Carantathraiel

Wanderers

"Like an animal." Ruli smirked at her. "Surprised the roof didn't cave in."
When she sat up and stretched, he remained laying as he was, watching her. "Too often?" He asked. "The way you scarf down dinner, I expected every day to be your demand. Every week is fine."

At last, he sat up and leaned against the wall on the far side. "Not next week, but the next, I want to see this cheese wheel. In the meantime I'll find you some waterfalls."

Wanderers

Her movement woke him, though unwillingly. Ruli squinted and opened his eyes just slightly, enough to peer at her. "Morning." He greeted. Ruli stiffened into a stretch, straightening his back and legs briefly. He he relaxed, he closed his eyes again, drawing her closer. "Can we pretend its not, though, and just sleep longer?" he asked, shifting enough to take the arm from around her middle and rub at his face.

Wanderers

He thought of all the possibilities for proof; the crumbs on her face, the sugar rush, that Ysaryn wouldn't sneak in here for cake without teasing them, but he kept it to himself, feeling her wiggle against his side and touch his arm. "Goodnight, Kire " he answered her.

But it still took him a whole to sleep. The nervousness still didn't retreat, and every time she moved, breathed more deeply, he held his breath. He forced himself to focus on the lullaby of the waves, falling asleep at last nearly an hour later.

Wanderers

At least she felt the same. Ruli exhaled, watching her shift to allow him room. Putting his knee on the bed, he turned and lay himself down across it, pulling his blanket up to cover them. "Get in here." He beckoned, adjusting so his head lay on the pillow. "No expectations tonight. I think we need that."
When she lay beside him, he lowered his arm and drew the blanket over them, draping his arm over her middle to rest comfortably.
"If I wake up and the cake is gone, you're in trouble."

Wanderers

Respectfully, Ruli turned away, unsure if, even now, he was allowed to looked. Truthfully, seeing the dress wind up on his dress was a let down, as it was nice on her. But seeing her in his clothing. He wasn't sure why that stirred such a reaction in him, but he stared for a few seconds before he shook his thoughts free.

"Go ahead. I'm going to grab the cake. Hungry elves." He said, slipping out. Once outside, he exhaled. Ruli didn't understand why he felt so strange. Maybe because this was the first time they were planning anything. Everything before had just fallen into their laps. Opportunities offered and claimed.

When he returned not ten minutes later, Ruli set the cake away from the hearth and cleared his throat. "Does this feel strange to you? Not bad, just. Weird?"

Wanderers

Ruli hummed in response, groaning softly as he rose to his feet, offering Kire his hand to help her up just the same. He let her have the blanket, walking up toward the cliffs again, then up the stairs. He could have sworn, on the way, he saw a glint of fuchsia as they neared his house, but no sign of the elf they belonged to.
Opening the door to his house, he let her in, the low heat from his little hearth kept the house warm. Ruli set the wine bottle on his chest of drawers and rifled through, withdrawing a pair of trousers and a shirt for her.

Wanderers

"Well, we'll go there then. I'm now incredibly curious, and eager to see about this famous cheese." He pondered, thinking about waterfalls. "I can look into that. All the seas and cliffs here, there's bound to be something."

It was incredible how nervous he was about sitting with her, getting worse when he shifted to wrap his arm around her. It was nothing when he'd helped her back to his house from the beach last night. And he had a vague recollection of her arm wrapped around him, and his around hers, when he half-slept in the hotsprings. What made now so unnerving?

The sun vanished, painting the sky a series of colours, the clouds reflecting the light in farewell.
After a few minutes enjoying the silence and the view, Ruli cleared his throat. "You can borrow some of my clothes if you need. I don't know about sleeping in dresses, but it may not end well."

Wanderers

Ruli flashed a toothy grin at her. "I'm not as into drinking wine as you may think I am, but I'd be happy to see. And, you had me intrigued at the mention of cheese. Amrian cheese, I'm sure I can find quite a few recipes for that to make this place more like home when you need it." The orchards sounded lovely, of course. He could wait until the scar of war lifted and the trees went back to life as usual.
"It would be nice to see a beach or two. A desert. Anything but the snow." Ruli insisted, shaking his head slightly. "What about you? We've seen quite a few places in the hunt for a home. Any type of landscape you'd like to see?"

Wanderers

He failed to suppress that flush in his cheeks when he realized he'd not been subtle about eyeing her. At least she hadn't scolded him, so she couldn't have minded. "Well, it did its job. Between the dresses, the scar on your face, and the expression you wear that says 'try me', you're hard to approach." Ruli reached for the wine bottle to take a sip before handing it back. "Will you show me parts of Amria next time I wander your way?"

Wanderers

Ruli grinned. While entirely unaware of how fast she normally did chores, he was sure she was hurrying. When they finished and went down to the shore, he walked along beside her, unable to resist stealing glances at her in the dress. It was far more attractive than the frivolous things she wore previously. It was subtle. But feminine. At least far more so than the armour he was used to seeing her dressed in.
When she withdrew from the water and wrapped the blanket around herself, Ruli gestured to the sand, moving to find a dry place to sit as the sun went down. He tugged the blanket, letting himself in to share it with her. "So is that how you normally dress as an empress?" Ruli asked, staring toward the water. "I like it better than what you wore yesterday."