Carantathraiel

Wanderers

At her swear, Ruli inhaled, one leg stretching, revealing a knot in his thigh from one position or another last night. Worth it, but he groaned all the same, opening his eyes just enough to see Kire still laying beside him before he closed his eyes once more. Sleep. Sleep was good.

And then she kissed him, and he was roused again. Without opening his eyes, he tightened his arm around her, drawing her close, his lips responding. "Mmmm. Morning." He greeted between kisses, hand wandering her curves.

~

"Oh. Ed."
It was Zeke who spotted him first, the man wandering through the caves with a sparring sword. He looked Ed over, wondering for a moment why he was here. "Ysaryn's in her house. I could take you, if you'd like." He offered, pointing. "I'm on my way. She's about to kick my ass." He sighed, raising the weapon.

Wanderers

As her dress fell, he was tempted, oh so very tempted, to close the space between them, to trace his fingers long her neck, her bare shoulders, to trace the long scars that fell along the length of her back to to curve of her backside. He nearly forgot he had offered her his shirt, nearly looked lost when she turned around expectantly. When he pulled the article over his head, Ruli stepped forward to set it in her hand, and he watched her pull it on, the fabric settling in just the right spot.

Ruli shivered, then grinned. "Get into bed." He said, putting his hands on her waist to direct her onto her bed, crawling onto it behind. "Clothes are coming off soon, anyway, it hardly matters." Ruli said suggestively, felling over her to claim her mouth.

~

For once, in the morning, he didn't wake first. Ruli was sprawled out on his stomach, one arm reaching over Kire, the other bent beneath his pillow. His face was nestled against her shoulder, his breath caressing her collarbone as he slumbered on.

Wanderers

Gods above, Ruli tried real hard not to preen.

When she finished her dessert, he rose with her to tidy homes cooking supplies, popping another mushroom in his mouth. Working the spiced wine bottle, he set it aside, reminding himself to take it home tomorrow, or he'd never see it again. Automatically, he followed her to her room, stopping short when she asked for help with her dress.
"Uh." He said dumbly. "I have no clothing here for you." Ruli pointed you, gently undoing the clasp. "Unless, you know, you want mine." He added with a grin, stepping back once more. "I liked seeing you in my clothes. Almost as good as the dress."

Wanderers

Ruli was amused when she said she was excited, and went back to finishing his meal at last. Waving his hand in dismissal when she offered him a slice of cake, he sipped a second glass of wine as she ate, watching the dessert all but fly into her mouth by some unexplained power. "How convenient." Ruli smirked once she said she could stay. "You sure? I mean, if we get around to any research, I would hate for you to be tired tomorrow."

He gestured. "We're already here. Plus, you bed may be larger than mine, anyway. Not that size is an issue." He froze, hoping she didn't take that comment the wrong way. Clearing his throat, he took another sip. "May as well stay here. No reason to keep going back and forth."

Wanderers

Ruli shook his head in response. "Im genuinely curious about these hallucinations." He voiced. "I want to learn more about them, and why they happen. Only way I can think to do that is to connect our minds via magic, which you said is when you had them before?" He waited for her confirmation. "So I'll suppose we'll just have to do that again. And, if we just happen to be in bed at the time, we can call it research." Ruli smirked cheekily.

Wanderers

Clearing his throat again, Ruli watched her react, smirking. "No." he answered simply. "I've never tried." He set his glass down and turned the glass by the stem slowly. "However, I wouldn't mind giving it a try. Now, you have to answer something in return." Ruli said, watching her again. "Why the curiosity? You were wary over my ability at first, understandably, and then you mention some strange side effect you get whenever I do use it on you." His eyes narrowed slightly, thinking. "Is this something you saw in one of your strange hallucinations?"

Wanderers

Wrinkled his nose at the gold comment, he chuckled and resumed his meal. "You do strike me as type who can't sit still. And that's even been discussed among your family, so I know I'm spot on."
Another sip, then a bite of his pork, and her question nearly murdered him. With a sharp inhale, Ruli coughed, his meat breading going down the wrong tube. Eyes watering, he grabbed his drink to wash it down, still coughing.

"Why," he began, then coughed again. His voice was a little strained. "Your mind really wanders during meetings, doesn't it?" He asked, pounding on his chest.
Nervous about another bite so soon, Ruli nursed his wine, spying on her. "Do you want the answer, then, or are you serious about forgetting it?"

Wanderers

Ruli's eyebrows raised slightly when she almost flung her fork, then he went back to eating. "Well, it does sound as though they thing magic will resurface, and magic can lead to a lot of disasters, but a lot of good things. The Seer didn't expressly say the thing would be bad, just that you need to be prepared for it. Maybe a bunch of your people will learn to fly, and you just need to make some sort of guidelines."

He grinned at her, letting her know he didn't mind the silence. "At least the silences aren't full of tension and unspoken anger anymore, so we're making progress."

Wanderers

"Truthfully, I don't think he has a criteria. He just silently puzzles it out." Ruli shrugged, pronging a few mushrooms and devouring them. He nodded in agreement at the mention of a picnic by a waterfall. Not that it would be too difficult, having two people that jumped out of the normal means of transportation.
"Are you going to tell her she'll be empress before or after she weds?" Ruli wondered. "Do you think it will impact her decision at all?"

And when she mentioned the Seer, Ruli froze, raising his head and pausing in his chewing. Listening, he continued to chew slowly, blinking. "What does that mean?" he wondered. "How ... how do you prepare for soemthing if you don't ... I mean, say you prepare for another Gemini fiasco, only instead its some plague?"

Wanderers

"Mostly, yeah." He answered, cutting into his pork. "Went to Cordon with Ysaryn, spoke to a few sailors, may have found you a waterfall, I"ll look into it this week." Ruli grinned at her. "And, as far as I can tell, he's passively judging me during the time we're apart. Apparently, I have passed, so far."

He sipped his wine, looking at her over the rim. "And yours?" He asked as he set the drink down, then paused. "When did we get so domestic?"