|
|
Post by Cadelen on Nov 3, 2009 14:04:42 GMT -5
It was a rare occasion for Cadelen to be away from her Infirmary, but this was one such instance. She was sitting in some tall grass that was Valaia Plains' trademark. Placed next to her was a basket full of herbs only found in the plains, thinking to herself one day she'd bring Chiki out and show her what was what and were to find it. On her other side was her sleeping griffin, who was rolled over onto his back, letting the sun warm his underside. Done with herbs for the day, she had sat down and began plucking grass from around her, looping the long strands between her fingers and weaving grass crowns. Something she like to do when bored.
She looked up from her work, observing her surroundings. She was atop one of the Plains' rare hills. Off in the far distance she could see the border of Siwyn Forest, where she had come from. On the other side of her, she could see the Northern Range's mountains towering and standing tall and imposing. The sky was always darker over that way and sometimes a cool breeze could be felt down in the plains. The wind was blowing gently that day, tossing Cadelen's hair this way and that. To keep it out of her eyes, she'd lightly twisted it into a low ponytail and wrapped a sting of leather loosely around it.
The mountains held her gaze. There was always something about the way the mountains sat that held her interest. Though the mountains were cold and bitter to be in, they had a certain beauty to them. It took her mind off the thoughts she had come here to sort out. It was the main reason she'd taken a day off. To have a specific label, it was Arion. She'd been thinking about him more and more often. Esten had teased her that she liked him. Flustered, she went to talk to Yelena, asking her what it felt like to be in a relationship. It was a little shocking to hear spoken exactly what she felt. So she took Esten to go herb gathering, to sort her thoughts while re-stocking the Infirmary's supply at the same time. Mindless work helped her think better.
|
|
|
|
Post by Arion on Nov 3, 2009 16:40:01 GMT -5
Arion was, currently, in his cobra form, slinking his way through the tall grass of the plain, invisible to one looking out over the plains. Athera walked a few feet away from him, acting as his ears. He was. unfortunately, deaf in this form. He was well used to reading lips from his childhood, before he had bonded, but it didn't do him much good when he couldn't see a person. The only senses that improved dramatically in this form were his sense of smell and sense of touch. He could feel the vibrations in the ground-even now, he could sense insects and mice scuttling in burrows beneath his belly.
Arion paused as he felt Athera's footsteps stop suddenly. [Its Cadelen,] She informed her rider, the slightly teasing tone to her voice not lost on the shapeshifter. Athera was-as far as he knew-the only one aware of his crush on the healer. He had no idea if she returned any of those feelings, or if she thought of him only as a friend. And he definitely did not know that she was out there at the moment because of him.
Arion rose out of the tall grass, just enough to see. There, on a nearby hill, sat a young woman and a sleeping griffin, most definitely Cadelen and Esten. He shifted forms, and waved his arm to try and get her attention. "Cadelen, Esten!" He called out cheerfully, starting to make his way towards the hill, Athera in tow.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cadelen on Nov 3, 2009 19:14:38 GMT -5
Weave in, pull under, pull over, then cross over... the weaving continued as Cadelen's gaze drifted back down, her fingers automatically starting their work again. She believed if she hadn't been weaving, her fingers would have been finicky and started twitching uncontrollably. She'd been sitting in the plains for quite some time, sitting, thinking, and every so often looking back to the mountains. It was close to then that Esten cracked an eye open, having moved onto his side. He rolled onto his stomach and stuck his head up. It was that plus the fact that his black tipped ears flipped straight forward, the wind rustling the strands of hair on the tips as the rest of his feathers and fur alike.
She was about to ask what was the matter when a very familiar voice called out from a distance. "Cadelen, Esten!" Her heart fluttered at the voice, turning around to see Arion and Athera making their way towards them. Esten sat up on his rear and snickered over the bond, but Cadelen just adopted her trademark smile and waved back, the hand moving from the air back down to her necklace. "What brings you two out here?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Arion on Nov 3, 2009 19:51:14 GMT -5
As they drew closer, Arion could see that Cadelen was weaving something, though he wasn't sure what, and it seemed that he'd woken up Esten. That hadn't really been his intent, but the griffin didn't seem to be particularly disturbed about it.
He smiled back at Cadelen as he and Athera hiked up the hill, seeing her smile at him making his heartbeat a little faster. "I was seeing how well I could pick up on vibrations in the ground," He explained, "And Athera was making sure I wasn't getting eaten while I was a snake. What about you?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Cadelen on Nov 4, 2009 0:06:12 GMT -5
Cadelen chuckled lightly when she though of the chances of Arion being eaten. Even though her heart stopped dead for a moment when he asked what she was doing here, her small smile never wavered. Her fingers weaved a little more onto the third grass crown she'd made. "I was thinking," she said in a quiet voice. Though Cadelen hadn't known it at the time, Esten picked up on some serious talk about to happen. He rose from the ground and started to walk off into the grass, but stopped and looked to Athera, clicking his beak, giving an indication to follow. Cadelen was still fidgeting with the grass crowns when she motioned for Arion to sit next to her. "Thinking about... us."
It was still an odd sensation, knowing now for certain what she was feeling. But in the pit of her stomach, whenever she recited it, she knew it felt right. Though whether or not he would return the feelings was something else entirely. Figuring that it was better than holding it in, she knew it was the right time then to discuss the subject. While the feeling were young and immature, before they could grow wildly out of control; to either blossom or be squashed. She kept her head down, blushing fervently, fingers back to work finishing the third crown, almost ready to start a fourth.
|
|
|
|
Post by Arion on Nov 4, 2009 11:01:53 GMT -5
Athera followed Esten after he clicked his beak, walking alongside him and leaving Arion and Cadelen on their own. She heard what Cadelen said though, and if she was capable of doing so, would've smirked, and chuckled through the bond.
"Us?" Arion asked as he took a seat besides her. There was mainly confusion and surprise in his voice, but there was also hope. Maybe she did feel the same way about him as he did about her. He could see the blush on her face, clearly she was flustered over something. He looked down at her fingers, watching her finish off a crown. His eyes darted back up to her face, waiting for her to continue.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cadelen on Nov 6, 2009 23:38:25 GMT -5
Cadelen let out a little sigh when Arion sat next to her. When she mentioned what she was thinking, Arion seemed almost as flustered as her. They were two partially shy people, so it was incredibly awkward for both. Trying to think of what to say, she grabbed the finished braided crowns and stacked them together before sticking them in the basket of her herbs. She took a deep breath and raked a hand through her hair, pulling her bangs out of her face. "What I mean to say is... well..." She started awkwardly, twisting the hair of her ponytail around one of her hands as it rested over her shoulder.
Mustering a brave face, she faced Arion. It was much harder than what she'd played out in her head. It was harder even than facing a man with half his innards spilled. And that was messy business. It was even harder than fighting. She took his hands in her and gripped them lightly. "Arion. I think about you more and more as each day passes. At first I thought, it was only a playful family love. But, as time passed, I realized it was something more. I talked to Yelena the other day. It was then I figured out that, I like you more than a friend. Maybe even more than that." She squeezed his hands looking to his beautiful blue-green eyes.
|
|
|
|
Post by Arion on Nov 6, 2009 23:58:30 GMT -5
He watched her set her crowns in her basket, and then start to fiddle with her hair. Obviously she needed time to sort out her thoughts. Normally, he was an impatient person, always to jump into something at a moment's notice. But he knew he would just have to wait for her to get her thoughts together, there was no way to speed this up. He was anxious though, suddenly worried that she had somehow figured out how he felt, and she was going to tell him that she didn't feel the same, and was trying to find someway to set him down gently.
But as she took his hands in hers, and he looked into her gorgeous green eyes, something told him that that wasn't the case at all. The words she spoke only confirmed it. She liked him as more than a friend. The corners of his mouth tugged upward. "I feel the same way about you, Cadelen," He said gently, "I have for a while now...I was afraid that you might not fell the same..."
|
|
