Among Friends [Riley]

[Mali]

Ana wouldn’t say that the journey was without worry. He had worried her about bears, urgals, and anything that they could possibly run into. His intention hadn’t been to scare or worry her, however, it had. She’d never encountered such things before, travelling across the silent plains to Teirm , that had been her only real journey until they took off for Carvala.

Although worried about what they might run into, Ana had to admit that it was nice travelling with Riley. She especially enjoyed the nights when they would stop and make camp. He would teach her little by little how to use her mind. Of course, he could only teach her so much within the past two days that they had been travelling. So far, she could tell when Riley was touching her mind, she didn’t seem to be very good at defending her mental space. Nor was she very good at self-defence. She didn’t move fast enough yet.

However, a new development occurred the night before. It had been colder than Ana would have imagined and with only the one blanket she had with her, she was freezing. However, she hadn’t been cold for long as Riley shifted over and they shared the blanket. Ana rested her head against his chest as he had his arms around her waist. It had been very nice, not that she would admit that aloud.

They were currently training even though Anaria’s mind wanted to wander elsewhere. Feeling Riley touch her mind, she tried to stop him from being able to see that she enjoyed how they slept the night before. She hoped that he wouldn’t see it but wasn’t sure if her defence was strong enough or not. She wasn’t very good at it yet.

Scrunching her nose in, she tried to focus on the attempted attacks on her mind when she let out the breath she’d been holding in and sighed. “Seems I’m not very good at this yet.” she chuckled faintly, smiling to Riley, hoping he wasn’t frustrated with her. She hoped he didn’t think she was slacking or anything, because she was trying really hard to get this right.

“I’d hate to attempt self-defence again, that seemed to go even worse than defending my mind,” Ana sounded a little defeated since she couldn’t seem to do what she’d asked him to teach her right at all.

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[Riley]

Riley smiled, pulling his mind back. He had caught a glimpse of what she thought, though she had pushed him away quick enough that he hadn't caught everything. But he did get enough. "Hey, don't worry Ana. You're doing great, much better than I was when I was learning." He shielded his mind again, smiling softly at Ana for a few seconds before speaking again. "You'll get it. When I was trying, I couldn't stop anything. There are points where you stop me easily." It was a true statement, she was doing better than she thought, it would just take time to show her true improvement. "As for fighting..." Riley began, considering how he was teaching her. Only now did he realize he was teaching her wrong. "That would be my fault."

Riley stretched his legs out, gently tapping Ana's leg with his. "I'm teaching you how I would fight, that's not what I should be teaching you." He began, laughing softly at his lapse of forethought at this. "I rely mostly on strength and my ability to take a hit. That's not how your built." He smiled at her, relaxing his shoulders as he considered it. "I can still teach you, but I need to teach you how to not be there, and how to deflect, and to disarm." He nodded a few times, "Yes... Yeah, that's how I should teach you. And counter attacking, that would be better. It's better for your build."

Riley looked back to Ana, his smile widening slightly. "Well, now that's settled, we need to talk about something else." He became serious again, hoping to make her wonder what he thought they needed to talk about. "What are we gonna do for dinner?" He asked in a mock serious tone of voice, then started laughing. "I saw some deer tracks just before we set up camp. I can go and get us a small one, we can dry what we don't eat." He considered making Ana a stew, he couldn't do much else at the moment. Not with what they had at least, they'd have to stock up before they left Carvala for Ilirea.

[Mali]

Ana smiled to him, glad for the reassurance about how well she was doing. She didn’t think that she was doing well at all but apparently compared to him, she is doing better at such an early stage. That was reassuring at least. Quirking an eyebrow to him, Anaria wondered what he meant by her lacking sense of self-defence being his fault. It wasn’t his fault that she naturally sucked.

Nodding her head, she had to admit that he was right about one thing; his fighting style wasn’t right for her build. She just wasn’t as fast as he was and there was nothing she could do to improve that. She wondered what he meant by teaching her not to be there. What did it mean exactly? She was about to ask when he changed topics.

Leaving her wondering what it was that they needed to talk about, Ana sighed in relief when he started about dinner. She was a little worried that he was going to start about her memories of the ‘miracle worker’. She was still a little apprehensive about sharing such private matters with him. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him or anything like that. It was more that she’s never even told her mother what happened due to her shame. She was ashamed that she had allowed her mutation to happen to her. Better yet, a mutation that no one could fix but her ‘miracle worker’.

“Okay. I’ll stay here and get the fire started. Do you want my bow and arrows?” Ana moved from their close position to pick up some of the firewood that they had gathered before it had started to get too dark to look for it. The sun was just setting and in a few minutes would be getting dark so Riley would have to go fast unless he could see in the dark.

“Hurry, unless you can hunt in the dark,” she giggled, handing him her bow and sling of arrows.

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[Riley]

Riley smiled and laughed, "I can hunt well enough in the dark, but I won't go too far if I can help it." He unclipped a dagger from his belt, pushing it into Ana's hands. "Keep this with you, just in case." He slung the arrows over his shoulder, then tested the bow a few times, getting a feel for it. He then pulled out two rolls of throwing knives, handing them to Ana as well. "Back in Teirm I noticed you were good with throwing weapons." He offered her one more smile, before grabbing his waterskin and slung it over his shoulder as well. Before he left, he leaned in and kissed Ana quickly, reluctantly pulling away. "I'll be back shortly." With that, he slowly turned and went into the forest.

Riley kept his eyes down, keeping his eye on the trail the deer had left. Crushed grass, broken twigs, even several droppings. He drew and knocked an arrow, keeping the bowstring taught as he advanced, he caught sight of the deer soon. He wasn't sure how far he had traveled from Ana, though he wasn't overly worried. He could still sense her with his mind, he could barely make out the light from her life. He thought he could even get back quickly enough, and with that thought, he raised the bow, taking careful aim. He focused on the smallest deer he could see, a runt of an adult. The two of them didn't need much meat, so this one would probably feed them for a few days to a week. More if they rationed it carefully. He let the arrow fly, catching the deer just under the antler, the arrow exiting on the other side of the his head. The rest of the deer scattered, leaving their companion to fall dead.

Riley smiled, holstering the bow behind in the arrow sling, and then crossed to the deer, scooping it up and hanging it over his shoulder. He started making his way back to camp, his mind wandering back over the previous night when he held Ana through the night. Truth be told he was as cold as she was, though he had been more concerned about her than himself. He might remember to leave a small fire going before they went to sleep that night. Then again, he might not just to give himself an excuse to hold her through the night again. He exited the forest near their camp, hanging the deer from a tree by it's antlers. "I come baring dinner." He said, pulling another dagger out and starting on skinning the animal.

[Mali]

Nodding her head, Ana removed the flint from her packs and was about to start a fire when she was handed a dagger. “I’ll make sure that the bears know, I’ve got a dagger,” she giggled, knowing that a bear wouldn’t possibly come find her while Riley was gone, but just the same. Ana watched as he tested the bow, getting used to its tension level, she was also given a set of throwing knives. Smiling to him, she returned the kiss before returning to building a fire.

Ana struck the flint, getting her spark, she bent down to blow lightly on her kindle, trying to get a bigger flame. Even in a wheeled chair, she’d been taught how to make a fire. She would need to know so she could start the fire at the forge by herself. Ana got a flame going and she quickly gave it the fuel it would need to continue going to cook their meal.

Thinking about her memories and how Riley had yet to ask to see them, Ana felt nervous. It wasn’t for the reasons that she had first been nervous but rather of what Riley would think of her. She had been very naive back then and had trusted the ‘miracle worker’ so easily. She didn’t want him to think that she was an idiot. Everyone knew not to trust strangers and yet she’d trusted that man and Riley so easily. Although trusting Riley hadn’t proved to be a bad thing, she still shouldn’t have done it so easily.

It wasn’t too long after Riley had left that Anaria heard rustling coming from the bushes. It was too dark for her to make out whether it was Riley or a bear, but she was thankful when Riley emerged, announcing his findings for dinner. Smiling wide to him, she laughed a bit. “I thought you might have been a bear,” she set up the skewering sticks so they’d be able to skewer and the roast the deer.

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[Riley]

Riley laughed, separating the skin from the meat, keeping it all in one piece as he did. He would sell it, along with the two rabbit and the fox skins from the previous two days, when they reached Carvala the next day. "Well I'm glad it was me and not a bear." He rolled the skin up, cleaning it as best he could, then placed it in the sack with the other skins, returning them to the saddle bags. "Hey, I didn't hear you yell that you had a dagger. If I had been a bear, I wouldn't have known." He joked, smiling at her before turning back to the deer. Using his foot mostly, he dug a deep hole, then dug the dagger deeply in the deer's gut. Reaching in, he pulled the organs out, letting them fall in the hole. Again using his foot, he buried the organs so animals wouldn't find them.

Riley sliced off several pieces of meat, slicing them as thin as he could. He then placed them on a flat rock by the fire so they could dry, they could eat on these for days. Returning to the deer, he sharpened a stick and shoved it through the deer. Then he picked it all up, and placed it on the spits over the fire with a grunt. "Well, that's done." He said, turning the stick over slowly, attempting to help the deer roast evenly. "Put in a bit more wood." He said, not wanting to stop his work to make the fire hotter. He wanted to keep their dinner evenly cooked. Or as close to it as he could at least, things might not be as easy as he had hoped for this. He'd have to make sure not to get another deer for just two people again.

Riley sent his mind out at Ana, subtly trying to gain access to her mind. He couldn't help but notice that the deer still had some energy in it's body despite being dead. The energy it did have was quickly fading however, he couldn't help but find this odd. Why would the creature still have energy? It was long dead now. He reached his mind out to the deer, finding nothing, but still able to feel the energy. He continued his subtle attempt at trying to gain access to Ana's mind, wondering if she had started to notice yet. He slowly wrapped his mind around hers, moving in from several directions at once.

[Mali]

Ana watched as he skinned the deer and placed the pelt with the others in a sack. However, she wasn’t watching him but rather his hands. The same hands that had pulled her into that first kiss, the same hands that could kill so easily and those same hands that were so gentle. It was conflicting to her, to think about it and yet she didn’t know if she should feel scared around Riley. She doubted that she would need to be scared around him since he would never have a reason to cause her harm, but she was a little conflicted. Such beautiful and gentle hands had killed before.

Ana was pulled from her thoughts and giggled at what she’d almost missed hearing. “Well, I sent it mentally,” laughing, she tapped her forehead, grinning wide to Riley. There was no way that would be possible for her yet. She couldn’t even touch Riley’s mind when he had it open to her, how could she possibly send a message out mentally. If she couldn’t touch his mind, there was no way that she could touch an animal’s mind.

Ana grabbed some more wood and placed it in the fire. She wasn’t really thinking about anything. Staring at the fire, she watched the swirling motion. She started to think about her time learning how to start a fire with her father. How he picked her up and placed her on a smaller chair with a cushion so she’d be closer to the fire and not too high up. She remembered how she blew the fire out her first try. Smiling, she hadn’t even noticed Riley touching her mind until she felt him attacking it. Trying her best to block him, she pulled up the mental image of a brick wall, trying to feel the brick and be concrete in foundation.

Not able to withstand the assault for long, Ana let out the breath she’d been holding and allowed Riley to do whatever it was he was doing. Ana leaned over and nudged Riley’s elbow. “Training without me? That’s not nice,” she giggled, continuing to stare at the fire and then the deer.

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[Riley]

Riley laughed with her, "It was a test. You passed, you were able to hold me off longer than any time before." He nudged her back playfully, continuing to spin the deer, still contemplating the draining energy he felt from the deer. Something seemed odd about it, but the thought struck him too late to try and draw on it. He almost swore as the last dregs of the animals energy faded away. He logged the information aside for future use, this could prove very useful information. Though for the moment, he'd keep it to himself, no need to voice something like this. He wasn't sure how many people had figured it out, but he knew he couldn't be the only one.

Riley continued spinning the deer, roasting it perfectly and evenly. "When I was about ten my father took me hunting for the first time." He began, smiling as the memory hit him, he got the idea from something he glimpsed in Ana's mind. He drew his mind back to himself, shielding his mind again. "We tracked a buck for three days, biggest buck I've ever seen. When we finally found it, my dad let me take the first shot." Riley smiled at the memory, grunting as he turned the deer again. "I had practiced for weeks for my dad to take me out. And when I had the chance, I couldn't do it. I missed on purpose." He laughed for a second, remembering his father's face. "His face was red for a week I swear to the Gods."

Riley finally stopped turning the deer, using his dagger to cut a small piece off and eat it. He spit the piece out into the fire, it wasn't quite done yet. With that thought in mind, he started turning the deer again. "Just a few more minutes and it will be perfect." He muttered, glad that their dinner was almost done. He cast his eyes down at the strips of meat drying out on the rock. They wouldn't be done for a while still, he went back to his work, looking down at Ana and smiling at her. "If you're really hungry, there should be some bread in the saddle bags." He offered, not sure how hungry his companion was. He hoped that he hadn't kept her waiting too long, and that their meal would be finished soon.

[Mali]

Ana smiled when Riley nudged her back saying that she ‘passed’ his supposed test. It wasn’t a test; it was him seeing if she would notice before getting control, he hadn’t intended it to be a test. But she wasn’t mad at him or anything, she also felt that was a good excuse.

She listened as he told her about hunting with his father. Did that mean that he had heard her memory about her father? He probably figured out that her father had died, thanks to touching her mind many times already. Maybe this was his way of cheering her up. She listened to the whole story and thought about it for a second. “Red from what? Embarrassment?” she giggled lightly, hoping not to offend him in any way.

Ana looked over to the saddlebags wondering if he was hungry. She wasn’t particularly so hungry that she couldn’t wait for the deer to finish, however, if he was that hungry, she would get the bread for him. Seeing as he was doing work while she lounged around waiting for him to finish. Standing up, Ana walked over to the saddlebags and grabbed the bread from one of the pouches. Bringing the bread back, she handed it to Riley. “That was a hint, right?” she grinned to him.

Her wings fluttered slightly catching the light from the fire and reflecting it around the area. She hated her wings and how they inconvenienced her at times. People would be able to see the reflected light from her wings easily. Turning her face away from Riley, Ana looked out at the surrounding forest, hiding her embarrassment.

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[Riley]

Riley laughed, "No he was mad. I was a good enough shot, and we were close enough I could have hit and killed it easily. I just didn't want to." He admitted, smiling at Ana and laughing again. "He didn't take me hunting again for a few months, not until we really needed the meat for the winter. After that though, we went every few weeks." His smile softened slightly at the memory, then he pulled himself back to reality as she held the bread out for him. Instead of taking it, his hands were still rather bloody, he leaned in and took a large bite out of it. "That wasn't a hint, but thank you." He smiled at her again, his mouth still full of bread.

Riley ate the bread quickly, then noticed Ana turning away. He also saw the light from her wings. A small smile spread over his lips. He quickly and carefully cleaned his hands with water from the skin hanging from his belt. He then turned Ana's head to face him again, "Beautiful Ana." He whispered, leaning in and kissing her softly. His hand cupped her cheek softly, his forehead pressed against hers. He smiled at her, looking her in the eye. His thumb softly stroked her cheek, his other hand moving to her lower back and pulling her tighter to him.

Riley was more than happy to stay like this for as long as he could, and so didn't pay much attention to their dinner at the moment. The fire had died enough that he wouldn't have to truly worry for a while. He smiled, lifting his head from hers. "Ana.." Only after he spoke did he realize he didn't know what he was going to say. He blushed, then closed his mouth and smiled at her, shaking his head slightly. His smile softened, his hand still cupping her cheek softly. "Don't worry about anything, not for as long as you're with me."

[Mali]

Ana listened to the story and tried to think of a time when she’d done something that embarrassed her own father. She couldn’t think of any off the bat but there probably were times that she had embarrassed him. Rolling her eyes to him, Ana shook her head, smiling to Riley. Way tp use her as a third hand. Not that she was complaining of course.

Ana felt Riley’s hand moving her to face him but she didn’t look him in the eye. Her wings embarrassed her. They weren’t natural and made her stand out no matter where she went. If she wanted to hide them, she couldn’t do so for too long or else the constriction became painful. When he called her beautiful, she felt his lips against her own. Such gentle gestures only served to confuse her feelings for him more. She liked Riley, however, his hands confused her greatly. They were always gentle and yet potentially dangerous. She was confused by what she should be feeling for the man.

As he pulled away, calling her name with pause, Ana giggled lightly. He didn’t know what to say, did he? “Okay, thank you Riley,” Ana leaned in and gave him a quick return kiss before turning her attention to the fire. He had called her beautiful but that confused her as well. She may be good looking and beautiful, but what part of her was? If she could get rid of her wings, would she still be considered beautiful?

“So, need any help with cooking that deer?” Ana smiled to him.

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[Riley]

Riley smiled at her, pressing his forehead against hers for a second. "Well I could definitely use some help eating it. Should be done right about now." He reluctantly pulled away from her, pulling the deer off the fire and then took out his dagger again. He sliced a piece off of it and ate it, making sure it was done all the way through before letting Ana eat any. Riley smiled at her, slicing off another piece and holding it out for her. "Well, it's not my best work, but it's eatable." The next time he did something like this, he would have to remember to season it better, maybe he would get lucky and find a smaller deer.

Riley sat down next to Ana, knowing what was running through her mind without having to read it. He cut himself another piece of the deer and ate it quietly, staring into the fire for a moment. He chose to banish the thoughts for the moment, there would be no use in talking about it before she was ready. Riley looked at Ana and smiled at her again, "I feel..." He began, taking another bite and considering his words, then he continued. "I feel lucky to have met you. And honored to have gotten so close to you." His smile softened, becoming more true and real. A smile he had rarely used in his life since joining the mercenaries and then once he was on his own.

Riley considered his work and life looking at the fire, this was the only life he had known, what else could he do? He could teach others how to defend themselves, like he was with Ana. There was also the job he had with Laemiri, that didn't involve fighting at all. He would simply be helping her in her daily... The thought hit him at that moment, it was so simple, why hadn't he thought of it before? "Hey.. I was thinking about my work." He began, pulling the thoughts together quickly. "I was thinking about a change of employment.. Instead of what I'm doing now, I was thinking about helping people instead. With everything that's happening, there's more than enough people that need help."

[Mali]

Ana laughed as he said that he would like help eating the deer. “Be my pleasure,” she sat up still thinking about her deep thoughts. Watching his hands again, she decided that she would have to come to a final decision and soon. If she didn’t, things may become awkward between them and she didn’t want that to happen. However, she had many things to consider when making her decision and she wanted to be sure to make the right decision. It would be bad to deem him dangerous when he was also very kind and gentle. As he said, he had morals. Does that mean that she’d already made her decision?

Taking the piece of deer from him with a small ‘thank you,’ Ana took a small bite out of the meat. “It’s not that bad. Could use some seasoning but it’s better than just edible.” she smiled to him.

Ana was thinking about her wings and how much trouble they’d gotten her into that she failed to guard her mind from Riley. She felt down about it as well as if these wings were her punishment for trying to walk. She still didn’t quite understand why she had wings at times. She had her legs repaired, not her back or anything like that. So why had she grown wings from the mutated magic? Unless of course, it had to do with why she couldn’t walk in the first place. When she was born and wasn’t able to crawl or kick, or anything like that, her parents had taken her to the local doctor. He was practised deep into magic as well to be able to treat any symptom. However, he had told them it was something to do with the brain and not being able to send signals to her legs, that they were unresponsive to the signals. So maybe when her ‘miracle worker’ was able to get the signals to her legs, something happened along the path the signals took. She knew enough about anatomy to know that signals from your brain travel down your spinal cord and to your nerves. Maybe that’s why she had wings.

Glancing over at Riley, Ana realised that he was able to see what she had been thinking. Even if unintentionally, she would need to keep her mind guarded. She didn’t want him to know everything that she was thinking. Listening to what he had to say, Ana smiled faintly while looking down to the fire. He felt lucky and honoured to have met her. No one had ever said something like that before. Then again, when she had met people after receiving her wings, she was their blacksmith, and nothing more. They wouldn’t say something such as being honoured to have met her unless she was a famous blacksmith.

Thinking about what he said, she bit her lips while thinking about her reply. “Thank you Riley. No one’s ever said something like that to me before, probably because I was only their blacksmith,” she paused, not sure what she should be saying, just speaking her mind. “It really means a lot to me.” She smiled over to him, her wings fluttering briefly before drooping slightly.

She listened to his idea about work and thought that it was a good idea. “That sounds great, just one problem I see. You said that you’ve made quite a few people angry over the years, that wouldn’t come back to haunt you, would it?” She had a point. If he had angered someone because of an assassination and he was helping someone else when that person showed up, wouldn’t it cause trouble for the person he was trying to help? “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love the idea. But if they found you, wouldn’t it be more trouble for the person you’re supposed to be helping?” it wasn’t that she was shooting his idea down, more like she was worried about it. He would lose business if that were to ever happen.

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[Riley]

Riley nodded and smiled at Ana, "It was my pleasure, it made you smile." He said truthfully, eating quietly and considering Ana's next statement. She did have a point, "I would expect that it would cause some issue." He scratched at the stubble on his face, his mirror had broken leaving him unable to shave as of yet. Considering his enemies, and the chances of him being attacked in certain cities, he had to admit she was right. It would pose a problem. "I'll just have to find a way to deal with them. Peacefully if at all possible." Riley highly doubted that he could settle it peacefully, there would likely be more killing involved. Maybe he could find a way to disappear.

Riley pushed the thoughts out of his mind, he didn't want to think about it anymore. He brought thick mental shields up around his mind, not wanting to accidentally read Ana's thoughts. "Would you like to do something more fun?" He asked, hoping to bring them away from their current training and lines of thought, while still being able to advance her training a bit. His mind quickly raced over the rules for the game, calling them all back quickly. In all rights, she should be able to beat him at this easily. "After we eat of course."

Riley cut off more of the deer for the two of them, eating slowly and quietly for a moment. Though he was in a slightly better mood than earlier, eager to hear her response to his offer at the game. He hoped she would agree, it would help them both, getting them away from the thoughts they were thinking. It was possible that this would help them relax more, especially while they were alone. Despite enjoying her company, Riley did still feel slightly uneasy with her. More because of everything he had done in his life, than by her. He cleaned his dagger carefully, sheathing it after he was done.

[Mali]

Ana enjoyed the fact that Riley did and said things just to make her smile. It was nice to have someone who enjoyed watching her smile, it made her happy to smile and the kind things he said to her. She really enjoyed Riley’s company. Thinking about it, should she make her decision based on that? There was a lot more to consider than just making her feel comfortable around him, but that was a huge factor in her decision.

“I hope you do,” it would be nice to be able to solve things peacefully. Maybe if he apologised it would make things better. However, Ana believed that she was being naive now. The chances of a simple apology making things better seemed amateur and childish to her. Adults tended to hold grudges and desire revenge. If only a childish apology could fix things.

Ana looked at Riley, wondering what it was that he wanted to do. Was it some kind of game? At that thought, Ana sat up straighter. She liked games. She could never play games when she was younger since most required you to run around. All the kids in her village were too hyper and never sat still long enough to play board or even card games with her.

“Okay, is it a game? I was never able to play games, none of the kids could sit still long enough to do so,” She finished her deer, watching as he cleaned his blade. It was something that seemed to put her off; the ease with which he cleaned the blood off his blade. She knew it was animal blood and there was nothing wrong with it, but it still looked like regular blood. It put her off a bit, but not enough that she wouldn’t want to play this game.

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[Riley]

Riley nodded "Yes, yes it is a game." He moved closer to her, placing his hands out in front of him, palms facing up. "The rules are simple, you place your hands over mine palms down. I try to move my hands and touch the backs of yours. You move your hands before I can do it, if you can't, then we trade places." He waited for her to put his hands over hers, smiling at her as their hands danced barely an inch apart. "I'll demonstrate." He moved his hands over hers, touching the back lightly, "And if you pull your hands away fast enough, we trade and you try to hit my hands."

Riley smiled at her, remembering his time playing this game in Ilirea while he was training with the Riders. "It doesn't seem like it's fun, but it was a game that us humans could play on even terms with the elves in Ilirea." He thought back to it, he had never once beaten an elf when he was in training. But he always tried, that had earned him some respect. Though not much. He smiled at her, raising his hands to hers. "It's more challenging than it sounds Ana." He said, smiling a warning at her. He didn't know how many times the backs of his hands had been red and burning, though he would go easy on Ana.

Riley let his hands rest on hers while he waited for her answer, he wished that his hands didn't have so many calluses. He had been told that he had the hands of a warrior, that wasn't how he looked at it. He would have preferred the hands of a farmer, or a hunter. Or if he had been lucky enough, a magician. However, he just played with the hand he had been dealt, doing his best with what he had. He thought he could do better, he hoped he could. Especially if he was going to be around Ana longer, and he hoped he would be. He hoped that he could do something that would make her proud of him, not something that would make her hate him and want to leave him behind.

[Mali]

Ana paid close attention, listening to his explanation of the game. It sounded really simple and a little painful. If they were moving their hands that fast to try to catch the other and switch places, then wouldn’t it become like slapping each other? “If we’re moving that fast, won’t we end up slapping each other?” Ana really was too technical at times. However, it wasn’t her fault; she’d never been able to play fun games with the kids in her village before. No one wanted to sit down and play games with her so she was always in the forge helping her father. The only creative part of her was her imagination when it came to making things. Even then, it was still technical and not as free as her imagination could have been.

She tilted her head to the side, curious how humans and elves could play it even with their differences. “Aren’t elves faster than us?” she poked a hole in his theory. If they were faster, that would result in them winning this game a good general amount of the time.

Ana felt his hands on top of hers and she thought about the game a little longer. Noting his smile of a warning and taking it into consideration, she grinned back to him. “Okay, so all I have to do is pull them back before you can slap them?” Ana pulled her hands away testing how fast she thought she’d be able to do it before nodding her head and placing her hands over his again. This should be fun.

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[Riley]

Riley nodded, "That's what you'd think. But it's a game of deception, plus when we played with elves humans had some perks." He smiled and laughed for a second, humans had been allowed to use their minds, while Elves had to keep theirs closed. Even shielded, a sudden attack was a surprise. Though he would keep such tricks to himself, he wanted to treat her better than that. Riley straightened as she agreed to play the game, smiling and leaving his hands barely not touching hers. This was how he had first learned about fighting, it was fun and easy to boot. So he thought this would help more than she thought. Not that he would tell her that, this was just a game.

Riley stared straight into Ana's eyes, not looking down or flinching at all. He didn't blink, then he moved his hands. He stopped them directly over her hands, lowering his fingers and softly tracing them down her hands. He smiled, "And that's how we won't hurt each other." He said, moving his hands under hers again. "Don't worry, moving like that is a one time thing for me." He doubted he would be able to do that without adrenaline running through him. Not that he was complaining, he would rather not be able to do it at all.

Riley moved his hands, his fingers touching the palms of her hands lightly. He wasn't about to make his move just yet, he would leave her guessing. He tensed his shoulders and biceps, trying to make her second guess herself. His eyes flicked down for a split second, then shot back to hers. This was going to be an interesting game he was sure, he knew she was intelligent, and he guessed she was a quick learner. This was definitely going to be fun. Finally he moved, pulling his hands back and moving to bring them down on hers. Lightly of course. He wondered if she would be able to pull back in time.

[Mali]

Ana wondered what kind of perks it was that they got while playing this game. There wasn’t many benefits available in such a game that required you use speed to win. Even if he were able to use some kind of benefit, would it prevent the elf from moving out of the way fast enough?

Riley stared straight into Ana’s eyes and she was drawn to do the same. She didn’t look down, just merely blinking as she waited for him to do something. She should have really been watching his hands because the moment he moved, she hadn’t even realised that he had. Instead of feeling the slap, she felt his hand gently run overtop her own.

“This doesn’t mean you’ll be going easy on me, right?” it was the first real game that she had played with anyone in a long time. The last game she had played had been against her parents and they generally weren’t very good at card games. Nodding her head, she tried to look him in the eye but felt herself glancing down at times.

She saw his biceps flex and pulled her hands back, realising that he hadn’t moved. Slowly placing her hands over his again, she watched as his eyes flicked down and she flinched, thinking it was then. Getting frustrated, she stared down at their hands now. Seeing the movement a little too late, Ana felt his hands hit hers lightly. Growling, she looked up at him, her frustration evident. She wasn’t getting the hang of this at first, which did frustrate her as mechanisms and workings came easily to her. The way that this worked should come easily to her and yet on her first try, it hadn’t. She wasn’t a perfectionist per say, but she didn’t want to lose either. She could be a sore loser at times.

She would get it the next time, for sure.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Riley]

Riley shook his head, waiting for her to place her hands over his again. "I don't go easy on anyone." It was a true statement, he never went easy on anyone in life, or in a game. If he did, then who ever he was with wouldn't learn anything. Even in training he still did his best at everything. Not wanting whoever he was teaching to fall behind because he was a failure as a teacher. However, he would always work at the speed of whoever he was teaching. There would be no point in teaching them if they couldn't keep up with the pace. Riley took a breath again, his face blank and his body tense again.

Riley kept his hands under hers, relaxing himself completely now. His eyes still locked on hers, his azure eyes staring into her amber eyes. He smiled at her, not sure what made him do that other than being happy with her. Though he still didn't move. If he was anything, he was patient. His fingers moved slightly, touching Ana's palm lightly. That had been an accident, but he wasn't going to complain if it got her jumpy. That could only help him. Or make her pull her hands back when he actually did move. He had a fifty fifty chance.

Finally Riley moved, his body tensing and his hands flying. His hands flew out and around, then up and down. He hoped he had been able to catch her off guard, but he was fairly sure that she would be able to get him this time. He had made a few mistakes. That was on him, however, he did learn from this and he wouldn't make the same mistakes again. That would be foolish to the extreme.