Private Tales Ho Ho Hobgoblins

[Hector]

Hector blinked as she mentioned their bedrolls. Was about to say something. Agree hastily and. Well.

She said something first. Leaned back, looked at him with wide, nervous eyes. "Yeah," he agreed. Smiled easily, and unwound his arms from her. His heart beat quick. Beat hard. He. Tried not to think about it.

He couldn't help but think about it. Had no idea what he was doing. Not really. He was just... following the flow. The heat. Trying for once, not to think about it.

So he set to the work. Unbound the rolls, laid his down, and without much thought, laid hers down too. Moving came easy to him. Like when they trained in the yard. All sweaty and hot. Like when they fought alongside each other. Grimy with life on the line.

He looked down at the bed rolls, laid down close to each other, and looked bak to Lori, gulped down his spit. Caught a twinkle in those blue eyes he could still see in the dark, and Smiled stupidly. He looked away. And started to undo the knotted strings of his gambeson, there by their bed rolls.

 

[Lorinna Astarel]

As Hector busied himself, Lorinna found herself rooted to the ground where she sat. She swalled thickly again, feeling like her throat and lungs were being squeezed by a hand.

Lorinna almost found herself being annoyed that she hadn't noticed him watching her. At least, she hadn't truly consciously acknowledged it. And she hadn't really considered the possibility of this.

She'd had her whole life planned out in her head as a young girl. It had all been torn up. The Knights had provided routine, even for a very different life. Now she was having to think very hard and very quickly about what came next.

She took a long, steadying breath and stood up. She turned around and watched him finish laying out the bedrolls. She caught him looking back at her.

Lorinna decided she didn't have to do anything for a little longer. She took a step closer and simply watched Hector as he undid each strap and string in turn.

 

[Hector]

The chords that kept the gambeson snug on his figure popped free with practiced work. The rustle of dead leaves and the crunch of dirt sounded clear in his ear, and he felt his heart quicken as his jacket hung loose with its binds undone.

She was standing there behind him. He... could feel it. In his ears. Warm as they felt. Attuned to her. Breath and beat of heart.

He let out a shaky breath, kept moving. He sat down on the bed roll, and loosed his boots next, slipped those off and set them aside.

Paused. As if at a precipice.

He worked the jacket free of his frame and felt the cold rush of the mountain air wash over him. He inhaled sharp with surprise and his whole broad frame swelled upward with his breath as his skin turned to gooseflesh. He sat in his socks and trousers and a thin linen chemise that clung to his frame.

"You just going to stand there?" he said with a smirk, found the breath of his voice brought warmth to him. "Leave me alone in the cold?" he turned and tossed his jacket at her feet, his toothy smile was a warm welcome, but he hid it a moment. Looked away. "I can look away if you'd like," he teased her, and hugged his knees up close to his chest.

 

[Lorinna Astarel]

Lorinna stared at him in mute silence for a few drawn out seconds. Her mouth quirked to one side in amusement as she considered what to say.

"It had been working out just fine for me so far," she replied.

Then came the realisation that she had to do the same. She didn't want to make him look away, but she felt a flash of nervous energy.

Her experiences with men, or rather with boys, had been hasty and unplanned. If they got caught locking lips behind the hedgerows then their families would have forced a marriage upon them. Which was why they were exceptionally careful not to be caught.

There were no chaperones here. No family members to cry foul. Her hands trembled as she worked free each string and buckle and she muttered about the cold under her breath. Having him help remove her plate had been so businesslike earlier.

Lorinna padded across the grass barefoot. She packed her things away so the dew didn't settle on them. She knelt down on her bed roll, looking at Hector expectantly. Her small things included shorts that covered her legs only halfway down her thighs and a tunic that barely hid what the cold did to her. This was scandalous.

 

[Hector]

Right. He wasn't expecting such a cool response. It made his smile change, made his cheeks ache a bit. He had turned away, but he stole a glance here and there as more slipped off and was pulled away. Then he just watched. How her lines bent and twist and her muscles flexed with supple shows of strength he'd seen before.

In the training yard. During patrols. Digging in the dirt.

Never like this. Only her dancing came close to it.

When she was done. He was surprised by just how much she had taken off. And how she just got to folding things.

Right. Right! He slipped out of his trousers, and got up and grabbed up his own layers that were kind of scattered about. Put them away, not as neatly as he could have, but, it seemed like the right thing to do. Awkward maybe. But... well the fires had cooled a bit. Cold had set in and his brain was back to thinking.

And then they were both there, her kneeling, and him sitting cross legged, just kinda staring at each other. Skin puckered and bits pointy beneath what little clothes that still covered their near naked forms.

It was overwhelming.

"I... um," he smiled nervously. Cleared his throat. Met her big blue eyes, and felt the air leave him. Felt it go down into the pit of his stomach and feed the warm tingle there that never quite went out. He looked down to her legs, found her hands. Tentatively, he reached out to grab her hand.

Fires started small. He knew that much. "I'm... kinda new to this," he said, as his fingers traced lines around hers, rubbed into the pads of her palms. If only because the warmth of smooth friction.

 

[Lorinna Astarel]

The statement managed to instantly endear Hector to her as well as drive a stake of anxiety right through her chest.

It was sweet that he would admit as much as she knelt before him like this. It also gave her a difficult path to navigate. She was still chaste, but given what he had said Lorinna didn't exactly want to blurt out about the fumbles at those early parties.

Lorinna smiled. She drew Hector's hand up to her lips and kissed it. It did a good job of hiding half her face as she thought quickly.

"You're doing fine," she said quietly.

Lorinna shifted her weight to her left, towards the pillow end of her bed and placed her left hand down. She straightened her right leg.

Taking a slow, shaky breath, she led his hand to her right hip and placed it there.

"You can kiss me again, if you'd like."

 

[Hector]

The kiss upon his hand only made him ache all the more. Made him laugh a small single warm breath of a laugh. "Havin a good partner helps," he said, breathy with warmed cheeks. He'd been all but melted by the comfort she gave him. Her quiet words given in the dark.

She moved, and he felt his heart near skip a beat. Little more than a shift of weight and the whole of him felt pulled toward her with want to follow. And he did follow, in her wake, before he stopped, worried he followed too fast. She breathed out, and he breathed in, felt his lips tingle.

Her right hand brought his left hand down, and he spread strong fingers about the supple curve of her hip.

He grasped her gently. Felt her flesh squish between his digits. Felt his hand, cool from the cold, warm with her heat, and felt her skin turn prickly.

He nod, and drew in his lips. Leaned toward her, kissed her, soft and easy. His legs unfolded beneath him, and he was made bolder by the heat that spread between their bodies so close. Hers to his and his to hers. He smiled again, let his hand run up her side as their lips plyed warm and wet affection.

 

[Lorinna Astarel]

The touch of his hand drew a shiver up her spine that had nothing to do with the cold air. It contrasted with the strange warmth that seemed to settle in her core.

A little voice was still worried that he might found out, and then judge her, about the odd fumble that had come before. Those had been brief, chaotic affairs. Heady breaths, skirts ruffled in the shadows. They had been like the dance back home. Heady, fun and directionless.

This was like a waltz. Not because she placed his hand at her hip, but because it felt like they took steps together with a purpose.

A watlz, however, came with a much steadier beat than the frenetic beating of her heart. The long, drugging kiss let her mind and thoughts settle.

Hector was strong and dependable and respectful. He made her feel safe. Safe enough to wrap an arm around him and draw him much closer, crushing herself against the hard plane of his chest.

Lorinna was the one who started the fall. Down to her left, his right, towards the bedroll. She broke the kiss and hurriedly sat up to grab layers of blankets to shield them from the cold.

"You alright?" She asked, lying back down on her side, facing him. She could feel his warm breath over kiss-bruised and damp lips. She sought out his hand, brought it to the hem of her tunic and gave a small nod of permission.