RP:Another's Warmth in the Ice and Snow

From HollowWiki

Summary: After a surprise reunion in Raphaline's lodge, the feelings that have developed between bard and mage since their first encounter only grow stronger. Shared song brings forth new and exhilarating emotions, and so the pair decide to embark on a trip together, visiting family and friends in the northern lands of Frostmaw.


Bardic Hunting Lodge

Raphaline is home for once. With the size of the building, it is often mistaken for an Inn; that is how she likes it. There have been a few guests that have come and gone, leaving a sweet note for the owner on the mantle in the living room. She keeps these notes stored in a chest in her own personal room which is always magically locked when she isn’t home. Too many personal memories she’d rather not have tainted by unwelcome guests (friends are the exception, they can get in that room). As for the half-elf, she has been up for quite some time. With a journey on her mind, she has been pulling out equipment she hasn’t had to use in quite some time; it isn’t often she heads willingly into snow and ice. In the kitchen she has been packing dried goods that will keep in her pack while out in the living room there are fur lined clothes laid out over the couches and chairs and heavy boots tipped over on the marble flooring. It is an unusual mix of things given that the half-elf is wandering around the house in just a white sundress, her curls loosely braided down her back and no shoes in sight. If it is possible, she will always go with being barefoot. She hums a bright tune as she finishes wrapping up the goods and begins to set a kettle on the stove to boil. With all that she has accomplished, she deserves a short break with a cup of tea. While the water boils, she takes the wrapped goods out into the living room and stores them away in her leather, climbing back pack.


Odhranos’ boots crunch up the pathway to the Bardic Hunting Lodge, with music on his mind. Under one arm, the mage held an exquisite leather violin case, while the other hip was occupied by S’erok’s golden cage. When he reaches the door to the lodge, he pushes the door open gently before peeking his head around the door. “Hello?” Calling out as he steps inside, the mage’s face falls a little as he walks into the empty hall. He had been hoping to spend the evening in the company of the bards that often frequented the hunting lodge, it has been some time since he’d had the opportunity, so he was disappointed to find the hall, usually so noisy and full of life, to be empty and quiet. Frowning sadly, he walks around the hall, idly running his hands over the well-worn surfaces and furniture, before plonking himself down in one of the armchairs beside the fireplace. Placing his case gently on his lap, he unclasps the latches and creaks back the top, revealing the rich velvety lining and the priceless violin within. This violin in question is extremely precious to the mage, and even had some history of its own in these very walls, so he had thought it fitting to bring it here when he wished to play it for the first time in months. Lifting the rosewood violin from its abode, he placed it gently under his chin and plucked the strings, slowly and delicately tuning it.


Raphaline stashes a few more things in her closet and tosses a handful of other things onto the bed. Where could her gloves have gone in all of this mess? Her rooms looks like someone may have come through and raided it. As she goes to pull another basket down from the high shelves she hears the sound of a violin beginning to play. Not often used to someone else playing a violin in her home, given most often she is asked to play the instrument herself, she perks up and listens. Had she been expecting guests today? It wouldn’t be the first time she has been surprised by sudden arrivals. Carefully, she tucks the basket back up on the the shelf and steps out of her room. She moves towards the banister that wraps around the hallway and down the spiraling staircase and leans both her arms a top it. Her emerald eyes look over the large living room, seeking out the surprise visitor. When they land on the person in question, she furrows her brows just a bit. Is it really him? Her heart gives a little flutter as she mulls over what to do. Once she decides, she pushes off from the banister and slowly makes her way down the stairs. About half way down she decides to add her voice to the music and just sings the notes rather than actually adding any sort of lyrics to the music. By the time the song comes to an end, she has made her way into the down the stairs and a couple of steps into the living room. She allows a bit of silence to follow before she says, “Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Of all the bards who could come to pay me a visit, one of my favorite has decided to stop by.”


Odhranos places his case aside, then closes his eyes as he begins to play, his fingers dancing lightly over the strings as he plucks the notes of the intro, a simple triad of notes, dancing in sequence, rising up and down the scale. Standing from his chair, the mages stacatto slows, before he sets his bow to the strings. A deep sonorous melody slips like silk from the instrument, quavering delicately as the mage slowly weaves his way between the furniture in the hall, purely navigating by his terramantic sight alone. A satisfied smile spreads across his features as he plays, there is something so therapeutic in performance, the simple act of creating something beautiful and pleasing to the ears. As his piece continues, he becomes aware of a voice accompanying him as he performs, easing smoothly in alongside his melody. Settling into the harmony role, the mage doesn’t so much as question who this voice might be, so lost was he in the raptures of music. Only when he reaches the music’s closure did he open his eyes, suddenly becoming aware of the other's presence in the room with him. “Oh! Raphaline!” Odhranos’ eyes grow wide and he takes his violin out from under his chin. “I didn’t know there were any other guests here, I was just dropping in for a little while.” His features soften into a happy smile as Raphaline mentions of her favour of him as a bard and he bows deeply in thanks. “I haven’t visited the lodge in quite some time, but I felt the urge to play, so I came here in the hopes of finding some fellow bards to spend the evening with.”


Raphaline laces her hands together as she cants her head to the side, curious if he knows she is the owner of the lodge. Grinning, she says, “Oh yes. I don’t come home as often as I should, in fact I am sure it a bit of a myth among the other bards whether or not I actually live here anymore. I’ve been here the last couple of days resting and preparing for a trip.” She gestures to the piles of fur-lined clothes she had draped over the couch and chair closest to the front door. “Frostmaw is unforgiving to the unprepared. Since it has been very hot here, I haven’t needed any of my cold weather wares in quite awhile.” She moves closer to him, her gaze dancing over him until she walks passed and towards the grand piano sitting against the western wall of the living room. “If it is music you are looking for,” she says as she slides onto the bench and carefully lifts the covering off the keys, “then it is music you shall have.” She traces her fingers gently over each of the keys as if she were re-learning the lines of a lover she has not seen in a long time. Her features turn wistful for a moment before she settles both hands atop the keys and looks up at him once more. “What shall we play?” She asks, a light smiling crossing her lips.


Odhranos is in fact quite surprised. He had heard mention from the patrons of the lodge that its owner was a bard of great prestige, but having never met Raphaline before recently, he hadn’t made the connection. “Home, you say? Ahh! So you must be the bard I heard mentioned, the patrons here regularly offered up song and drink in thanks to your kind hosting, I myself have done so on occasion, I had no idea that it was you I was offering tribute to.” The mage tilts his head and graces Raphaline with a gentle expression. “Though, I am glad to be able to thank you in person. Your home has been somewhat of a refuge for me in times of trouble, I often come here when I need a break from the world.” Raising his eyebrows at her mention of Frostmaw, he taps his chin with one finger in thought. “Now that you mention it, I really should visit Frostmaw sometime soon myself. It has been… too long since I visited the Eyrie’s outpost there. Kess will surely be furious at me.” Laughing warmly as he follows Raphaline to the piano, he runs his hand over the sinuous curve of the pianos cover, silently delighting in the faint fog his hand leaves on the glossy varnish. “Surprise me.” A surprisingly flirtatious challenge from the reserved mage, he sets his violin back under his chin and tucks his body into the curve of the piano, where he can watch Raphaline play, ready to join in at her indication.


Raphaline quirks a brow at him, fond of this playful tone in his voice. A tiny smirk tucks into the corner of her lips as she silently nods. Even though it has been some time since she has played on her own piano, her hands fall into place along the keys with practiced ease. Before she starts, she closes her eyes, allows her mind to still in takes in a deep calming breath. As the song comes to mind, her hands begin to move slowly across the keys, plucking out the beginning notes. Once the melody has taken off her emerald eyes flicker open and alight upon him. If there is anything she finds more intriguing, it is watching another bard perform. For her, it is doubly so since the bard in question is following her lead. With her gaze either focused on him or her hands, she is able to keep herself a bit at bay; probably not best to fall head first into the music and reveal herself too quickly, she did only just meet him and she wouldn’t want to frighten him off too quickly. As the first song comes to a close, rather than stop completely and takes her hands off of the key, she moves seamlessly into the next song. Rather than the nice, but timid song she had been playing earlier, her hands have a different idea in mind. At first she tries to wrangle herself, but it is of no use. Her hands begin to move at a slightly more hurried pace, drawing out each note with no resistance. The song begins with a few light, higher notes before it leads into a sweeping melody that seems to leap forward. As for the bard, her eyes have drifted close, her body swaying with each rise and fall of the melody until it all comes crashing into the crescendo and her voice rings out. Clear and full, it cuts through the sound of the piano as her lips form each sound with a desperate need to just fall forever and then find a way back out again.


Odhranos listens attentively as she begins to play, leaning slightly forward despite himself, as if hanging off every note she played. He eases himself into the music slowly, letting it show him its dance before he dare so much as take a step to join it. Drawing the bow slowly across the strings, a rich deep note sounds out, blending harmoniously with Raphaline’s own music. As the tentative and hopeful chorus swells, so does Odhranos’ playing, as a dancing partner follows the others lead, hugging each curve of the song like a lover, a gorgeous counterpoint to each flurry of notes. When the first piece draws to a conclusion, Odhranos pauses, strangely breathless. When Raphaline seamlessly transitions into her second piece, the mage’s eyes widen with amazement at the sheer emotion and power she conveys through her playing. Stunned, he almost places his violin aside, but some compulsion beyond his control begs him to join in, to be swept away in the sweet abyss of the song and simply lose himself. When Raphaline’s voice rang out, Odhranos broke into a wide grin. This! This was music! This was the true joy of the bard! Unable to help himself, the mage takes a deep breath, before he himself breaks into song. A deep dark basso, winding its way like a cool flowing river into the tapestry of the music.


Raphaline continues to leave words at the door. Instead her voice continues to ring clear alongside the sound of the mingling instruments. Her voices singing out into the void, trying to find a way through this escalating rise of taking hold of ones own destin. At certain points it dips, thinking there will be no way through the mist and fog until the song sweeps forward, pushing back against the torrent that keeps trying to keep the seeker from finding a way out. When the sound of a voice joining hers in this push and pull of a melody, her gaze flickers open and falls directly upon him. Any other time she would have taken a hold of herself and stopped because becoming this impassioned has gotten her both into trouble and later left her empty and lost. The last time she had allowed someone to see the very heart of her own music take a hold, that person had chosen to walk away. But, as her emerald eyes peer into the dual colored gaze of the other bard, she feels something flicker within her chest and demand to be heard no matter the cost. So gone is the gentle gaze of the calm, collected bard and it her place is a woman filled with the songs learned first from the lips of the alone, the lost and the desirous but then sculpted into the songs of her deepest recesses of her own spirit. Never missing a beat, she changes the way her voice has been flowing and instead moves into a tone of beckoning invitation. With each new note, she conveys a sweet promise if only he reaches out to her and takes a hold of her hand midst this swirling deluge of unleashed emotions.


Odhranos feels the shift in tone and he returns his gaze back to Raphaline. He could sense that something had changed in her music, that this song came from somewhere deeper, more personal and vulnerable. Not wanting to disturb her in her performance, his own voice joins hers. Somewhat hesitant and unsure, though with each growing note, he commits more and more of himself to the song, responding in kind to Raphaline’s invitation. A thrill of both nerves and excitement flashes through Odhranos, as a small ball of fear settles itself in his stomach. He was hesitant, not yet ready to throw himself so readily into this abyss, but as his doubt grows, he finds his eyes drawn back to the woman before him. His gentle gaze lingers on her, as if in this baring of souls, was he seeing her for the first time once more. When their eyes meet, he finds a growing ache in his chest and the cold doubt dissipates like mist in the sun. Finding his resolve, Odhranos opens himself to the song and gives everything he has to the music, baring his soul with each note and offering it to Raphaline.


Raphaline thought there for a moment that she was going to be left standing among the ashes once more. It wouldn’t have surprised her; this song, her voices intonation had been a big leap of faith for her to begin with. So when she hears that hesitancy, she begins to turn away and back within herself. It is the weight of his gaze that makes her halt her descent. Green eyes turn up to him and lock on his gaze as she catches the beginning notes of his return song. So she does the exact thing her heart is telling her to do; she responds in kind and takes a hold of this vulnerable offering and holds on tightly. Her voice promises to not only bare witness to this moment, but also to take into safe keeping everything he chooses to show her. And in return, she bares the depth of her quiet loneliness and the dark places she has fallen into in the past few years. Her voice curls around the pit of loss and longing and sparks free with a bit of hope, willing to hand over her deepest wishes into his hands. When her hands finally comes to a shaking stop, she allows her voice to drift off and a pregnant silence to fill in the space between them. Without the music ringing in her ears, the hard drumming of her heart fills ears to almost a deafening tone. She tries to take in a breath of air to calm her heart with, but it catches in her throat and a small gasp escapes instead. Slowly she reaches up to touch her cheek and finds the beginning of tears tickling at the corner of her eyes, and it is then that she tries to look away from him. When she can’t, she tries to speak but it comes out as a whisper. “I…I am sorry. I went too far…you probably didn’t want to see that.” And tries to smile, but purses her lips instead. So many emotions and thoughts are warring within her, but she stays very still on that piano bench.


Odhranos’ heart very nearly leaps into his throat at Raphaline made to turn away, a fear rising unbidden from his chest before he could stop it. Why? He asks himself; Why am I so fearful of her turning away, this woman I have known for scant more than a few days? Why does the thought of her closing herself off from me make my chest ache? Why do I want to give her every part of myself and not spare a thought for the consequences? These questions spin around the mages mind like cloying fog, until Raphaline’s song returns with a renewed passion. Odhranos finds his questions tossed like dust to the wind, as the waves of emotion, loss, pain and hope sweep through the mage, who opens himself wholly to them, accepting them for all that they are, unconditionally and unwaveringly, as his own song responds in kind, resonating with the mages loneliness, the deep aching weariness that pervades his spirit, the deep hurt and sorrow that lies curled in the hidden places of his very being. But also, his hope, his yearning for all the magic and wonder that the world had to offer and more… a new feeling, one uncertain and tentative emotion, one that perhaps even Odhranos doesn’t fully understood yet, yet he recognises that it blooms at the sight and sound of this woman, who he barely knows, yet feels like he knows better than his own self. A curious, yet wonderful emotion. Once the last notes fade in the dust-dappled air, Odhranos takes the few soft steps he must to round the piano and he kneels alongside Raphaline, his eyes wide and full of emotion. Wordlessly, as if scared that a single sound might break this crystal moment, he reaches out and gently wipes the tears from her cheeks, his warm hand barely touching her as if he feared contact might break her like a porcelain doll. After a moment’s hesitation, his hand cups her cheek with a light touch and looks into her eyes with a soft expression that is equal parts simple and depthless. “Please don’t apologise. That was heartbreakingly beautiful.” He whispered, his voice faint and husky with emotion.


Raphaline thought for a moment that she had a hold of the emotions racing through her veins, but as he kneels before her and his hand brushes over the curve of her cheek, she feels all of them rising once more to the surface. She leans into his hand and lets out a gentle sigh as she turns her gaze up to peer at him from beneath her lashes. The look in her emerald eyes is desperate yet hopeful as she seeks some sense of understanding within their depth. Why does it feel like her heart is holding its breath as if she might see rejection? Why does rejection even mean so much when it comes to him? These emotions, this wariness but need to know that she is seen was something she had long ago buried beneath the belief that hoping for someone to hear her heartsong and respond in kind might never be a realization; she had resigned herself to a lifetime of loneliness. But now, as she meets his gaze and feels the warmth of his palm caressing against her skin, there is something new blooming in her soul; hope or more? Even if she is unsure of what it might mean or mean for her future, she cannot help the sound that slips passed her lips as he speaks; something between a gasp and a small, hopeful cry. Before she has time to think of the perfect response to his words, she does something unexpected for the level-headed bard. She slips off the piano bench, throws her arms around him and with a bit of hesitance, presses a soft kiss to his lips. She hopes she is not overstepping a boundary, but she also hopes that in that simple action she conveys everything that has begun to form them from that very first moment they spoke.


Odhranos' heart warms as Raphaline leans into his hand, as he quietly lets out the breath he wasn't even aware he was holding. Utterly entranced by her eyes as she looks back at him, he is suddenly startled as she moves from her seat, enfolding him in her arms as her lips gently meet his. Bewildered for a brief moment, Odhranos' eyes widen, before he melts in her embrace. Holding her tenderly in his arms, he gives in to the kiss, answering Raphaline's wordless question with gentle passionate acceptance. After a perfect moment, he tentatively breaks the kiss, though his face remains mere inches from Raphaline's, so that her expression is all that fills his vision.. A shaky sigh escapes the mage, as a nervous tension within him dissipates, prompting him to break into a shy smile. "My…" The mage whispers, his voice quiet, yet rosy with emotion. "I… I'm lost for words." Odhranos' head spins and he leans forward tentatively, so that his forehead meets hers. "I didn't know you felt that way too." He murmurs, before realising what he just admitted, as much to himself as to the woman now wrapped in his arms.


Raphaline feels herself sighing into the kiss as his arms wraps around her. The warmth of his lips against hers causes a small shiver to course its way down her spine as her body begins to lean more into his with each moment their lips meet. When he draws back from her, her eyes flutter open as another small sigh slips past her lips. As she listens to him speak, she draws her arms back so she can cup his face with both her hands, leans into him and brushes her lips feather light against his cheek. “I do,” she says, her voice still barely above a whisper, but full of something husky and wanting. When he peers into her emerald eyes now, they possess none of the hesitancy or sadness they had earlier, instead they are filled with a different, fierce emotion. As he leans his forehead against hers, she bites at her bottom lip as her thumb begins to trace small half moon shapes against the curve of his cheek. “I never planned to have feelings like this again, but there is just something about you…” she says, her hand cupping his cheek and guiding his lips towards hers once more. This time the kiss is not hesitant, or soft. Behind it is something lit by a deeper passion, and a hint of longing to keep him right there with her.


Odhranos' heart soars at those two simple words, and when he meets her gaze, he finds himself electrified by the intensity he sees there. Taking in every detail of her face, he studies the blush rising in her cheeks, the way her lip creases slightly as her teeth tug at it, the way her every emotion can be read like an exquisite tapestry, he could have stayed like that for hours if she hadn't kissed him again. This kiss is different, it lights sparks behind his eyelids and kindles a flame in the terramancer that hadn't burned in quite some time. Leaning into her embrace, he surfaces from the kiss like a diver from the sea, breathless and exhilarated. In a brief moment of lucidity, he recalled her mention of a trip and before he could question his own suggestion, he leaned forwards and sighed against her cheek. "Frostmaw. Your trip. Let's travel together." Taking a moment to lean back and examine her reaction, he smiles gently, bidding the growing feelings within him to stay in check. "I'd like to spend time with you, to get to know you better."


Raphaline falls head first into that kiss, her arms once more pulling him ever closer to her. She just wants to meld her body into his and never feel that cold space of separation between them ever again, but when he draws back, it isn’t a loss but a pause instead. Still holding him close, she turns her head so the tip of her nose brushes against his cheek as she answers. “Yes, I want you to come with me.” Her lips break into a very bright smile as she leans in and kisses his cheek this time. “I want to learn as much about you as I can.” She adds as she moves to sit back, putting a bit more space between them. “I wouldn’t be going until the morning hours, it is better to travel through the ice and the snow with a bit more light on the horizon,” she says as she turns to one of the windows and notes the sun has almost set behind the mountains. She turns back to him, still wearing that smile and light tint of blush. “Which means you might want to stay here? I have plenty of extra gear for traveling north if you need it.” Years of travelers coming and going and purchasing things for friends, has caused a large stock of weather ready clothes to pile up in the closets. The bard isn’t really sure she could sleep now, not with her blood buzzing as it is in his presence.


Odhranos' eyes squint as he smiles, a bright beaming smile that conveys his happiness. "Let's, then.". He compounds this statement with a gentle kiss on Raphaline's cheek, pulling back to reveal a warm, almost boyish grin, exuberant in these new emotions he is feeling. Odhranos follows her gaze and sees the lancing rays of red sunlight as they creep between the peaks, heralding the oncoming dusk. "I'd very much appreciate it, I'll have to take a look and gather what gear I need before the morning, so as not to slow us down." As for staying the night, the mage ponders for a moment or two, deftly suppressing some thoughts that rise unbidden at the notion of staying. "I could make up one of the guest rooms, if you can show me where the linens are?"


Raphaline finds his politeness to be so very sweet. So, when she rises from the marble floor, she offers a hand to help him up as well. “Come on, I will show you first the supplies I have and a guest bedroom should already be made up. I keep one ready for surprise visitors every time I come home.” If he takes her hand, she leads him up the marble staircase and moves down to the third door and turns the handle. Inside is a simple room with a sleigh bed against one wall, a small dresser against the opposite wall and two doors that look to be leading into a closet. She throws open the closet and reveals that yes, there are cloaks, coats and shoes of varying size. Some have heavy fur sewn into the inside of the wares, while others are of heavy, thick material. “Have you pick of them. I am going to make sure the pillows and such are good.” She releases his hand and makes her way over to the sleigh bed and fluffs the pillows and shakes out the comforter once more, giving him some space to go through the clothes. While he is looking, she tells him about some of her plans while up north. “I was thinking about stopping by the fort and the healer’s place. I used to work pretty closely with many of Frostmaw’s healers during the last war.” She smiles softly to herself, remembering the camaraderie between them. “And then, I was thinking about stopping by their hot springs as well. Despite the ice and the snow, they have the best in the lands.”


Odhranos accepts her hand in his own, his grasp firm but tender. Climbing to his feet, he dusts off his robes with one free hand before letting himself be led by the bard up the curving staircase. Running his free hand across the polished handrail as they ascend, the mage allows himself a small indulgent smile as its smooth feeling under his palm. No doubt a side effect of his particular discipline, Odhranos has a strong appreciation for the material qualities of things, how they feel to be touched and experienced physically. Right now, the mages mind is focused on the cool smooth feeling of the banister under his hand, the hard glassy ring of the marble underneath his feet and most accentuated of all, the soft, warm feeling of Raphaline’s hand in his own. Coughing quietly to cover his rising blush, the mage contently lets himself be distracted by the range of clothing in the closet after Raphaline releases his hand. Reaching forward, he samples each texture one at a time, relishing in the plyable tension of tanned leather, the thick shaggy texture of furs and the plush thickness of padded cotton. After a few moments consideration, he pulls a simple dun coloured longcoat from the mass of clothing and holds it up for inspection. Happy with his decision, he folds the heavy coat over one arm as he turns to Raphaline, having silently listened to her speaking as he chose. “That sounds perfect. I owe the healers a visit myself. I was a regular patient there when I returned from my term in the desert, they likely know me by name at this point; I should really visit them and offer them my thanks.” Placing the coat down on the bed, he runs his hand over the duvet, smoothing out the creases on its surface. “I’ll also stop by the Eyrie Outpost, if you’d like to join me. There’s someone there I haven’t visited in quite some time that I really should have done earlier.” Odhranos’ runs his hand over his hair sheepishly, he is halfway dreading that visit, knowing how the person in question would react to his absence.


While Raphaline may have been working and talking, she did peer over at Odhranos from time to time while his back was turned. This allowed her a chance to really take in the details and demeanor of the gray clad mage with an admiring look in her eyes and a rather happy, little smile on her lips. She was so enamored by him, that he almost caught her staring. She turns quickly, focusing on the embroidery of one of the pillows and plucking at the strings as she tries to smother the rising blush on her cheeks. Grinning, she peeks up at him, a brow curving upward as she teases, "Well, they will probably feel more sure in your well being when they see you spending time with me. I was a pretty skilled healer and notorious for spending a lot time tending to patients. Lot of short nights and long days." She could only imagine what the older healers are going to say when she walks in with him. Gods help her, all the questions. Outwardly she perks up, someone important? She stops idly playing with the pillow and moves closer to him, obviously interested in this person at the outpost. "Are they family?" She asks, taking a gander at the level of importance this person might have. And then she remembers an important aspect of the Eyrie--the dragons and other mounts. "Oh! You have a mount don't you?" Chuckling, she shakes her head at how she could have forgotten that bit about the clan. Realizing he is inviting her to meet this important aspect of his life, a blush rises heartily to her cheeks. "I would be honored to meet them," she says, honored he would allow her such a personal insight into who he is.


Odhranos smiles at her teasing. “Well, I’m glad to be in such good hands then. They’ll be glad to see me out of their hair, I must have driven them to despair the number of times I snuck out of my bed to go hunting for books. I was a horrible patient.” Laughing warmly, he sits himself down on the bed and picks up the pillow Raphaline had been playing with previously. Smoothing his hand over the coarse embroidery, he nods and looks up at Raphaline. “Mmm, her name is Kestral. We met a number of years ago… well, I say met, I encountered her as an egg in the hunting grounds outside Frostmaw. Her mother had been killed, by what I’m still unsure, but I found two eggs in the abandoned nest, one of which bonded with me, the other with a woman I met in Kelay by the name of Ayana. Kestral and I have been like family since.” Odhranos fluffs the pillow before grinning in recollection. “She’s the wildest thing, but ferociously loyal. She lived with me in the Mages Tower for a time, but when we joined the Eyrie, she took up residence in the Outpost, as she’d grown too big to stay with me. I do miss her.” The mage meets Raphaline’s gaze and his mismatched eyes glittered with a sort of shy happiness. “I’d really like to introduce you, I feel like she’d adore you. She’s the closest thing I have to family, and I know she’d never forgive me if I didn’t bring her to meet you.” A rueful grin spreads across his face as he stands up again. “That is if she doesn’t put me back in the healers care for not visiting her!”


Raphaline finds herself grinning once more; she will just have to get used to it. Turning to look at him, the tucks one of her stray curls behind her ear as she says, “Well I can’t blame you, books are a good enough reason to get up, but, if you ever did get injured against, the lodge would be perfect. There is a pretty sizeable library off of the living room. I keep it stocked with things I find whenever I go traveling.” Given the large living room and dining space, she isn’t surprised not a lot of people venture to the library; bards tend to like company and constant sounds. She moves closer, feeling herself drawn to him with each new story he tells. She can read the look of love and affection in his voice and gaze when he speaks of Kestral and it warms her to know he someone like that in his life. As for her, there are a few people she might recognize as found family, but she hasn’t had a lot of time to see them recently--something to fix. “I would really like to meet her, especially since she means so much to you,” she says, feeling honored that he would trust her with something so personal as found family. “It will probably be a very memorable reunion, well, maybe not quite as memorable as ours.” Her grin turns playful as she leans towards him and draws her hand over the one that has been idly sitting on the pillow. Her fingers draw their way over his knuckles and down the back of his hand as she glances down at their meeting hands. Anyone else, this would feel weird and rushed to her. She would be admonishing herself for being so ridiculous and naïve but, when she looks up at him, it is like all those tiny voices telling her to step back and run die away. Could it even be possible, she thinks as she turns her gaze back up to him. Yes. Maybe. All she knows for sure is that she wants to kiss him again and let go of reality for a moment more.


Odhranos' eyebrow quirks upwards and a playful sparkle shines in his eyes. "Oh, you really shouldn't have told me that, you'll never be able to get me out of your library once I get settled. I'll have to read everything before you could even begin enticing me out." Odhranos' laugh is bright and joyful, a sound long absent in his life until recently. Academic work didn't give much reason for happy laughter, so it is a wonderful feeling for the mage to unwind and express his emotions like this. "I'm sure it will be memorable, though whether or not that will be a good thing or not, I am unsure." At Raphaline's mention of their own reunion, only a handful of minutes past, the mage's heartbeat feels like a hammer in his chest. When her hand covers his, the slightest intake of breath can be heard from the mage, as he looks up at her, his eyes questioning and yet, the beginnings of longing slip in about the edges. "Raphaline…" Odhranos murmurs, for some reason wanting to hear her name on his lips, as his hand turns over, so their palms lie together, that their fingers may tangle idly. In a rare display of impulse, the mage leans forwards, before he even realises, his face tilting upwards towards hers. Suddenly realising what he is doing, the mage pauses for a moment, unsure whether he is bold enough, before he gathers his resolve and crosses the distance, pressing his lips against hers, a light inquiry of a kiss, as if asking for permission.


Raphaline cannot help the slight sly edge that creeps into her smile as she quirks a brow silently in inquiry. “You know, that sounds like a challenge. I will take you up on that. Next time you get lost in the library, I will happily try to entice you back out,” she says with a confident, playful tone. How that might go, well, she will leave that up to him to think about. She laces her fingers in with his, simply enjoying the warm press of his palm and comfortable feeling of his fingers twined with her own. As she feels his gaze resting on her once more, and her name slips from his lips like a wish, she turns towards him with an inviting look in her emerald eyes. “Odhranos…” she says, her voice husky and beckoning as she focuses her heated, steady gaze upon. She draws her bottom lip between her teeth as she resists the urge to look away before she just grabs him by the collar. Instead, rather than make a move, she gives him the space to lean closer to her at his own pace. She notes the hesitancy, but she answers it with her free hand reaching out to gingerly brush her finger tips across the curve of his cheek. When he closes the distance, she presses in a bit closer and dips down to answer that inquiry with a very sure kiss. She wants that kiss to convey that though she respects his hesitancy, she wants to be kissing him just as much. She cups the side of his face as her lips part just enough so the tip of her tongue can trace the smooth curve of his bottom lip.


Odhranos' eyes go wide when Raphaline grabs his collar, but once that affirming kiss clears all doubt from his mind, the mage closes his eyes and leans in with a yearning that strikes him right to his core. Clasping the hand intertwined with his own, the other rises to gently hold the back of her head so that he might kiss her better, his long pianist's fingers tangling with her crimson locks as he sighs into the kiss, his lips parting slightly as he tilts his chin up to meet her. At this point, the mage's thoughts are in blissful disarray, not even a semblance of coherent thought in sight as he loses himself in the feeling of the moment. His senses illuminate like fireworks, each detail captured in beautiful definition; the heat of their breath misting the air between them, the delicate smell of her perfume, the soft pressure of her lips against his. Odhranos feels a soft suffusion of joy as he kisses her, this wonderful, intelligent, beautiful woman, a feeling of such deep happiness he is almost afraid to embrace it yet. Instead he leans deeper into this kiss, surfacing for air with a breathless whisper; "Gods above…" he manages to murmur before their lips meet once more, stifling his words into a soundless sigh.


Raphaline gasps against his lips, feels her eyes flutter shut and tips her head back just a little as she feels his fingers threading their way through her curls. The hand on his collar let go and slides down the front of his chest as she leans back in and presses a delirious, desired soaked kiss once more on his lips. This kiss is not sweet or gentle or slow as she molds her body against his and eradicates any remaining, hesitant space between them. Her hand that is clasped in his delivers a quick squeeze before she releases his hand and snakes both her hand up along the back of his neck and holds him in place as she draws his bottom lip slowly between her teeth before putting space between their lips. She can feel her breath coming in sharp and quick as her eyes flutter open and look down at him, wondering if she will seem the same sort of inflamed desires in his own gaze. Being so close to him makes it difficult for her to make her next decision. If she listens to the current thoughts flickering across the forefront of her mind, she would just press her luck and push him back onto this bed. Her pushed back thoughts though tell her, that as easy as it would be to just give into those base desires, there is so much more than that going on between them. So she follows her second lead and leans her forehead against him as she breaths out her next words in a soft whisper. “We should probably stop. If I don’t say this now, I don’t know if I can hold myself back again. I like you too much to give you the impression that I only desire you right now; it would be a lie. There is so much more I feel right now for you, and I am both scared and hopeful.” Sighing, she begins to draw back from him, hoping a bit of space might help her clear her mind a bit more. “Besides, we have a bit of traveling to do tomorrow too.


Odhranos feels the beginnings of a heat building in himself and it is a fire he feels hesitant to give himself over to. Each faint sigh, light touch and impassioned kiss adds further to the flame, and the mage feels a turmoil riling within him, as id and ego war with each other. When Raphaline's teeth graze his lip, it is all he can do not to let slip some improper sound, as she leans back and meets his eyes. Silver and gold stare up into emerald, as Odhranos looks up and sees the same turmoil he feels reflected in that gaze. His heart beats like some tribal drum as he holds that gaze, but a cooling tide of relief washes over him as Raphaline speaks her mind. "I agree. I would feel like I were not doing these feelings justice to give in just to my desires now." The mage reached up and gently took Raphaline's face in his hands, bringing her closer to him so he can press a single cooling kiss against her forehead. "We have plenty of time, no? There's no need to be rushing into things." Taking his hands back, the mage cants his head to the side and beams up at the bard. "Besides… I'd at the absolute very least like to take you to dinner first." A teasing smile lights up Odhranos face.


Raphaline finds herself smiling for what feels like the millionth time tonight. There is just something so wonderfully sweet and kind about him that she cannot help the happy tears that spring to her eyes. Laughing, she wipes at her eyes as she throws her arms around him and pulls him into a tight hug and leans her forehead against his cheek. “Yes. Dinner and drinks and trips and late night conversations and writing music together. Early mornings and latest of nights filled with kissing and whatever else we might want,” she says, smiling and laughing and sighing between each word. But, like she said before, the night is late and tomorrow will be hard enough, so she places a soft, good night kiss on his cheek before drawing back and putting space between them. “I will let you get some sleep then. If you need, the bathroom is through that door,” she points to a door on the far wall, “and if you need me I am a couple doors down.” She pauses for a moment, taking one last, long look at him before saying, “Good night, Odhranos.” She turns to leave before she changes her mind and just goes right back over to him and kisses him again.


Odhranos laughs happily with Raphaline as she throws her arms about him, while he wraps her up in a hug of his own. "That sounds absolutely wonderful." He sighs, closing his eyes and cuddling her, simply enjoying her presence. When she gets up to leave, his hands are reluctant to let her go, as if subconsciously he doesn't want her to leave, but her kiss on his cheek brings him a cosy warmth that makes it a bit easier. Standing up from the bed, he nods as she explains her directions before moving to the door. "I'll try not to disturb you unless it's completely necessary. Sleep well!" Turning towards the bed, he is about to begin unpinning his robes when she surprised him with one last kiss. "Oh, Raphal- !" Interrupted halfway by her lips, the mage can't help the soft smile from forming as he kisses her. Once they part again, he leans in to bump his nose against her affectionately. "Goodnight Raphaline." He murmurs, watching her go with a gentle gaze until she closes the door behind her.


City of Frostmaw

Travelling hadn’t been half as strenuous as she had expected it to be. Though there had been snow and ice the higher up the climb they had gotten, it seemed like she was finding every place that was safe and flat to step on. When they reached the top of the trail and Frostmaw was laid out before them in that quiet but not still kind of way; it was like coming home to the only other place she had ever thought of like that. With the city road laid out, and the journey eased by the carefully cared for streets, she turns to Odhranos and says, “Where shall we go first? If you need to rest for a moment the tavern isn’t too much further from here. Or the Eyrie Outpost since it is not far either.” While she waits for an answer, she makes her way further into the town and spots a few familiar places, one being the Frostmaw tavern where she has many fond memories with so many interesting people. And then there is the fort in the distance, a place she spent a lot of time meeting and helping some of her dearest friends with difficult decisions. A gentle smile touches her lips as she looks eastward and sees the smoke curling from the chimney of the healer’s building. Before they get too far up the road, she turns back to him and pushes her hood back, allowing her red curls to tumble out. Smiling, she says, “Let us head to the outpost first; I think I would like to meet Kestral first before we do anything else in Frostmaw. Is that alright?”


Odhranos crunches through the snow, his hands squirreled away into his pockets, sheltering from the biting cold. Pulling his hood back, he gazes out over the city, clouds of mist pluming with each breath. Gazing outwards, he takes in the sight of fresh snow, ice-rimed stonework and the ribbon-like streamers of chimney smoke that dotted the city-scape like wispy trees, before rubbing his hands together and blowing on them to try to warm them up. “I’m good to keep going for the time being, the walk wasn’t as long as I remembered, so I have plenty of stamina left in me. I could do with getting out of this cold though, I really need to remember to bring my gloves with me in the future.” Tucking his hands back into the warm fur-lined pockets with a chuckle, he falls into step alongside Raphaline, turning to face her as they walk. “By all means, the Eyrie will likely be busy at this time of day, the handlers will likely be doing their food rounds, so it’ll be a bit chaotic and noisy. But I should be able to catch Kestral’s attention and she can carry us in.” Something occurs to the mage and he turns to regard his companion. “How is your head for heights, may I ask?”


Raphaline glances in the direction of the Eyrie as he talks about what is going on there at this time of the day. Not to be deterred by hustle and bustle, she turns back to him with a smile and makes her way over and slips her hand into his right pocket and threads her fingers with his. Gently, she massages his hand with her own gloved one as she says, “Wherever I get to learn something about you is where I want to be right now.” Leaning in, she places a brief, warm kiss against his cold cheek before heading towards the Eyrie, pulling him along behind her. As for the question about heights, she laughs her silver-belled laugh as she shakes her head. “There are very few things in this world that scare me; heights is not one of them. I haven’t been flying in a long time, but I am sure it is as I remember. A moment of pure freedom and weightlessness as you rise up into the air, and then you catch your breath and a sudden dazzle of excitement over takes your entire body.” Or at least, that was how she had felt flying on a silver dragon so many years ago. Once they arrive at the Eyrie, she defers to him given she knows very little about how to get to the Outpost or is a recognizable face.


Northern Outpost

Odhranos is pleasantly surprised when Raphaline tucks her warm hand into his, and even more so for the kiss. Scrunching his nose with a smile, he squeezes her hand affectionately as she leads him along down the snow-strewn path towards the colossal icy pillar that is the Eyrie's Northern Outpost. As they approach it, the vast edifice of blue ice expands to fill their view, it's outer perimeter gently curving away from them in either direction. The path stops a few metres shy of the base, and a small clearing in the snow is the only sign of movement from here. "Unfortunately, they didn't think to add in even a single little door for access on foot. Better for defence, I suppose, but it's very inconvenient sometimes." Odhranos explains to Raphaline as they approach the small cleared patch. "Ahh, that must be nice. It was a bit of a problem for me at first when we joined the Eyrie because… ehh… I have the worst fear of heights." The mage ruffles his hair, as his cheeks and ears flush a faint pink with embarrassment. “With practice, I got a bit better at handling it while in flight, but it has been a while…” Craning his neck back to gaze up along the smooth ice-hewn wall as it ascends into the clouds, Odhranos gulps quietly as apprehension plays havoc with his nerves. Releasing Raphaline’s hand and taking a few steps forward until he is standing in the middle of the clearing, he turns his face upwards and stares intently at the Outpost, calling out loudly with his thoughts, though seemingly standing in silence. A few moments pass and the terramancer begins to fret; What if she doesn’t want to see me? What if she’s so angry at me for not visiting that she ignores me? What if something happened to her?! What if…! Odhranos’ inner distress is cut short by a roar that echoes through the clear crisp air. Like an icy comet, a streak of pale blue bursts through the clouds, skimming close to the walls of the Eyrie as it descends. As the comet approaches, Odhranos takes a few steps back and spreads his arms wide, a look of elation on his face. “Kess!” He cries out, looking back to Raphaline with a happy excitement, before turning back as Kestral makes her landing. Opening her wings with a loud snap, like a leather bullwhip, the frost drake pulls herself out of the dive and swoops outwards, looming over the pair with her forty-odd foot wingspan as she comes in to land. Odhranos’ expression changed as she approached, her speed of landing was too fast. “Ehh, Kess, you might want to slow down a bit.... Kestral...Kess!! - Oof!!” Odhranos was cut off in his cry, as when Kestral landed, she tucked her wings in tight to her body, then barrelled into him at full force, knocking him to the ground. Standing over him as she rears her head back, she bares her fangs and roars angrily in his face, cold icy breath blowing his hair wildly as she stares him down with two blazing azure eyes. <”SIX MONTHS! Six Sven-accursed bloody months! Not so much as a godsdamned messenger pigeon! You could have died for all I had known and I’d be none the wiser!”> Kestral’s voice rings out in Odhranos’ mind, through the mental link that they had shared ever since her bonding with the terramancer as a hatchling. To Raphaline, all she would hear were the angry snarls and roars of a ticked off saurian who had just tackled her companion to the ground and was now standing over him threateningly.


Raphaline has a hard time believing that of all the fears he could have picked, heights was one of them. She turns to the mage with a slim brow lofted in peaked interest as to what about heights really puts him off. Also, he is into rocks and mountains, that seems counter intuitive. Rather than start that conversation, she gives him a wide birth with which to call down Kestral as well as give the saurian enough room to land safely. She watches, curious as to how he was going to call to the dragon from all the way down here, when she hears that roar ring out across the icy landscape. Is a roar good? She isn’t sure, so she takes another step back. When Odhranos turns to her with a look of elation and excitement, she cannot help but share in his happiness; that roar must have been Kestral. She turns her emerald eyes up to the snow flurried sky and watches as an icy figure begins a very rapid descent. Just in case, the bard takes another step back just in case. When Kestral barrels into Odhranos and knocks him into the snow, the bard moves closer, keeping her steps even and within the line of sight of the saurian. At first she feels her heart panic, but as the dragon makes no real move to hurt him, she keeps her steps slow. She watches as the creature bares its fangs, and from the looks of it gives him a what’s what dressing down. She had known about the link between the Eyrie riders and their mounts, mostly from talks with others in the past. So to her, it looked like one friend telling the other that they needed to call more often. So, rather than panic, she just breaks into a fit of giggles as she makes her way over. Once she gets some control over her laughing, she kneels down in the snow next to Odhranos and says, “Well, it seems like someone isn’t pleased with your absence.” She tilts her head so her gaze travels from the mage to his mount and grins. “I like your spirit,” she says, now addressing Kestral. “Gotta keep them in line, no?” Cautiously, she pulls her right glove off and then slowly reaches out to Kestral to better allow her to smell the half elf.


Odhranos lies splayed out flat in the snow, his mind reeling from the angry thoughts echoing around his head. “Kess… I… I’m so - “ The terramancer’s words are cut off by the heavy weight of Kestral’s head butting him hard in his chest. <”I missed you, I was worried.”> She grumbles, her voice now abated to a low growl. Odhranos sits up from the ground, white clumps of snow stuck to his back and shoulders as he regards the large saurian rearing over him. The mage’s vision mists and he learns forward, resting his head against Kestral’s large scaly chest while his arms wrap around her thick neck, hugging her tightly. “I missed you too, Kestral. I’m sorry, I should have visited sooner. I’m an awful companion to have.” Odhranos chuckles slightly as he smooshes his cheek against Kestral’s smooth cool scales. The frost drake twists her long neck around and settles her chin on the mage’s shoulder, her neck encircling him in a saurian hug of her own. <”You are awful. Quite awful, in fact. But I’ve grown attached to you, so I suppose I’ll keep you for a while longer.”> Kess teases, blowing cold air in the mage’s ear as she snorts with laughter. “Your patience is a blessing indeed.” The terramancer retorts, nudging the frost drake’s head with his shoulder, before she raises her head and notices Raphaline, a faint surprise in her blue eyes at the woman’s presence. <”Odhranos, who might this be? An Eyrie member? I don’t believe I’ve seen her around the Outpost before.”> The drake stretches her head forward and snuffles the bard’s hand curiously, while Odhranos unwinds himself from the hug and turns back to Raphaline, a cheerful smile on his face. “I believe introductions are in order. Raphaline, this is Kestral, my flying companion and probably the closest thing I have to family in Lithrydel.” Kestral snorts derisively <”Yes, because gods know that you couldn’t be normal enough for a regular family.”> She turns her large head to the side so she can better examine the woman standing in front of her, a warmth in her gaze, but also an intense scrutiny. Odhranos, by now on his feet, stands beside Raphaline and presents her to Kestral. “Kess, this is Raphaline. We met while I was in Xalious, at the Mage Tower. She’s a bard, and quite an amazing one at that.” Odhranos moves a step closer to Raphaline and takes her hand in his, a wordless gesture that was not lost on the observant frost drake. “We’re… ehm… travelling together for a while.” The mage stammers, unsure quite how to word it to Kestral. With an exaggerated lift, the drake’s scaled brow raises as her large eye examines the two. <“Xalious above, I thought I’d never see the day. I was convinced you’d stay a lonely old hermit for the rest of your days.”>. “Oi! I’m not a hermit! At least not anymore!” Odhranos protests, his face reddening with embarrassment. Kestral snorts with laughter, before turning her head back to Raphaline. Dipping her head in the saurian equivalent of a curtsey, Kestral addresses Raphaline, while Odhranos translates. <”It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Raphaline. I do hope my disaster of a human has treated you well, he’s rather hopeless sometimes.”>


Raphaline feels a bit like an intruder on this sweet moment between the two companions. Rather than make her presence more notably known, she remains where she has kneeled down in the snow and turns her gaze away from the hug. When she notices the saurian turning towards her, she focuses her emerald eyes upon Kestral and extends her bare hand once more towards her. The warm snuffling tickles her fingers, and the bard cannot help the small chuckle that escapes her. “I am happy to make the acquaintance of such an amazing saurian. I have all the respect in the world for them, but even more so because she is important to you,” she says, turning to Odhranos with a small, knowing smile. “Not all family is blood, and sometimes the found family is the best.” She can feel herself being scrutinized, but it is only fair; the bard is a surprise in an already emotionally charged reunion. So, she dips her head is reverence to the saurian before she slowly stands back up to her full height and turns her attention once more to the mage. Chuckling, she nudges the mage’s shoulder playfully as she says, “You give me too much credit and not enough to yourself. You play just as well as I do.” When he steps closer and twines their fingers together, she feels a slight flush creep up to her cheeks as her gaze is soften and filled with an immense amount of affection. She brings his hand up to her lips and presses a kiss to his knuckles before turning to the drake once more and saying, “He may be a bit of a hermit, but he has been very kind to me since our paths crossed, and that is more than I could ever hoped for.” She tilts her head so her gaze falls on him once more as she adds, “I hope that my company brings as much joy and happiness to him as he has given to me.”


Odhranos lowers his eyes as Raphaline kisses his hand, smiling to himself as he rubs his thumb against the back of her hand, enjoying that simple contact. Kestral, meanwhile, puffs her chest out with pride at Raphaline’s praise. <”Oh, Odhranos, she’s such a kind soul. I like her.”> Kestral swings her head so that her eye gazes straight into the terramancer’s silver and gold, giving him a good hard stare. <”You’d better be a gentleman to her, or you’ll have me to answer to, do you understand?”>. Turning back to Raphaline, the drake bows her head thankfully to the bard. <”I can feel the joy and happiness you bring him, Lady Raphaline, and it settles my heart to know he has such a person by his side. I am glad I leave him in your care.”> Kestral nudges Raphaline’s shoulder fondly with her snout, a show of gentle affection, before she rears back and studies the two. <”I’m sure you are cold from your journey, do you have time to come inside for a short while? I should very much like to show you my new nest, Odhranos, I think you’ll approve.”> Chuckling slyly, the frost drake sits on her haunches as the terramancer turns to Raphaline, a slight edge of nerves in his eyes. “Ehm… would you care to see the inside of the Eyrie?”


Raphaline reaches up and gently runs her fingers over the drake’s snout in a returned, affectionate gesture. Grinning, she turns to Odhranos as she responds in kind to the drake. “I will try and do my best to take care of him. I cannot promise keeping him out of trouble, because I am notorious for getting wrapped up in the business of those in need.” She thinks of the last few battles she had fought in and purses her lips together just a little; too many war cries and death throes. As for the invitation to enter the Eyrie, she brightens, excited by the prospect of finally seeing the inside of such an illustrious building. Of all the places she has been in Frostmaw, this is one of the few she has not. “I would love to see inside and warm up just a little,” she says, noting the look of nervousness in his eyes. Grinning, she gives his hand a little squeeze as she says, “Shall I sit up front and you can hang on? You can close your eyes if the height is too much for you.” Releasing his hand, the bard makes her way around the drake, careful not to trip over wings or claws as she makes her way to the drake’s side. She presses a hand against Kestrel’s side, giving her a moment to welcome the touch of the bard before she thinks to climb up. “It has been a long time since I have flown. It isn’t an experience you forget though; not after you’ve felt the wind wrapping all around you and the ground has long disappeared beneath you.”


Odhranos grimaces as Kestral positions herself for take off. Turning his face up towards the sky, he gazes up the icy facade, to where the first ring of entrances perforates the outer wall. So high up that the clouds part around the tower’s sides; the mage imagines that feeling of airy void beneath his feet and his stomach turns violently, while his legs feel weak beneath him. A moment from apologising and backing out, the mage is brought back to reality by Raphaline’s comforting grip on his hand. “I.. I’d appreciate that. If you wouldn’t mind.” Odhranos smiles anxiously, as he strides across the snow to join Raphaline beside Kestral. The frost drake turns her head over her shoulder and studies the unnerved terramancer. <”When was the last time I let you fall, Odhranos? You know I’d never let you come to harm. Trust me.”> The gentle concern in the drake’s words settle Odhranos and his nervous breath settles into a slower, calmer rhythm. “Okay. Okay, I can do this.” Raising his foot and setting it on the ledge of muscle above Kestral’s foreleg, he hoists himself up and over, settling into the space where Kestral’s neck meets her shoulders. Offering a hand to Raphaline, he would help her join him, before wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning around to address Kestral. “Ready, Kess, let’s do this before my nerves fail me.” The drake nods before, then settles herself, bunching the muscles in her legs and unfolding her large, ice-blue wings. <”Hold on tightly!”> She growls, before with a powerful thrust, she takes off from the ground, strong downward beats of her wings powering her and her companions into the cold air. Odhranos gasps and wraps his arms tighter around Raphaline, hiding his face in her hair as he desperately tries to smother his fear. “S-s-sorry!” He murmurs, his nervous tone muffled by Raphaline’s thick curls.


Raphaline takes a hold of his hand and climbs up onto the drake with practiced ease. Once she is comfortable, she leans back into the mage as she presses a hand a top his that are now wrapped around her waist. As he tells Kess to begin to take off, the bard feels her heart go up into her throat with anticipation before the drake takes off. As the wind comes whipping around them, her heart falls into her stomach and a sense of elation over comes her. She shouts out her joy to the wind as she lifts one of her arms up, allowing the wind to whip her curls and coat about her in a frenzy. It felt so good to be up so high, and the swift movements of the drake make the flight even more exciting. But in the midst of her triumphant moment, she can feel Odhranos’ grip tightening around her waist and words whispered into her ears. With one hand still on the drake she turns just enough that the she can lean back, cup his face with her free hand and leans in close so that her lips brush against his ear and begins to whisper. She whispers not just comforting words, but she tries to distract him with a very brief story about two dragons, one gold and one silver, who fly in an endless circle, trailing just behind the other in a constant pursuit. When the top of the landing comes into view, she finishes her story and leaves him with a single thought before turning her attention back to the outpost. She tells him that she is not only proud of him, but that she couldn’t have had this adventure with anyone else.


Odhranos feels fear gripping his heart like a cold claw, the mere knowledge of all that air beneath him makes him want to cry with fear, but as Raphaline turns, her gloved hand cold against his cheek and her words warm against his ear, he squeezes his eyes shut and blots out everything save for her presence. The words of her story barely register to him, he focuses instead on the sensations of her breath and touch, letting the fears fade away as the wind whistles past. Kestral carries them higher and higher into the air, each wingbeat clawing through the frozen air, until they have passed the first ring of openings leading into the inner sanctuary of the Eyrie. Climbing higher still, the drake sets her sights on one entrance out of the many, ascending above it, before pulling out of her climb and swooping downwards. The air rushed over her streamlined head as they rushed through the sky, and suddenly the entrance was upon them, surrounding them with its large stone maw. The drake bolts straight through the tunnel, her wingtips mere inches from either wall, before the space opens up once again and they are inside the Eyrie. Warm air surrounds her passengers, as Kestral catches the thermals rising from beneath, lifting them higher into the open atrium space, before she leans forwards, pulling them out of the updraft and finally, into the sanctuary of one of the nesting alcoves that line the inside wall. With a clattering of claws on stone, the frost drake lands, taking a few steps deeper into the alcove before turning to her passengers. <"Welcome to my nesting place, honoured guests."> She huffs proudly, as Odhranos staggers down from his perch on her back. With shaky legs, the mage wobbles as he turns, before leaning forwards, taking Raphaline's face in his hands and kissing her, his kiss filled with adrenaline-fueled passion and thankfulness. "Oh gods above!" The mage gasps, his hands falling to Raphaline's shoulders as he drops his head, his chest heaving. He looks up into Raphaline's eyes and his expression is one of wild excitement. "That was a rush! Xalious bless, it's been so long since I've flown!"


Inner Sanctum of the Eyrie

Raphaline feels her heart leap every time the drake changes directions, but never loses focus of the fear emanating from the man sitting behind her. She continues to whisper sweet words to him all the way until they land among the nests and her own heart is finally able to settle. With stable ground beneath them once more, she leans away from the mage and slides down, finding her footing pretty quickly. She turns to say something to Odhranos about the beauty of the building when she finds his hands on either side of her face and a deep kiss pressed to her lips and she gasps against his lips Everything she was going to say just dies on her lips and all the thoughts she had been working through just fade away. If she could think, the bard would be astounded to find that every time he kisses her this seems to happen--it never happened in the past. The warmth of his lips and the depth of emotions that seemed to be conveyed in that single kiss causes the bard’s cheek to flare up with a bit of passionate heat as she wraps her arms around his neck and presses her heavily-clothed body into his. For the few moments that their lips mingle, she completely forgets there is an audience, that is until he speaks and she realizes they were making a scene where not only the drake could see but probably others could as well. She bites her bottom lip in a show of silent embarrassment as she takes a stumbling step back from the mage, trying to catch her own breath. Goodness, she felt like a young girl trying her hand at a first romance. “Oh, yes. The last time I remember flying, I was with Hildegarde,” she says, finally finding her voice as she turns to take in the expanse of the area. Her next words are for the drake as she turns to compliment the saurian with her choices of places. “I am honored to be welcomed into such a lovely place. You have done wonders with it.” She removes her gloves and reaches out to press a bare hand against the scales of the drake in an affectionate gesture.


Odhranos suddenly comes to his senses and looks around sheepishly, his face a beetroot red. Thankfully, they were alone in the nesting alcove, as it was private dwelling space, but the occupant of said dwelling was looking at them with an amused expression on her saurian face. <”Don’t mind me, you can pretend I’m not here.”> Kestral snickers, padding around inside the cave-like room towards her nest. Woven from heavy-duty wicker, the nest is tucked into side of the cave, with layers upon layers of thick, hard-wearing fabric piled up inside it. Climbing into the nest, Kestral stomps in a tight circle, packing the bedding down before she settles down, tucking her limbs under her body and curling her tail around, like a cat settling down for a nap. Sparing a glance to her guests, she raises her snout and gazes around her cave proudly. <”Yes, I am quite proud of how it turned out. The quartermaster is a treasure to our clan.”> The cave was largely sparse, but homely. Small crystals set in brackets along the vaulted walls cast a warm yellow light around the space, while a small human-sized desk and single bed take up the very back of the cave. The far side of the cave is taken up by a series of shelves, along which, various small knick-knacks and items are carefully arranged, curiously resemblant of the droves of small ornaments filling Odhranos’ office. Having recovered from his spontaneous boldness, Odhranos moves across to the shelves and gently runs his hand along one, taking a moment to dance his fingers over each item, smiling fondly at the memories associated to each one. Once halfway through, he turns back and smiles to Rpahaline, waving her over to look, as he would explain some of the stories behind each trinket, many of them associated with important moments in the man and drake’s shared time. When Raphaline mentions having flown with Hildegarde, Kestral’s head darts forward, open excitement apparent in her expressions. <”Lady Silver!! You’ve flown with her?! What was it like!?! Is she as wonderful as everyone says? I’ve never seen her in her dragon form up close, she’s so impressive…”> The drake babbles on exuberantly, while Odhranos, pausing his translation, explains to Raphaline. “We met the Queen a number of times, it was she that invited us to join the Eyrie. Little One here has been a huge fan ever since.” Odhranos smirked at his own choice of reference for Kestral; he’d been calling her “Little One” ever since she was as small as a housecat, but she was by no means little anymore. It felt familiar though, and he’d not drop the affectionate pet name any time soon. Pulling the chair out from the desk, Odhranos offers it to Raphaline, before moving to sit on the edge of Kestral’s nest, where he strokes her scales with the back of his hand.


Raphaline gazes around at the details decorating the cave. Between the size of the place and the obvious homeliness of it, she can imagine both the drake and the mage spending a lot of time here together. For her, she feels like she is walking into a very intimate part of his life and it both surprises her and makes her feel wanted; both good things she had mostly given up on. As the drake settles in her nest, the bard makes her way over to the offered chair and decides it is only fair to reveal a bit of intimate details about her own life to them both. As for the question about Lady Silver, she cannot help the grin that spreads across her lips. She has so many fond memories of the Queen of Frostmaw, ones that date back to when Hildegarde was only a denizen and warrior of Frostmaw. “She is frankly a sight that is hard to describe when in her dragon form. She is both regal and strong, and she dwarfs all of us substantially. I was very honored when she allowed me to fly on her so many, many years ago,” she says, her grin turning wistful. “I have known her since before she became the Queen we know and love. It is funny to think how far both of us have come in so many years. Both of us have faced trials and tribulations and come out of it with our stories and scars. We both know, that in times of need, we can count of each other.” Her mind travels back to the last time she had stood by Frostmaw, and she hopes that nothing of that nature will come to be anytime soon. Silently, she watches the interactions between mage and drake and feels a bit of loneliness settle somewhere in the recesses of her own heart; when last had she really spent time with her own found family? That was part of the reason she was stopping by the healer’s house, but also, she needed to make time to see others. Or stop traveling so far away too.


Odhranos nods as Raphaline recounts her story, smiling how she mentions knowing Hildegarde prior to her rise to the throne. “We only met her personally shortly after she gained the throne, though I was present when her army made its push on Frostmaw. She’s only ever been the Queen to the two of us, so it’s fascinating to hear a perspective on her from before then.” Kestral rests her chin on the side of her nest, eagerly expecting more stories about her hero. Odhranos gets up from his seat and paces around the cave, inspecting each corner carefully, but staying a good few paces shy of the entrance, he still didn’t have the nerve to stick his head out. Moving back to the shelves, he inspects each item in turn, as Raphaline and Kestral talk. After some time, they prepare to leave, and Kestral ferries them down to the snowy ground outside the Outpost once more. “Oh, Sven above, I had gotten used to the warmth in there.” Odhranos mutters, rubbing his arms as he climbs down from Kestral’s back, offering Raphaline a hand. Glad to have his feet back on solid ground, he turns to face Kestral, with a warm smile on his face. “It was good to see you again, Kess. I promise it won’t be as long before my next visit.” Odhranos steps forwards to give Kestral a parting hug, as she nuzzles his hair. <”You’re damn right it won’t be. I’ll fly the whole way to the Mage Tower and barge into that tiny cupboard you call an office if you don’t!”> She grumbles, but her words are softened with affection. <”Do stay safe.”> Kestral nudges the mage’s head, before turning to Raphaline as Odhranos steps back. The drake stretches her neck forwards towards Raphaline, before initiating a gentle contact between her snout and the bard’s forehead. Within her mind, Raphaline would hear the drake’s voice, clear as day, without need for Odhranos to translate. <”Please do take care of him. He’s a gentle soul and I worry for him a lot. But I’ve also felt the depths of his feelings for you and I know that being by your side brings him great happiness. I’m very glad to have met you, Raphaline.”> Kestral nuzzles Raphaline gently, before turning back towards the Outpost, preparing to take off. <”Remember Odhranos, be a gentleman!”> She calls out over her shoulder, before with one great wingbeat, she bounds from the ground and into the sky. “I am always a gentleman!” Odhranos calls back, though whether Kestral hears him or not is another question. Turning to Raphaline, he grins happily, before offering her his hand. “Shall we be off? What’s our next destination?” Once the pair are underway, Odhranos poses a question, his eyebrows raised inquisitively. “I didn’t hear that last exchange between you two, did Kess talk to you mentally? She’s never done that with anyone else before, I didn’t even know she could.” The mage squeezes Raphaline’s hand thoughtfully as he walks. “I wonder what she said…” He murmurs to himself idly, completely unaware of what had gone between the woman and frost drake.


Raphaline regales the drake with tales of the wars against the giants and witnessing the great ascension of the silver dragon from steward of the throne to Queenhood. She paints pictures of war camps and the great halberd that the Queen would vanquish her enemies with. What she doesn’t talk about is the many, personal moments she shared with the other woman, the sadness and fear that she knew could linger behind those regal eyes. Goodness, she missed speaking with her friend. When the stories are wrapped up, and she leaves the drake with many thoughts of possible glory in the future, she mounts up and exits back out into the cold. Once back on the ground she takes the offered hand and slides down from the drake’s back and into the deep snow. The chill of the wind begins to chip away at the warmth that had found its way back into her skin while they had been talking. She gives both the drake and mage a bit of space to make their farewells privately while she turns her gaze towards the northern recesses of the town; maybe next to the healing house? When she hears the drake approaching, she turns and reaches to press her hands to either side of the drake’s scaled maw as she leans in and lets Kess into her mind. At first she feels herself drawing back at the thought of someone seeing so intimately into her thoughts, but as the drake begins to speak, the bard relaxes and closes her eyes. The drake’s words bring a gentle smile to the bard’s lips as she nods her understanding. When she releases the drake, she leans up and presses a small kiss to the drake’s snout. “I promise to keep an eye on him,” she says out loud, turning her teasing, green gaze to the mage. “And to make sure he comes up for a visit more often too.” She watches as the drake takes off and heads back to the outpost before turning to the mage and taking the offered hand lacing her fingers with his. Grinning, she bumps his shoulder as she says, “Can’t girls have their own secrets between them. She cares about you a great deal though.” As for the question of the next place, she turns her gaze towards the northern part of the city and answers with a ‘healer’s house’. Mentally, the bard is preparing herself to see familiar, friendly faces once more. She imagines there will be tons of questions and hugging, and it warms her heart to be bringing Odhranos with her for it.


Healer Room

Raphaline still hadn’t made up her mind about how to best enter the healer’s room by the time they had reached the market square and then the corner where the building is housed. Her muscles stiffen just a little as her face possesses a bit of apprehension as she makes her way into the waiting room. There are healers milling about, taking patients back but none of the chaos from before; that had been a time of war. She dusts back her hood and turns to the woman filling out paper work and asks, “Is the matron healer in today?” The older woman had become like a second mother to the bard during her apprenticeship here, and she would be sorely disappointed if she missed the bard passing through. The woman behind the desk looks up and is about to say something when recognition dawns on her face. Smiling, the young healer stands and greets the bard--she mentions having worked with the songstress during the fight between Larket and Frostmaw. Smiling, the bard nods her remembrance of that time before casting a look to the mage. As for Odhranos, a few of the healers have swarmed him, asking after his health and how he had come upon the bard. Chuckling, she turns back to the other woman and is about to ask after the matron once more when a deep, older voice breaks through the chatter. “If I live and breathe, it seems our song bird had decided to finally come by and say hello.” The voice belongs to a woman in the middle of her fifties; rounded figure and gray wisps at her temple. She gives the bard a motherly but scolding look as she crosses her arms and silently beckons for the bard to come over. Sheepishly, the red head walks over and dips her head in reverence to the older healer. “Hello. I am sorry for not coming sooner, it isn’t fair to keep you worrying about me,” says the bard as she tries to win the older woman over with a smile. The matron huffs before wrapping the half-elf in a hug and a dressing down to not go so long again without word. Once she has finished her business with the bard, she looks over to Odhranos and raises another brow at her adopted daughter. “And you’ve brought us a visitor as well? Quite the stubborn patient too.” Her next question is posed to the mage, “You haven’t gone and gotten yourself injured again, have you? If you have, you are lucky to have crossed paths with our bard healer.” She motions for both Raphaline and Odhranos to follow her out of the waiting room and back into the healer’s quarters where they can better talk out of the ear shot of others.


Odhranos remembers the path to the healers well, he had walked far too often in the past year than he’d have liked, but when all is said and done, the healers were some of the kindest people he’d had the pleasure of knowing. Standing a few steps behind Raphaline as she makes her inquiry after the Matron, the mage is startled to find himself swarmed by the healers asking after him, peppering him with questions. “Ahh, yes, yes, I’m alright, just visiting for once!... No, no, I haven’t had any trouble with it since then... Yes, I still have the poultice if it starts giving me trouble... Oh, no, thankfully, though I did have a lovely tan when it healed up, you should have seen me, people were asking had I been holidaying in Rynvale... Oh, Raphaline? We met in Xalious, while I was working… Why are we travelling together? Ehm, well… you see…” Odhranos is thankfully spared from the interrogation by the Matron’s question. Escaping the crowd with a sheepish smile, Odhranos makes his way over and bows deeply. “Matron Healer, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” Straightening, the mage flashes her with a boyish grin. “Thankfully I’m in once piece this time, no doubt thanks to your expert skills, ma’am.” Odhranos knew the Matron well, he had gotten more than a few stern talkings-to from her when he was in the healers care, often times for escaping from his room to go roam the streets of Frostmaw. The mage was a pathological wanderer; though the impulse had softened with his tenure in the Mage’s Guild, he was still particularly bad with staying in bed when unwell. He follows close behind Raphaline, sparing a moment to wave shyly over his shoulder to the clustered healers, no doubt unhappy to be bereft of their interogee.


Raphaline follows back to the main healing room, memories of her time her coming back to her. When the matron says something about seeing to a few of the new healers working on a few patients in the back, the bard turns to her. “Would you like me to check on them?” She asks, glancing towards the door leading back to the apprentice hall. The matron smiles, not surprised that the bard is willing to help at the drop of a hat. “They shouldn’t be working on anything too serious, but if you don’t mind checking on them, I would greatly appreciate that,” says the older woman as she waves off the red head. Raphaline smiles, throws a glance in Odhranos’ direction before heading towards the back. As for the mage, he is not left with the only other figure who could be considered a mother to the bard. The older healer watches the bard disappear from sight before she releases a sigh and turns her attention to the mage once more. “She has always been willing to help others out, even at a cost to herself. There were plenty of times I had to force her to take a break and sleep when this place was filled with tons of patients,” she says, shaking her head as she gestures for the mage to sit in one of the nearby chair while she seats herself on an empty bed. She glances once more towards the back room before turning to the mage, her usually stern features softened as she continues speaking with the mage. “The last time she came up here, she was had another companion. I remember him, he was nice, but she always seemed sad around him,” says the older woman as she shakes her head. “She has always been really good at putting on a strong front even when she is hurting. It is nice to see joy in her eyes for once.” She chuckles as she adds, “I believe I have you to thank for that, no? She is a good person, truly. When she cares, she cares very fiercely. There is no doubt if what I see is true, she will do everything she can to protect you, mage.” The older woman pauses and turns as she hears the sound of returning footsteps. Raphaline comes back around the corner followed by a few of the younger healers asking her so many questions about recent travels. “Yes, yes. I promise, next time I am here I will tell you all about the places I visited recently.” She glances up first to the matron and smiles warmly before her gaze flickers to the mage and she absolutely lights up. “I hope she didn’t give you the complete run down,” she gests to the mage as she makes her way around to Odhranos, placing a hand against his shoulder.


Odhranos seats himself in the indicated chair, folding his hands in his lap as he does so, though they fiddle somewhat anxiously. This woman before him is someone important in Raphaline's life and he very much wants to make a good impression, at least better than the impression she already has of him as a troublesome patient. However, once the matron begins speaking about Raphaline, the mage's nerves settle and he leans forwards, eager to hear about her from this woman who knows her best. He smiles warmly when she describes Raphaline's selflessness, his eyes soften with concern when she talks about how Raphaline hides her sadness and pain, and finally he looks down, bashfully when matron comments on his impact upon Raphaline's happiness. Odhranos is about to reply when Raphaline returns to the room and he sits upright, a bright happy energy evident in his reaction to her presence. Placing his hand over hers, he looks up to her with a gentle caring smile. "She only affirmed that which I know about you already; that you have the kindest heart and strongest spirit of any of us." The mage beams up at Raphaline, practically glowing with affection for the wonderful caring woman beside him.


Raphaline turns her hand over and laces her fingers with his once more as she gives it a gentle squeeze. As for the being the topic of conversation, she turns to the older woman raises a brow and shoots her a look of curiosity; what had she been telling the mage about her? She trusts all good things, and finds her suspicions confirmed when Odhranos says something so nice that she is sure she is blushing in front of all the healers. She begins to say something about how the mage is just too kind to her when the matron interrupts. “I am sure you both have plenty of other places to see and people to visit while up here. Just know, our doors are always open to you both.” The older woman rises from her seat and begins to shoo the other healers back to their work while she escorts her guests back out to the waiting room. The bard is thankful for her clever interruption, because she felt almost like she might just start talking about how great the mage has been and just not be able to stop. When they get out to the waiting room, she finds herself enfolded into so many hugs from the other healers before she gets one last hug from the older woman. The matron healer wraps her arms tightly around the half-elf as she whispers something into her ears, presses a kiss to the bard’s cheek and tells her she better visit more often. Raphaline is wearing a shy smile as she glances towards Odhranos before giving the matron space to walk over and embrace the mage as well. “Now you take good care of Raphaline. I know she can be a spirited handful, but she has good intentions,” she says, hugging the mage tightly before promptly shooing them out. Laughing, the bard slips her hand into the crook of the mage’s arm as she says, “Well, that went better than I expected. For healers, they are all a friendly, outspoken bunch, no?” She turns to regard her companion for a brief moment, thinking about what the other woman had said before saying, “Shall we go to the hot springs next? I don’t think I am quite ready to check in at the tavern for the night, and the hot water will do our muscles some good.” She links her hand with his and heads toward the caves to the far north and a place in the caves where blue flowers grow.


Odhranos is curious as to what the matron might have whispered to Raphaline to make her smile in such a way, but he has learned his lesson after Kess’ parting words. Let women have their secrets, when they feel it fit for him to know, they’d tell him and not a moment sooner. Odhranos returns the matron’s hug, before taking a step back and bowing deeply. “I will do my utmost to ensure that she stays safe and happy, and you can hold me to my word.” He laughs, a deep warm chuckle, as Raphaline takes his arm and with a parting wave, they leave the Healer’s House and head back into the icy streets of Frostmaw. “A hot springs would be simply divine right now, I feel as if my feet are frozen solid.” Tucking his free hand into the warm sanctuary of his pocket, the mage falls in step beside the bard, bumping shoulders affectionately as they walk. “Thank you for introducing me to them. I know they knew me as a patient before, but it felt… special to be presented to them by you.” The mage drops his eyes, a little embarrassed, but with a shy smile and red dimples on his cheeks from the cold. As he looks down, a stray snowflake drifts past his vision, then another, a pair, now a flurry. Odhranos turns his face upwards and exclaims happily as fluffy soft flakes begin dancing down from the heavy clouds overhead, their drifting passage softening the noises of the city and making the lamplight into an ambient yellow glow that blooms like a vignette around them as they walk. Odhranos turns to look at Raphaline, his grey-brown hair speckled with snow and he leans in to bump his cold nose against her cheek before placing a warm kiss in its place. “This has been a wonderful day, thank you for bringing me.”


Stepped Hot Springs

Raphaline turns to him with a light smile on her lips and playfully bumps him back. “I have to admit, that was a big step for me. It isn’t like I haven’t had friends with me when I come up here, but,” she pauses, glancing up at him from beneath her eyelashes, “you are more than just a friend to me. I don’t usually let those people get too steeped into my everyday life.” She doesn’t explain exactly why she keeps romantic entanglements separate from the rest of her life, but the small lift to her smile says that she is working on being okay with him stepping over that line. Rather than dwell on that subject for any longer than need be, she dons a playful grin as she takes a hold of his elbow and nods towards the northward route. “Have you been to the hot springs before? They are tucked back in the mining cave, and you might miss them if you aren’t looking,” she says, weaving around the late afternoon traffic in the square. Once they are off the beaten path, she heads for the cave. At the time of the day there are less people milling about in the main hub of the mining region. The bard slips towards the back and around a few curves before they stumble into an area of the cave that is very warm. There are blue flowers dotting the area and steam seems to be spiraling up from the ground. Before she walks onto the warmed ground she takes her heavy boots and coat off, leaving her in just her leather pants and sleeveless tunic top. Freed of the furs, she allows the steam to lick away the last of the frost that had settled into her skin. She turns to the mage and says, “Best to leave anything you don’t want to end up wet here at the entrance. The steam and heat is only going to get thicker to further in we go.” She piles her satchel, fur coat, boots in a pile at the entrance before glancing over at Odhranos once more. “So uh, just to let you know, leather does not do well with wet either,” she says, looping a thumb through the loop of her own leather pants. “Just so you know,” she adds as she turns so her back is to him and begins to unbutton and pull off the already starting to stick leather pants. Those are quickly tossed into the pile, leaving the bard in her shirt which hangs down to mid-thigh. One more silent look is given to the mage before she beckons him to follow her down the tiny trail that seems to wind down to somewhere beneath the field of flowers. The trail opens up into a room filled with numerous pools of varying degrees of temperature. Raphaline heads for one of the large pools and sits on the edge and dips her feet into the water. Instantly, the soreness that had started to take up residency in her muscles begins to drift away.


Odhranos shakes his head. “I’ve meant to visit them, but never really found the time. I was always busy with some task or other, I never had the chance to visit, so I am quite excited to finally have the opportunity.” He follows Raphaline through the square and further northwards, tracing her steps through the crowd so as not to bump into anyone or lose her in the throng. Once they are free of the busy streets, he falls into step beside her, gazing around every so often to admire the scenery, sparing glances every so often out of the corner of his eye at Raphaline. Once they enter the caves, the mage sighs contently, always happy to be surrounded by rock and stone. Once they emerge into the flower filled room, Odhranos smiles happily and enjoys the heated air rising from the ground, stealing the chill from his bare hands and face. “Mmm, divine…” he murmurs, as he sheds his coat and folds it, placing it on the ground beside Raphaline’s pile, on top of which he added his shoes, and finally S’erok’s cage, which as it is placed down, sprouts a cluster of stone tendrils that bury themselves in the ground, anchoring it incase of any would-be thieves. The mage unpins his robes and is halfway through undressing when Raphaline comments on leather and its aversion to moisture. “Ahh…” he pauses, the cloth of his robes slipping through his fingers and off of his body. Beneath, the mage wore a pair of simple leather trousers and a waist-length tunic, but not much in the ways of a concealing garment suitable for bathing. “Ehm… I’ll be down in a moment.” The mage laughs as he turns back to his pile of clothing. A minute later, when Raphalinehas gone down to the springs, Odhranos emerges at the base of the winding trail, peeping around through the steam anxiously. The mage is completely naked save for a pair of plain white undergarments, the rest of his clothing stashed away up above. Padding across the wet stone in bare feet, Odhranos approaches the nearest pool, taking a moment to swirl his hand through the water to test its temperature, before slipping into the pool, submerging himself up to his neck and letting out a world-weary groan of contentment. “Oh gods above, this is heavenly.” He murmurs, spreading his limbs and settling his back against the stone side of the pool, before glancing across at Raphaline, a slightly self-conscious smile on his face. “I really should have brought something more appropriate to wear.”


Raphaline swirls her legs to and fro through the water as she leans back on her hands, tips her head back and closes her eyes. The heat warms the recesses of her skin and brushes away the ache that had started to form in her heart. Seeing family brought back so many memories; some good and others she’d rather tuck away forever. Here in the warmth of the cave, she feels her body being purged of the doubtful thoughts that had been picking away at her strong defense; this is not like before she told herself. In between the drifting thoughts about the trip, she hears the sound of approaching feet and tilts her head towards the entrance of the cave. She opens one eye with the intention of making a quick glance at him, but as the sight of him really settles into her sight, she languidly draws her body up into a sitting position. Both eyes trail slowly over the mage’s body and follows him as he makes his way over to the pool. She draws up her left leg and crosses her arms to balance on her knee as she listens to him speak. When he makes mention of probably rethinking his choice of clothing choices for the trip north, the bard in a very nonchalant tone says, “I think you look perfect fine.” And grins, like a cat that has caught the canary. Maybe it is the heat, or maybe all this travel and conversation about serious topics has brought the flirtatious, playful side of out her right now. With the heat building, the bard reaches up to her collar and unbuttons the top two, revealing the sharp curves of her collar bone and the mottling of scarred flesh that spreads across the left side of her chest. As for the curls that have begun to stick to her neck and face, they are pulled to the right side and lazily braided off of her dew covered neck.


Odhranos raises his eyebrows and smirks at Raphaline’s nonchalant comment. “Well, I’m glad to hear that, I was worried I’d be underdressed for the occasion.” His nerve bolstered by the day prior, Odhranos is surprisingly confident as he flirts, turning to fold his arms and rest them on the edge of the circular pool, his face turned to Raphaline. When she unbuttons her collar and begins tidying her hair, Odhranos’ eyes linger on the curve of her neck for a few moments, admiring her smooth skin, before he averts his gaze reluctantly, hesitant to linger too long. “I’m sure it’s quite still quite cold out there, would you care to join me?” Odhranos asks, his tone level and unassuming. However, as if to counterpoint his innocent inquiry, the mage pushes away from the wall, moving across in front of Raphaline, before he stands up from the pool, water cascading down his chest as he does so. Odhranos glances down, a faint unhappy grimace as he examines his body, scar patina and all, before he turns his eyes back to his companion, a half-confident grin on his face as he spreads his arms wide. “There’s plenty of room for two.” He teases, taking a step or two backwards into the pool, steam swirling around him and obscuring him from view.


Raphaline watches him with an appreciative look in her emerald eyes as he rises out of the water and allows her another look at him. A small grin turns up the corner of her lips as she follows his movements. When he grimaces that is when she decides to join him in the pool. Carefully, she pushes off the side of the pool and slips into the warm water with a dancer’s ease. Her green tunic begins to pool around her hips as she moves through the water towards him with slow, but sure steps. “Of course I’d love to join you,” she answers, her voice taking on a slightly husky lilt to her words as she stops before him. She turns her gaze up to him as she moves in close enough that when she reaches out she can press her right hand to the scarring painted across his chest. Her touch is slowly and gentle as she trails her finger tips over the patterns. “Don’t ever be worried about your scars in front of me; they are a part of you, and I like you completely,” she says as she brings her focus back down to his chest and she leans in brush a faint kiss over the scar at the center of his chest.


Odhranos trembles slightly as Raphaline presses her hand to his chest, the scars dulling the feeling of her fingers on his skin, though every fibre of him seems to ache at that light touch. His hands drift idly in the water, moving as if to hold her hips, swathed in the diaphanous cloth of her tunic, but he pauses, instead lifting them from the water and placing his left hand over hers where it rests on his chest. A soft smile tweaks the corners of his mouth as he gazes at Raphaline, though when she presses her lips to his skin, she can likely feel the beat of his heart thumping painfully in his chest. “They do bother me, they remind me of less pleasant times, but it was an experience that has led me to become who I am now. To where I am now. So I am thankful to have been led to these moments, if it weren’t for all the scars that I picked up along the way, I may not have met you.” Odhranos reaches out and gently runs two fingers along her collarbone, then over the scar that dips down to meet the wet collar of her tunic. He lifts his hand, not daring to travel further, before his head dips and leans in. Cupping her cheek with one hand, he presses his lips to hers briefly, a mere ghost of a touch, before he slowly marks a trail of kisses down the curve of her neck, each one slower and more delicate than the rest. The trail continues down her shoulder, then along the marking of her scar. When the last lingering kiss has been pressed to her skin, the mage leans back, pausing to take in the moment as they gaze at each other. “Your skin is a tapestry of beautiful stories, and I want nothing more than to read every word.” He murmurs, a shy expression colouring his cheeks as he turns his gaze away.


Raphaline feels her heart flutter as he talks about his scars. When he says they may be the very reason that led to them meeting, she cannot help the gentle smile nor the affectionate light that brightens her emerald eyes. “They are a part of you, but you are so much more than them,’ she says, leaning in to brush another feather light kiss against his chest. This talk of scars makes her very aware of the ones she possesses, in particular the one she knows he can see. At first she reaches up to the collar to try and pull the cloth back over it, but when he reaches out to touch her, she stops. Her hand falls to her side as her pulse quickens with each caress of his fingertips over the ridges of both her throat and then her scar. Again, she resists the urge to pull away. When his fingers reach the edge of the cloth, she prepares to tell him to keep going but finds herself rendered speechless by another kiss. When his lips leave hers, she turns her head just enough so that she can brush her lips against the inside of his palm. It is in that moment as she prepares to say something that feels the warm sensation of his lips pressed against the pulse in her neck. Her body goes very still as her heart begins to race. The second kiss causes her entire body to shudder and a sharp intake of breath. By the third one she has to brace one hand against his chest to keep from just toppling into the pool altogether. But it is the kiss that curves along her scare that elicits the most honest sound of all from her: a mixture of a soft gasp and quiet moan. Right at this moment, he could probably ask anything of her and she would give it. When he pulls away, she tries to smother the groan of protest that reverberates in the back of her throat. That, and gather her thoughts and remember to stand. When she opens her eyes and focuses on him once more, it takes everything in her not to just throw her arms around him and kiss him right there. Instead, she reaches up to place a hand against his cheek and guide his gaze back to hers. Her lips purse together just before she responds in a voice that is both husky desire and fearful caution. “Sometimes it truly scares me how willing I am to fall right into your hands. But the truth is you are the first person in a long time that I want to allow a glimpse into the story written on my skin.” She leans up to press a soft kiss to his lips before she pulls away just enough so that she can slowly turn her back to him. Hesitantly, she reaches up and unbuttons her tunic just enough that she can pull the tunic down to below her shoulder blades to the reveal the numerous criss cross of white lines on her back. Some are long and look like they cut deep while others are thin and short as if done quickly, but there is no part of the revealed skin that isn’t marked up with serious scarring.


Odhranos leans into Raphaline’s palm, his gaze soft with tender affection at her words. When she turns away from him, he tilts his head curiously as she begins unbuttoning her tunic, his cheeks warming as she opens the collar of her top. As the green fabric slips over her shoulders, revealing the grid of scars that lace across her back, Odhranos gasps quietly, his expression full of concern as he leans forwards, his hands involuntary reaching out as if to try shield and protect, even though the pain that inflicted these scars on the half-elf had passed many years ago. "Those bastards." Odhranos whispers, as he tentatively touches one ridge of scarring, tracing his fingertip along the filament of white skin until it meets another, following the traceries of long-faded wounds with a tender contact. He spreads his palm against her skin, closing his eyes as the warm steam coils and swaddles them in a misty blanket, making the sights and sounds world fade away until all that exists in his bubble of perception is the contact between their skin. The faintest of differences between each scar, some deep, cutting and brutal, others swift and vicious, Odhranos let the scars speak to him, telling him their stories of pain, pain dealt, pain experienced, pain withstood. Odhranos rests his forehead against Raphaline's hair, eyes still closed as he reads the story written in the scars of her back. "You amaze me." He eventually murmurs, as his inquisitive touch trails slowly over her skin. "So much suffering, so much that my heart breaks even imagining it. And yet you withstood it. You fought through, and survived. No, more than survived; you lived. You smile and laugh and cry, uncowed, unbroken and unstoppable." Odhranos smiles and nuzzles her vibrant red hair, his heart almost bursting with emotion. "You are an incredible woman, and it's a wonder my heart hasn't beat itself out of my chest with how much you have stolen it."


Raphaline had been prepared for him to just stare at her back. Most people gawked when they caught even a glimpse of the pattern etched into her skin or they became so nosey that they kept asking questions until the bard became frustrated and told them to go away. It had become a normal thing to deal with any time that she wanted to visit a bath house or go swimming at the beach, but it never got easier to bear. So, when he reaches out and gently touches the scars one at a time, she releases a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding onto this entire. With each new scar he traces, a prickling sensation begins to build in the corner of her eyes. She shuts her eyes, hoping to cut the tears off before they can even begin. When he starts to speak, his words at first do not quite register within the recesses of her warring mind, but as she slowly comes to and really hears what he says, those tears begin to slide down her cheeks. She reaches up to place a hand over her lips to muffle the small cry that escapes her lips as she squeezes her eyes shut tighter. No one, in all the realms, has ever said something to her that made her seem so seen. Seen for what had happened, but also for who she became following afterwards. She felt known and it both made her shiver with delight and seize up with utter fear. Knowing her so well meant that she could be hurt very deeply. So here she is, stuck between two choices. After he leans in and tells her how she has stolen his heart, she opens her eyes and pulls back just enough that she can turn around, cup his face and press a desperate kiss against his lips. As beautiful as words are, her lips move in a manner that asks him to show her what he means so that it resonates all the way to her bones.


Odhranos is dimly aware of Raphaline’s imperceptible cry, but he can feel her trembling beneath his fingertips. When she turns, the mage is startled, his eyes snapping open with surprise as breaks contact between them momentarily, his heart immediately freezing with doubt and worry. Has he stepped too far? Have his words delved too deep? Gods forbid, has he frightened her somehow? This blistering whirlwind of anxious thoughts wheel around the man’s mind as Raphaline turns to face him. Opening his mouth to speak, Odhranos prepares to apologise; “Rapha - mmph!” His words dissipate, as do the doubts and concerns plaguing his mind when Raphaline’s kiss draws him in. Odhranos is struck by the intensity of this kiss, the ferocity and yearning so unconcealed with the way that she kisses him, and so he gives himself fully to this kiss, fully to her. His arms rise unbidden, enfolding her in his embrace, so that his body might hug every curve of hers, that she might feel the frantic staccato of his heart against her chest, that he might speak to her, not with words, but the language of tangled fingers, aching depthless whispers and a passion burning so bright and intense, it feels like Odhranos may be consumed by its flames if he so much as dares to let it. No longer mage and bard, half-elf and human, wandering musician and scholarly academic; in this ephemeral world of steam and sighs, they are man and woman, no more and no less. Odhranos’ eyes are pressed shut, his vision illuminating in a pyrotechny of touch; the velvet soft of hair tangled about his fingers, the satin smooth of sweat-beaded skin, and the all-consuming heat that suffuses them both. The mere concept of words long evaporated from his mind, Odhranos offers to Raphaline sentences of touch, punctuated with kisses and accentuated with sighs.


Frostmaw Tavern

Raphaline is pretty sure she is wearing a stupidly happy grin on her face. After everything that transpired in the cave hot springs, she feels revitalized and reawakened. Obviously at some point they had to leave, but it was with some reluctance that they had gathered up their things and headed back out into the winter wonderland. With all their visits complete, it seemed only reasonable that they find somewhere to rest for the evening and the head out at first light. So, the bard leads them towards the tavern where she knows there are always room available for travelers passing through for a day or two. While they make their way down the icy roads, she cannot help but keep glancing over at the mage every chance she gets. There is something new to the way she looks at him, but she just grins and turns her attention back to the road each time. When the tavern comes into view she says, “Oh good. I need one of Drargon’s strong brew after today.” She punctuates her statement with a playful wink before she pushes the door open and enters into a very familiar place. First, she secures a room key and then she asks about possible dinner and two of Drargon’s strongest ales. With her requests put in, she turns towards the quiet room and heads for one of the round tables and with a sigh of relief, settles in to her seat close to the fire and begins to peel her gloves and heavy coat off.


Odhranos basks in the happy glow exuding from the woman beside him, a bashful smile peeping out with every glance she sends his way. The mage can sense some new aspect to her gaze, one that sparks a hesitant, optimistic curiosity inside him, but rather than trying to press and ferret out this meaning, he simply relaxes and enjoys being in her presence, interlacing their fingers as they stroll through the city. Raphaline’s wink is met with warm laughter from the mage as he follows her into the tavern, closing the heavy wooden door behind him to keep the cold draught at bay. Seating himself at their table by the fire, he shrugs off his heavy coat and seems to sink into the curves of wooden chair, a gentle smile of contentment softening his features. “I don’t think I have felt this relaxed in years. Those springs are truly amazing.” He sighs, but the secretive little curl of his lips and the way he averts his eyes seem to imply some different reasons. He turns in his chair and extends his hands out towards the fire, rubbing them together slowly as the delicious warmth soaks into his palms. “Do you have plans for where you will be travelling next when we return to Xalious?” Odhranos inquires casually, turning to face Raphaline as the barhand arrives with two foaming tankards of ale, with promise of food within a handful of minutes. The mage lifts the near-overflowing tankard, quaffing a long cooling sup of ale and humming appreciatively as he dabs away the froth-moustache with a hastily procured handkerchief.


Raphaline settles into her chair and tips the mug towards her lips as she watches him get comfortable. At the mention of the springs, she breaks into a grin as her gaze slides down to the base of his neck. She quirks a brow at him as she gestures at her own neck and says, " I can tell." If he figures out what she means then all good, but if not, well the waitress might glance openly at the small bruise tucked into the spot between neck and collar bone. As for the question about her next place to travel to, she furrows her brows. Had she decided on her next destination yet? "Not yet," she begins to say, sliding her emerald gaze back towards him. " I've been kind of distracted by someone lately. And now I have some rather nice memories to keep me distracted." She chuckles, knowing full well that her teasing is going to make the mage blush. "What about you? What are your plans when you get back to Xalious?"


Odhranos tilts his head with confusion, unsure what Raphaline is indicating at. He sits forwards a bit in his seat, trying to see what she is indicating at on her neck, and as he cranes his neck forwards, the waitress notices the now brazenly-presented bruise, making her cough as she tries to stifle her mixed shock and amusement. Quite bewildered at this point, Odhranos turns to look at the waitress, utter befuddlement writ large on his features. He follows her gaze and looks down, only now noticing the bruise at the base of his neck. Slowly and calmly, the mage sits back into his seat, but the bright red blush that colours his cheeks and ears clearly display his embarrassment. The waitress manages to contain her laughter and turns to go to the bar, catching Raphaline’s eye on the way and winking knowingly before departing. Once she has left, Odhranos covers his face in his hands and groans with despair, laughing at his own cluelessness. Once he has regained his composure, he attempts to take a demure sip of his drink, only to be set off once more by Raphaline’s comments, nearly choking on his drink. “Gods above, it’s awfully warm in here, isn’t it?” Odhranos flusters, failing dismally to mask his growing blush, but the playful twinkle in his eyes and the inescapable grin convey his inner happiness at Raphaline’s words. “I’ll be returning to the Mage’s Tower, I have my thesis to get back to, along with my regular duties. But, I suspect my mind may end up being a bit... preoccupied.” Odhranos smirks bashfully as he hides his smile behind the tankard.


Raphaline really cannot help the well of laughter that escapes her as she watches him dwindle into a state of embarrassment; it is endearing. She downs the rest of her drink with a swift tip of the mug before she turns towards the mage and casually leans across the table. Between the relaxed nature of her muscles and the warming of her blood from the alcohol, she cannot help but lean in to whisper something to him in a teasing purr of a voice. “I don’t believe it is quite warm enough.” She punctuates her unspoken connotation by leaning over and pressing a brief kiss against the side of his neck before sitting back. Grinning, she turns towards she had seen the waitress run off to and motions for another to be brought back to the table. Turning back to Odhranos, now wearing a cat that caught the canary grin she tips her head as she asks, “Should I come by and distract you a bit from your regular duties? I hear libraries are the best places to sneak away for a kiss or two.” Besides, she hasn’t made a formal introduction to the tower, or rather while she is looking for him in particular. Oh goodness, how might some of the adepts respond to her sudden appearance and obvious affection and attention towards their shy mentor. The thought makes her chuckle as she reaches across the table and places her hand a top his in a compromise that she might not tease him more--maybe. When more drinks and the meal arrive, she takes her time enjoying the warming stew, but does not do the same with the ale. When she travels, drinking is not something she indulges in, plus in good company it is always better. So, as she sips at her ale, she peers over the lip of the mug at the mage with a considering look before she proposes a thought. “Even though we have gotten to know each other pretty well,” she lets that hang heavily between them, “I feel like there is so much more to learn. So indulge me with a bit of back and forth? You may ask me what I like as long as I may do the same, yes?”


Odhranos checks the temperature of his cheeks and forehead with the back of his palm and Sven above, the waves of heat coming off his skin are fearsome. He attempts to take a sip of his ale, just as Raphaline leans over and whispers in his ear, pressing her cool lips to his flaming skin. Surprised once again, the mage let's skip a less than civilised noise, which is thankfully muffled by the ale, though he does almost choke on the mouthful of strong bitter drink. Managing to save his image and not splutter ale the length of the hall, he gulps down the mouthful and flashes the grinning bard a look of amused bafflement, wondering how he might ever keep up with this wonderously spirited and unpredictable woman. But yet, it was her wild joyousness that drew him to her. Not to mention she made him laugh and blush like he was a boy at a village fair, which was a new and refreshing feeling for the quiet, reserved man. Smirking at her suggestion of elicit forays in the library, he leans his chin in one hand while he raises a cheeky eyebrow at the bard. "You'd be amazed the number of apprentices I've caught getting up to mischief in the more secluded aisles of the library. They always think they're the only ones who think of the idea, but I can't count the number of times I've turned the corner into the "General Arcane Theory" section and found two apprentices practically tangled together; I'd honestly prefer if they just found an empty office for their… extracurricular activities rather than have me discover them when I'm looking for a reference manuscript." He chuckles as the food is placed down. Lifting a spoonful of warm, flavoursome stew to his lips, he blows gently, his eyes turned upwards as he listens to Raphaline. Popping the spoon in his mouth, he savours the thick creamy texture of the stew, nodding in answer to Raphaline's suggestion. "By all means, I'd love to." He beams joyfully, holding his tankard in both hands as he taps it against his chin in thought, pondering what he might as his companion first. "Oh, I have one." The mage's eyes light up as he places the mug aside and interweaves his fingers, settling his chin on his hands to look at Raphaline. "Where, out of the many places that you have travelled, have you felt the greatest connection to? What place do you just find yourself returning to time and time again?"


Raphaline cannot help the grin that spreads across her lips nor the silver-belled laughter that escapes her as she gets a rise out of the mage. As much as she has enjoyed teasing and flirting with others over the years, there seems to be something so special about flirting with and knocking him a bit off balance with her words. Endearing maybe? She wonders what else she might be able to say to get another lovely reaction out of him, but finds herself distracted by the stories of the clandestine library meet-ups. Another bubble of laughter as she gently swats the mage on the shoulder as she says, “Oh come now, you can’t blame them. Stuck in that tower all day long with each other and very few secrets place to sneak off to; I am not surprised. As for offices, I’d been even more surprised if all of them didn’t have some sort of magic lock on them. Or that there is many empty ones either.” She shakes her head as she sits back, taking another sip of her ale before she works on her own stew. She considers his question for a moment as she mulls over the many places she has been before finally settling on an answer. A wistful smile touches her lips as she leans her cheek into the palm of her hand. “To be honest, these lands. I have been outside of here many times, but I always seem to come back here. I think that is because there are a few I miss and then every time I come back I seem to be lucky enough to find someone else to add to that list of people.” She offers a playful wink as she adds, “In fact, I think I have found my favorite person to kiss, recently.” Grinning, she turns back to her stew and eats a few more bites while she mulls over her own question. With another sip of ale, she poses her own question to him. “This is a two part question. First, what has been your favorite surprise adventure in these lands in particular? Secondly, what is a choice or adventure you undertook that you’d rather not have spent your time and energy on?” Always interesting to see what some find the best and worst, because it all depends on whether it is the people involved, or the actual reason behind it.


Odhranos smirks at Raphaline's comments on the clandestine apprentices. "Oh, I don't blame them at all. Working side by side during the day, and living in the same dormitories together at night, it's a miracle there aren't more children born into the guild with the amount of sexual tension in the air." Odhranos taps his spoon against his lip, then breaks into a wide grin. "All that suppressed energy has to go somewhere, and studying doesn't exactly make for good relief, so I am completely unsurprised. That's the reason why I keep my office locked whenever I am out, I don't dare to think the state I'd find it in otherwise." The mage leaned across the table and whispered conspiratorially "They're like animals! You should have seen the state of Administrator Brenwyn's office when he left it open during the festival. It looked like a whirlwind had hit it!" Sitting back into his chair as he laughs, the mage smiles as Raphaline answers his question. A shy smile touches his lips as she comments on her recent discovery of a particular person, and that new warm feeling blooms in his chest again. When Raphaline presents her question, he places his spoon down and cups his chin in thought. "Hmm, that's quite a question. A difficult one too " Odhranos purses his lips was he ponders what was quite a hard question. "Well, I'll answer the first part, as that's easier. A few years ago, I encountered a drow in the Eternal Forest in Larket. On a whim, I joined him in investigating a magic anomaly in the forest. A few months later, on foot of that experience, I joined the Mages Guild of Xalious and the rest is history." Odhranos smiles with the nostalgic feelings that the memories bring back, before his face falls, like a dark cloud slipping infront of the sun. "Lanlan was my first colleague. I saw him recently for the first time in years, he had been promoted during my absence, and he came to me asking for my help with another investigation, one connected to the first mission we had encountered each other on. I was hesitant at first, I just… my experience in Raiez' Cave and the Nameless Desert told me that the way we had been toying so carelessly with arcane relics was dangerous. But he was my friend, and I couldn't refuse the call of adventure." Odhranos places his mug aside and frowns as he remembers that awful day. "The relic unleashed… something, a malevolent spirit, and it possessed Lanlan and vanished. I haven't heard of so much as a rumour of his whereabouts since. I fear the worst." Odhranos' brows crinkle with concern briefly, before he sighs and waves a hand as if warding away the bad feelings. "Don't mind me. Lanlan is resourceful and has a stubborn streak a mile wide. I just regret not having said something sooner, perhaps things might have been different." Odhranos shrugs, not convinced by his own words, before he turns back to Raphaline. "I'm curious to know your answer to that also, if you don't mind my stealing your question."


Raphaline just keeps finding opportunities to tease the mage, especially when she sets himself up so perfectly. Grinning, she leans across the table towards him after he whispers about the state of other professors offices and says in a cheeky tone, “Well if studying doesn’t make for good relief, it sounds like I should make frequent visits to the tower, just to make sure your suppressed energy doesn’t get the best of you.” Chuckling, she also adds, “Also, that sounds like a challenge. I am sure we could destroy your office just as badly.” She winks before she sits back, drinking down the rest of her ale and pretending like she is completely innocent in all of this business. As for the story about his adventures, she tilts her gaze once more to him and listens. She enjoys the bit about his first foray into the world of the Mage Guild, but when the conversation turns towards his concern for his friend, the bard reaches out and clasps his hand in hers. “If you feel like you should go looking for him, then I say do it. In regards to the whether you should have said something, you didn’t know that it was going to do that. Sometimes bad things happen that we cannot control, and even though it is bad, it is not your fault.” She lifts his hand up and places a gentle kiss right on his knuckles. “You are such a sweet and gentle person, I know you could never be blamed for the hurt that befalls someone else.” As for her own adventures, what could have been the worst? The best? “Well, how are we describing adventures? Like quests and such or?” She taps a finger against her lips as she decides on a couple of quests. “Well, one of my favorite adventures was when I was really starting out as a traveling bard. I made friends with a few apprentice rangers and they invited me to come play with them while they were out on a routine check of the forest. It ended up turning into a run into with some tricky pixies and a crystal cave and a secret florescent map drawn on the ceiling. We followed it through the cave and came upon more paintings depicting the ancient elves and a grand story about how they discovered magic,” she says as she grins, shaking her head. “There was also treasure too.” Her smile falters for a moment as she thinks of all the bad adventures. “There is the time I had a nasty run in with a lycan. Actually a few bad times with lycans. There was the one who went crazy that I tried to help track down and he attacked and mauled me. And there is the one I went on a very scary adventure with a lycan into Venturil and there were these undead things trying to kill us. And he and I were…but then…he wanted things I couldn’t give him.” The bard shrugs, that is old history. “Or I could pick the one with Krice and our foray into the Sage forest when it was inhabited by the drow years ago. Poison, blood, attacks. And him. Or the numerous wars I helped out in. You can pick one.” She waves down the waitress, obviously needed another strong drink. While she waits for said drink, she turns to him with a curious look in her emerald eyes as she thinks of what to ask next. Rather than go for something deep, she goes for something to lighten the mood once more. “Did you ever expect to end up here, with me?”


Odhranos had really set himself up for that one, and Raphaline capitalised on the chance to great effect. "I swear, Xalious bless me, I've never been so red in my life. You're going to have me combust at this rate." Odhranos laughs, fanning his face to try cool down. Made bold by Raphaline's teasing and no doubt the alcohol too, Odhranos feels a cheeky impulse emerging that makes him smirk, before he leans across to whisper huskily in Raphaline's ear: "That said, my door is always open to you. And my office could always do with a whirlwind hitting it." Spurred on by his recklessness, Odhranos compounds his words with a lingering kiss on Raphaline's neck, before sitting back, a flawless face of innocence smiling demurely at the bard, secretly eager to observe her reaction. When Raphaline takes his hand to comfort him, he softens under her touch, a relieved breath sighing from his lips. "It means a lot to hear someone say that. I fear the worst, but we have good people out looking for him, I do hope he’ll turn up soon.” Odhranos smirks as he thinks of the prideful drow. “Lanlan would stay alive just to spite those who’d think otherwise of him, his pettiness is the fuel that drives him, he’d do anything just to prove a point.” Laughing at the thought, Odhranos settles his chin in his hand and listens to Raphaline’s stories, a gentle content smile peeping out as he enjoys her tales. He nods solemnly as she recounts her involvement in the many wars that had ravaged Lithrydel in recent years. Odhranos had luckily not been directly involved in any of the large conflicts, but he had experienced both the Silver’s siege on Frostmaw and the chaos and bloodshed that decimated Larket firsthand, so he understands the sort of experiences that Raphaline may have gone through. Tilting his head to the side when she asks her next question, the mage laughs warmly as he gazes at the woman sitting across from him. “If I have to be quite honest, I didn’t. Every moment with you has been more unexpected and surprising as the last; it seems like a blizzard of wonderful coincidences, right from the moment I happened to spot you through that rainy window in Xalious. I couldn’t possibly have predicted anything that has come from that chance meeting.” Odhranos’ eyes turn to meet Raphaline’s and there seems to be an open well of affection in his gaze. “And I wouldn’t have wished for it to be any less predictable. Not for all the books in the world.” The mage gently holds Raphaline’s gaze for a moment or two more, before breaking into a smile so wide it scrunches his nose and squints his eyes. “For someone who delights in the dreary and boring, I find myself drawn to your spontaneity and unpredictability. I haven’t had quite as much of an enjoyable time in the past few years as I have had in these past two days.” Odhranos chuckles warmly, ruffling his hair self-consciously. “Ahh, that actually leads me onto my own question; What do you do in your free time, if you’re not travelling or performing?”


Raphaline really enjoys that he can banter with her; often times things either devolve into silence or its goes from playful to downright perverse in a mere heartbeat. Not to say she cannot be forward, but there is a difference between forward and indiscreetly hasty. So when he leans across and whispers into her ear, her eyes flutter close for a moment as heat spirals downward into her core. A soft sigh leaves her lips as she feels the brush of his lips on the side of her neck. Spurned on by the sudden rush of heat climbing its way up her face, she turns to him with green eyes brimming with want. With a languid ease the bard stands from her seat and leans towards the seat mage, placing one hand on either arm of the chair as she moves in close enough he can feel her warm breath curl against the curve of his ear. “Be careful what you start love,” she says as she brushes her lips against his ear before lifting her left hand from the arm, pressing it to his cheek as her lips find that quick pulse just below his ear. Her hand slips from his cheek as she turns back to her seat with a casual grace, as if she hasn’t possibly challenged the mage to a little game of who is gonna break under this bantering seduction of a game they’ve started. Even with those words still warm on her lips, she cannot help but feel a strong sense of affection for him flutter to life in her chest as listens to him. As much fun as it is to play at one another as they have, it is this sense of trust and strong affection that will root itself more deeply in the bard. A bright smile touches her lips as he keeps saying such wonderful, sweet things about her and meeting her. When he admits that he wouldn’t change things for all the books in the world, she cannot help but lean over, grab him by the collar and pulls him into a kiss right there in the middle of the tavern. There may be a few whoops and oohh! but she does not care at all because all she wants to do is kiss this man. When she finally pulls away from him, she leans her forehead against his and says, “The last couple of days have been more than I even could have wished for.” She leans in and presses one more soft, short kiss against his lips before she slides back into her seat with a wide grin on her face. She tucks a curl behind her ear as she tries to wrap her mind around what he had asked her. Chuckling, she shakes her head as she turns to him once more and says, “You have my thoughts all turned around to the point that I was about to answer you with, ‘Outside of traveling and performing I like to visit this mage in Xalious and kiss him until I can’t see straight’ but I am sure that sounds a bit much.” She laughs once more, her grin still present as she tries to scrounge up a few more words. “I do write most of my own music, and I spend a lot of time reading too. When I am not moving from place to place I tend to get pulled into adventures with other people, visit friends and play with their kids, swim, sail. All of those things.” She is sure that her words sound more like babbling at this point, so she reaches for her drink and just masks the grin and blush with another sip of ale.


Odhranos sits upright in his chair, eyes wide as Raphaline approaches, cornering him in the seat when she grasps the arms of the chair. The mage is about to innocently ask whatever she could be referring to him having "started" when she cups his cheek and presses her lips to his neck, eliciting a surprised gasp from the man, making his heartbeat quicken as a delightful shiver runs down his back. Once Raphaline has returned to her seat, the mage can't help but grin, cheeky amusement at his companion's boldness. He is in for another surprise when the bard reaches across and grabs his collar, catching him wholly unawares and making the man almost squeak with surprise as he finds himself pulled forward into a passionate kiss; in front of an entire room of tavern-goers, no less. His mind is in a daze when they part, and it takes him a moment to register the cheers and cries of the other patrons, though when he does, he attempts to hide his face in his collar, his cheeks flaming as he laughs brightly. When Raphaline mentions her disarrayed thoughts, and not only that, but blushes after continuing, the mage finds himself presented with a rare opportunity. "That's quite a coincidence, actually. There is a bard lives in Xalious that I like to visit, and there is nothing I would love more than to kiss her till I lose all sense of time." Odhranos tilts his head and smiles at Raphaline, an affectionate smile on his face; while teasing may not be his strong suit, Odhranos has a different way to make the bard blush; soft sweet words and gentle smiles. "In fact, every time you laugh or smile, it's all I can do not to kiss you."


The smile that touches her lips at that moment, lights up her entire face. Her emerald eyes widen as her lips move into a shy grin as she reaches across the table and silently takes his hand once more. At this point she just wants to say screw it to dinner and pull him upstairs, but she doesn’t want to be presumptive. She pushes the bowl away, having had her fill and motions at the waitress that she is finished drinking for the night as well. Her heart beat picks up in a flurry of fear—would she be able to ask for what she wanted. Fear ran its fingers over the line of her pulse as she gathers her thoughts, and steadies her mind. She turns to the mage with that light smile as she worries at her bottom with her teeth for a moment before she says in a hushed tone, “Would you like to go upstairs?” There is no beguiling look in her emerald eyes, or sly smile on her lips, just an open look of vulnerability. Everything that had happened earlier at the hot springs had been hurried, inspired by a desperate need to feel and fulfill. Right now though, her eyes are asking for something more than just a flutter of passionate kisses and deft hands. She chooses to add to her earlier words by saying, “I want the chance to get to know you, much more slowly than earlier.” Again, all of it is uttered in a soft voice, her face revealing the hesitancy behind her words and the openness that her emerald gaze still holds from earlier. She hopes that he understands somewhat of what she is trying to convey to him.


Odhranos feels an intense and deep affection for Raphaline as she smiles, that warming, gentle emotion that had suffused the mage all day rising to swaddle him in happiness. Is this feeling perhaps…? Odhranos is hesitant to put words to his feelings, but there is something so wonderful in the way she takes his hand and meets his gaze shyly, he wonders if perhaps his heart has come to that decision for him. When Raphaline poses her quiet, hesitant words, Odhranos’ eyes slowly widen as their meaning dawns on him. After an evening of teasing back and forth, one would expect the mage to turn red and attempt to hide his embarrassment, but there is more to this than teasing. Odhranos can see the vulnerability in her gaze, the slight nervous shiver of her hands and the open honest of her body language. Gently, wordlessly, Odhranos reaches out and takes her hand in his, a simple gesture, but one laden with unspoken words. As he intertwines his fingers with hers, he looks up and meets Raphaline’s gaze, his gold and grey eyes seeming to hold a tumult of emotions; a gentle hesitancy, an honest yearning, and then, with the softest and most heartfelt of smiles, the mage nods, squeezing her hand gently in his. “I would like that.” His cheeks dimple as he holds her gaze, the shyness in his expression giving way to a vulnerability, but one he trusts Raphaline enough to be willing to show.


Raphaline gives his hand a reassuring squeeze as she dips her head in agreement. She releases his hand and rises from her seat before offering her hand once more. A soft smile touches her lips as she pulls him towards the stairs at the back of the tavern. Once they are out of the line of sight of the other patrons of the tavern, she leans in close and presses a soft, lingering kiss to his jawline. No more words follow as she turns back to the stairs and makes her way up to the quiet second floor. She fishes out the key to the room and pushes open the door, revealing a stone fire place and a large bed. Instead of leading him towards the bed, she gently pulls him into the room and then turns to him with a shy smile on her lips. "Usually I'd be for the quick and impassioned but right now all I want to do is take my time revealing the wonderful person beneath all of these layers," she says as she reaches up and lays her hand against his chest. " I want to take all the time there is to revel in each detail that makes you who you are so that I can have it imprinted into my memory." She waits for his response rather than take the lead, especially because her words and tone have said more in what hasn't been spoken; Will you let me love you?


Odhranos lets himself be led by the hand, weaving between tables and chairs as they move through the crowded tavern. Once in the refuge of the stairwell, he smiles as she kisses his jaw, a happy flush coursing through him at the lingering contact. Led once more, he climbs the steps one at a time, his footsteps feeling lighter for the company he shares. When she pulls him into the room, he laughs warmly at her comment about her usual tact while closing the door carefully behind him. It feels like she must be able to feel his heart beating through his chest, so achingly fierce in it’s frantic rhythm. He places his hand over hers and with the other, gently cups her cheek. “I could ask for no greater gift than to know you, intimately and honestly, and to share all that I am in return.” Odhranos leans down and kisses Raphaline, a lingering kiss that speaks volumes. Parting the kiss, he looks into her eyes, and his gaze is suffused in affection as that last puzzle piece falls into place inside him. Yes, he understands now, without any shadow of a doubt, he knows the true name of that feeling that has grown inside his heart since the moment this wonderful woman stepped through his window and into his life. An open, loving smile lights up the mage’s face as he leans in to answer her unspoken question with a deep and meaningful kiss; Yes, if I may love you in kind.


Bardic Hunting Lodge

Raphaline reluctantly wakes up the next morning; she isn’t ready for reality again. Before she pries herself from the warm confines of the bed, she rolls over and nuzzles against the mage one last time. Eventually she sighs with disdain as she pulls away and begins to dress for the descent down the mountain. The walk about down seems to move faster than their walk up, and it disheartens her a little given that once they reach her home the trip will be over. So, she takes as much time as she can to hold his hand, to pause in the middle of the hike and turn to kiss him once more, hoping that she might earn enough to get her through to the next time they meet. As they get closer to her home, she sheds her heavier layers in favor of the thinner layers beneath. With the weather warming up, she can see the edge of the tree line and the alcove in which her house is hidden. Sighing to herself, she leads them through the trees, pushing against the magic seals on the house until they reach the lodge. It looms like an intruder into her happy moment, as she prepares to say good bye. She lays a hand against the door before she turns around to face Odhranos once more. “I did not want to come home today,” she says, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. “I didn’t want this trip to end.” She feels a little foolish, it isn’t like she won’t get to see him again after this. She worries at her bottom lip as she peers up at him, working through what else she might want to say. “Odhranos, I...” she pauses, not sure of what she is ready to say, “I am not afraid anymore.” That will have to do for now.


Odhranos drifts peacefully in the warm fog of sleep, stirred from his dreaming by Raphaline's nuzzling against his skin. Eyes still closed, the mage smiles as he rolls over, blindly pressing a sleepy kiss to her hair as he slowly rouses to wakefulness. Groaning at the thought of having to get up from this warm cosy bed, swaddle himself in furs and make the long journey back to the responsibility and tasks of everyday life, the mage burrows down deeper into the covers, denying the morning's arrival. When Raphaline eventually musters the motivation to get up, Odhranos groans with defeat, slowly sitting up on the corner of the bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Once dressed and on the trail leading down through the mountains, the cold air blows any vestiges of sleepiness from the mage, making him huddle close to Raphaline as they walk. When she pauses to kiss him in the middle of the hike, he returns the kiss earnestly, pulling her into a warm cuddle that shelters them both from the cold air for a brief moment. When they leave the cold and snow behind and the warmer winds of Xalious ruffle his furs, Odhranos shirks his heavy coat, draping it over his free arm, taking Raphaline's hand again with the other. His heart sinks as they approach the door of the Bardic Lodge; it seemed like a lifetime ago he walked through this same door, yet it was only two days past. His lips quirk upwards in a rueful smile. "I have been thinking the very same thing ever since we woke up this morning. I wish I could just put the world on hold for a while and stay with you for longer." When she calls his name, he meets her gaze with a curious look, though his eyes widen in slow understanding when she continues. The mage squeezes her hand in his and he opens his mouth to speak, but there is just so much he wants to say, that not a sound escapes. He wants to tell her how special she is to him, how he wants to spend every day with her, how just simply seeing her or hearing her voice just makes his heart sing with joy. All those words, all those emotions, and yet, when the mage does speak, he manages to contain it all in a few simple words. "I have fallen in love with you, Raphaline." He murmurs softly, then raises his hand to his mouth, eyes wide with shock at his own honesty.


Raphaline is afraid at first that her admission has stunned him into silence--not the good kind either. She purses her lips together as she tries to push down the bit of fearing edging its way up into her chest. When he finally speaks, his choice of words are not what she expects at all. Her lips part and her eyes widen in shock as his words sink in. Love? At first she feels everything in her want to turn and flee because the last time love got involved in her life, it turned into a years long, drawn out disaster. But when she looks into those two-toned eyes and sees the vulnerable honesty reflected back at her, she cannot help but take a step towards him before promptly throwing herself into his arm and crushing her lips into his in an answering kiss. She wraps her arms around his neck as she leans in, pressing the kiss deeper as she fights the urge to just take him into her home. When she finally pulls away from him, her emerald eyes are glassy with unshed tears. “Gods help me Odhranos, if you say anything else sweet to me, I will not let you leave the premises. Mage guild be damned, I will keep you to myself here at the lodge.” She reaches up with her free hand and runs her thumb over the curve of his cheek for a moment before she forces herself to put space between them. “But again, we live in a world that won’t wait for us. So, I guess I will relinquish my hold on you for now,” she says as a flirtatious grin touches her lips, promising she won’t allow too much time to pass between now and their next meeting. “Next time, I might have to come through the front door of the Mage’s Tower and give your students something to talk about for days afterwards.” She chuckles, shaking her head as she leans in to place one last, soft kiss to his cheek. “Until the next time, Odhranos. I will keep your heart safe here, if you will keep mine safe with you.”


Odhranos is fraught with worry, fear that he overstepped a boundary, concern that he had uttered those words too fast, too soon. For a brief moment he is frozen with terror, his world dimming to icy greys and white as that eternal second of silence weighs heavy on him. But then, Raphaline crashes into his arms, with a kiss that dispels all his fears and blows his mind into technicolour. He wraps his arms around her body, holding her tightly against him as he gives all of himself to that kiss, while his whole soul sings out in jubilous adoration. When she pulls away, his cheeks are flushed and his breath heavy, but his face seems to glow with happiness. Nuzzling his cheek into her hand, he laughs exuberantly, grinning at Raphaline. “I’d imagine they’d send out a search party, but they’d be hard pressed to take me back.” Smiling as she steps back, Odhranos finds that the physical space between them is not uncomfortable. Though she may not be in his arms, he feels closer to her than ever before; so he knows that though they may be separated for a little while, it is merely an interlude until they are reunited. His cheeks redden as Raphaline leaves him with one last teasing suggestion and he smiles affectionately as she kisses his cheek. “Until we are together again, Raphaline. I entrust my heart to you, and will care for yours with all the love in my soul.” With one last, gentle kiss on Raphaline’s forehead, the mage turns and begins the walk down the long path to Xalious Village, a happy warmth in his chest and a lively bounce in his step.