[Mechanical Marvels] A Kiln for Company (Ha'na please)

[Alistair deGrey]

Ha'na is so often ready for danger, it worries me. I wish I could melt off the worry, cause the anxiety and fear to disappear in a great gout of smoke. To, for once, be a magician, and tell her, "Ta da, everything is better now." But I know of no such magic.

"Oh no no no." deGrey smiled and waved the veil away, a little more disconcerted over her worry than his uncomfortable pants. "It was no fault of your own, I was just shifting." The incident was due to Alistair after all. Not only had he been the one to move, but he was also the fool who had not the forethought to purchase real bowls.

"I really do not want to soil your veil," Alistair continued, firmly refusing the delicate article. It made no sense to deGrey, bringing on a fit of bemusement. Why ruin her veil, I have another pair of pants somewhere. "I will be one chime." He quickly moved around the bed, pulling out a second pair of neatly folded pants from beneath.

This pair was older, the color of faded canvas. They had been purchased in Zeltiva at the beginning of Winter. The bottoms were ragged from the trail, and several holes had been worn into them from frequent use. The fabric itself was clean though, as he had washed the clothes before "storing them". If sliding them under a bed could be called storing.

deGrey slid out the door. It was strange changing in the workshop, he was used to changing in, well, his living quarters. However, a beautiful woman currently resided there. May perhaps I should have...

It did not take long for deGrey to slip out of the black pants he wore, which smelled of meat and potatoes, and into his other ragged pair. Quickly, Alistair draped the wet pair on his anvil outside and slipped back into the room with Ha'na. "There we are. No need for worry." deGrey sent a reassuring smile across the room to Ha'na.

She seems so very tense sometimes. If Alistair wanted ease away anything about Ha'na, it would be her constant preparation for tragedy. Sometimes one needed to know that everything would be fine.

[Hana]

Alistair had a long wait ahead of him if he wanted to see Ha’na at ease. She was the very model of nervous energy and hyper-consideration. Fortunately for him, no stew had been spilled on the ground, nor had she found a broom to sweep for him. Nor had she decided to do anything else, other than make sure he would have a few bowls the next time she was over.

She wondered when she’d be over again. Never once did her mind take into consideration that in order to be over again, she’d eventually have to leave. Instead she stood dumbly, looking out at nothing.

She was quickly at his side when he came back into the room, an arm wrapping about his elbow. “Truly? You’re okay? Not burned?”

When he smiled, though, she calmed at least a little. She looked at him with that star-struck, doe-eyed expression she’d been getting off and on her entire time with him. She smiled back. Once again she found herself asking how this had happened. Then an even scarier question came to mind – Now what?

[Alistair deGrey]

One for the paralysis, one to keep the body safe, four to extract the soul... The list goes on

Ha'na was instantaneously at Alistair's side, releasing worried question upon question. deGrey did not want to voice concern, but he was fairly worried about her worry. It was an emotion that continually rose to the surface, and the inventor only wished he could invent something to put Ha'na at ease. It was, after all, relatively frustrating for deGrey to see somebody he loved so on edge.

The sun outside was waning, the last few hours of daylight had been eaten up by Syna. Now her bailiwick sank over the Syliran mountains, casting the world in shade until the inevitable dawn.

It was rare for deGrey to stay up much later than this, for he always rose with the dawn to open his doors for the populace. it was unusual to see Alistair's lanterns polluting the night air, unless he was working on a particularly demanding project.

"Yes my dear, I am unscathed." The inventor leaned in to kiss Ha'na's neck, his breath smelling of the recently consumed fruit. "But I must sleep soon, the dawn will herald my wakening."

Alistair slipped his arm from Ha'na's and moved to his bed. Before slipping beneath the warm covers, Alistair deGrey undid his belt once more, and slipped off his tunic. He quietly stepped over and folded both articles over the desk chair.

If anything, deGrey's torso was a shock. He was more muscular than one would expect, a result of the metalworking and porting he often did for his work. But quite a bit stranger than that were the array of glyphs etched into his chest and back. Over half a dozen of the scars were littered about on Alistair.

Alistair deGrey's eyes grew wide with panic, looking down at his marked body, he was suddenly very ashamed. "I... I am sorry I d-did not tell you." It had been a long while since Alistair had worried over his etchings, and Ha'na's intoxicating aura had allowed his mind to easily gloss over such unsavory details. He was embarrassed for lying to her, ashamed for his secret. He at least wanted to dispel any suspicions of witchcraft. "T-they, are not mine... I-I..." Never before had deGrey wanted to be so small, to shrink into nothingness. He began to fumble with his shirt, slipping it back on and stiffly laying down on the bed with his back turned.

Part of him wanted to be alone with his shame, but another secret part wished for something entirely different. But never would he admit it to himself.

[Hana]

Was she… Had she… It had gotten too late to go home. Her insides seemed to knot up completely at that fact. It wasn’t that she wanted to go. In fact she very, very much didn’t want to. It was just… Well, she didn’t want to come off…

When he took his shirt off, she felt herself go numb. It wasn’t the type of numb that was particularly bad. No, it was perhaps a bit enjoyable. But something was wrong. She didn’t realize it until he was already putting his shirt back on. She watched his reactions even as she stood there dumbly trying to figure out what she’d just seen. Glyphs? Not his? But…

Suddenly her heart was breaking for him. She stood there with wide eyes, but it wasn’t because of what she’d seen. Perhaps it was because she understood on some level they were perhaps more alike than she would have guessed. She felt herself tear up, her throat threatened to close.

Le fin

Without a word, she crawled into the bed, kicking off her sandals as she went. She slipped up until she was pressed up against him. Her lips fell to the back of his neck. Her hand slipped up under his shirt to rest over his heart.

“Shh, my love,” she whispered, kissing a few more times until she was at his ear. “Don’t fret… I’m here. I’m not leaving. I’m not going anywhere at all… No one will ever hurt you again.”

[Dusk]

XP Award! Alistair XP Award Seduction: 3 XP Writing: 2 XP Drawing: 1 XP Interrogation: 1 XP Rhetoric: 1 XP Lore Award Letting Someone In Discovering Hope Falling in Love Being Proposed To Ha'na XP Award Writing: 1 XP Seduction: 3 XP Interrogation: 1 XP Storytelling: 2 XP Rhetoric: 1 XP Cooking: 1 XP Lore Award Infatuation Inventing Ideas Rediscovering Hope Falling in Love Proposing Marriage Additional Note Seriously, stop making me sniffle when I'm reading threads! Okay, no, don't. This was just as good the second time through. Ali, you left the forge on and the door unlocked, but I won't have your place burn down this time. THIS TIME. Again, great scene, highly entertaining and kept me waiting for the next reply every time.