[The Sunberth Library] I'm Feeling Lucky (Shadowfang)

by **Andalusia** on April 11th, 2012, 7:39 pm

Known for their remarkably immense beauty, the Ethaefals were not born, but rather, were reborn into this world, through a fissure that tore through the realms of the lovers Leth and Syna. The events of the Valterrian played quite a large part in the unexpected occurence that had the souls of the departed once more return to the mortal plane.

"Leth and Syna?" Andalusia furrowed her brows at the two foreign names, so unfamiliar and strange that even her own thoughts could not pronounce them with confidence. It was as if she were learning an entirely new language. "Who are they?" she wondered, eyes rising up to watch Shadowfang retrieve even more books from the shelves, "if they have realms, then they must be... Gods?" She flipped through pages with earnest, thankful that the book was not worn or fragile, or else it would've had its pages tossed off from the speed of her page turning. Her eyes scanned the pages once more, eager to learn more about the Ethaefal, and the apparent gods Leth and Syna. The writer of the text seemed to be writing about his experiences, as the information seemed rather opinionated, one-sided, and obviously lacking. It seems that he had taken note of their basic history and appearance, and that was that.

When Syna rises up to envelop the land in her light, the Ethaefal are in their magestic, ethereal forms, with their unearthly beauty and magnificent horns. But, as the light fades to make room for the cold, muted glow of Leth, nighttime approaches the Etheafal and reverts them to their old form, when they were once mortal, once a lesser race.

She was getting halfway through the book, yet she was met with more questions than answers. The more engrossed she'd become with the information, the lesser she noticed that Shadowfang had already made multiple trips to the bookshelves. Yet, his eyes seemed to wander over to her, instead of to the fading text on the yellowing pages, and the blank, bound ones in his journal. "They have horns, and they shift forms?" she bit her lip, tugging at the soft skin as she flipped around to the end of the book.

The Etheafal are a wise, patient, and intelligent race, having been given the chance to live again. Their bodies never age, and they remain young, youthful, and magnificently beautiful in appearance, but are nonetheless as mortal as the other living beings they exist among. As I have only met a few, and have studied even less, this is all I can share. But dear reader, heed my advice, that there is still much, much more to learn. What you have just read is merely an introduction to the very beginning.

With a pout, she shut the book with an unsatisfied squeak, the blush on her cheeks having never left her cheeks as the feeling of excitement had only recently rushed inside of her and coarsed through her veins. Finally free of the book's entrancing lock, she found one side of her face burning from the unmistakable gaze of another being. Slowly, she turned towards Shadowfang, who seemed to be observing her carefully. Her blush heightened as the torch lights flickered in her eyes, causing her to squint for a moment. The golden speckles in her eyes glistened like stars as they absorbed the glow of the torch's fires. For such muted red-hued eyes, they were enthralling, and just as entrancing as the book she had held in her hands. "I-Is something the matter?" she murmured softly, her eyes shifting about as they gazed into the Zith's eyes. As time went on, her heart began to race and her cheeks began to burn from the unexpected close proximity.

by **Shadowfang** on April 20th, 2012, 3:58 pm

Andalusa's question quickly pulled Shadowfang back into reality, disrupting his spellbound stare. His eyes widened for an instant when he realized just how long he had been looking at her. No matter how much he wanted, no matter how much he tried, he could not pull his eyes away from her's, nor could he bring himself to say anything to her. Never in his life could he remember such a feeling of... attraction to another being, especially to a non-Zith. it was confusing to him. His muscles tensed, as if he was getting ready to pounce on her. Control! Control yourself! It was all he could do to keep himself from jumping on Andalusa in a mad bout of lustful desire, but it had to be done. The library was not the best place in Mizahar to lose oneself to instinct.

He blinked once, in an attempt to clear his mind and , as difficult as it was, forced his more analytical side manifest. "You are... different." he said. He scooted his seat across the floor, positioning himself directly in front of her for a better view and drew his face close to hers, staring directly into her eyes, darting from golden fleck to golden fleck. Even as the nervous feeling in him grew, he was still as blunt as ever. "You do not fear me. You do not keep your distance. You do not appear to... hate me." Truly, such an experience with another person was new to him. With everyone else he had met, even within the Crimson Edge, he had been met with some degree of hostility or mistrust. Andalusa was indeed different.

His face was so close to hers that she could feel her quick breaths hitting his fur. He kept his expression as emotionless and deadpan as possible but in truth, had he not been covered in fur, she'd be able to see him blushing as well.

by **Andalusia** on April 20th, 2012, 6:36 pm

Andalusia flinched as his body seemed to tense up, and for a moment she feared that it might've been bad to ask if something was the matter. But the Zith scooted his chair to face hers, the high-pitched, dragging sound causing her to withdraw quite a bit. The woman at the reception desk rose from her seat and peered over at them for a brief moment as the noise had cut through the silence so quickly and so suddenly. She remained still as he gazed at her, into her eyes, his face so close that the warmth of his breathing hit her burning cheeks. Her breathing quickened quite a bit as nervousness and embarrassment began to accumulate and build up within her, tightening her chest and causing her stomach to flutter. She suddenly found herself attracted to the Zith, her mind completely erasing his race and their unpleasant reputation, and simply focusing on the current moment and the apparent connection.

"You are... different," he said. The faint scent of blood tickled her nostrils, reminding her of what he was and what he was capable of. She briefly furrowed her brows at the comment, and he explained. "You do not fear me. You do not keep your distance. You do not appear to... hate me." the words seemed to surprise him as he spoke them, but all that Andalusia felt was the relief of not hearing anything negative. "Y-You..." she began, but trailed off immediately, as she thought through her words. "I-I..." she still couldn't find what to say, exactly, but she tried again. "I-I can't h-hate a stranger, I-I can't f-fear someone wh-who'd just helped m-me," she stuttered and ate her words, "a-and I... I can't keep m-my distance."

She couldn't explain the last part, but it was true. Her body tensed up with embarrassment as their gazes were locked onto one another. She needed to distract herself with anything, a movement, even, so she could maintain her composure. Gently, she licked her cold lips and nibbled at the lower portion nervously. The small act was enough to calm her down and get her muscles to relax.

by **Shadowfang** on April 25th, 2012, 2:15 am

She was so difficult to figure out. Her words perplexed him. They made sense to his rational mind, but he could not fathom how someone could be so immediately trusting of someone like him. He caught her minuscule movement in his peripheral vision and quickly glanced down at her mouth, then back to her eyes. She was chewing on her own lip, apparently to try and calm her nerves. Suddenly, he decided that he needed to make a move of his own. As if it was acting of its own accord, his right hand raised and placed itself on the side of her face. The movement surprised him as much as it probably surprised her and his face showed it. He could feel the warmth of her cheek through his fur. He was examining her still, even though he had examined every inch if her a dozen times over.

He was so confused. He did not know how to properly process what was happening. He wanted - needed - to do something, anything to distract him! With his left hand, he grabbed her book and slipped it from her hands. He looked at the page she was on. Eth... Ethaefal... He was having just as much trouble with the unfamiliar word as Andalusa had. He scanned the page and noticed the names of two of the gods he had just recently read about. His attempted distraction was short lived. He could not focus on words on the page for more that a few seconds before his mind began to wander back to the girl sitting just in front of him. As he looked at her once more, he noticed that he still had a firm grasp on her face.

Abruptly, he shoved the book back into her lab and stood up, pushing his chair back with the sudden movement. The scraping noise caused the woman at the desk to look at them again, but he paid got no heed. He walked to the bookshelves, almost stomping with each step. He leaned against the shelf and stared at one book. He was fixated on some space just behind the book, not comprehending anything that his eyes saw. He felt weird, felt something that he thought was unnatural. He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down as his confusion mounted. Funny, for someone who wanted to know everything, he did not even know how his own body and mind worked, did not know why his gaze and thoughts kept returning to the girl he knew almost nothing about.

by **Andalusia** on April 26th, 2012, 12:33 pm

It was easy to get lost in emerald eyes, that seemed to toss you into an neverending maze of forestry, or cerulean eyes that had you engulfed in the sea, or falling from the sky. But crimson eyes, what did they say, what did they tell? She couldn't think of anything, she couldn't imagine anything, and yet she was drowning in his eyes, submitting to his gaze. Fear and nervousness dissipated and then she felt nothing but calmness. Her mind went blank, her expression softened, and she felt at home in the stare.

And when he put his hand on her cheek, she no longer flinched or shivered. But he uttered not a sound, and she wondered for a moment, "what was going in his mind?" It was crazy, it was all insane. She wanted to smile at him and say something, but she couldn't find the words. Before she could do anything, Shadowfang immediately jerked his free hand towards the book on her lap and flapped it open. The illusion shattered, and her stomach lurched with embarrassment once more. His hand was still planted onto her cheek, yet he pried his eyes away to read instead. He looked frustrated, and her eyes wandered over to the book. He tossed it back onto her lap and immediately stood up, relinquishing his hold on her cheek. She flinched at the sudden screech that the chair made as it dragged against the floor, and gazed up to find that he was gone.

"Did I do something wrong?" she thought worriedly, clammy hands struggling to place the book back on the shelf. The woman at the front desk eyed her carefully at first, and then shook her head and turned towards her own book. She must've found her strange. She wondered what she should do next; approach him, or pick out another book and just read again? The former appealed to her much more. She moved from aisle to aisle, slowly, until she found him. He stood with his back against one shelf, his eyes fixated on the spine of a book opposite from him. She glanced over at the woman by the desk, but she was preoccupied, and the shelves shielded them from her sight. It was a little bit dark between the shelves, almost enough for one to have a difficult time scanning their contents. She approached him slowly, but kept a considerable amount of distance between them. She was afraid, but she hoped that it didn't show. "A-Are you, are y-you alright?" she furrowed her brows up at him, "Did I... D-Did I d-do something w-wrong?"

by **Shadowfang** on April 29th, 2012, 7:11 am

To say that Shadowfang's focus was broken once more with Andalusa's sudden intrusion would be a lie, because there was no focus to break. There was no semblance of order left inside him as his mind and body conflicted with each other, warring over his actions. He remained leaning against the bookshelf and glanced at her, finding his eyes easily captivated once again. He was far from alright. His entire being was ripping seemed like it was ripping itself apart with confusion. Did she do something wrong? No. No action of hers had offended him. It seemed to him that her mere presence was the problem.

"...A-" He opened his mouth as if to speak but no words came out. He was unsure of what to say or how to communicate his predicament to her and was reduced to simply staring at her, mouth agape. He searched for the right words to say, failing to find anything that could help him. His mind was numb. Everything that came next happened so speedily and so suddenly that he did not know if they had happened in an instant or had taken forever.

He moved and, in less than a second, was upon her. With one hand he grabbed her throat, turned her, and forced her against the bookshelf he had been leaning on. His other hand he put on the side of her face again, tangling his fingers in her long hair. He hunched over and brought his face close to hers again, only closer than before so that their foreheads knocked against each other and stayed that way. He stared into her eyes once more, then shifted his head and pressed his lips against hers. For that moment, he forgot everything. There was nothing else in this world but him, her, and the bookshelf her back was to. This violent, almost involuntary display was surely enough to get some kind of message across.

After all, actions spoke louder than words.

by **Andalusia** on April 30th, 2012, 6:10 pm

He turned to her with an emotion that she could not place. Was it anger, hunger, sadness? It seemed like a mix of all three. Her brows furrowed and she took one short step backwards; fear began to rise up from her churning stomach towards her chest as he uttered the first letter of her name. The painful feeling of terror exploded into a prickly heat that beat at her ribcage and had her gasping in surprise as she found herself against the crowded shelves. The memory of her father flashed into her eyes for a brief moment, when he'd been so weak and sick to even utter anything more than the first letter of her name. But that all melted away as her head thumped against a mixture of thick spines and worn wood, with her neck trapped beneath his cage of a hand.

Only one thing crossed her mind: he was going to kill her. There was no other possibility, there was no other way around it. The thump, their movements, the woman at the reception area hadn't taken note of a thing. Her entire body trembled with fear as his forehead bumped against hers, and no matter how hard she tried to force herself to scream, to shout, or even to beg to be let go, it would not come. His other hand found its way towards the side of her face once more, his fingers tangled in her hair, his breathing becoming hoarse and labored. Their eyes met again, and for a moment, she thought she'd found her voice again, but it was too late. He had already began to lean in.

And kiss her.

None of it made sense to Andalusia, and even within the duration of their liplocking, she continued to furrow her brows and wonder what in the world had just happened. She couldn't understand it. He had her pressed against the shelves, he had his lips pressed against her own, and it just didn't add up. They'd just met. She stood there, frozen solid with her eyes wide open, wondering what to say, or better yet, what to do. But instead of pushing him away with all the strength she had, she softened and relaxed, she gave into the kiss. It was an unnatural feeling, one that she'd never felt before; her legs trembled and felt limp, almost enough for her to fall to the ground. Her cheeks began to burn as much as her lips as a sensation of excitement filled her body and numbed every bit of her senses except for touch. Slowly, she brought her hands up and rested them on his bare chest, gingerly, and gently. It might've been stupid of her to think so, but it felt as if they belonged there. As if she belonged there.

by **Shadowfang** on May 1st, 2012, 7:18 pm

He kissed her.

And kept kissing her.

He immediately understood why humans preferred this method of showing attraction towards another but he refused to ponder it further, his mind slipping into a wild excitement. His hand left her throat and rubbed across her shoulder. It moved up and down her side, tracing the curves and contours of her body. His other hand left her face and slid down her back, stopping just above her rump. He pulled her closer until his body pressed against hers, still tasting her lips with his own. She tasted good.

It seemed like bells passed while he forced himself on her. All his force was unnecessary, however; because she was not struggling. In fact, she appeared to be kissing him back. He did not know how much time passed during the kiss, nor did he care. After what felt like the longest time, he broke away, placing his hands on her shoulders to gently push himself away from her. He stared into her eyes, still enraptured by the human girl. His hands gripped her arms tightly. She looked... surprised to say the least. He cocked his head to the side "That is how humans show affection, is it not?" he whispered in the most calm voice he could manage.

He glanced to the side and suddenly realized just how long they had been at the library. "Time to go." He turned away from her and walked toward the door. His mind could not make sense of what had just happened. As he reached the door, he stopped. He was unsure of what to do or even where to go. What was best, he decided would be to stand here. And wait for her.

by **Andalusia** on May 3rd, 2012, 4:37 pm

She couldn't understand why she liked it so much. But as they kissed and held one another, she found herself unable to understand or comprehend a single concept, thought, or idea. Her mind was locked onto one simple thing, however: an unusual, uncontrollable desire to be touched, held, caressed, and kissed. She was enjoying every single moment of it, and she wanted more, she needed more - she'd never experienced anything like it. A small gasp escaped her busy lips as she felt a hand rest upon her lower back, sending a pleasurable shiver up her spine as he pushed her closer and had her pressed against him.

She just couldn't stop, she just couldn't get over it. Something had come over her that she simply could not deny, and it hurt her brain to supress it. And when he'd pushed her away with a heavy sigh, she pouted, pressing her fingers against his shoulders as she rested her forehead against his. Tiring, but magnificent. "That is how humans show affection, is it not?" he whispered softly. His soft, breathy voice made her tremble as she managed a brief nod. She couldn't speak straight, she couldn't talk straight; she simply needed, she simply wanted. They stared into each other's eyes, and that was when it struck her as to why his crimson irises appealed to her - they reminded her of deep red roses. It was silly, it may even had been stupid, but her foolish heart was young, naive, and quick to create such flowery things. Roses, she was staring into bouquets of roses.

His sideward glance broke the illusion once more. "Time to go," he said swiftly, as he turned and quickly made his way towards the door. Andalusia jumped at the sudden gesture, and remained standing against the bookshelf, stunned. "Did he mean that he had to leave?" she frowned, furrowing her brows with disappointment and anxiety. Her legs and hands shivered as they begged for her to chase after him and speak to him, and keep him from leaving just like that. She moved just in time to hear the door close, and as she turned to say her thanks to the woman at the reception, she bounded out of the library as well, only to end up bumping into his chest once more. He waited?

by **Shadowfang** on May 8th, 2012, 10:10 pm

Whump!

Andalusa ran smack into his chest for the second time that night and he could not help but let out a low, surprised growl. Quickly gaining back the wind that was knocked out of him and shaking off his initial shock he silently turned and held up a hand to indicate that she should remain quiet. He listened to the night, trying to use his sensitive ears to detect anything in the city of anarchy that could pose an immediate threat. As far as he was concerned, anything that moved this late at night was an immediate threat. Andalusa's scent was the only thing that filled his nose, so he could rely only on his ears. Were those footsteps he heard in the distance?

For a chime or two he simply stood there in silence and listened to the night, still unsure of what to do or where to go. Then, he noticed that the footsteps were coming closer, growing louder, and he immediately decided on a good place to go; away from the footsteps. Protective instinct overtook him and, almost without thinking about it, he spread out a wing and wrapped it around Andalusa, urging her to come with him, and began walking.

If he wanted to go to the Crimson Edge encampment, he would have to find a different way, as the footsteps were between them and the camp. Of course, if he had not given himself the task of taking care of Andalusa he could have flown there. He quickened his pace and put a hand on his dagger as his mood began to darken. He was not particularly mad at anything or anyone, just angry at the city in general. If he was correct they should be heading towards the outskirts of the city, though he did not know how long it would take to get there. As long as they were away from danger, he really did not care.