Ffff, finally tagging. #5 (once RNG stopped being insane)takerofthingsNovember 7 2011, 05:12:13 UTC
As much as it had hurt like hell, the stab didn't take long to heal. At least, heal enough for Dafydd to make himself get up and start working again. And in the course of working - namely, ferreting out secrets - he caught sight of her from time to time, just as he had before.
Only now, he knew more about her. He knew how her hair felt between his fingers. He knew the way her hand fit at the back of his neck. He knew the way she tasted. It grew harder to keep those thoughts at bay each time he spotted her, especially once he realized he wasn't imagining her own glances back. As the weeks passed, it began to feel as though they were circling.
She was deliberately keeping well away from Clubs Castle. Anything even closely related to the Clubs obliged her to send a Two or a Three running errands or interference for her. Only something that required her actual presence made her visit, and she tried to keep her looks at him to a minimum.
It didn't mean that she wasn't going to be avoiding the other castles, of course. And she isn't going to do something as undignified as hide from him if she sees him on the path.
The proper thing to do when he sees her approaching is to step aside out of her path and allow her to pass.
"Milady," he greets her, flicking his eyes up to meet hers for what feels like a longer moment than it probably is. Instead of pausing and stepping to the side, he skirts her, brushing his shoulder through her personal space, just shy of touching. A knowing half-smile plays on his lips. Too daring? Perhaps. The path is empty and nearly silent; no one else is there to see his near-insolence. He could only wait and see.
"Dafydd," she says in turn, lifting her chin, but turning slightly away as she walks. Her shoulders stiffen as he brushes past her; definitely on purpose, but to what end? Before they get too far apart, she says quickly, "How have you been keeping?"
He stops and half-turns to look at her. His wound still tugs when he moves in certain ways, but he's long since been able to hide those twinges. "I've been well," he says. "It may scar, but not badly; your doctor did an excellent job. Thank you."
His eyes flick over her quickly before returning to her face. "And you, Milady?"
There's something like a smile in the way her lips quirk, but it's gone all too soon. "Nothing of note, which frankly I'm quite pleased with. Sometimes one needs boring days to recover."
"I've been appreciating the quiet myself," he admits with a faint smile. "Don't tell Elisha. He might take it the wrong way and find me more training time."
"How imprudent, when you're still healing." Now she's stepping closer, the neutral expression back in place. "I doubt he'd want to waste you so quickly."
Far from loosening it, her step forward had snapped tension tight between them. Dafydd's eyes darken but his voice stays mild as he answers, "I like to think I have some uses remaining." He keeps his distance, but not easily.
"I'm sure the both of you are glad of that." They're only a few feet apart now, and she holds his gaze, eyes placid. "I don't imagine he has many as capable as you."
He doesn't flush very much, but he's pale enough that even a little bit seems like a lot. He ducks his head with a half-smile, but doesn't break their eye contact. "That's kind of you to say, Milady. If there's anything I can do for you..." Just about anything at all.
"I shouldn't like to overstep my bounds," he answers, aware that the conversation has turned away from, say, delivering a message as a favor and into something that reminds him of the otherworld where they'd pressed against each other as if nothing else existed.
"No? Are you sure you know where those bounds are?" She's looking at him with those warm, half-lidded eyes that he'll remember from that night, the only shift in her cool demeanour.
She's looking at him with those warm, half-lidded eyes that make his mouth go dry and his own eyes darken with memory. "I used to," he answers slowly, "but I think they may have...shifted. It isn't entirely my place to decide to where."
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Only now, he knew more about her. He knew how her hair felt between his fingers. He knew the way her hand fit at the back of his neck. He knew the way she tasted. It grew harder to keep those thoughts at bay each time he spotted her, especially once he realized he wasn't imagining her own glances back. As the weeks passed, it began to feel as though they were circling.
Reply
It didn't mean that she wasn't going to be avoiding the other castles, of course. And she isn't going to do something as undignified as hide from him if she sees him on the path.
Reply
"Milady," he greets her, flicking his eyes up to meet hers for what feels like a longer moment than it probably is. Instead of pausing and stepping to the side, he skirts her, brushing his shoulder through her personal space, just shy of touching. A knowing half-smile plays on his lips. Too daring? Perhaps. The path is empty and nearly silent; no one else is there to see his near-insolence. He could only wait and see.
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His eyes flick over her quickly before returning to her face. "And you, Milady?"
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