Well, if she had had any doubts before about Val's intentions she certainly didn't have any now. More than friends, he had said. That was his wish. Girlish excitement threatened to rise above her cool, poised and in control lady facade but with concentration she snuffed it back down. It was better to not let him know just how much those words had meant to her - yet. She thought instead about the implications of what he had said. So he didn't consider them more than friends right now. She was surprised to feel a little disappointed although she couldn't really blame him. She didn't know exactly what to call their relationship either. Close friends? Close friends who shared a kiss? Kissers? Were they dating? Exactly how did one begin dating someone while you were both stuck in a foresty adventure, she wondered. If he still considered her only a friend then what was that kiss at the Rover's party all about?
She was about to ask him if he made it a habit to go about kissing his friends when he did it again, damn him. Once again, her senses were struck with the bolt that was his touch. It was like he had whisked her to another world that was peaceful and calm, and at the same time on fire. It was too hot for her to even remember to breathe, too consuming to feel anything else but the tender crush of his lips. And then he was gone, having pulled away. What kind of man could abandon a feeling like that unless he hadn't been feeling the very same thing? Sai'a found herself praying quietly that wasn't the case.
Her lungs took in a chastising, and greedy, swallow of air, reminding her of her mortal needs and thus bringing her stumbling mind back to the planes of the conscious. She gazed at him shyly. The atmosphere had changed to a tentative, nervous quiet. After a beat or two, Val found his voice and spoke. “I will do my best to make sure nothing happens to any of us, especially you. The lives of my friends is very important to me. One way or another we’ll see this through.”
Aww, now wasn't that sweet? But there he went, using that friend thing again. She supposed he was right, though. For now. She gathered up her weapons and took his offered hand, blushing when he suggested the others would soon be getting funny ideas if they didn't soon make an appearance. That blush remained even after they stepped back into the camp. Sai'a looked bashedly down at her bowl as Val handed it to her and kept it there. She knew what those smiles suggested that Torbin and Rhn kept trying to hide. Thankfully though, she and Val had emerged in the middle of a conversation and Sai'a was happy to let someone else have the attention. She still hadn't changed her mind one bit about Odin but she was relieved no one would be asking her about it just yet. She was content to just quietly eat and let Dase ramble on about Airy.
What was Airy? Even Dase was stuck on that one. He had to think about it for a long moment and when he began to open his mouth, Rhn's voice vibrated out into the silence instead, which was just fine because no explanation was coming out of his. He took the extra time to ask Airy herself.
What are you?
I'm Airy.
Well that was just dandy. He already KNEW that. How could a creature so powerful be so.. so... airheaded? He sighed, thought up as suitable an answer as he could, and waited for the right moment to speak. "I'm not exactly sure what she is but I think she's an air sprite. At least that's what Kaelen told me. He said she's an elemental who's taken a liking to me. She talks to me err, well... kinda. I mean, I can talk to her in my head. And I can feel her emotions and she can feel mine. I can't see her though. And she doesn't always understand me when I talk to her. Or, usually she doesn't understand me. Like that whole stealing thing. She doesn't get that. She was just trying to make me happy, she says. And when people started blaming and attacking me, she got angry and defended me."
Sai'a and Val emerged from their place in the woods then and Dase waved them over with a holler. "There you are. I was wondering when you would be back." Why did Sai'a drop Val's hand like it was a hot iron the moment everyone turned around to look at them, and why was her face all red? Maybe she was still real mad. He waited until she was close enough and then asked her if she was. She answered him with a shake of her red head and promptly sat down. Apparently, she wasn't too big on talking right now. That was okay. He still had more to yammer on about Airy.
"Josen thinks Airy responds to my emotions more than my words. I guess that makes sense since when I tell her to stop she never does." Dase shrugged. "I'm sorry about all the mess she is causing, in the city and at the tavern. I don't know what I'm going to do if she keeps doing this, and Odin... he said... I mean, if it's true an' all... he said I'm gonna have to fight a bunch of winds. And I can't even control her! How am I going to battle the winds if I can't get her to do what I say," he wailed in frustration. A growing feeling of doom settled in his stomach. Airy immediately abandoned her state of play and went to his side.
Who scares you little one? The tiny entity was looking around for the source of his distress but found none.
Nobody.
Dase waved her away and turned to Tamy as an idea struck his head. "Hey, maybe you can help me. You have magic. Maybe you can teach me how to talk to her right, do things I ask her to do. Can you? Please? She already likes you." He blinked at her with his baby boy blues, not sure whether it would work since she was a kid younger than he, but it seemed to work well enough on adults.
