Private Tales The Shape of Water

[Alistair Wren]

Alistair sat in class, a spellbook open on the desk before him. Quill in hand, he fervently copied down the runes the Professor was writing, all the while listening to the technique he was explaining to the class. He was enjoying writing runes less and less, and would have preferred to just practice the technique. He had learned a lot of new hydromancy spells while living with the dragon keepers and wanted to try them out, but instead he was stuck back in a classroom, memorizing runes. One eye trailing upward, he paused to shake the cramps out of his wrist, then lowered his head and continued writing the runes as the Professor explained them.

The class was moderately large, encompassing an entire lecture room. Torches flickered at the sides of the wall, much to Alistair's chagrin. With every movement the flames made, he shuddered, swallowing as he repressed memories of Professor Sparhawk being incinerated. Walls of stone encircled the students, overcast by a yellow balm from the torches. Silence hung on the air, marred only by the scratch of the Professor's chalk as he wrote and the nasally drawl of his voice.

"Once you've finished writing down your runes, I want you to pick a partner and apply what you've written in practice," the old mage said, trapping his pointer against the blackboard.

Eyes darting to the front of the class, Alistair arched his neck back and had a good stretch. He had been sitting and writing since the class had begun and his backside was sore. Reaching around, he scratched the back of his head and looked over his shoulder. He was keen to practice the new technique he had written down, but had nobody to practice it with. He was sitting by himself, and the rest of the students already had partners. Recoiling into his capelet, he swallowed nervously, knowing that he was the odd one out who didn't have a partner. Just as he braced himself for getting up to look for one, the door opened with a thud and the attention of all the young mages in the class was pulled to the side of the room.

Standing in the doorway was a beautiful young woman, and if Alistair was not mistaken, he had met her before. He had run into her about a week before Pas Esvada and had been rather smitten at the time.

Before he could turn away, the woman was walking towards his desk. Breathing in, he shrunk into his capelet and looked down, staring at his desk. He swallowed to moisten his parched throat and shifted his eyes to the side, avoiding the woman's eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her standing above his desk.

Slowly, he turned around to face her, "uh, hi."

There was a pause, and he furrowed his brow slightly, glaring at her.

"You know you're like forty-five minutes late?" He said accusingly.

 

[ZafiraJade]

You're late. You're late. You're late. You're la-

Zafira willed the voice to kindly shut up. It was her first day of school in Elbion, and she was, surprise, late to her hydromancy class. Despite Zafira's many more questionable traits, Zafira was not known for her tardiness. She was usually always on time or even early. Today, however, seemed to be an exception.

Her eyes scanned the hall, lined with plush, velvet carpet, and pictured of people who must have been important. She had been in this hall before. With a frustrated groan, Zafira turned on the heel of her boot and stalked into another direction.

Really, the entire being late thing couldn't be completely blamed on her. Elbion college was huge. Despite coming early to explore the grounds and get familiar with all the routes and like, Zafira felt still as lost, maybe even more so than when she came. She looked out the window of one of the halls she was in to see the large, stone bell tower tick mockingly. Now she was getting mad at a clock for telling time.

Taking a deep breath, Zafira asked help from a passerby who seemed to be in a rush. Quickly, he guided her to a different floor, telling her the room number before pretty much vanishing, all before Zafira could say her thanks.

"Much obliged, kind sir," she murmured to herself before pushing the mahogany doors open. Immediately, everyone's eyes lifted up to her. Sheepishly, she offered a smile and a wave, noticing some wave back though she didn't know them. Their heads automatically ducked down to their work and she felt her new professor's unimpressed gaze on her.

"You're the one Professor McCallaugh told me about?" Zafira flushed lightly before offering him a bright smile.

"My sincerest apologies, Sir. Elbion college was a bit bigger than I expected," she grinned with an apologetic shrug. She saw the old mage soften.

"We are working on runes which I hear you're a bit of an expert at?" Zafira nodded lightly, eyes lowering. "You can partner up with anyone who doesn't have a partner. They'll catch you up on the work that we've already done,"

Muttering her thanks, Zafira scanned her new classmates. They all looked to be a bit older than her which made sense. She was in an advanced class, anyways. Her eyes landed on a familiar, handsome-looking young man, and she walked over to him with short, determined steps. She stood in front of his desk, a bright smile on her face. "Good morning, Alistair," she grinned. It was nice to see a familiar face around. She was about to offer more before she heard his soft, accusing tone turn to her. Zafira blinked in surprise. She remembered Alistair as the jumpy, panic-like young man with a tiny village's worth of presents and food in his hand. Then again, she had caught him at an awful time. Still, it was unexpected to see him so pressed about her tardiness.

"My apologies, Mr. Alistair," she teased, lowering her eyes in respect. Still, the amusement was clear in her tone. "This college has a lot of...twisty corridors," Zafira recalled, thinking back to how she had ended up in the same hall twice. She turned her face to Alistair, a soft smirk on her face.

"Mind if I am your partner? I promise to try not to be late again,"

 

[Alistair Wren]

The woman stood before Alistair, who shifted his eyes and recoiled. She remembered his name, and referred to him accordingly. Shrinking into the capelet of his robes, he hesitantly shoved his books aside and made room for the woman on the desk beside his own. She apologized for being late, although Alistair thought it was the Professor she should apologize to, not him.

Little did he know, she was teasing him.

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to the Professor, it's his class," speaking accusingly, Alistair frowned and waved a hand towards the teacher standing in front of the class.

"Wren, my surname is Wren," he frowned.

She had already missed the introduction to the technique, now he would have to explain it to her. Grumbling, Alistair grabbed his parchment and scanned the runes he had written, then handed them to the woman. "I never caught your name," he said, turning away to face the blackboard. He avoided her gaze and straightened the collar of his capelet, resting his hands on his books as he looked at the Professor.

She then complained about the many winding corridors in the college, which were easy to get lost in if one was a newcomer.

Alistair smirked, "yeah, they can be hard to find your way around if it's your first time here." Shrugging, he reached around to rub the cramps out the back of his neck, then rested his hand on the desk. He remembered getting lost on his first day as well, but that been many summers ago, when he was only sixteen. Now, the college was his home and he knew his way around effortlessly.

A pause followed, and Alistair relaxed slightly.

"If you need help finding your way around, I'd be happy to show you," he offered with a slight shrug, his cheeks tinted red.

"Sure, you can be my partner, we're just trying out the technique we wrote down in these runes." A shrug, and he waved a hand towards the parchment he had just placed in front of the woman. "We need to draw water from the air, then bend it into a shape," he said, tapping his finger against the parchment. Pulling himself around on his chair, he sat directly opposite the woman, his hands held out and ready to cast whenever she was.

 

[ZafiraJade]

Zafira blinked. She looked into the man's blue eyes with a clear question in them. Did he not get that she was joki-

No. No, he didn't.

Zafira turned her head away, stifling a laugh. She sat on the stool next to him, watching him shuffle his papers with a frown. He genuinely seemed very upset about her tardiness and missing the first part of the lesson. He probably didn't want to teach her it. She wouldn't if she were in his place.

"Yes well, the professor was most obliging about my tardiness," Zafira replied.

She peered over his shoulder, glancing at the runes. Nearly all of them were familiar from her father's teachings, enforced by Professor McCallaugh back home. She chewed on her lip lightly, scanning them thoroughly and tracing the runes with her fingers.

Alistair's handwriting was scrawny, a bit messy, and written down quickly as if he wanted to get over it. Zafira understood that. Memorizing anything had always been such a grueling task for her, but something that Professor McCallaugh had found utter importance in. It was because of the memory rune etched onto the side of her wrist that Zafira was able to retain as much as she was able to.

A part of her was glad that she was late. Never again did she want to rewrite all these runes. Not that she would tell Alistair. She had a strong feeling he would scold her if she did.

"I'm Zafira. Pleased to officially meet you again," Zafira mused, glancing at Alistair lightly before looking back at the runes.

Him offering her to show her around caused Zafira to brighten immediately. She would have figured everything out....eventually. But having someone aid her in that felt nice. Especially someone like Alistair who she found to be a rather fascinating person. She was curious to know his habits, quirks, and the like. From all that she had observed, he was the studious type.

"I'd appreciate that very much," Zafira beamed. He had a nice smile, she thought

At the sight of which spell they were doing, Zafira smirked. She had no idea what Alistair thought of her, but if there was one thing Zafira was not, it was a fool. She settled back into her chair, focused on her breathing before her green eyes flashed into a dark pumpkin color. She imagined grabbing the moisture in front of her, the soft barely-there beads before pulling them all together tightly. A thick strand of water floated in mid-air between them. She curved it into a smiley face before letting the water evaporate.

 

[Alistair Wren]

The line of Alistair's mouth did not move as the woman turned her head away and laughed. He recoiled, shifting his eyes apprehensively. Has there been a joke there that he had missed? He stared at her, his expression still as stone as she slid onto the stool beside him. He wasn't overly upset that she was late, only slightly annoyed, and concerned for what it could mean for her grades. Lips pursed, he turned around and organized the parchment in front of him, brushing back a wisp of hair as he looked up to face the Professor.

The woman introduced herself as Zafira, and Alistair turned around to face her. The ends of his mouth kinked upward and he smiled, his cheeks dented with dimples.

"Pleased to meet you, Zafira," he said, still pointing at the runes in front of her.

When Zafira said she would appreciate Alistair showing her around, he beamed, eager to help out in any way he could. Maybe if she had a guide, she would be more punctual when attending classes.

The Professor instructed the students to begin practicing what they had written down. Shifting around on his stool, Alistair faced Zafira, his hands cupped. He took a good, long breath and focused his will. Extending two fingers, he drew the particles of moisture from the air and weaved them into the strand of water Zafira was casting. He still had to remind himself to not recite the spell vocally, something he was working on. He just about recited a lyric, when he swallowed, stopped himself and focused on forming the strand of water above Zafira's hands and his own.

"Insert your will through the moisture in the air," Alistair instructed, before he already noticed that Zafira was doing just that. Eyes wide, he opened his mouth to speak, then stopped himself and resigned to letting Zafira cast the spell herself. She clearly knew what she was doing.

"Now..." He said, then his words trailed off, "I... good, yes good," he stammered.

Hands coiled, he drew the moisture from the air carefully and wound it around the strand between Zafira's hands. Brow creased, he concentrated intently, a light sweat breaking out on his forehead.

"Let's form it into a ball," he suggested, his cheeks tinted red as he smiled.

As he shaped the water, he didn't realize the tip of his tow lightly brushing Zafira's ankle. He felt it bump his foot and he froze, eyes wide and swallowed a nervous gulp. He breathed in, sighed and regained his composure, focusing on shaping the water.

 

[ZafiraJade]

She wasn't going to lie. There was a certain pleasure Zafira received at the thought of surprising Alistair. She offered him a small smile before focusing back on the strand in the air. Her lips curved into a frown. The strand wasn't large enough on her part to form a proper ball.

Vaguely, she was aware of Alistair's smile. If before she thought his smile was nice, now she thought it was absolutely radiant. He had dimples, something that Zafira found herself melting at the sight of. She wondered how his laugh would sound. She imagined it would be full and loud.

Lightly, Zafira closed her eyes, blanking everything else around her. She imagined the water droplets moving towards her. In her mind's eye, she guided them to the strand, letting the water curve and bend. She guided her hands close to Alistair, breath even and steady. She bent the water towards his own strand, meeting them together and shaping it into a sphere.

It was how she did her magic - through peace and comfort. Through meditation, deep breathing, and not forcing so much control on her subject, Zafira was able to quickly climb her ranks. She gave all credits to her father who made magic seem more as a form of art rather than something difficult to master. She remembered him clicking his tongue when Zafira would talk about control.
"You can never control magic, only guide it,"

Even with this approach to magic, Zafira knew she was mostly skilled because of her more carefree attitude.

It was how she noticed the sweat beading on Alistair's forehead. "You need to relax," she said quietly, not wanting to completely sever his connection. He seemed so uptight, his arms stiff by his body as he poured every ounce of attention into creating the ball. His foot lightly pressed against Zafira's ankle which she didn't pay much mind to. He was focusing deeply and she worried the slightest bit of outward attention would throw him off.

She felt him all of a sudden freeze. Confused, Zafira's attention broke from a moment. She saw the water start to tip and quickly, she pushed her hand back up, intermingling it with Alistair's. In her hurry, Zafira's foot had pressed against Alistair's completely before she eased back, a satisfied smile on her face. Zafira chuckled lightly, peeking up at him through her dark lashes.

"That was the exact opposite of relaxing, Alistair," Zafira grinned.

 

[Alistair Wren]

As Zafira handled the strand of water masterfully, Alistair stifled a chuckle to hide his embarrassment. He hadn't expected her to be so skilled at hydromancy and blushed at his surprise. Coiling the water between his fingers, he smiled, revealing the two of his top teeth which sat above the others at the sides of his mouth. Slowly, he moved his strand towards Zafira's, melding the two into a sphere. Coiling his hands, he gently smoothed the shape of the form the water took, melding it around until it was symmetrical.

He hadn't noticed Zafira beaming at him as he helped shape the water into a ball. He was concentrating too fiercely. Muttering to himself, he mouthed the syllables of a spell, then groaned, swallowed and stopped himself. Coiling his fingers, he shaped the water with every subtle nuance of his hands, until Zafira's strands and his own weaved together to form a ball.

Zafira's hands were sliding closer to his, and before he knew it, his finger collided with her thumb. He blushed fervently, then withdrew his hand and focused on the water, careful not to let it combust with the slightest misdirection of his hands.

While Alistair concentrated intently, binding the water to his will, Zafira simply guided it into place. She then told Alistair to relax a little and he nodded, stifling a bout of awkward laughter.

Breathing in, he relaxed his hold of the sphere and let the motion of his hands guide it instead. Withdrawing the force from his hold, he allowed it to form naturally, turning slowly around with only the mere suggestion of his hand gestures. As he watched the sphere, he sighed with relief, glad it hadn't bursy and soaked Zafira. Alistair had only just learned hydromancy and was new to a lot of the techniques, as well how to effectively bend water.

Zafira seemed to be a natural at spellcasting.

When he felt Zafira's foot against his, he immediately tensed back up. Lips trembling, he stiffened, and drops of water burst from the sphere, which threatened to combust.

"Shit," Alistair cursed between clenched teeth.

He started to panic and tightened his grip on the sphere. Zafira noticed how tense he was and reached over, to wrap her hand around his own.

That caught Alistair complete off guard. He gasped, let go of the sphere and let it drop on the floor. It splattered all over the stone, soaking most of Zafira's front. Mortified, Alistair let out a squeal, then grabbed the sash around his waist and scrambled to his feet. He stammered his apologies as he dabbed Zafira down, touching her only enough to dry her off.

"Wren! You clumsy fool!" The Professor shouted, "stop looking at girls and concentrate!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Alistair stammered. Panicking, he shook as he tried his best to dry Zafira down with the sash.

 

[ZafiraJade]

They were doing incredibly. At first, Zafira was reluctant to have a partner. She knew the beginning arts of hydromancy fairly well and felt that the other person would just slow her down. Despite Alistair's forced efforts, he was good at hydromancy.

She was about to tell him as much until she saw the first few drops of water fall apart. Zafira's eyes widened, but she made sure to keep her heart steady. If she were to panic then the entire ball would split apart. "Alista-"

She didn't finish her sentence.

Half the water slammed against the front of her cloth, the other half spilled on the floor. She was surprised to feel that it was warm. Then realized she shouldn't have expected it to be cold because the air itself was warm. Then, she realized she was soaked and should probably focus on that.

Before she could properly register what the hell just happened, Alistair was apologizing, and all of a sudden was dabbing at the front of her shirt.

Zafira blinked.

She could feel his hands brush against her stomach and sides, and while normally she would shove anyone off who was this close to her, and then proceed to hex them, she knew Alistair's intentions weren't bad. He was nervous and embarrassed and still apologizing.

She was about to tell him that it was really rather quite alright when the Professor started yelling at him too. Zafira cringed as everyone's eyes went back to him. Quickly, Zafira encircled her hand around Alistair's wrist.

"Hey, relax," she said soothingly, forcing him to look right into her eyes. Like she used to do to her friend Marissa, Zafira let her cold finger brush against the skin of Alistair's wrist. She knew it prickled sensation there, forcing the person to focus on just that one spot. It's what her dad taught her when they had a patient that was petrified.

She offered him a smirk. "I was going to half to wash this after class anyways. You just gave me a head start,"

She gently guided him back to his seat, prying the sash from his hand. She looked at it lightly. It was barely wet because of its thick material. Still, Zafira ran her hand through it gently, eyes flashing as the bits of water pulled from the fabric. She handed it back to him, completely dry.

She felt everyone's gaze start to turn away from her, and Zafira let out a soft breath of relief, more for her partner than herself. She looked up at him and he was the brightest shade of red Zafira had ever seen. He wasn't looking at her, his eyes flitting from the floor to the sash to literally everywhere else, but her.

 

[Alistair Wren]

Stammering fervently, Alistair dabbed Zafira down in a frenzy. He was mortified. Cheeks bright red, he tried his best to dry up the water, but it was no use, it had soaked straight into her clothes. He could feel the eyes of the whole class on him, internally cringing as he heard the Professor scold him. As he mopped up the water, he felt Zafira's hand grip his wrist and he froze where he knelt. Eyes wide, he swallowed a gulp and recoiled, slowly pulling his hand away from Zafira's form.

She spoke very softly, urging him to calm down. She sounded like he did when he healed a sick patient or treated a soldier who had just returned from battle. Her words were soothing and compassionate, and caused him to draw in a breath, then exhale.

As Zafira held him, he focused all of his attention on the area on his wrist she was touching, drawing his panic and anxiety away from the water. He held his breath for as long as he could, then released, sighing as he slumped down his sash, which was now soaked. Zafira smirked, and said that she was going to wash up after class anyway. Looking down, Alistair stifled a chuckle to hide his embarrassment and smiled, revealing his charmingly crooked teeth.

Zafira took the sash from him and drew the water from the material, drying it completely. She handed it back to him and he smirked. Hanging his head, he blushed and took off his belt, then tied the sash around his waist and buckled the belt over the top.

"Thank you," he said sheepishly.

"You two go and dry yourselves off, and remember your techniques and runes," the professor instructed.

With a sigh, Alistair started to collect his books and parchment. He slid his assignment for the day into his spellbook and gathered them under his arm. As he turned to leave, he reached out and offered a hand to Zafira to take if she wished.

"Would you like me to show you to the shower block?" He offered, remembering that she was new and was still having trouble finding her way around.

"Then I can help you find your dorm if you like," he shrugged.

 

[ZafiraJade]

Zafira looked down at her drenched clothes, contemplating if she should repeat the small trick with the sash on her clothes. In the end, she decided against it. It would take too long, and require far too much energy from her. Plus, the professor was giving them a free pass to leave class early. And despite it being Zafira's first day, she was smart enough to take a free pass any day she could.

"Yes, Professor," she said quietly, offering him a smile. "We'll redo it again tomorrow perfectly," she promised, eyeing Alistair. He was still blushing and there was an adorable semblance of a smile on his face.

The professor turned away from them, exasperated but not as frustrated as before. Zafira's smile widened. She wasn't a teacher's pet, but her professors tended to like her.

She got up from her seat smoothly, glad to see no remnants of water on the chair. At least her backside was dry. Now that would be quite unfortunate. At Alistair's offer of showing her to the shower blocks, relief coursed through Zafira. Despite not minding exploring Elbion College, she assumed that she would enjoy it considerably less if she was walking around soaked. Zafira nodded her gratefulness, and took Alistair's hand,
offering him a pearly white smile. She took Alistair's hand in hers and offered him a white smile.

"Lead the way," she said with an amused smile. Zafira hadn't brought anything but her own personal journal with her to document any runes or spells she wasn't familiar with. She needn't worry too much about it though. It resided safely in the pocket of her cloak. She touched the area lightly, tracing the familiar heavy feel of it. She couldn't imagine going anywhere without the leather-bound journal.

She leaned into Alistair's shoulder lightly as they walked, making small jokes here and there to lighten the mood. "I think we should practice bending water together again," Zafira finally got at. She knew it was probably something he wouldn't be too happy about, but Alistair was doing so well until he got distracted. Zafira ran the scene in her head again. Why did he get distracted?

"Say, you were doing super well until you froze. What happened?" she asked curiously, turning her head to face him.

 

[Alistair Wren]

Alistair felt terrible looking at Zafira in her soaked clothes. When she promised the Professor that they would practice the technique perfectly the next day, he hung his head and pouted like a dog that had just been hit for pissing on the floor. He sheepishly tied the sash around his waist then buckled his belt over the top. After exhaling, he sighed heavily and swept a wisp of hair out of his eyes.

Zafira looked at him, and noticed him blushing. His heart skipped a beat. He breathed in and quickly looked down, avoiding her gaze. The professor's anger seemed to quell and he waved a hand towards the door, permitting them both to leave. He seemed to have calmed down simply by Zafira''s smile.

As Zafira got up from her stool, Alistair linked his arm and offered her to take it if she wished. He gathered his spellbook under his arm and lead her out of the classroom, just as the other students were taking their leave as well. Her arm in his, they walked down the winding hallway, the echo of their footsteps cutting a swathe through the air. Light from the stained-glass windows bathed the staircase in a mirage of hues, the hall darkening the deeper into the college they walked.

Alistair was more focused on not tripping as he walked down the stairs. He didn't notice Zafira lightly leaning against him, until he felt the caress of her head on his shoulder. Caught by surprise, he turned around, his cheeks scarlet. He let her lie there, and scoffed slightly in amusement, then rested his hand on her own. Zafira then said that they should practice bending water again, to which he nodded, very eager to take her up on that offer. Sliding his hand beneath her chin, he gently lifted her head off his shoulder and unlinked his arm from hers.

"I'd like that," he smiled with a nod.

He turned to lead Zafira towards the shower blocks, when she stopped and asked what it was that distracted him.

Back facing her, Alistair froze in his stance. Heat rushed to his cheeks and they turned scarlet. Gripping his robes, he slowly turned around and stammered. He didn't want to tell Zafira that he had lost his concentration when she had touched his hand, but didn't know what else to say.

"I uh..." He said awkwardly, reaching around to scratch the back of his head.

Looking at the ground, he smirked, "you are rather distracting, my lady." Shrinking into his capelet, he fiddled with the sleeves of his robes and stared at his feet.

 

[ZafiraJade]

Zafira was quick to understand that Alistair blushed more often than not. She found it amusing and incredibly adorable that he got embarrassed so fast, and that it was so clear constantly. Alistair was an open book, and she meant it in the best way possible. After all, more people than not were closed off or building themselves to be something they weren't. Zafira would know. She was one of them.

The walk was through the twisty corridors, except apparently there was a door she had passed about ten times that would have been used as a shortcut. She realized this when she saw some of the classmates from earlier walking through it.

Stupid, she lightly cursed herself as Alistair led her to the shower blocks. She was aware of how close they were when Alistair leaned towards her. Breaking out of thought, she realized that she was leaning against him as they were walking. She felt herself flush. What was he thinking of her?

She pushed the thought away as soon as it came. For as long as Zafira knew, she didn't care what people thought of her. At least not since she moved to Alliria. Coming back though made her feel uncomfortably like her old self. She wondered if the old house she lived with her dad and grandmother was still there. Was it occupied? Had it been destroyed?

A part of her wanted to find out. The other part wanted to pretend she hadn't lived here at all. It would open too many wounds that she hadn't healed, but had ignored. Coming to Elibion itself was a huge step for her. She was only grateful that she was quick to make a friend from Alistair who kept her away from trapping herself in her depressing thoughts.

As they reached the shower block, Zafira realized that she didn't have any of her clothes with her. Again, Zafira was hit by her own mindlessness. She was never like this. What was wrong with her? She wouldn't tell Alistair that though. He had gone out of his way to show her the shower blocks. She would just have to suck it up and come back later. She remembered the path fairly well too.

Finally coming towards the shower blocks, Zafira asked her question. He was a good distance away from her so she couldn't see his face. Zafira bit back a grin as she thought what she would see. Alistair blushing, of course. She pouted slightly when he didn't turn to her direction until he did. Hand scratching the back of his neck, his blue eyes meeting hers for a quick flash of a moment. Zafira sucked in a breath. He really did have the most fascinating eyes.

At his confession, Zafira felt herself flush. Maybe it was the combination of Alistair's all of the sudden newfound confidence along with how he was looking at her. But for a moment, Zafira didn't know what to say. Then, Alistair had retreated and she felt herself breathe a little easier as his gaze moved away from hers.

Zafira offered Alistair a smirk. Lightly and boldly, she put a finger on his chin so that he'd look at her. The placement was slightly awkward considering that Alistair was taller than her, but still. She tilted her head lightly, bright green meeting sapphire blue.

"I'll take it as a compliment," Zafira murmured before walking towards the shower blocks, a bright smile on her face.

 

[Alistair Wren]

Alistair was not typically this nervous, but he typically didn't get to spend time with a woman as beautiful as Zafira, and she seemed to like him, which threw him all out of sorts. When Zafira said that his comment regarding her as being distracting was a compliment, he hung his head and laughed to hide his embarrassment. It had been a poor attempt to tell her very politely that he fancied her, but still, he wasn't sure if she was exactly his type, or if he was just overwhelmed by thoughtless desire.

Zafira blushed at the remark. Staring her down, Alistair smirked, his nerves easing somewhat. Did she think him a fool for being so high-strung? He didn't know, all he knew was that she was a beautiful woman who enjoyed his company.

"Just keep your hands to yourself next time we water-bend," he winked.

Turning around, he walked down a winding staircase and opened the iron handle of a door. The sun poured through the diamond-shaped panes of the windows, so none of the torches were lit, much to Alistair's relief. Inside the room were several baths carved into the floor, each one filled with steaming water. There was a room for men and another for woman, which was the one Alistair waved a hand towards.

"Here we are."

Suddenly, he looked down at Zafira and realized she had not brought a change of clothes. Freezing, his eyes grew wide and he fiddled with his sleeve. Would he have to wait while she had no clothes on? The thought brought sweat to the back of his neck. Panicking again, he shifted his eyes and turned around to face the bath, avoiding Zafira's gaze.

"You don't have any spare clothes," he exclaimed, pointing at her empty hands.

"Would you like me to run to your dorm and grab some? I can," he nodded, his tone withdrawn and apprehensive.

 

[ZafiraJade]

"Just keep your hands to yourself next time we water-bend,"

Zafira's plump lips formed into an 'o' at Alistair's comment along with his wink. Was he flirting? Stars, he was!

She bit her lip back to smother her laugh, enjoying the banter thoroughly. Before, she was thrown off. From all her previous interactions with Alistair (albeit short ones), he came off as nervous which she found adorable. Now though.....

"So, you're saying do not keep my hands off you when we are not water-bending?" Zafira asked slowly, a teasing lilt to her voice. She let her mischievous eyes meet him, back to her usual charismatic self. She bumped her shoulder against his lightly. She was aware of the heat radiating off him along with a scent that was completely Alistair's.

Alistair took her to a bunch of other bendy twists and corners, and Zafira let out a gruntled noise. Seriously, what was the architect of the building trying to do? Purposely confuse people? Zafira touched the memory run by her wrist, mentally counting the number of turns they'd taken. She'd have to ask for directions halfway through. Alistair had distracted her.

Finally, finally, they'd gotten to the shower blocks. Not that she wanted her conversation with Alistair to end. It was more so that she would enjoy his company a ton more when she couldn't feel the cold water on her clothes seeping onto her skin.

She noticed Alistair grow uncomfortable then. With a frown, she looked up at him except he wouldn't look at her. Hearing his tone in the last part, Zafira hid her smile. She contemplated teasing him for a moment.

"Would you please? You're such a darling," Zafira said, purposely widening her eyes and pouting her lips. She touched Alistair's arm lightly feeling him stiffen beneath her. At his reaction, Zafira couldn't help it. She threw her head back and chuckled, putting a hand to her mouth to muffle it.

"I'm sorry," Zafira said in between laughs. "I would never make you go to my dorm up like that, Al. I'm going to go get my clothes, but I seriously appreciate you showing me where the showers are," she said with a touch of a smile.

 

[Alistair Wren]

The sight of Zafira biting her lip sent a pang of desire down Alistair's back. Her sharp, perfectly maintained eyebrow rose and he lowered his head, trying to look away from her body. The flirtatious woman asked him if he meant for her to not keep her hands off him whenever they weren't water-bending, to which he laughed. That wasn't what he meant. He really did want her to stop touching him full stop, because it was confusing, and kept making feel things that he shouldn't.

Zafira lightly bumped her shoulder against Alistair's.

His heart skipped a beat. Eyes wide, he breathed in and raised a hand to his forehead, then mopped up sweat with his sleeve. He tensed up, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling.

"I thought I told you to keep your hands to yourself," he blushed.

Once they arrived at the shower blocks, Zafira asked Alistair if he would go and get her clothes. Without thinking, he immediately nodded and turned to leave, before she lightly poked his shoulder. Flushed and embarrassed, he turned around and saw her laughing, then realized she had been teasing him.

Alistair frowned. He had been about to go out of his way to get Zafira's clothes, only to find out that she had been making fun of him. Was that a good thing? He didn't know what to think. He rubbed his shoulder awkwardly and recoiled, suddenly lost for words. Breathing in, he relaxed his shoulders and smirked, managing a bout of laughter as Zafira brushed past him. He hung his head and raised his hand, then scratched his nose so Zafira wouldn't see him blushing.

"Alright, I'll draw you a bath," he nodded.

As Zafira walked past, Alistair strode into the woman's shower block and poked his head inside to make sure there was nobody around.

The coast was clear, so he slipped inside and walked over to the buckets at the other end of the room. He coiled his fingers above one of them and drew moisture from the air, slowly amassing it in the bucket until it filled with water. He put it on to heat, then poured it into the bath and repeated the process until the bath was full. He sprinkled cleansing herbs and salts on the water, and stepped backwards, towards the door.

When Zafira returned, he stood dutifully by the door and waved her inside.

"Your bath is ready, milday," he said with a nod.

 

[ZafiraJade]

"I recall you saying about me keeping my hands to myself when we water-bend, actually," Zafira corrected, a smile tugging at her lips.

It was strange to like someone so fast. Zafira knew it was factual when she couldn't help, but feel a prickle of excitement at the soft brush of skin. It was barely anything, unnoticeable when it happened with other people. For whatever reason though, Zafira could feel the hairs on her arms stand.

It had nothing to do with the cold.

She hadn't expected him to draw her a bath or still be there when she came back with her clothes. Seeing him standing there though, lightly bent against the doorframe, eyes downcast, and a small, shy smile tugging at his lips, Zafira couldn't help but feel her heart pound just a bit faster.

No one did things like that for her.

She swallowed down the feeling, blinking quickly. She scolded herself mentally for thinking too hard about. Alistair was a genuinely kind person. He would have done it for anyone.

"You are far too kind," and just because she wanted to see his face turn that gorgeous shade of red, Zafira leaned on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek lightly, staying a second longer over there.

He truly was beautiful.

"Thank you," she murmured before walking towards the bath.