a weapon as any.

His gaze narrowed as he studied the door, there was no way they were getting out without it being unlocked. His eyes settled on the small spy window on the door and he walked back to Riley, his bloody hand reaching to smear it down her face.. "Lay down there. Scream, and play dead." he shrugged. "All we need is the door open and we have a shot." he sighed, his thumb dragging across her jaw.

"If you get the chance to run, you run. Get back to Arwyl and the boys, and come back and get me. Got it?" his brow rose, and he gave her a look that said it wasn't up for debate. His eyes lingered on her bruised and bloodied face for another moment and he frowned as he stepped away to press himself against the wall behind the door..

"Alright.." he nodded, his fingers tightening on the rope..

 

[Riley]

"As long as you promise the same you grumpy, stubborn old bastard." Riley quipped. Mildly disgruntled that his ears would catch up on the quickening of her heart whenever he was near. When his hands brushed against her skin. She had a thousand other arguments ready at the tip of her tongue.

Like why did she goddamned have to be the fukin bait?

And why was she the one that had to run if there was a chance?

Because she knew he wouldn't leave her.

Stubborn old elf.

Muttering beneath her breath, she sprawled on the ground back around where they'd been tied up. Bloodied face turned toward the door. Winking once at Kaius she screamed. She'd never screamed for help before. Not once. Because help never came at the Academy. Showing weakness wasn't an option.

But to Riley's credit, this scream was mostly convincing. And chilling.

Didn't take long until Riley heard bootsteps on the other side of the door. She wondered how much earlier Kaius could've heard them. A shout from one of the guards. The turn of the key in the door's lock and the press of the door open.

"Where is the other one?"

"I dunno. Check her first."

"We'll be in a shithole of trouble if she isn't delivered alive. The proctors want to..." Riley heard the first one get closer to her.

 

[Kaius]

Kaius managed a smirk at her insult as he looked down at her, and he reminded himself of his promise, one he wouldn't back out of so long as they both made it out of here alive. He watched her scream with a light nod of obvious approval, his eyes creasing with amusement before he heard the guards shuffling down the hallway. Two. He couldn't hear anyone else coming after them..

Good.. Perhaps this would be easier than he'd anticipated for a change.

As the door opened, Kai waited for the first of the guards to approach Riley, and the moment the second one had stepped into the room he pushed the door shut and reached out for the man's head to slam it hard into the wall and he crumpled to the damp floor without uttering a sound.

"The fu---" the second guard exclaimed as he turned at the sound of the man's head hitting the wall, but as he turned toward Kaius he was punched in the face and stumbled back dizzily, fumbling for his blade. His mouth opened, but before he could call for help, Kaius was behind him and the rope was slung over his head and pulled back against his throat. The guard gripped at it, trying to loosen it from his neck but Kaius only pulled tighter, his knuckles paling with the effort.

The guard was slowly losing consciousness, his face turning a nasty shade of purple and veins bulging in his head as his legs buckled beneath him. His eyes closed and his body finally went limp, and Kaius lowered him to the ground and removed the rope, leaving him unconscious but breathing.

"Get the keys.. I need to find my bow." he looked up at Riley as he looted the man's weapons.

 

[Riley]

Riley knelt by the first fallen guard. She had mixed feelings about Kaius leaving them alive. Lips pressed thin as she snatched the ring of keys. Riley pulled out two knives and quickly stashed them.

She really missed her ax.

Goddamned muppets.

"Take your fukin time, Kaius," Riley huffed, stood, and quickly followed him out, turning to close and lock the cell door behind them. Coming down the opposite corridor was a third guard. For a moment, he stared like an autumn deer surprised by a wolf.

One of her knives left her hand before he could shout, lodging into his throat. He clawed at his skin and went down with a gurgle. Riley winced as she ran toward him and quickly plucked the knife free. She paused in the shadow of the doorway that lead outside. It was a wide-open space to the treeline. She didn't like the number of people around. They'd be run down in the woods.

Even if they got some horses.

Hearing a whistle, her eyes fell upon that same merchant they'd seen from their cell window. Wine barrels now filled his cart and it looked like he was getting ready to leave. Riley glanced over her shoulder for Kaius.

"Think we can each fit in one of those?" She pointed. Already regretting that all her clothing was about to get stained and wet. Maybe it was really good wine though.

 

[Kaius]

He cast a glance up and down the hallway as he peeked out of the door and he stepped out and waited on her locking the unconscious guards inside.

Kaius slipped the keys from Riley’s hand and had the key in the lock of the guard’s armoury when the third man appeared. Kaius had been teaching for a blade when Riley’s weapon hit it’s mark and he glanced wordlessly at the woman and gave a brief nod in thanks.

He was in and out of the room quickly, his bow and quiver thrown over his shoulder and two short swords sheathed at his hips. As he joined Riley at the doorway out he held out an axe for her with a small smirk as he scanned his eyes over the wagon.

His lips curled at her suggestion and he nodded despite knowing there was no way he was going to fit in a fucking barrel. After another quick glance he gestured for her to go first and he rushed out to step lightly up onto the back of the cart, staying low as he opened one of the barrels to help her inside.

“Quickly now.” He whispered, keeping his eyes on the doorway.

 

[Riley]

"You found it," surprise and gratitude flickered across her eyes as she took the axe. She still remembered the farmer who'd hidden her in his barn the day she'd fled. When she thought there was no one left in Vel Anir not already brainwashed. He hadn't given her over to the dreadlord that had come searching for her. He'd saved her life and given her an axe.

It was so much when she'd lost everything.

She buckled the straps of the case so it was slung across her back.

Quickly now?

Riley eyed the elf and the barrel that was half-filled with wine. At least it wasn't ALL THE WAY FILLED. Otherwise, she'd drown. Not to mention it would spill all over the cart. Her boots. Her clothes. Everything would need to be washed in the stream after this. Thoroughly. Her nose crinkled wondering if the was the dumbest idea she'd ever had.

As she hesitated, she wine seller HEE-AHHH'd the horses and the cart moved with a slight jolt. "Goddamnit, I'm such a mook." Stealing herself, she pressed one hand on Kaius' shoulder and the other on the edge of the large barrel. Boots made a squish squish sound as she stepped inside, the wine going up past her waist as she curled down and hugged her knees to her chest.

It was warm. And smelled. And everything was getting wet. She glowered up at Kaius, seeing his smirk.

"What are you waiting for? Don't do anything fukin stupid!"

Somehow she already knew she'd fallen for her own joke as the lid went over her head.

Sniffing the wine as the cart jolted, she took a tentative sip.

Because why the nine levels of hell not?

 

[Kaius]

"I'm waiting for you, come on now they're moving" he told her in a hushed tone and lowered the lid on top of the barrel as she curled herself inside of it. Despite his pain, their predicament, everything.. He couldn't stop himself from grinning painfully as he suppressed a laugh.

Kaius climbed in behind the wall of barrels and lifted the covering burlap over himself as the wagon trundled along the dimpled road. He hid his grin away and pulled on the large piece of cork from the side of Riley's barrel and peered inside, trying to make out her features in the darkness..

"How's the wine?.." he snorted as he pulled one of the smaller church barrels into his lap and uncorked it for the journey as he chuckled quietly to himself.

 

[Riley]

It was a strange feeling being inside that half-liquid filled barrel. On a moving cart. Reminded her of working on the war ships. That sway of the deck even when anchored at port.

It was a good thing she didn't get sea-sick.

"You rat bastard," she complained to him through that uncorked hole. But there was no bite to her words. "I can't believe I did this to myself. I hope you're goddamned comfortable." He wouldn't see the lopsided smile she had briefly across her lips.

Head cocked to the side. Hard to hear anything beyond the echo of sloshing liquid in the barrel and the rumbling of the cartwheels on the ground but she didn't think she heard any pursuit. Not shouts or cantering hooves. She took another slllrrrrrrrrrrrp of the wine that she was half floating in.

"And it's good. I think. It was never a good idea to get trashed at the academy." That's when stabbings in the back happened. Or physical punishment from training the next day if nursing a hangover.

 

[Kaius]

Kai's cheeks dimpled as he grinned at her, teeth and all. He tried to stifle a laugh for as long as he could but it forced it's way from his chest as he saw that crooked grin of hers inside the barrel and he had to press the back of his wrist against his lips to ensure he wasn't overheard.

"Shite I'm sorry lass. Couldn't resist.." he mused and lifted the wine to his lips and took a long, thirsty drink of it and licked the excess from his still smiling lips.

"Well. You can get as trashed as you damn well please, it's your right. We're celebrating." he reasoned in a hushed tone and shuffled closer to the barrel she was currently contained in. He hadn't smiled this much, or laughed like he did in a long time.. "We'll get out at oak point and camp by the river for the night. You're gonna need it." he snorted.

 

[Riley]

"Oh yeah, you sound so sorry," she sniffed and began drinking all the goddamned wine she pleased. Hindsight it wasn't the smartest thing to do. They could easily be caught again. At this moment? Riley didn't give two ogre shites about it.

Part of her life was living in the moment because no other moments were guaranteed.

Head lifted, squinting out of Kaius from that hole. Wine dripped from her lips and the corner of her mouth and she didn't move to wipe it. Why bother? The rest of her clothes. Her boots. Were soaked in the stuff.

"Better sleep with both eyes open tonight, Kai," the lopsided smile didn't leave her face as she sealed his fate with a wine-sloshed threat. Oy, yes. She'd get him back. Somehow. Maybe. With each slrrping sip, Riley could feel the giddiness spread across her veins. Head tilted back against the barrel and her eyes closed. The wine was unwinding years of knots and tension. Making her not care a dragon's flying ass about anything.

And she actually felt like she could...laugh.

What a strange feeling. The cart began slowing at a fork in the road and her eyes popped open. "Leyatme ouuuut," she slurred and knocked once on the inside of the barrel. As Kaius opened the lid, she'd rise.

"Lookaaaaayyyt me. I'm a fuuuuuuuukin phoenix," she snorted a little too loudly as she stumbled to climb out of that barrel, wine dripping down her clothes and skin. The heavy-spicy sent on her breath.

 

[Kaius]

Kaius snorted at the threat and his gaze narrowed as he peered into the barrel hole "Is that right?..Don't threaten me with a good time, Sparky." he mused and dropped his gaze to rub at his brow, the wine loosening his tongue and emboldening him a little more than he'd find soberly acceptable. Still, he grinned and helped himself to more wine, spilling much of it every time the cart hit a bump in the road. He was almost as covered in the stuff as Riley was. Well.. not really.

He set the lid down as she stood, marinated in wine and he wrapped an arm around her waist to help her climb out with a laugh of amusement as she emerged blind drunk and calling herself a phoenix.

"That you are." he chuckled and looked down at her, amusement glistening in his eyes for a moment before he looked up.. "This is our stop lass. Ready?.." he arched a brow and held out his hand for her to take, ready to jump from the edge of the wagon and into the grassy embankment.

 

[Riley]

"Dinner fllirst," she insisted with a cocky-grin. A quick poke of her finger in his chest as they teetered on the back of the cart's edge. "You alwaysz say it."

She looked around, slightly surprised at where they were and how'd they'd gotten there. How she'd gotten out of that damned barrel. Holding his hand with her numb fingers. Her muddled brain quickly dismissed it all and accepted it within her blissful, heady haze.

Fingers tightened around his own.

"I'm alwayz ready," she declared and before he could say anything, she stepped off that moving cart and tugged him with a yank. Luckily, her timing wasn't completely off. The grassy embankment rushed up to meet them. A burbling river just down below the wildflowers and tall grasses.

Missed the rocks by a hair.

 

[Kaius]

Kaius let out a husky laugh as she prodded him in the chest, his eyes lingering on her grin for a moment, savouring it whilst it lasted. "Dinner first." he mused with a mischievous wink, his grin a mirror of hers. He glanced down at her hand in his and his fingers tightened along with hers.

He had been getting ready to find a safe moment to jump, a cautious glance given up and down the road to ensure nobody was following. A short nod was given at her 'readiness' and he'd been about to tell her to wait on his word but he felt the pull on his hand and was too late to pull back. He refrained from shouting, but as she dragged him tits-first from the wagon he let out an involuntary "fuck" and kept a tight hold of her hand as they landed and rolled.

He saw rocks rush toward them and tried digging his boots into the grass, arms wound around her to pull her close in effort to keep her head from being cracked open like a coconut. This time he landed above her. His hands planted into the ground at either side of her and he looked down at her with a huff of relief.

"Are you mental?" he asked rhetorically. He let his eyes linger a little longer on her drunken face and he smirked and flopped onto his back, fingers curling into the grass, breathing in his freedom. He really was a lucky bastard, and he knew how pissed off Serra was bound to be. He laughed and let out an audible sigh.

"Aye.. Here will do fine for the night." he said with a grin and turned his head to look at her.

 

[Riley]

She blinked, the world spinning with her for a moment beyond their tumble. Kaius was backlit by the warm, lazy high afternoon sun. She couldn't help the dopey smile spread along her usually stern-lips.

"Yeah, well. Look who's on top now," she huffed up at him just before he rolled off. Eyes closed for a moment, that smile never leaving her face. She still felt like she was rocking on the carriage ride. Just beyond, she heard the babbling of the river that was at their feet. Eyes snapped open, her smile turning slightly wicked.

Heaving herself up, she snatched at Kaius' hands and went to try and tug him to his feet before he could protest. "C'mon Kai. If I have to take a dip in the river then you're coming with me." Being the little fiesty, scrap she was, she'd nearly pull, tug, and tackle him into the cooler waters of the river with her with a walloping laugh.

 

[Kaius]

That smile burned into his mind even as he stared up into the whispering canopy above them that cast shadows dancing across their faces. He grinned to himself, rather pleased that he'd once more managed to escape with his life. Each time he managed it, he felt luckier, but he knew it could never last with the life Arwyl insisted on living. Death would outrun him some day, and unless the young prince settled down, that day would be sooner rather than later and he knew it.

As she took hold of his hands, he banished all serious thought from his mind and allowed her to help pull him to his feet with a laugh as she tugged him toward the river. He held back a little, but the woman was relentlessly pulling him toward the water's edge.. "Riley.. Wait.. I will just let me - Riley..Riley.. RI--" SPLASH. Tackled. Drenched. Boots, weapons and all.

His feet found the pebbly riverbed and he stood, waist height in the flowing stream, sweeping the curtain of dark hair out of his eyes and shooting the woman an unamused look for a moment, but it soon faded and he laughed, taking off his weapons and tossing them onto the bank with a shake of his head.

"Is your plan to drown me?" he let out a huff of a laugh, and looked down at his shirt clinging tight to his torso, his eyes slowly lifting to her. He might have been told to look away when she was naked, but she was fully clothed, no matter how clearly her curves and contours were to his eyes now. No. He decided he took no shame in staring. It was entirely her own fault.

 

[Riley]

Yup, this drunken and buzzed Riley was not taking ‘no’ for an answer as they hit the water. That red, spiced wine left her clothes, hair, and boots in a cloud of muddled water until it ran clear again. It’s a good thing the current was lazy because she found herself teetering to the side again as her boots stumbled for purchase on the bottom rocks.

A hand latched out to the closest thing to steady herself, her face hidden by her tangled, wet mop of dark hair. Fingers enclosed around the outside of Kaius’ upper arm.

He’d hear a light snort and sputter of water from her lips until she pushed that charcoal hair away from the lazy smile on her lips. She didn’t bother to remove the axe sheathed and strapped across her back. There was an unguarded tone to her expression. A lightness that the wine helped her to feel. She burned bright, hot, and fast. Like that mayfly.

Because she knew they might not have escaped. She knew she’d always been a few yards in front of death.For as hard as she fought, perhaps in these rare moments she could celebrate just as hard.

That grip of hers tightened on the wet sleeve of his shirt.

“Fair is fair,” she breathed in response to his question, referring to how he’d so eagerly helped her inside that wine barrel. She was so light from that wine she didnt even stop to think about the consequences of what could happen for her next move.

She’d tug the elf closer, her eyes traveling down his face to his lips. Her head would tilt. Autumn-flecked eyes would brighten.

“Damnit Kai.Just kiss me already.” Not a question. Everything contrary to what they’d skirted around the previous day. A command.

 

[Kaius]

Kaius's hands gripped instinctively at her waist as she stumbled and held on to him, his expression pausing for a moment before his grin returned.. "Easy, Sparky." he rumbled at her. He felt his heart pitch as she pulled him closer to her and made her demand.. "Lass.." his brow furrowed, and he drew in a breath intent on using it to tell her exactly why that wasn't a good idea, but he let out a sigh instead as he thought over that promise he'd made himself. To stop worrying and allow himself the possibility of a little happiness, to allow himself to get closer to her if by any chance she shared his feelings and to kiss her if she did.

He stared back at those eyes, the softest brown infused with green, as if she held the new spring growth inside. A forest floor and gentle flowers, somewhere to rest and breathe. But it's her lips that make the light around them get a little bit darker. The world stopped spinning as he leaned in gently with promise scrawled on his Cupid's bow. For a moment, his stomach turned over nervously, his mind racing to places he didn't know it could go until his lips captured hers, soft, gentle and uncertain and his world shattered all at once.

His hands ran into her hair and thumbs caressed the soft skin of her cheeks and he let out an involuntary, throaty rumble against her lips before he broke their kiss and drew in a shaky, shallow breath and stared at her wordlessly, trying to focus on the sound of her heart over the frantic thundering of his own.

 

[Riley]

His beard tickled the skin of her face but that warm breath of his and the taste of his lips on her own sent a knife of clarity through her drunken state. Fingers tightened around the fabric of his sleeve, her other hand coming up to cling at the fabric of his shirt on his chest. Breath caught in her chest as he pulled away.

It felt too soon. Too quickly.

The ache in her chest matched the ache on her lips. Until this moment, she wasn't sure how long she could stay with Arwyl and his band of rebels. Not because she didn't want to be a part of them. Not that they didn't share the same goal. But because she didn't want to bring them any more trouble. That she was so used to operating and surviving on her own. But as soon as her lips touched Kaius', she knew she'd never leave.

Never leave him.

Foosty gobshytes.

Her fingers entwined into the cloth of his shirt never left as her grip tightened. Her eyes said it all. She wanted more. Another kiss. Even as the current of the river tugged against her, she wanted that tickling brush of his beard against her skin again.

And so, she'd pull him in closer. Lips finding his own again, in a slow, smoldering kiss. Deepening, stoking that fire. A shiver of her wet-clothed self against him.

 

[Kaius]

His eyes creased and cheeks dimpled as he grinned at her, a breathy laugh escaping his lips as he grazed his nose against hers, fingers tangling in her long, chestnut hair as his other hand slid down the curve of her spine and settled on the small of her back, gently pulling her against him to ensure there was no air lingering between them. He felt a warmth that he'd never experienced before. It filled his body from head to toe, invigorating and engulfing him with a passion and hope that was too powerful to comprehend.

His mossy hues studied her face as he pulled her closer, his head tilting ever so slightly to accept another glorious unity as her lips met his. Slow, gentle and passionate in a way that sent wild tremors along his nerves, inflicting sensations that were too rapid to keep up with..

The world slowed, allowing him to simply be in this moment. His heart stumbled in his chest, and he kissed back, cherishing her with a soft throaty sound in approval. His hands sailed down her body, and he felt the back of his neck heat as they continued over the curve of her backside and they carried on to the backs of her thighs, his legs bending slightly as he gripped and suddenly lifted her out of the cold water to hold her firmly against him. Their lips moved in perfect sync, the kiss becoming more passionate by the second, her soft lips imprinting themselves on Kai's like a footprint in the snow.

His whole body craved more, craved her. But what if this would be a bad idea? What if she was too heavily influenced by the wine? He didn’t want the guilt to weigh her down. Her breath was mingled and interchanging with his, and pulled in a deep breath, trying to keep up with the frantic pitch of his heart.

"Riley, I.." his brow furrowed and he let out a growled groan to himself and slowly loosened his grip. His lips tingled and ached and he folded them in to lick that taste of wine from them. He gave up on words, instead he rested his forehead against hers and wrapped an arm around her back trying to keep her warm in her soaking wet clothes.

 

[Riley]

Every touch and every kiss was like cracks of lightning to her senses. He was awakening something inside her she long thought had been gone. To feel. To care about someone else. A part of her heart was slipping over to him and she knew she couldn't stop it. Something that would always belong to him.

A groan into his mouth as his hands sailed over her and she was lifted from the river. Fingers pressed against his face, entangled in his hair, slid down his neck and his shoulders. But before she could tug at the fabric of his damp shirt he breathed her name. His grip loosened and she found herself set back down into those river waters, though his arm remaining around her back.

Her tongue ran over her lips, as if she could stop that tingling sensation. A steadying breath before she pulled her forehead away from his. She felt like she would float away and she wasn't so sure if it was only from the wine. No. She knew it wasn't just from the wine.

Another breath as she just stared at him, getting lost in those verdant eyes - a forest she never wanted to leave. Her hand found one of his and she squeezed his rough fingers with his own before letting go. "Kai...," there were so many things she wanted to say to him.

Serious things.

Questions.

But sometimes it was easier to fall back to something lighter, especially when she still had that buzz of wine running through her veins.

"Let's get out of this goddamn river. Dry off."

Sober up.

And then?

And then she didn't know.

"And I fully expect you to buy me dinner one day." A crack of her crooked smile before she turned and began sloshing back to the bank.

 

[Kaius]

His self restraint was commendable. One taste and he was hooked on her, intoxicated on more than just wine and already his lips ached in demand. His face warmed as she spoke his name crept closer and the feel of her hands on his face and neck, leaving a tingling sensation in her wake. He wasn't normally tactile like this, he'd only ever really been close enough to one other to enjoy it but this, this felt different. He longed for it; I craved it. The way her nimble hands caressed his face, or her gentle eyes met his own. Her beauty was incredible; and his thundering heart was falling for her by the second.

He could only stare expectantly as he waited for her to say something, anything, and when she finally did he dragged his knuckles softly across her cheek and grinned somewhat shyly, rubbing at the back of his neck as he turned to watch her wade out of the river..

"Aye... Dinner it is." he agreed with a quiet laugh under his breath and spent another moment in the water to splash some cool water on his face and drag his hair back into a knot before wandering back out after her. He was speechless for a while, unsure of exactly what to say to her. He busied himself building a small fire to help with drying them off, and when the flames were roaring he lifted off his shirt to hang it over a branch, and sat himself down against a tree close to the pit.

His brow arched as he looked at her then, his legs parting and he patted the ground between them.. "Come sit and keep warm..". He couldn't help but smile.

 

[Riley]

While Kaius busied himself with a fire, she'd taken the time to peel off her boots, dumping out the pools of water inside and peeling off her woolen socks, hanging them on branches to dry. Fingers reached up, wringing out her hair and clothes the best she could. She had half a mind to take them off.

That relaxed and tingling sensation from the wine was fading away.

They had no horses, blankets, food. Just their stolen weapons, the fire, and each other. They had a lot to do but for now? Maybe for now she could focus on him.

Turning, she gulped, noticing his attention. Gods, that look her gave her was so, was so...unraveling. She couldn't help her eyes flickering to the panes of his bare chest, the muscles along his arms and shoulders. Perhaps she had a tiny bit of that liquid courage still in her or perhaps it was because she was herself, Riley, she let her fingers dip to the hem of her shirt and she pulled it over her head, resting it over a branch by the fire. Then her pants came next.

Heart thundered in her chest.

YES SHE HAD ON UNDERGARMENTS KAIUS.

She cleared her throat after she straightened out them and huffed. "Even against your chest, they wouldn't dry for a long while if I kept them on." A wobbly smile as she tried not to notice how his gaze lingered. Not in a way that made her uncomfortable but in a way that made her feel like she was...worthy. Like someone actually cared about what happened to her. Took the time to really look.

Before she could lose her own nerve, she turned and lowered herself down to a seat and scooched back against him. Yearning to have his arms wrap around her. To smell his scent mixed with the lazily rising smoke of their campfire.

She frowned for a moment and asked suddenly.

"Wait. You didn't just kiss me because you were drunk, did you?"

 

[Kaius]

Yes, he watched her, he couldn't drag his eyes away as she undressed and he felt his skin ignite, his wine-spiced lips curling into a shaky smile to mirror her own and he dragged in a breath after forgetting to breathe for a moment.

Kaius let his eyes roam over the olive skin stretched over her her lithe frame, the contours of her muscle tone, honed to perfection. As his gaze rose to take in that face that soothed him, he met her gaze, her eyes that seemed to see him more deeply than anyone else cared to. the awkward way that she smiled, so gentle and understated. Then in an instant she was close to him and he felt their body heat combine along with their emotions, as though they were painted in the air around them.

He swallowed. His heart was hammering in his chest and it didn't take any special ability to feel it as she settled back against him. Everything he felt for her in that moment seemed to escape into his blood and rush through his entire body, calling every nerve to attention as their skin touched. It was ridiculous how nervous he felt around her.

His arms wrapped around her and held her against him, cocooning, warming...protective. His eyes closed and he breathed her in, settling his chin over her shoulder as he rumbled a quiet answer to her question..

"No.." he sighed, turning his head to graze the tip of his nose up her neck and down again. "I.. Made myself a promise that I would, before I'd touched a sip of wine." he frowned, his heart sinking at the thought. "I should probably ask the same question."