Private Tales Then the Mountain's will Destroy

[Houri]

"I'm not sure the wagon would have been any better," Houri murmured into her cup and then her cheeks heated at the thought of how worse their journey might have been if they had been crowded into the back of a small wagon together. Last night had been hard enough with walls between them.

"Can I get you lovebirds something to eat?" the chirpy girl who appeared at their table didn't look familiar, which meant she probably hadn't worked the night and explained why she was the only one in the room who looked as though they had actually slept. She had to bite her tongue to keep from telling her to go away.

"We're not--" she started but the girl waved her off.

"Oh hush, I heard all about y'all from my Ma. Tore up the dancefloor she said," a sigh. "It sounded romantic. Anyway," she ploughed on before Houri could open her mouth to object. "We have eggs, bacon and real good sausages. Straight from the butcher down the road. Or, if you prefer something sweet my Ma's just baked some fresh cinnamon rolls."

 

[Silas Artesto]

A brief look of confusion at her comment quickly shifted into a sly grin around the rim of his cup as he took a long drink. Through his exhaustion, he'd almost forgotten the burning heat in his gut that had drawn him to her like a moth to flame, even in the hallway outside of their rooms. Silas had only just been able to maintain his composure then. If they'd had nowhere else to go...

"You're right..." Artesto gave a quiet snicker, lowering his voice as the young waitress approached them. "Though that might depend on your definition of 'better'." He quickly added, certainly able to think of a few benefits to that hypothetical wagon trip.

Silas didn't try to wave off the implication that the chipper girl offered about their relationship. On the contrary, the beaming smile on his face as she recalled the story about the impromptu kiss they'd shared in the heat of the moment seemed to suggest he was more than happy to be seen as Houri's 'lovebird'.

Why shouldn't he be?

"The cinnamon rolls, definitely." Silas piped up without even having to think about it, his amber eyes meeting Houri knowingly. His partner-in-crime had a sweet tooth, and the least he could do for that knee-trembler of a kiss last night was appease it. "Two of them, please."

Houri

 

[Houri]

Houri slid down in her chair as the innkeepers daughter flashed her a grin, delighted in how Silas was also grinning at her. She contemplated kicking him under the table and might very well have done if that grin didn't do something to her heart that made her palms sweat and her pulse quicken. So instead she focused intently on her coffee, as though it were the most interesting thing in the room. The serving girl gave another giggle, flashed Silas a smile and a wink and said "coming right up," before vanishing back to the bar.

"Thank you," Houri managed to croak once they were alone again and found the courage to raise her eyes to meet his gaze. She held them for a full three seconds before looking over his shoulder and then back down at her cup. "I'm not... used to..." being liked? Feeling like this? "I'm not used to people not knowing what I am, joking with me," her eyes flickered back to his. "Making me feel... this way."

 

[Silas Artesto]

Houri's reactions were what he was after, far more than the approval of some pretty little inn waitress. There was something about watching a girl he knew to be one of the strongest and most reliable people he knew melt underneath a smile and a wink that intoxicated him.

Underneath that badass weather-twisting Initiate that had pulled his ass out of the fire just days earlier, there was something beautiful and captivating. Ever since she'd pressed her body close to his, ever since he'd had the taste of her lips lingering on his own, he couldn't get enough of it. Of her.

"You don't need to thank me." He eventually responded, searching her eyes just as she had his. The mostly empty coffee in his hands had been forgotten; sitting across from Houri had energized him as much as a dozen cups full. "This... what we've been doing together the last few days, it's something I've never had before. Something simple, something fun and exciting." Everything back home had strings. Had a catch.

"This just... kinda makes sense, you know? It feels right. That's why... I want you to myself for as long as I can keep you. Let them be mad at me when we get home."

The young woman was quickly swinging back around the bar with cinnamon rolls in tow, and Silas flashed another grin. "Right now, I wanna spoil you. Indulge me."

Houri

 

[Houri]

Houri had not suffered watching her family scrimp and save, had not worried for her siblings health, nor concerned herself with money even when she had been in the Academy. There were few places where being a noble did not carry some weight, especially not when she hailed from one of the Great Houses. She had only truly known hardship when she had been confined to an asylum and even then, the depth of that had not been properly recognised until they had abandoned her and her fellow inmates. Yet still, she had never felt a desire to be spoilt before. Had never longed for someone to care for her or seek things out for her comfort. She had never understood why anyone would lower themselves in such a manner.

In that moment though she realised that perhaps it was not debating to allow another to fuss for her. In fact it took as great a strength as lifting a blade. Made her more vulnerable than if she took to the field of battle with no shield.

She bit her bottom lip as the bar maid set the cinnamon rolls in front of them and topped up their coffees. The room had grown busier so they were spared another round of needling. Instead, Houri leant forward to take one of the cinnamon rolls and carefully unfurled a small part of the still warm pastry.

As soon as the buttery crust touched her tongue she let out a throaty groan of pleasure.