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Post by Administrator on Dec 3, 2007 6:49:57 GMT -5
Marra rolled her eyes as Rawign buried his head in the furs. Coward. "Keep on denying," she taunted, "but my curiosity isn't sated!" Smirking, she looked down at him, feigning a look of disappointment. "You know, this is unfortunate. Here I was, thinking you'd at least be man enough to admit the fact that you're obviously jealous of something. But I was proved wrong." Sighing dramatically, she brushed a tangle of hair from her eyes. Hopefully that would chide into his telling her, his admitting that he was irritated about something. Her mind, however, she found also kept flickering back to the closeness of their faces. Now why on Pern had she done that? That only took into her head the image of her kissing him, an image that was most certainly stupid, one that she should scold herself for thinking. Never, ever be put into that situation again.
Too late. Of its own accord, Rawign was the one to come forward again this time. Marra flushed, watching his movements carefully as he spoke. Frowning, she replied, "That's stupid. By friends, I mean... Well, not you. I can kiss Metrol, but you're different..." Even she knew that argument was horribly weak. Changing tactics, she attempted once again to fight the inevitable truth. "I mean, I see you more than Metrol, so it would undoubtably more awkward..."
Kiss. Marra blinked, seemingly frozen in time for those long few seconds. At that moment, the part of her that wanted this gave a happy purr, and Marra stared at Rawign, for once unable to think of what to say. "I... I... Um..." was all she could manage to spill out. Running a hand through her hair, she tried thinking of what to say, but her mind couldn't even form words, let alone her mouth.
"Not... jealous," she finally gasped out. There was a long pause. Hesitantly, slowly, her body moved closer to Rawign's. Marra wasn't even telling it to, yet for some reason, every other part of her was ignoring the logical Marra. She brought her face close to his again, but hesitated. Was she supposed to be doing this? Was she doing this right? Shards, it had been too long since she had been caught up in this tidal wave, not to mention her one real relationship had been a bust. Of course she was worried if she was going about this the right way. But why was she worrying, when she shouldn't even be having this sort of feeling for him to begin with?
So that's where her face and body remained, extremely close to Rawign, yet not close enough. She could feel his body heat radiating from him, but she wanted to actually touch. Fear? Worry? All of those words were valid in this situation. Faranth, what was she supposed to do? For once, Marra was at a loss of how she was going to behave.
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Post by glamourie on Dec 3, 2007 7:11:30 GMT -5
Rawign smiled, unable to help himself. Her floundered explanation was stored to the back of his mind, but he didn't believe that anymore than her stammered comment that she wasn't jealous. He was and he recognized jealousy when he saw it. Took one jealous individual to know another, right? As the saying went? Although, not necessarily always the case, he was fairly sure she was more jealous than she was willing to admit, spawned simply by her lack of explanation. What, because she saw him more often, it was different? One would think the person she saw more often, she'd be more comfortable around, right? Right. His mind was just reeling with justifications for his accusation and all sorts of motives and reasons. But it all came down to one simple fact that Rawign was completely unwilling to admit, even to himself, and that was simply that he wanted Marra to be jealous because he was. Because he didn't want her to be dancing with Metrol and not him. Hmph. Play hell getting him to admit that aloud, though. Not even a brush to his pride would do it. Not to her, anyway.
She seemed to be having trouble forming words, to him, and that... amused him more than anything else, really. Rawign smiled, lifting one hand to toy with a stray curl of her hair before quirking an eyebrow at her as she drew closer. He spoke quietly, the words meant only for her, though no doubt the simple lowered voices would have kept things private between them. There was something far more personal about whispering, though, and wasn't that better for their situation?
"What's this, a speechless Marra? Unprecedented."
How true was that? Although, if she'd kissed him, he probably would have been speechless, too. Hard to form words when someone did something so blatantly illogical. But she hadn't slapped him, shoved him away or left, as he'd expected her to. No, she'd stayed, and she was moving closer to him. Her actions implied she didn't mind half as much as he'd thought she would, and.. and if she'd smacked him, what would have happened anyway? He didn't know, but he was very, very glad she didn't. Making the first move in anything was hard enough on him due to a natural shyness that he tried to deny most of the time, but...
His fingers curled around her hair before settling at the base of her neck, then he leaned in to kiss her again. There were a thousand different reasons why he shouldn't be doing that, most of which were silly, some of which weren't (the fact that the movement spawned fresh sparks of pain down his back not withstanding), but none of them mattered. Logic was temporarily ignored, save for one simple fact: No matter how hard he tried to deny it, and would have aloud if questioned, Rawign really did like Marra. He liked her a lot - and he wanted to kiss her. He also was fairly sure that he wouldn't get another chance, because he wasn't likely to end up in an infirmary cot with her any time soon. Who cared whether or not it looked improper (and it certainly did)? Let someone come in and yell at him. He didn't care; he wanted to run his fingers through her hair and feel her lips against his. It was well worth a second smack.
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Post by Administrator on Dec 3, 2007 13:07:17 GMT -5
Marra’s face seemed to have a permanent pigment of pink as Rawign reached a hand to her hair. Even in the one relationship she had been in, never had anyone touched her hair in this way. To her, hair was simply decoration. But now, it no longer seemed that way. No, right now, it was just another form of intimacy that Marra was getting weaker and weaker at resisting at. “Shut up,” she mumbled at his comment, but there was no fire to her words. Their noses were touching, she noted, half in a daze. She closed her eyes, simply letting the sensation wash over her.
Little by little, her prideful side was being beaten down by this stronger, more unknown side of Marra that she hadn’t thought existed. Truthfully, was she jealous that he had danced with Ilena? Yes. Had she wanted to make him jealous? Yes. Realizing this now, she was almost ashamed to admit it, except now it was the meat that baited out these emotions for him that had now lead to this incredible display of fireworks in her head. She was aware of her beating heart, the nervous rhythms it made as Rawign’s hand came to rest on her neck as he kissed her again.
This one wasn’t a simple few seconds long as the last one had been. Marra let herself be swept away by it, grudgingly allowing herself to enjoy it. She shouldn’t be feeling this way about Rawign, but there was no other feeling for it. Not when it felt so nice! This was different from kissing Metrol, she concluded immediately. He was pushy, immediately getting the lust factor in without thinking twice. It was at Marra’s pace—she liked it. Her harper fingers hesitant, they came to rest on Rawign’s side, unsure of where else she could hold onto him with harming his bandaged self. It was probably a good thing he were bandaged, she thought, curious and almost embarrassed to think of this, because if he wasn’t bandaged, her arms would undoubtedly snake around him. But no- for now, they were content to just rest at his sides.
After a [i[very[/i] long moment, Marra reluctantly ended the kiss, but touched her forehead with his. “What are we doing?” she asked breathlessly, a strand of her brown hair falling between their touched heads. “Weren’t we just fighting? I don’t get it.” Leave it to Marra to not understand this sort of thing. Marra couldn’t, however, openly admit that she did like him. She had a hard enough time admitting it to herself.
Pausing briefly, Marra initiated another kiss tentatively, deciding her yearning to have their lips touch once again took precedence over her question. She, for one reason or another, loved the touch of his finger at her neck, tangled with her hair. Careful so as to not hurt him, Marra raised her own hand to his own hair, running her slender, calloused fingers through it. She had never thought his hair so soft before.
Shardit, what was she thinking? Touching Rawign like this wasn’t… decent! She, Marra, could never possibly feel like this toward anyone, let alone Rawign! All too soon, she broke off this kiss and removed her hand from his hair, looking down in confusion. She sighed. “Let’s lie down,” she told him, easing back down into the cot. Looking up at him, a look telling him to join her. “I’m sorry, I should have… done that when you’re injured.” She blushed slightly, hating how she was at fault for this.[/size]
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Post by glamourie on Dec 4, 2007 3:32:42 GMT -5
He should not have been kissing her. Aside from the fact that Marra was his friend (and he had admitted that much, hadn't he?) and someone he had trouble getting along with a big part of the time, there was propriety to consider. They were sitting in his infirmary cot together - if anyone saw them, the first thoughts they'd have would be obvious, and would they truly be so far from the truth? And then there was the fact that he was lying in the infirmary after he and so many others were hurt; would Paryal survive? Had Z'hin and Jessereth? And Kasraith? How could he be sitting there kissing someone - no matter how much he liked it, no matter how much he'd wanted to do so whether he realized it or not - when there was a chance that one of the others in that fight hadn't survived? Was he not being outrageously selfish? On top of that, he had bandages wound around his torso from moderate injuries of his own! As a healer, he knew better - yet... He was such a fool.
And her hand on his side felt good, even if all he could really feel was the weight against the bandages. True enough was it that that was the side where the gash extended, but somehow the contact did not inspire pain, but instead something lighter and more.. appealing in its own way; something extraordinarily distracting and yet wonderful at once. He didn't want to admit how much he liked that one touch or the feeling of her so warm and so close to him, her lips on his, her hair beneath his fingers. No part of him was completely comfortable with forming feelings like that for anyone, let alone Marra. Hadn't they met by fighting? That was sure to be one for the record books, in its own way.
As the kiss ended, his eyes fluttered open and he raised an eyebrow at her question. His hand fell away from her hair, knuckles trailing lightly over her cheek before he draped his arm around her - lazily, almost, though no part of him was as relaxed as that one motion might have implied. He was nervous - wasn't kissing her supposed to be solely to prove a point? It wasn't supposed to be more. But when had he ever paid very much attention to supposed to? And when weren't[/u] they fighting, anyway? They always seemed to be bickering over something, even if it was ridiculously petty. In his not-so-humble opinion, though, the way they'd resolved that fight was definitely an appealing one. If she didn't get angry with him or behave awkwardly, he was so going to use that as his main method of keeping Marra from lecturing him from then on. Talk about a lot more relaxing. She was right when she'd described it as that, although... he still found himself wanting to find and otherwise break Metrol in two, never mind the obvious fact that Rawign didn't know how to fight very well and Metrol could probably bash his face in. Well, logic didn't matter.
Fortunately, his immediate verbal response was cut off again by the feeling of her lips against his and his hand moved up to curl in her hair once more, though the movement was more out of sheer desire to keep her from pulling away too far than anything else. And because he wanted to be touching her. He was well-aware in the back of his mind that he was being stupid, completely foolish and he was going to end up regretting the indiscretion at some point, but even that knowledge didn't stop him. No one else was around and Marra didn't seem to be complaining, so what did it matter? It felt right for her to be so close to him, for her hand to be twining in his hair, for her lips to be against his and -- and she pulled away. Phooey.
Lying back down might not have been the best of ideas, but he did so anyway, lying back on his uninjured side as another wave of hunger as well as exhaustion flashed back through his mind, as if to remind him that he was indeed hurt. But Marra's apology made him smile and he shook his head slowly before nuzzling into the furs beneath him. "I'm not," he said quietly. "Sorry, I mean. So you shouldn't be, either. I'm sleepy now though. Are you going to stay?" He wanted her to, truthfully. It wouldn't have been the first time they'd slept in the same bed, although it would be the first time they did so willingly. Oh well. Let people think what they wanted. He didn't care. He was comfortable, and he felt better with her closer to him than he did when she was away. Plain and simple fact.
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Post by Administrator on Dec 4, 2007 7:03:06 GMT -5
For some reason, Rawign's arm around her felt so nice. She shrugged even deeper into it, basically snuggling into his hold. It was warm, comfortable... and Marra was insane. Yet weren't all people who did this sort of thing insane? She was just... joining the masses. Sighing softly as his knuckles ran lightly down her cheek, she reassured herself that she could get back to these little movements when they were both down in the cot. She had every intention of staying with him, now more than ever, despite what people would think. So what if people saw them in bed together? It wasn't as if she were naked. Nope- she just... happened to be wearing his shirt. A minor fluke. She could explain why late to anyway who wanted to know. As if this justified it, she allowed herself to be extra close as they lay down, letting herself curve perfectly into his body, but taking care to not touch any of him.
She wished that she could touch him, though- Shells, he was so warm! And he wasn't sorry? Relieved, she leaned in to peck his lips lightly as she shyly adjusted her body so the lower portion, at least, could touch him, to fully utilize his warmth. "Good. I won't be sorry either," she replied in a low half-whisper. Reaching a hand up to his hair, she stroked it with curious tenderness. "And I'll sleep with you," she told him in response to his question. She was sleepy still, and though she had slept with Rawign before, it hadn't been like this. She didn't care if they were found. It wasn't as if the healers would be able to do anything about it. Marra could be very stubborn when she wanted to be.
"Wish you weren't injured," she grumbled, still managing to find something to complain about. If he wasn't injured, she would've been able to get as close to him as she wanted. But for now, she contented herself with twining her legs around his. This was something she most definitely hadn't done before, but she took a chance. It was odd, her craving for anything intimate. And it wasn't just any kind of intimacy she wanted: she wanted it to be real, not just lustful. Some part of her seemed to be hopeful that Rawign would be able to provide this, but she tucked that information away. She would think on it later. If this was some sort of awkward, one-time thing, she would drop it like a hot potato, but if he still was willing to kiss her after this meeting...
"How many girls have you kissed?" she demanded suddenly, looking at him searchingly. He wasn't the type to strike her as a lady's man, though some people led secret lives. It would be curious to note how jealous her statement sounded. She narrowed her eyes, expecting to hear truth. Yet, even as her words were full of warning, her legs seemed to just tighten their hold with his, as if trying to keep them from getting up and walking over to someone else's cot. She paused, then let her hand settled back onto his side. She sighed, absent-mindedly stroking that spot lightly. It... bothered her to think of him having kissed a lot of girls. Even Marra had only kissed a couple people in her lifetime!
Or worse... how many people had he slept with? And not this sort of platonic sleeping, but actual naked, live-action sleeping? She was fairly positive he wasn't a virgin- after all, there was no such thing as a virgin teenaged boy- but if he had slept with many people, it might disturb her. Unfortunately, that question was simply too awkward to ask him, so she left it at the kissing question. Perhaps she could pull an answer from that discreetly...
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Post by glamourie on Dec 4, 2007 8:36:55 GMT -5
Rawign smiled slightly as she twined their legs together and made no effort to move away; actually, the closeness was better than any kind of pain killer he could think of. Numbweed? Fellis? What was any of that compared to the feeling of her so warm and close to him? Rawign nudged his face further into the furs, so that one eye and half his face was hidden by the pillows and furs themselves. His smile remained, though, clearly playful and amused, as if he found her comment entertaining. It was the wording rather than what she was saying and he was mature enough not to call her on it because he wanted her to stay. He felt better, safer, with her there. Not that anyone would hurt him, or anything - it wasn't as though felines were going to spawn out of the floor and tear him to shreds, no matter what his nightmares implied, and no one at the Weyr would try to harm him, he was sure. But he still felt terribly vulnerable. Getting oneself tore open had that effect - or maybe it was because he didn't have on his shirt. That could be it, too.
"So do I," he replied quietly, though it wasn't completely the truth. If he wasn't hurt, would they be there, lying so curled up together in such a comfortable position? No. They'd probably be bickering, then one of them would stomp off in the other direction, glowering at the other with a look of utter disdain. Then when next they saw each other, they'd play it cool like nothing happened. It was probably sad that it took him being scratched up badly enough that he'd actually worried about going into shock to make them reconcile, but Rawign wouldn't change anything about the weird... friendship? .. that he shared with Marra. But he didn't regret getting hurt since it resulted in such a peaceful, casual conversation. He was almost grateful.
Her next question, though, caught him off guard and he raised his eyebrows before propping his chin up on his cushions. Just what had prompted that? What, did he seem experienced? ... Or inexperienced? She wasn't going to tease him, was she? "This question from the person who called me too much of a prude to go anywhere naked?" It was probably not the best of reactions, but half of his pride was angry at being called on something he was insecure about. But her tone didn't sound aggressive, at least not in the way he was expecting it to, and his natural insecurity was tempered by the fact that he didn't want to lie to her - at least not about anything big. "Counting you? ... Two. But if you laugh I'm shoving you out of this cot. I'm not too hurt to do that." There, he'd at least added a threat. She'd pay if she laughed at him! It wasn't his fault he'd been... busy...
Right. So he was a bad kisser. He made a mental note to smack his head into a wall at some other point, although for the moment he was calm enough that he refrained from attempting to do so. Her hand on his side was more of a comfort than he was willing to let on, and much of that stemmed from the fact that he was trying - desperately, in fact - to believe that she wouldn't still be lying in the cot with him if she thought he was so awful or something worth laughing at. He needed that belief, even if all his experience with humans up until then had proven to be disappointing. Women seemed to like laughing at his inexperience, whether aloud or soundlessly. Marra wouldn't be the first, but she wasn't Cezine and her opinion mattered. He didn't want her to laugh at him.
Turning the question around, Rawign bit his tongue before asking, quietly enough that again it was meant only for her, "And you? How many men have you kissed?" Probably more than how many girls he kissed. At least two, from what he knew. Some how that thought agitated him more than he was willing to admit, and again the desire to spring to his feet and do something dreadful to Metrol was hard to resist. Woe betide that boy if he ever ended up in Rawign's care. He'd take an excessively long time to heal, hmph!
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Post by Administrator on Dec 4, 2007 14:17:14 GMT -5
Marra chuckled a little. "You've lost a bit of your prudishness," she informed him. "You're not wearing a shirt, and therefore half-naked." Grinning at him, she pulled the furs up over their shoulders so it was only their heads that stuck out, but increased the warmth underneath. What Marra wasn't going to admit was the fact that she didn't mind how Rawign was half-naked. In fact, she was actually, dare she think it, disappointed by how it was mostly covered by bandages! To make him feel better, she gently kissed his cheek. "I'm more of a prude than you are at the moment," she told him helpfully. "I'm too clothed to be as wild and outrageous as you." Laughing again, she smoothed back his hair, leaning her head in so that their foreheads were touching again, and her nose to his.
She smiled a little. Two? She would've expected more. Did that mean he hadn't slept with many, if any, people, then? Brightened a good deal, she replied, "I'm not laughing." She was smiling, however, though it was more out of her pleasure at knowing he hadn't gotten too deep in with anyone yet. Nobody to compete with. Faranth help her for ever using that word with Rawign. She paused, then added, "I'm not that experienced either."
Sighing at her confession even as he asked how much experience it was she had, she replied meekly, "You're only my third." However, either to make up for this fact or gloss over the subject, she caught his lips again, ignoring the faint blush as the truth was out. She had wanted to appear as one with sexual prowess, his superior, yet here she was, the mild little chaste harper. She was no more a lioness than he a lion! Would this be better for them, she supposed?
"What are we going to do about this, you suppose?" she asked him, ever the planner. "We going to continue this after you get out of here? Or are we just going to be awkward with each other about this subject for the rest of our lives?" If they were going to be anything, even just maybe, she might as well know if she could get her hopes up or not. Her feet were getting warmer, she realized with a small surge of satisfaction.
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Post by glamourie on Dec 4, 2007 15:06:41 GMT -5
"I'm downright adventurous," Rawign replied with a lazy smile that made it clear he was teasing. Again. He was well aware that he was shirtless, though part of him was tempted to point out that she wasn't outdoing him by any means - after all, she'd dumped cold water down her front. Somehow he expected that reminding her of that would earn him a slap, though, so he refrained. He didn't think he was a prude though - and he thought he never was to begin with. He just preferred not to frolick around disrobed in front of people he hardly knew. In his opinion, nudity wasn't something to be flaunted that way. Despite that, he wasn't that uncomfortable around other human bodies, just as long as he managed to detach himself from thinking of them as individuals. He was good at that when the individual was injured -- not otherwise. He didn't detach half as well as he liked to pretend. And where Marra was involved, he did not detach at all. He really, really agreed that she was far too clothed. But he wouldn't dare give voice to that thought. The last thing he wanted was to emphasize the idea she held, that men seemed to be all about one thing. He wasn't.
Snuggling into the furs, with his arm draping over her again, Rawign smiled. It was the most basic, calm of emotions, but there was an underlying hint of pleasure behind it and why shouldn't there be? He didn't like the idea of her laughing at him at all and he would have reacted quite vehemently if she'd so much as implied that she found it amusing how inexperienced he really was. He knew it probably wasn't normal for a seventeen turn old to have been so disinterested but really, he'd been far too busy when he was at Healer Hall. He started apprenticeship older than most boys did, and despite being something of a troublemaker, he'd worked hard. Hard enough that he didn't have time for socializing. He didn't regret it, at least not until he came to the Weyr where life was so... different. So much more laid back. He was adjusting, finally, but he still felt like he stood out.
The idea of her only kissing three people pleased him far more than he was willing to admit, and the kiss that followed brought a definite smile to his face as he snuggled up against her. The movement again jarred his side, and he mentally cursed, though none of the pain reached his face. Felines! Ugh! Why did he have to be hurt? Well, it was probably for the better; definitely, it would temper how much touching either of them did, and that was more beneficial, for the moment, though he had a surge of vanity flare through him at the idea of being scarred up. Some part of him was mildly worried that he would look like some grotesque monster once those bandages came off, with winding scars down his side and up his back, as well as flaring across his chest. But that was a problem for another time, and he wouldn't have to face it for awhile, thankfully. He'd have some time to wrap his mind around the idea of being hideous looking.
That thought came to an abrupt halt at her question, which was... decidedly awkward. Rawign blinked, giving her a perfectly serious expression, as though what he had to say was very important. "We will have to be completely, utterly awkward, with cautious glances across rooms and always standing a little too far apart when we talk." Blank face. But the composure lasted only a moment before he broke into a smile. Being half-asleep actually unwound him some; he was far less eager to be bratty or worried about how things looked when he was tired. He calmly turned the question on her, though, instead making that decision hers as opposed to his. He didn't want to sound pushy to which he wanted. He could live with either, and while he'd prefer the idea of not being awkward around the one person at the Weyr he felt relatively at ease with, he wouldn't push her. "Which would you prefer, Marra?"
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Post by Administrator on Dec 4, 2007 21:27:11 GMT -5
Marra rolled her eyes. Adventurous. How that amused her. For a brief moment, she seriously considered being adventurous herself, but the modest side of her strongly said no. Not even Metrol had seen that much of her before. Perhaps Marra truly was the prude. Yet Rawign had seen some, before she managed to fix that problem. Do it, the sly voice in her head told her. It's not as though this would be taking her purity. He's already seen it before, so there isn't anything new there. However, the nervous part of her argued, one thing would lead to another. Marra would need time to think about this before spontaneously jumping into it- or at least wait for a better moment. Only slimly did Marra actually keep her shirt on. If only Rawign had actually voiced his thoughts on her overdress, she probably would have given into her guilty desire!
Smiling as his arm fell over her, she subconsciously wriggled into it. How else was she to react? She longed to hold him closer to her body, but her fear of hurting him was stronger than that. But she was relieved as he snuggled in. Her shirt was large enough, and thin enough, to give her the pleasing illusion that she wasn't wearing a shirt at all. Her hand circled to the back of Rawign's dark head, holding it with gentle fingers.
"I've never envisioned you much of a cuddler," she stated dryly. "Never really thought about it, of course, but you just never seemed the type. But," she paused, smiling at him. Had she smiled so much before? "I do like that you're into this. It's comfortable." It was comfortable? He was comfortable. So warm...
She raised an eyebrow at his short-lived joke. For a wild moment, she thought he was actually serious. But as soon as he said the word 'awkward,' she rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot," she pointed out. "There's a reason I don't like you. You're too... ridiculous."
Of course she spoke in jest. There is was again, Marra's infamous sense of humor. She sighed, proceeding to toy with his hair again, regarding how pleased he looked. Like an eager little boy. It was cute. The corners of her mouth twitched. "Your smile is so cute," she told him, bringing her lips right above his own smiling ones, not quite kissing, but hardly a hair's breadth away.
What did she want with Rawign? Well, that didn't take long to thin about. Her mind pointed at one answer, but she felt he should have his own say before she admitted to it. "I think I know what I want, but I just want to make sure you want it, too," she told him slowly and vaguely. "If you know what I mean," she added hastily.
Shards, she loved the warmth. It felt so cozy, lying in the furs with Rawign, the veil shadowing them from the rest of the world. Marra hated infirmaries, yet here was the perfect place to be. It was quiet sunrise, undisturbed, peaceful. Randomly, against her better judgement, she found herself slipping out of her shirt. The timing seemed too perfect, it had been impossible to banish this thought from her head once she thought of it, and his body pressed against her breast made her just have this odd, burning desire to offer this up to him. Dropping the shirt on the ground (on top of the infirmary gown and her own damp shirt), she looped one long arm around his neck with extreme hesitence, worried he would reject her now more than ever, she trembled ever-so-slightly, a mixture of lying with Rawign so intimately and her own nervousness. Anxiously, her gaze flickered back and forth from his face, wanting, yet not wanting, to see how he would react.
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Post by glamourie on Dec 5, 2007 3:39:01 GMT -5
Was it just him, or did they keep smiling, almost ridiculously? Not just her, but him as well; it seemed that light smile was not willing to leave his face for more than a few seconds at a time. How silly they must have looked. Not that anyone saw them. Actually, the fact that they were alone was the only reason Rawign did not squirm away slightly. Some part of him was still bashful at the idea of curling up so close to ... well, anyone. It must have been obvious, since she seemed to pick up on it rather quickly, from her comments. His eyes fell closed and he grinned, ear-to-ear, playful and almost amused, as if she'd said something extremely funny. To him, she had.
"I'm not," he admitted, "at least not normally. I don't like it when most people touch me. You're different." The situation was, too. He wasn't sure he would have been anywhere near as comfortable, were it not for the fact that he was hurt. Not that he thought Marra would ever have been as... pleasant to him if he wasn't hurt, either. A small, nasty part of his mind, was sure that it was only pity that had her curled up so to him, but for once, Rawign didn't listen to that voice. He didn't care if it was just pity. For once, all that mattered was what was happening. He was tired of analyzing and picking apart every single detail until he found something to doubt, something to mistrust. He wanted to be happy, and Marra made him happy... when she wasn't insulting him, anyway.
And he was comfortable too, so curled up to her warmth. He was probably going to be spoiled. The furs in the candidate barracks would not be half as comfortable when he finally went back all by himself. He was already attached to having someone to curl up against, someone to wrap his arms around. Ridiculous; he was still being utterly ridiculous. It wasn't as though Marra could come with him back there and he wouldn't ever ask her anyway. Talk about awkward explanations, not to mention it could get both of them in trouble. He was not about to put Marra in that position if he could help himself, and he could, thank you very much. He wasn't just someone who had no self-control. Besides, he wasn't sure whether she'd be willing to anyway. Maybe it was a one-time deal for her? Rawign found it hard to imagine Marra as the type to want to cuddle very often, too. Then again... perhaps they just brought the strangest quirks out in one another.
Once upon a time, if she'd said she disliked him he would have believed her. But not anymore. They were too comfortably wound up for him to really take such words seriously, no matter how vehement they were meant. Smiles and closeness, warmth of proximity, cuddled up under the furs - he couldn't truly believe she didn't like him. If she did, she wouldn't have kissed him, or allowed him to kiss her, let alone be laying in the furs with him like that. She didn't even sound serious for once. Rawign snorted softly before closing his eyes. "I don't like you either. You're mean to me." It was clear, though, from his tone that he did not really mean it; she hadn't been truly 'mean' in a very long time and he'd never really taken her too seriously.
"Cute?" he echoed softly before brushing the tip of his nose against hers, very light but clearly affectionate. Most males he knew would object to the term 'cute' - he didn't, if only because he knew it was intended as a compliment rather than degrading. Cute was for girls, though, not men. He left that comment alone, though, instead pressing his lips gently against hers. "I don't intend to act awkward around you, Marra, and I don't intend to suddenly avoid you. And I'm enjoying myself far too much to say with total certainty that I'll be content going back to bickering with you over ridiculous things, never wondering if there's more to it than just this. But the decision is yours, in the--"
Whatever else he was going to say was cut off as she removed the shirt he'd given her. His eyes followed the fabric to the floor before looking to her face, searchingly. Was she trying to drive him completely mad? She was making it extremely hard for him to not act like he had only one thing on his mind. Or perhaps it was a test? Either way, he kept his hands to himself except to pull her against him so that the two of them were cuddled up close together. The furs helped to hide just how... exposed both of them were, and he barely managed to keep from staring. There could no denying, though, from the quick once-over he gave her, that he definitely approved. He was proud of himself for avoiding commenting aloud, though... and avoiding touching, no matter how much he wanted to. "-- In the.. Decision's yours. Right." He paused, then added casually, "You're a tease. If this is some kind of test of whether or not I can keep focused... I'm going to fail, just so you know in advance..."
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Post by Administrator on Dec 5, 2007 12:00:39 GMT -5
Marra's eyebrow went up, yet it was an amused one. "You don't mind me touching you?" she asked, mildly flattered. As if to test out his claim, one of her hands slowly moved down his neck, stroking his rich, dark hair in one long movement. She paused, then smiled weakly. "I don't mind you touching me, either," she added helpfully, sounding extraordinarily awkward. Another pause. "I actually... like it a little." She blushed at this, especially since she wasn't wearing anything over her upper half. Nevertheless, she was determined to not distinguish how she meant that statement. She was having a hard time admitting this feeling to him, so she hoped he wouldn't make fun of her for it. Not only that, but she could hardly believe this herself.
She chuckled as he remarked that he didn't like her. It was fun to joke around a bit. Nothing serious, just simple little jokes. "All of this hard fighting and I'll never be able to be near you again," she told him in a lazy-sounding threat. A smile twitched, beginning to curve her lips upward. This odd peace with Rawign was refreshing. Their gather problems seemed like a lifetime away. It still amazed her that she had made him jealous. It gave her an ego rush, almost.
"Yes, cute," she told him, holding up a hand to waggle it in front of his nose. It wasn't handsome, but it was cute. There was a difference. Handsome made her daydream, while cute was something she wanted to snuggle with all day long. The latter, in her opinion, was what applied to Rawign. She hadn't realized, anyway, that cute wasn't a manly word. Rawign could still be manly at the same time as being cute. She sighed. "Well," she replied slowly, "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, too. I think..." she paused, looking into his eyes as if for a reaffirmation that she was saying the right thing, "I think we should try it." She knew she wanted to!
Once again, her eyebrow went up. "Distracting?" she asked drolly. "I could fix it, if you want." Propping herself up onto her elbows, she dipped an arm to the side of the bed as if she would pick Rawign's shirt back up, but this, too, was in jest. However, as she did so, the furs accidentally slid down slightly, revealing enough of her to open air that she blushed. Sinking back into the furs, she snuggled right back into Rawign's body, as tightly as it had been before, her face heated with almost embarassment. Though she knew what she had done, she hadn't truly realized it until it was all out in front of them like that. "Oops," she squeaked, pulling the furs back over them, enough to only reveal the dip of her collar bone.
However, in that brief moment, an odd adrenaline had rushed through her, startling the harper. She could feel her heart pattering against him, wondering if he noticed. "Anyway," she said slowly, trying to regain her lost composure, "I think trying is a good idea. Then we can see if it works or not..." Her words trailed off, the flush having not faded from her cheeks, feeling slightly confused. What should she be doing? She was at a loss at what to say now, so she just looked down. With Metrol, everything had been so robotic. Yet here, Marra was definitely in the play.
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Post by glamourie on Dec 5, 2007 14:42:33 GMT -5
Actually, he really liked her touching him, but Rawign was not about to admit that much aloud if he could help it; he was still working out in his head whether or not that was as disastrous as the pessimistic voice in his mind seemed to think that it was. To answer her question, he let the smile on his face linger. That one expression answered better than any words could. What were words compared to expressions bent on real emotions? Words lied; feelings were true, and Rawign wasn't good enough at schooling his face to an easy calm to hide what he truly felt. Not that he would have tried. He liked the easy comfort between them, for once. He'd never actually let anyone in enough to be so comfortable around them - he always kept people at arm's length. No doubt part of his comfort did stem from the fact that he was hurt, and Marra had come to check on him when, so far, he didn't know if anyone else had, but... there was definitely more to how he felt about her. Definitely more.
That she liked him touching her pleased him almost as much as how comfortable he felt curled up against her. Some part of him was definitely gloating, though he tuned that little voice out due to it being a nuisance. He liked touching her, too, though he was reluctant to do more than just drape his arms around her. The last thing he wanted was to reinforce the idea that he was trying to rush her or anything. Rawign wasn't capable of shallow relationships with people he knew well. Marra was... a friend? Somewhat more, obviously. Hurting her was on the list of things he did not want to do if he could help it; if that meant resisting the urge to run his hands over her bare chest, then that was what he would do. It wasn't as though he was all that eager to be rushing things anyway... truth was, he was still adjusting to the idea of letting anyone touch him at all. For so many Turns, he actually hadn't, save for injuries and dealing with patients. Physical contact was foreign in its own way, though not entirely unpleasant. Or unpleasant at all, in Marra's case.
"Cute," he echoed again, smiling, despite himself. His mind was rejecting the word; no matter how many times he heard it, he still couldn't fully adjust his mind around it. However, he didn't have to think on it much, as his mind latched onto the idea of her not being near him again. That very concept bothered him, despite it being a joke. He didn't want to imagine trying to exist at Selenitas without Marra there. Even when they were fighting, she was the single most familiar person, and the only thing that made Selenitas into a real home for him. True, there were other things, added up, that helped... but without her, Selenitas wasn't really any different from any other place he might have been stationed. He bit the inside of his lip before nodding slowly. The idea of trusting someone enough to willingly attempt a relationship of any kind with them did spook him to some degree, but Rawign wasn't going to back down if she wasn't. He... wanted to try. He really did. "Then we will." Simple agreement though it may have been, the curt nod that followed emphasized that Rawign really did mean those words. For better or worse, he really did want to try. He just hoped he didn't end up regretting that decision.
What little trepidation that the seventeen-turn-old boy felt, though, was quite efficiently demolished as Marra sat up and his eyes swept down, over her cheekbones, along her shoulder and lower. His breath caught in his throat and he actually bit his tongue to keep from staring, no matter how much he wanted to. Her words were lost on him for the moment as he tore his eyes away, back to her face. He decidedly did not move from his spot curled up on the cot, because he didn't trust himself if he followed her. He was doing so good, too! Tease. Tease tease tease. When she moved back to the furs (after what felt like too short of time for his liking), Rawign looked back at her before grinning sheepishly. There was a faint hint of pink on his cheeks as well, from slight embarrassment, but at least he hadn't said anything. He did, however, drape his arms back around her, almost possessively.
"So do I." Rawign smiled slightly before gently kissing her forehead again. A fresh wave of exhaustion was washing over him, along with hunger. But he decided to go with the former for the moment, if only because the perfect stillness in the infirmary was alluring, and he felt better than he had in a long time, despite the slight pain in his sides. "I guess this means we can't go around dancing with other people at Gathers just for reactions this time, huh...?" He managed to yawn with his mouth closed, though it was obvious he was starting to become very tired again. "Shame.. you're cute when you're jealous..."
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Post by Administrator on Dec 5, 2007 22:44:17 GMT -5
...That was it? All they had to do was say they would try doing this, and it would happen? Marra blinked, surprised. That was easy. No catch or anything? Smiling a little, as if in disbelief, she nodded. "All right, then," she replied awkwardly. Oh, how this sort of talk was not her forte! At least it would be worth it in the end, wouldn't it? They were not quite lovers yet- but they were in some sort of transitory thing. Marra did not mind that in the slightest. Starting off easy like this, simply trying, was very nice to start out. That way, if by some freak chance that Marra and Rawign weren't meant to love, and only to like, they could slip right back down to what they were. However, Marra fervently hoped it wasn't the case. After all, there were not many people out there with whom she could say she was comfortable lying with topless. Marra was even surprised at how comfortable she actually was with Rawign. So long as she didn't look at her own indecency, she was perfectly comfortable. The reason it bothered her to look at herself, she conjectured, was the fact that she had done it so spontaneously, or perhaps she was too surprised to truly acknowledge that she, Marra, was lying in the furs-- with no shirt, no less-- with Rawign.
It relieved the harper when she saw a slight flush in Rawign's cheeks as he had caught that brief glimpse of her breasts. So, perhaps he wasn't like all boys. Most would probably stare at her for as long as they could and go straight to the fondling. As for Rawign, she thought, pleased, he was more respectful. Her opinion of him growing, she smiled at him, almost nervously. She had no intentions of giving him her girlhood at this moment, and the fact that he was silently respecting that made Marra feel much more relaxed. Sure, she liked the feeling of skin touching skin, but she wasn't ready to dive right into the highest part of a relationship yet. There would always be time to do that later-- she would first need to make sure that it wouldn't be something she'd regret, which would take time, of course. How much time exactly, though, was something Marra had yet to figure out.
His lips at her forehead felt so nice, she thought. With a deep exhale, she sank into his arms, her head resting in the curve of his neck. She stayed there a moment, before a tensing of his neck muscles caught her attention, almost more than his words. Looking on him with concerned eyes, they relaxed when she saw he was simply tired. Tenderly pecking his lips, a long, bare arm reached up to caress his long locks of hair. "Guess not," she replied softly. It was the second comment that started to get her riled up again, though. Giving him the infamous eyebrow, she then rolled her eyes. "I was not jealous," she protested quietly, still maintaining the quiet atmosphere. "Don't flatter yourself." How amusing she now had the guts to deny this fact that yes, she was jealous, only after they had begun to get closer. She secretly rejoiced in being called cute, though. Very rare was that sort of compliment!
"Look," she told him gently, lying in a manner so that her legs were splayed off to her side, yet her upper body was flat on the cot beside him. "You're tired and hurt. I think you should go to sleep." She paused. "I'll stay here," she added, smiling slightly. "I'll be here when you wake up, and if you need me, just wake me up yourself. I feel like sleeping, too." With this, she carefully drew Rawign's head to her chest as if her chest was merely a pillow. Leaning over his cheek, she kissed it softly, finding this position remarkably comfortable even for her.
Little Desdemona chirped sleepily at Rawign's feet, oblivious to the details of the curious emotions in her bonded's heart. Instead, she adopted Marra's need for closeness, and she snuggled up to Li with a sleepy croon.
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Post by glamourie on Dec 6, 2007 7:51:01 GMT -5
Rawign raised an eyebrow, slowly, as she actually denied being jealous. Just because they were cuddled up close to each other didn't mean he was going to forget everything that transpired at the Gather. She'd made quite a show of insisting how much she and Metrol had done; some part of Rawign still wanted to know whether or not that was an exaggeration. The better part of him was hoping that it was, if only because he could not stand the thought of having to look at someone who had -- no. He decided not to think about that. He might do something horribly rash just on sight if he let his mind wind down that path, never mind that he wasn't in any position to cast stones considering his own rather... odd relationship with Cezine, if it counted as a relationship at all. (Really, it was more like one day at the river that went too far too fast, but it still prevented him from being justified in any commentary.) Ironically, he was more angry with Metrol than Marra.
"No. Not jealous at all. Those glares on the dance floor and the show you made of..." And then his words trailed off, simply because he couldn't bring himself to say it when he was so comfortably wound around her. Some day he'd ask her, but he didn't know that he truly wanted to know - yet. Never mind that it was none of his business. Besides, he knew she was jealous. Why else go to such lengths? He would flatter himself, thank you very much.
And then she was telling him to sleep? Snorting, Rawign shook his head, almost casually. Wasn't she a fine one to talk? She was clearly exhausted herself. But he didn't call her on it, instead tightening his arms around her just slightly. If she wasn't going to leave, then he could sleep, and when he woke up he'd find someone to get him something to eat. He didn't know if he wanted to eat before sleeping anyway - that wasn't good for one's health; in fact it was one of the best ways to gain weight. Just why was he worrying about that? Oh, right, to keep from thinking about the fact that he was nuzzling his face into her chest, as though she were a pillow made just for him and how close he was to --
No, no, no. "Goodnight," he whispered as his eyes closed. The second they did, though, most of his other thoughts were chased away in a flood of exhaustion, relief and comfort, all of which provided by Marra, whether she realized it or not. He felt safer with her there than words could begin to describe, and that security was enough that it didn't take him more than a few minutes to drift off into sleep. He was still fatigued from having dealt with things most people didn't ever imagine having to endure. True enough was it that dealing with felines wasn't one of the most difficult tasks a person could ever end up with, but considering he wasn't armed going in, he'd done well enough. And the combination of pain, a lack of proper rest, and total relaxation helped ease his mind into total blackness and an absence of nightmares. He hadn't even realized just how tired he truly was.
Down curled up by his feet, Li chirped and flopped against Mona as well, curling his body protectively around his clutchsister. His head rested on her side, as if the little bronze thought that he could protect her from anything. Except that he never woke up even as he moved. Li moved around a lot in his sleep, for a firelizard.
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Post by Administrator on Dec 7, 2007 5:56:27 GMT -5
Marra rolled her eyes. "I was just... I mean, I wanted to see if you were jealous," she told him, smirking faintly. But his sentence was unfinished! Raising an eyebrow, she made no further inquiry, figuring she would get a better answer from him as he was awake. Instead, she adjusted the healer on her chest, tipping his head to what looked like a more comfortable position- and not just for his injuries. She blushed as he nuzzled his head in, but she couldn't say that she didn't enjoy it. To do so would have been to lie, which Marra was far from wanting to do. Caressing his head with rhythmic harper strokes, she lay herself back down in furs while balancing Rawign on her so it minimized his movement on her. Lowering her lips into his hair, she held them there, as if kissing him when it was really only her lips that touched him. So soft...
"Good night," she echoed. Frankly, she was amazed at how quickly he fell asleep. It must be record time, she thought drolly, continuing to stroke the motionless Rawign's dark tresses. Now could she truly contemplate her feelings toward him! She gazed down across his sleeping face. It looked so peaceful. She had seen him sleep before, of course. After her episode of sleep deprivation, they had slept with each other. Their roles had been switched then. Now she was the caretaker, and him the one cared for. That was something Marra didn't mind in the slightest.
Did she and Rawign actually have a chance at being something more? They certainly were fine as friends, even though they had many arguments with each other. In an odd way, however, it only seemed to strengthen their friendship. And now that fight involving Metrol seemed to strengthen this friendship so much that it had exceeded expectations. Kissing him, sleeping in the same cot with him, taking off her clothes in his presence... This wasn't a normal friendship.
There was definitely potential for more.
This thought settling indefinitely, Marra found a small smile curving onto her lips, enjoyed by her alone. Her head going down to Rawign's, she managed to get to his cheek. Kissing it a little bit harder than she would if he was awake, though not hard enough to wake him, she descended back into the furs as she wrapped an arm around his upper chest. As he had said, 'Good night.' Well, technically, it wasn't night, but there was nobody to argue with at the moment since he was now passed out in her arms. Dropping this last amusing thought from her head, she slowly drifted off to sleep, her arm clutching Rawign to her chest, too busy to notice how her actions and excited thoughts made Mona react. The green in question was now back asleep, grateful for the comfort the bronze could give.
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