Strange Beasts (Crim)

[Lisenet]

Tellen scowled amusedly up at him, kicking so he’d let her down and he did. ”If I wanted to be held,” she grumbled, swatting at a fern that drifted too close to her and climbing after him.

It wasn’t long after that that they reached the cave. It looked too….symmetrical to have been crafted at nature’s hands. And the writing carved into the entry, in the elvish language. She’d thought the buried couple had been human. Perhaps they were versed in it as she was, though, or perhaps they had been magicians. She reached across herself and rubbed the backs of her shoulders as nasty things seemed to tickle their claws there. She hated magic. Crim’s ability to move his mind around was unsettling enough. She nodded absently, touching the etched letters, as Crim pressed in further, saying she could have the reward money. She wondered what he had done this for then if not for the reward, but was too absorbed in her own thoughts to question him about it presently.

The ring was sitting on a low table, not buried with the couple as she’d expected. Well, that was less work she supposed. But why? Crim reached for the small treasure and a piece of her gut unraveled uncomfortably but she held her tongue. What did she know of such oddities? As an elf perhaps he would.

Crim’s fingertip barely brushed the ring before the most awful voice shot through her ears, shredding them like silk. She yelped and fastened her hands over her ears, shrinking from it. When the enraged, commanding voice was finished, she hesitantly lowered her hands, wondering how much of its speech had been tomfoolery meant to frighten them away.

Crim turned to look at her, she thought to see if she knew any better what the voice had been talking about, but it was clear when she saw his face that he didn’t. When his baffled eyes touched lightly against hers, a shudder rippled through her stomach and she flinched, gasping, as a shimmer of gold solidified around her ring finger. Snarling she scrabbled at it, horrified, and the moment she tried to yank it over her knuckle it began to burn and when she finally released it, a red ring had joined her finger beside the gold, burned into her skin like a brand. Staring furiously—because she wouldn’t admit to the terror—she snapped her head up to glare at him, backing toward the mouth of the cave. ”I did this for another reason,” she repeated. ”Is this what you wanted then? Well you can’t have it. My first duty is to myself. Not to you, not to any man or woman else.” She spun for the cave opening and fled down the mountainside, kicking up dirt and stones. ”Don’t you dare follow me!”

As soon as she left his company a small nodule of something foreign settled into her chest like a new organ recently developed. It shifted where it was nestled in the cage of her ribs, and ached backward toward her spine. Toward him. Fearing that the nodule might drag her back if she ever slowed down, Tellen ran faster.

It took them two hours to come to the cave that morning but it took Tellen less than forty minutes to reach the smaller foothills again, diving down through the trees, her pack rattling between her shoulders, her aching arms pumping at her sides, her aching lungs swimming in the taste of her own worry. She found the road easily enough once she got into those hillocks and valleys, and sprinted solidly back toward Teirm where she would more easily be able to hide herself. She could run for miles if the need pressed her, though her body hated her for it for days afterward, and this she considered an unabiding need.

After an hour on the road she had to stop, pausing just long enough to leave the remains of both breakfast and lunch in the grass just off the road. She wasted no time in settling back into her routine of trying to skim over the gravel rather than slamming her feet through it, as though she were running on the cusp of an enormous glass vase and she was the only one who realized that it was actually hollow.

The nodule in her chest eventually stopped aching quite so strongly, but fearing that this was because Crim was following her, she ran all the harder. If she was able to keep this pace she might reach town by morning. Tellen was well aware though that she couldn’t run for that long. Not unless she wanted to kill herself.

[.:[Crim]:.]

Crim's mind flashed warnings on his right finger, just above the cloth of his gauntlet a ring made of gold created itself, he knew this was magic yet he did not know what type. A quick glance served to tell him that Tellen now had one such ring upon her finger as well, but. She was trying to rip hers off, she had gone irate Accusing him of knowing this all along. Crim had not known about this spell, And he can't say he was excited about the current events, they were too mysterious to him. he glanced at Tellen again, but she had already gone. and as she did so Crim felt a new 'urge' it yanked his very emotions in one direction, the direction that Tellen had fled.

Deciding to forgo this new emotion, at least for now he cast his eyes and mind about his surroundings trying to understand what exactly had happened to them both in this odd cave set to far up the spine. Probingly at first and then with more confidence he at last found what he thought to be a nudge inside one of the rubies of the ring. Asking the nudge what it had done to the two of them got him no-where except a firm and audible "go" ringing through his mind. Deciding to follow its advice he decided to, against her wishes, catch up to Tellen.

Sensing a latent urgency at seeing his companion again he froze mid-step as he exited the cave. She was his wife now. the thought would take some getting used to. Crim stared at the greenery surrounding the mouth of the ill forgotten cavern and laughed silently to himself. 'if only they could see me now...' he thought wryly to himself. Deciding that speed was more of a virtue than remaining concealed Crim bounded off after Tellen. It had taken far longer than Crim thought to communicate with the nudge inside the ruby. He reached the road in a matter of a few minutes and proceeded to stay in the tree line running towards Teirm. His Tunic and hair flashed indiscriminately amongst the birch trees. effectively hiding him from site.

only a few minutes later he spotted a familiar person in a familiar dress on the side of the road. he was near her at least. he turned his face souring as she lost her lunch. 'she must be distraught' was all that he could think to himself. Crim wanted to go and comfort her, but decided it would be best if he remained an observer for now. so he ran, sometimes on the ground and sometimes swinging to and fro in the trees that lined the road, careless that he was travelling in such an blatantly open way. When Tellen stopped for the night he also stopped and watched over her in the crook of a nearby tree. She awoke the next morning and set off for Teirm. not nearly as fast as yesterday though, she maintained a brisk walk and the leagues melted away before her. Crim silently matched her pace amongst the trees.

Crim watched sullenly from a half broken birch tree as Tellen passed through Teirm's main gate and he back tracked shortly before going through them himself. he laughed as the rather large guard was on duty. The guard hailed him and said "Your, Cousin, she looked pretty upset did something happen?" to which Crim replied "she got married, and she doesn't love the groom apparently." Thus Crim found himself once again in the foggy poorly lit streets of Teirm at sunset. His mind blanked and he felt and listened to the new urging in his heart, it lead him down many side streets and back alleys. It crossed main roads, went into and out of buildings and then at last Sitting on a bench in a park full of ponds and lilies he found the person who was now fated to share his future with him. he did not approach right away, contenting himself to observe first.

She looked upset as if she had been crying, her very body shook as if from both rage and exhaustion. her dress was a mess, stained with mud from flying across the countryside to reach the city. her hair was knotted and tangled and he could distinctly see that her splint had come off completely. Deciding it was time for the two to have a chat he approached her from behind, slowly and not meaning harm, Adding in grave seriousness a hawk call. he stepped forward to the side of the park and into the light thrown there by a lamppost. His figure framed thus he called to Tellen, wanting to know she was at least all right he prayed in his mind that they would be able to figure whatever this was out. saying aloud "Tellen, please, come talk to me"

[Lisenet]

Tellen ran for as long as she could before slowing into a determined, dragging walk, and finally threw herself into a hidden knoll of grass somewhere past midnight. She was up at her usual time and off again, this time at a more reasonable but no less brisk pace. When she finally trotted through the gates at Teirm the pudgy guard from before eyed her suspiciously, at the mud dragging down her hem and the hectic flush in her face, contrasting the stark paleness in her hands. After that she went directly to the well for a bucketful of water to drink and wash her face and hands with, then straight up the steps of the courthouse, where the judge at the desk said “Back already?” and told her a most terrifying thing.

After that she had to go somewhere quiet. There was a small park, more like a large courtyard, in the center of the city. She walked there as though through water, gave another few feeble yanks on the ring imprisoning her finger, and sat herself silently at the edge of the pond farthest from the street. What was a little silt to the several quarts of mud soaked into her dress from the knees down? There were no tears in it though, she would just have to wash it.

Sitting as still as she was, except for the faint tremors of exhaustion that shuddered through her, eventually the small creatures inhabiting the park and pond got over their initial wariness of her. The frogs burbled back up to the surface and a painted turtle came to nose and nibble at her submerged fingers. She smiled, but the smile was splintered. She’d put her hand in the water to keep the burns from throbbing. She was tempted to do the same with her right arm, which had strongly protested the use she’d put it to in the last two days, but wasn’t quiet tired enough yet to lie down and put her entire arm in the water.

A call she recognize but that wasn’t quite real enough to frighten her miniature visitors, and Tellen was numbly surprised to see that they didn’t startle and vanish when Crim stepped into view. She kept her face pointedly averted, not wanting to look at him yet. ”Tellen….” His voice was calm, a request and not a demand. Hearing his voice framed such made it difficult to ignore him. She’d always liked his voice. ”Please, come talk to me.”

”I’m not moving from this spot,” she muttered darkly, pressing her forehead deeper into the fragile refuge of her knees. ”I heard an awful thing from the court magistrate. I went to see him. As soon as he saw me he said ‘Back already?’ I asked him what he meant, and he wanted to know if I regretted my marriage yesterday so much that I had already blocked it from my mind. He says he saw us—he could describe you perfectly—just yesterday afternoon and gave us the legalities of marriage but not the ceremony most people want. He sounded so sure but when I questioned him further he couldn’t describe what we were wearing or what I’d done with my hair or you with yours or if we seemed happy or not. He just got more and more confused the more I questioned him. And it’s not just him. There was a witness—a page who helps him keep records—and he ‘re’ introduced me. The page remembered us too. Perfectly. It’s as if we never left.”

There’s a soft sore place in the middle of my heart….

[.:[Crim]:.]

Crim let his mind wander along the different paths that would make her tale even possible. He had not followed her into that building, and it turns out he probably should have. he cursed himself silently as he could not think of anything that would explain how that happened. Well, there was magic.

Crim sauntered over to Tellen, sitting a respectful distance from her, letting her dress and knees form a barrier between the two. His hands splayed out behind him, supporting his weight, one hand partly in the water. Crim looked at Tellen again as if trying to see her with new eyes, What did he know about her? all in all it was not much. he pondered the mystery that was their situation and broke the silence only with the question.

"do you hate me Tellen? or do you not realize I have no control over this and am just as bewildered and frightened as you are. This is not a training exercise that I can excel at. what I mean is. well what I'm trying to say is that, How do you think we should handle this?"

Crim fidgeted slightly as it began to rain moderately, soaking his tunic in a matter of minutes. Normally he would have loved the rain, and welcomed it with open arms but right now it detracted from what he wanted to learn. He cast his eyes towards Tellen's and when they made contact he tried to convey both his innocence and his sincerity to her.

However as soon as he made eye contact with her the 'urge' in his chest went haywire and it felt as if his very heart was trying to make him jump forward and take her in his arms. His right shoulder twitched as he fought to disobey the command. Crim curiously opened his mind and at first felt only the animals, when he searched for Tellen's bright mind he found it in two places. The first was the obvious one as he was sitting right where it should be. but the second... was in this blasted conjured ring? he frowned and decided not to share the information with Tellen.

noticing a sob rack Tellen's body he reached out awkwardly, tunic catching the light and playing with it, and patted her gently on the shoulder.
"I can't promise everything will turn out fine, but we could both hope it turns out however it may right?"

[Lisenet]

He didn’t sit too close to her, which was clever of him. She wasn’t feeling terribly charitable toward his proximity at the moment. She’d tried to get away and couldn’t, tried to pry the ring off and couldn’t. Even now, this close to him, she could feel that odd new organ telling her where he was and how close. It pulsated slightly, like a second, smaller heartbeat, and she hated it for feeling so familiar already.

He spoke again. There was nothing she could do but listen unless she wanted to try leaving again, and that had worked so well the first time. ”Do you hate me, Tellen?” Yes, of course, this is all your fault…. No, of course not, you’re my…. ”Do you not realize….I am just as bewildered and frightened as you are.”

Tellen pounded her forehead against her knees a couple more times. ”No,” she growled. ”You are not feeling just the same as I am. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but women are not the higher power in this country. If I’d stayed at home my father, my grandfather or my brother all could have told me what to do and I would have had to do it. I was granted the honor of growing up with men who respected me as a person and not a possession, but not a day goes by that some man doesn’t remind me with his actions or his words that I am property, to be given and taken at will. The only reason I’m an individual in this city is because my father isn’t here. The only way I can stay an individual is by being alone. Because of this….magic—“ She spat the word. ”You now have the right, legally, to sell me into slavery and you would be right in doing so because I belong to you. You can’t be feeling just the same as I am.” He fidgeted. ”And no, I don’t know how to handle this. I want to leave everything and pick a new city where nobody knows who I am or where to find me, but that isn’t going to work anymore is it?” She held up the hand bearing the ring, pitying, momentarily, that the ring hadn’t affixed itself to her middle finger.

She finally lifted her head to scowl at him, gaze heated, and felt her fury inexplicably and infuriatingly soften when it met his. Tellen’s temper had always been a steadfast heat she could always rely upon, and now, just looking at him could take it away? Her temper, her indignation with the world, were what had sent her out into it in the first place. Without it, what was she? Without her motivation her goals were gone, her dreams dripped away and dried. She was a tree whose roots had dissolved.

The rain coursed down the back of her neck, soaking into her hair and sliding off in rivulets. She would have to borrow that nightgown again. Another shudder tearing its claws into her belly and twisting, Tellen tucked her face back into her knee-shelter and concentrated on breathing. A firm, warm hand found a place on her shoulder and she found herself wanting to lean into the heat it provided, knowing that Crim could provide more if she let him.

But Tellen wasn’t about to do that. She had never been the sort to sacrifice her own ideals for her comforts. She would take the cold for the rest of her life if it meant she would still be free. But, as it now seemed that freedom was becoming more of a luxury than a right, she decided not to shun the warmth, and she didn’t shake his hand away.

”I can’t promise everything will turn out fine, but we could both hope it turns out however it may, right?” She snorted at his wording, but didn’t dare show the same disrespect to his hope. Hope that it turned out however the hell it would bother to turn out if it ever did. Tellen rather hoped that whatever it was happened soon; she didn’t have time to waste exploring hell while the world awaited.

[.:[Crim]:.]

Crim sat with Tellen so near to him that the urge in his chest was nearly doing back flips. As he let his hand fall away lamely as he heard her somewhat snappish comeback. Crim listened as it sounded like she feared he was going to sell her off into slavery. Thinking that he should do something about her being soaked he removed his outer cloak and draped it over her shoulders. when his hands were still near her shoulders he hesitated and then continued with his daring plan.

Waiting for her to stop beating her head against his knees he caught her slightly rounded chin with a finger and turned it to look into his eyes. He met her gaze, Brown orbs staring back at him. Within those brilliant orbs he saw Anger, Anger at what had become and Anger at something else, but he could not place it. When her expression softened he also saw what he sensed was the real problem. Fear.

"Tellen, You are a dear friend to me, and my companion. We may be legally married now, and yes you're right I highly doubt that the magick of this blasted spell will let us part ways for long. So let me make myself perfectly clear. I am not raised in this kind of society. I am not a Slaver. And I am not cruel. I value you for you. You are not to be bartered, loaned, given, or spent. You're the only friend I have and I would like for it to at least stay at that. If you choose we can try leaving each other. I have grown to like your presence Tellen, it's as if I cant place the right feeling. But again. You are my Friend not some object to me, I was raised under a different set of rules"

Crim let his hand fall away and yet held her gaze. The two sitting there like slightly moving statues as the Rain continued to fall upon the two. Now it was Crim's Turn to get soaked as he had given Tellen his cloak. Sure his Tunic was waterproof but it paled in comparison to his cloak. The night wore on slowly. Minutes seemed to be hours and all the while Crim felt this 'urge' to simply reach out and embrace Tellen, he however fought it off again and again.

A Frog croaked nearby and Crim returned his arm and hand behind him, propping him up once again as he wondered what exactly they would do now. He was half elven. Could he even get married? was it socially normal for him to do so? Maybe if he understood the wording of the spell better he would learn how to break it? he was about to suggest the idea of hunting for information to break the spell if that is what she desired when.

[Lisenet]

You idiot, she thought tiredly, faintly, as he tucked his cloak around her shoulders. You’ll just freeze yourself. But she was accustomed to the treatment of her father and brother, who knew she’d refuse any gift she felt was being offered as an acknowledgment to her weakness. She could only assume that Crim, having seen her waist-deep in the ocean and utterly uncomplaining in the rain before, continued to make the offer for some other reason, and so far she hadn’t refused his aid. Or perhaps it was general courtesy. Astonishing that she hadn’t frightened him off yet. An absolute phenomenon.

The moment she stopped planting bruises on her forehead Crim reached out and caught her by the chin. She hadn’t expected the movement, but the larger part of the reason she didn’t fight him when he turned her to face him was because she didn’t want to; something about the way his fingertips felt made her want to do as they asked. The sensation of longing was so real she almost believed it. But there was too much in this day that she couldn’t believe in to believe in such things, so she didn’t.

”Tellen. I was not raised in this kind of society…. I was raised under a different set of rules.”

Tellen closed her eyes. Those were a set of rules she didn’t know, and therefore both wanted to know and was extremely cautious of. So far his rules hadn’t seemed to chafe against hers so much. He believed in more deference toward women than she was certainly accustomed to, but was that such a horrible thing? It didn’t mean she was weak, to be treated that way, or that he thought she was weak, to treat her so. Did it? He seemed the sort to leave her alone if she asked.

His gaze releasing her, Tellen slowly settled her chin onto her folded arms this time, stacked upon the knees that were her favorite instrument to play when she was frustrated. She returned one hand to the pond—its surface shimmering with the patter of the rain—and lightly stroked the slick back of the turtle, who had waited, apparently, to see if she’d bring her attention back to him. What a patient, curious fellow. She tried not to think of the patient, curious fellow on her other side for several minutes. But those several minutes turned into a strained, conscious stretching of wills as she fought to place her thoughts on the pond but was more intensely aware of the one person she wanted least to think about. And how cold he must be without the cloak he’d given to her.

Not permitting herself time to think about it, Tellen slid sideways and lifted the right side of the cloak, draping it over his back, and returned her arms to her knees so she could resume staring stoically out at the grayness of the rain. ”I’m sorry this happened,” she mumbled, distinctly aware of the peculiar warmth his body always seemed to have. ”And if you didn’t go up to the cave for the money, why did you go?”

[.:[Crim]:.]

AS she draped the cloak over both their shoulders he was painfully aware of how warm her body seemed, she may think of him trying to be nice to her as a ruse, but he wasn't. He wasn't trying to treat her as if she needed to be taken care of, but rather as a friend whom you would do such thing with. He sighed as the cloaks familiar weight settled around his shoulder and he made his decision as she said her last line.

Crim stood suddenly, softly pulling Tellen to her feet as well. The turtle seemed to think as a queue to leave and swam away slowly. the painted back fading into the pond from even Crim's view. Rotating Tellen to look directly at him he gazed into her eyes and with his soul in the very orbs that were reflected there he told her.

"Tellen, I knew not of the Curse or whatever this magic is. The only reason I asked to go with was because I enjoy your company and wanted to spend more time with you. This, Event, for want of a better term, Has given us a few options. We could try to leave one another. Or if you so choose we could devote ourselves to the unmaking of this spell and rid ourselves of it. There is a third option, but I fear to voice it. Just know that if we choose to try and unmake this spell I have thought upon it already and may have a place we can start, But would Spending time with a friend really be such a bad thing? From what it sounds like you are not valued here. We could travel for sometime still, would you have it be a pleasant one?" Crim eloquently spun his speech with the new 'urge' seeming to design his thoughts beforehand.

Crim noticed that he had absentmindedly started to fiddle with Daybreak. Freeing his hand from the bow he moved it to his side and then with a Primal rush the 'urge' broke free of his control and his hand moved as if some other accord to gently brush the back of a knuckle on her cheek, where it was apparent she had been crying. Crim's eyes were suddenly alight with a mischievous and yet somber glow. It was as he was both excited and sad at the same time. and his countenance reflected as such as his lone hand ghosted down her pale skin then dropping away as it reached her chin.
"would it be so bad?" he asked again, Still not in control of the urge within him Crim's mind reeled at what he had just done and wanted to say so but he no longer had sway over his limbs or thoughts. And thus the newlywed couple stood in the rain of Teirm. Seeing each other for perhaps the first real time

[Lisenet]

He got to his feet abruptly and Tellen didn’t bother resisting. He was plenty stronger than she was, for one, and she felt as washed-out as a scrubbing cloth that had already seen decades of use. It was easier just to go along with him. She let him turn her too, because apparently he wanted something said to her face and not her turned cheek, as she felt more inclined to do. Her lips twitched in a weakly amused grimace when he gave his explanation. Well, he got his wish. Didn’t anybody realize how dangerous wishes were yet? Or were bad wishes just her damnable luck? She wished for rain, once, when her garden was dying of the drought. The ensuing flood obliterated the garden entirely.

She opened her mouth to quietly reply but the careful touch of the back of his finger stopped her words in their mouth, where her thoughts seemed to curl up and go down to sleep. The skin warmed where his touch passed over it and she wondered, from the look in his mismatched eyes, if he knew what the not-real sensations did to her. She simultaneously wanted to rock back from him and rock into him. The rain spiraled down out of the inky sky to tiptoe in silver spots upon her face, upturned to gaze, bewildered, up at him.

”Would it be so bad?”

She blinked, inhaling quickly, and realized his hand had dropped. ”How about we get a couple of days to think about it?” she asked, assuming already he wouldn’t mind, as he was an amenable fellow, she well knew already.

Tellen turned and left the park, heading back to the inn she frequented. When they reached it she paused outside the door, holding out a couple of coins. ”Ask Maud for a room with two beds, there’s no point in wasting money if we’ll both be in town for a couple of days.” she gestured for him to go on inside. ”I’ll be back eventually. I’ve got something else that needs attending to.” With that she turned and left.

Tellen wasted no time in finding her way to her favorite cheap eatery, where she fully intended to replace the food she hadn’t eaten in the last day and a half, and to make a valiant attempt to soften the edges of the sharp, worried, confused thoughts roughening themselves on herself and each other, making her feel like her insides were bleeding. Four and a half glasses of wine blunted her thoughts and her words enough to loudly inform the other amused bar patrons that the precise reason she was drinking with such wholehearted spirit was because ”I’m married!” Well, that’ll do it, they all told her, chuckling into their tankards.

Halfway through her fifth glass she was falling asleep on top of her arms the barkeep confiscated the last of her drink and shooed her out the door, asking her if she’d like him to first tie a string around her ankle so he could at least reel her back in if she got lost. Tellen straightened like a soldier, grinned widely, and proclaimed that a stampede of dolphins would not be enough to keep her from her nice dry bed up in her nice dry room and not to worry.

She did the best she could not to wake Crim when she eased sideways into the room, her mind bumbling about more than she did, practiced as she was at being quiet under unfavorable circumstances. Her success at quietude remained a mystery, because she wasn’t about to wake him up to see if her shuffling had woken him up, and she collapsed face-down, boots still on, in her blankets, pillow shoved off the side.

Tellen only grumbled the next morning when she woke later than she habitually did, and she left the room again as soon as she was certain her head and other pieces of herself were still attached. Her cracked arm throbbed and grumbled along with her, but as she hadn’t abused it too heartily the night before she ignored it. Instead she ranged around the city for most of the day, buying a burn cream for the damage the accursed ring had done to her finger, speaking to the people who usually had interesting tidbits to share with her, and generally tying up loose ends as if she already knew she planned to leave that night. She also avoided Crim as much as possible, though she could always guess in what direction he was, and about how far away.

That night she lay peacefully on her bed for an hour after she was certain he had fallen asleep, then rose, laced up her backwards boots, and silently left. She hadn’t wanted to try separating herself from him while he was still awake and more likely to try to follow her. Unfortunately, about four miles and two hours later, the deep-rooted ache in her ribcage had her on her knees and gasping for breath, so she reluctantly turned and marched back to the city and crawled back into bed about an hour before dawn. Then, she woke with the sun’s soft arrival, turned over and went back to sleep until Crim got up. As soon as he did, she asked him, ”Where do you think we could go to fix it?” If she couldn’t leave him without help, she would try not to mind seeking it out. With him.

[.:[Crim]:.]

Crim withdrew into himself at her response. It was there in the magnitude of Teirm that he realized just exactly what happened. Crim Allowed himself to be guided towards the inn they had stayed at last time. He tried making small talk along the way but his moth didn't seem to work. His thoughts were varied but in the end he knew that what the 'urge' wanted and what Tellen wanted were two different things and he should resign himself to one of them. When Tellen handed him the coins he quickly followed her instructions and then let himself out the second story window. Crim fell, gear and all onto the pavement. After dropping to one knee to absorb the fall and then standing he dusted the shoulder of his tunic and turned to what he had set himself to do. To figure out Tellen's exact emotions.

It was not hard to follow Tellen as she quickly ducked into a cheap eatery. Simply glancing in the window he saw she was ordering a drink. Resigning himself to a wet night he grudgingly climbed the nearest house that had a view of the front door and sat himself out of view. it was a few hours before Tellen emerged. Her slightly bloodshot eyes and stumble indicated what he thought was correct. Tellen, his friend, his... companion? his lover? Felt so terrible about these events that she sought to erase them with alcohol. carefully bounding from roof to roof in the fog of night Crim made sure Tellen's path was clear of unwanted things before slipping himself back through the window and into the bed furthest from it.

The door opening and closing was honestly the quietest part of her performance as she was apparently trying to stay quiet. Crim feigned sleep and waited for the crash of her light body on the sheets to indicate that she would be out soon. When he was sure she was asleep he whispered into the blackness, "oh, Tellen"

She rose later than she normally did the next day and Crim had already left. He wasn't far in fact he was not more than a good bowshot from her at all times. Crim followed her through her day and was surprised to see that she actually knew quite a few people here. He listened in and was shocked to see her for most part just going about her business. He noticed several times that the people she was talking to would look at her ring finger, Crim did not think she noticed it. Deciding that Tellen could handle herself he went in search of solitude among the birch trees on the very outskirts of town.

Crim's own emotions were conflicted in all earnest. A massive storm raged within himself, The good natured half elven boy was almost constantly losing to this new and powerful urge to love and be loved by Tellen. Thoughts of The two of them alone in a secluded wood ignoring the world kept winning out of the more reasonable notion of fixing this problem. During this time Crim started working on just how they might break the spell if that is what she so wanted. Crim saw an obvious flaw right away as he was Half Elven and therefore not mentioned directly by the voice, he did not think it was much to go on but he had to try at least something right?

That night, after having returned to the inn again with Tellen and sharing an enjoyable meal where he tried to get her to open up to him they retired to their chambers. Crim Again took the bed by the door as Tellen so wanted the window. It was late in the night when Crim's waking dream, which had been about archery, was disturbed by the sound of a moving body. Instantly aware Crim noticed Tellen moving about. He feigned sleep and hardened his heart to the misery that he suspected might follow.

True to his guess Tellen tried to leave Teirm that night, and in doing so it caused them Both pain and agony. Miles away while Tellen was clutching her heart and on her knees Crim was throwing himself at walls and bemoaning his existence. His mind seemed to have snapped, as if it were a Damn holding back the flood. the urge within him made aware its existence and his desire for love. His heart felt like it was thrown into the path of his own arrow as it was missing a huge hole. The anguish was both physical and emotional and it racked Crim to the very core.

Slowly the pain started to fade and Crim was remotely aware of what this meant. Calming himself and wiping the tear streaks away from his cheeks Crim regained his composure and laid in bed. When Tellen crawled into the bed next to him he could have sworn he heard her curse.

The next morning Tellen woke before him, or at least to her knowledge. Crim spent the extra time that she thought he was asleep recollecting his thoughts from the night before. When she asked where he would start on this journey he answered pretending to be groggy.

"Well, to be honest I don't know much about this kind of thing, but I do have a lead. Sadly the person who would know it would most likely run me through with a sword as well as help me, and especially you."

[Lisenet]

”Sadly the person who would know it would most likely run me through with a sword as well as help me, and especially you."”

This perked her interest more than had anything else she’d heard in the last couple of days. ”Really?” she asked, perversely delighted by the thought of a person who would hate her even before he or she met her. Usually hatred for Tellen was reserved for the people who had met her and fallen on the wrong side of her expectations. But a person who hated her on principle was….fascinating. A new and unique challenge every time. ”Why?” She rubbed the pale green burn cream around the reddened skin at the base of her ring finger and held up the wooden pot. ”Want some? Or are you clever enough not to try?” Even—and perhaps especially—where she saw others fail or fall short, Tellen often found herself drawn to find the means to succeed. But she had to admit, this was not one of her more logical aspects. Crim probably had more sense than to try something she’d already proven had unsatisfactory results. Tucking the cream away, she said, ”I’d like to go. For a couple of reasons, really.” Least of all that she wanted to know how such a spell could have been created. Although she supposed the information could be useful. With her knack for finding irritating rather than damaging troubles to immerse herself in, as soon as she got this thing with Crim reworked, she’d go off and try to open a door that had her married to the last man she’d seen and with her luck it would have been the town drunk. Tellen was usually friends with the town drunk—people told the broken and degraded things they never would have told the cool and composed—but that didn’t mean she had intentions of being his wife.

Or anybody’s, hence her desire to sort this out as efficiently as possible. ”So where will we be going, precisely?” What she wanted—what the vicious, cowering and small part of her wanted—was to announce that she was leaving, the room was paid up (untrue), and that he’d better come with her and show her where to go or she’d find a way to hurt him as her heart had hurt the night before. Already she felt sickened thinking that she’d forced Crim through the same pain—as if she’d leapt from a mountain and used her heart to cushion her fall—last night as she’d forced herself. It was one thing to shove and batter and bleed herself against her own limits; it was entirely another to bring another person along with her, especially without asking their consent, and doing so in the dark, in their sleep, like a coward. The thought of being a coward at heart didn’t sit well with Tellen, but considering her actions in the last two days, she had to consider the possibility that it was entirely true.

[.:[Crim]:.]

Crim laughed silently to himself as her indignation shot up. After he refused the burn cream he set about to finding the best way to word his response. It was a hard one to word, shall he be brutal? or maybe honest? Crim distracted himself by gazing at Tellen. Her very presence seemed to unmake him. Was it the same with her? and so thus in the privacy of their room Crim stood from his bed, sheets falling from his shoulders where they were sitting. the short hallway between beds was where he stood when he bent over and cupped Tellens face with his hand again.

"Was last night worth it Tellen?" was all he asked His tone far sharper than usual. his eyes pierced into hers and he displayed rage, hurt, and confusion. just as he was sure she felt the same things. "Was your little rebellion worth your pain? Why would choose such a path over not talking to me first? You can talk to those merchants and other old women fine. But not the person who if you actually see it wants to help you? or do you not know that the pain of your heart is linked to mine?"

His hand lowered, as did that sudden and totally abnormal harshness. It seemed to fade from Crim like a receding tide. he remained half bent over her and said with a heavy heart
"I will not take you to Ellesmera to die Tellen. We both would not make it past Osilon"

[Lisenet]

Her amusement faded quickly at the expression that crept like a tangible shadow over Crim’s face. He watched her closely, and she felt herself going still under his gaze. It wasn’t an inspection, per se. He was making a decision about something. He rose, the smooth skin of his chest and arms—apart from the slice she had stitched—perfectly visible in the morning air. She bit the insides of both lips together so she wouldn’t make a smart comment, and when his hand dwarfed her face, she thought he was going to say something gentle, as he had the last time he’d touched her.

He didn’t. ”Was last night worth it, Tellen?” Her eyes hardened to glass, and splinters of it tore at her stomach. He knew what she’d done; he’d felt it too. Her teeth ground together as if over stone as he waited for his words to make their first incisions, then spoke again. His words were all very true, but from them she could see easily that he didn’t know her motivations for her attempt at leaving. His words were also terrifying.

Swallowing hard as his hand fell away, she glowered furiously up at him, lifted a hand of her own, and firmly, resolutely, pushed him away from her so she could stand. ”Anything is worth the freedom of making my own choices,” she said quietly, voice tight as it marched up out of her belly and into her mouth. ”I don’t know how you were raised, but I will not simply show my throat and tolerate that two dead gentry who have never met us will be able to so simply tie us together on a whim and entirely sabotage whatever future we’d tried to make for ourselves as individuals!” Her voice rose over any attempt to speak that he might have made. She wasn’t finished. ”Trying to leave was not a rebellion, it was a battle tactic. What brand of fool would I have to be to dally in magics I don’t’ understand without exhausting any other feasible revenue first? I stop short of cutting off my own fingers but I thought if I’d be able to slip away without disturbing you that that would be the end of it and we need never bother each other with this nonsense again. I didn’t speak to you because I was afraid you wouldn’t let me try, and now I see that I am right. You wouldn’t have let me even make the attempt, and on that note why would you bother listing a merry little holiday to the elves if you didn’t have the gumption to actually go? And has it occurred to you that maybe I don’t want to talk to you because you are not an average or normal aspect of my life and in the face of everything catastrophic that’s happened since I’ve met you I might have needed something average and normal?”

Her mind found another avenue on which to berate him. "Oh and have we mentioned my favorite part?" She dropped her voice just enough that it wouldn't leave the room. As much as she hated that he'd kept his secret from her even after this curse bound them together, it still wasn't hers to give away. "You're a bloody elf. You don't belong here or in my world or in my life."

Tellen snatched up her cloak and satchel. ”I’ve been meaning to see if I can find some elves to talk to for a while. Since you're obviously not the one who can fix this, now I just have two reasons to go instead of one.” She hesitated. ”I’m sorry it hurt you too, Crim, I didn’t realize it would do so. If I’d known I would have asked you first.” She took two steps for the door before he moved to block it, and the crackling heat in her chest forged deeper. ”Don’t you dare keep me here, Crim.” When he didn’t she reached out, planted her hands on his chest, and shoved him.

Tellen’s breath caught as she stumbled backward, over her own feet, as an unseen force shoved her back easily as hard as she had tried to shove Crim. Her heels caught her hem in surprise and she tumbled onto her elbows on the floor. ”What the hell have you done now?” she snarled, already gathering herself up, shaken.

[.:[Crim]:.]

Crim recoiled as if struck by a few of her well chosen sentences. He especially hated the taunt of why would he mention it if he dared not go there. To him the answer was simple and he started to respond when she said the most ludicrous of things. Him an elf? Well, to a human that may seem true enough, his ears were not completely pointed but they were still pronounced, and he always moved with a certain ease. As she shoved him Crim sensed something else responding in kind. He was sure that he had not shoved her back as he would never have done such a thing.

His face immeasurably saddened by thoughts of his parents he bent down. two lone tears coursing from either eye. Crim looked at Tellen and wondered how she dare mention his heritage, and a false one at that. "So you know then?" he asked as he stood her up, he remained in front of the door, giving her ample space however. It should have been obvious to him that she knew. After all he had done some rather inhuman things around her. Crim looked at her, making sure she caught his gaze.

In his grief he unknowingly opened his mind to hers and not forced but showed what he was seeing as he spoke. Images of a serene walk through the woods tracking a stag. blurred images of the rush home. The Elven soldiers from afar, their mail sparkling as they stood over two bodies. Daybreak as it took up his field of vision when he drew and sighted that first shot. the blurred scene of the blitz towards him. Then finally the elven soldier that made it far enough to circle with him.

Crim remembered that man perfectly. White haired like himself and easily older than his mother the man seemed alarmed that a child was posing him a threat. Crim could see it in his eyes the way a stag might sense Crim before the arrow pierced its heart. there were only two more images. One of his father and mother side by side, Her pointed ears and his round clearly showing despite their broken bodies. And then two grave mounds, one adorned with love, the other sloppily built.

"You know not of what you speak for I am not an Elf, and I have suffered much at the hands of them. That is why Tellen I will not accept that you would so blindly choose death. I would not see you on a green field dead and broken like my parents!" he half raised his voice during the last line.

"you should know Tellen" Crim said stepping forward a half step eliminating the space between them, leaning forward his chest and face suddenly dominated her sightlines, His hair had been recently washed and was far more spiky than usual. He had for the first time since he met her taken to wearing the stud in his right ear, and even Araluen adorned his third digit sitting happily above the golden apparition as if content that it was there

"that I do value your freedom. You are your own person as I am mine. Magic is a weird thing, I am partially elven but still not able to use it. I fear what may happen to us if we test its boundaries again" and then in an undertone he added as his fingers once again found her chin and tilted her head to his "I know you're afraid..."

he ended by brushing his lips against hers, it was not forceful, it may have been warm and affectionate. but it was also sad and Crim's obvious grief was very lucid in the kiss.

Suddenly the urge within him surged forward and it seemed to pour Crim's very soul into her. The overwhelming emotions they had both felt were suddenly alight in both their minds. Love, fear, longing, and especially the companionship that they both shared rushed suddenly to the very forefront of both their minds. Bidden there by the strange magic that they were now affected by.

[Lisenet]

He crouched beside her before she could stand and Tellen recoiled, but the action felt….so very wrong to her, like lifting her hand to slap her mother would have felt. Like shouting at a child. The lines beneath his eyes were wet, only furthering the deeply rooted sensation that she had betrayed her closest friend. But why would he be the closest? Why should she feel so strongly about her honesty, even if she knew she’d worded it precisely with the intention to wound, though she could have done far worse. She’d known others far longer, others knew her far better. The only true thing she’d told Crim was her story. He didn’t even know her full name, and he’d immediately given his own. To the best of her knowledge, he had not yet lied to her, and she so very rarely gave him the honor of giving him the truth. Didn’t he deserve it, then, at this point? She knew his biggest secret, oughtn’t he know hers?

She saw things then, and she wondered whether he’d meant for her to see. Lines of glittering beautiful men and women stepping slowly through the lovely green leaves of the tallest forest she’d ever seen. The arrowhead ear of his mother and the blunted ear of his father. Both of them still. A grave for them and a grave for the man he’d killed. On a green field dead and broken. The images brought by his words didn’t seem to fit together. Like lines of dead children dressed in their very best, with ribbons in their hair.

She finally stood, trembling, and he stepped closer. She could see clearly and sharply the twinkle of the hazy sun in every tiny facet of the decoration in his right ear. She could even see the light reflecting off it into his pale hair, in more than its usual disarray. She couldn’t step back any farther; she’d already pressed herself into the post at the foot of the bed and had nowhere else to go unless she wanted to try pushing him again. For the first time in her life she found herself with no words in her chest to say. It felt as though they had all been frightened away, and despite the loss she felt in their absence, she couldn’t blame them. She’d wish herself far away if she thought she would get anywhere with it, without damaging either one of them.

His fingertips slid underneath her chin and then even her gaze couldn’t escape. His skin was, as always, just a little bit too warm to be normal, though for him it seemed to be. She wondered, mind scattered like torn feathers, if all with elvish blood were like that, or if it was only him. She remembered then that he was a half-blood, and for the first time she recognized the loneliness he must feel. A little bit of either people, and belonging fully to neither one. He was just as alone as she was, she who stayed in no place longer than six months, and who rarely even told people her name. If there was no one in your world who knew who you were, did you cease to exist? Were you even real? Were you even alive? Or was it just that the world wasn’t yours anymore because you no longer belonged?

”I know why you’re afraid….” She, who pretended fear of nothing, was afraid of everything that might ever change her. Just like him. He already had.

She saw him coming this time, knew he would let her pull away if she wanted to, and also knew that she wasn’t going to. His lips parted just before they touched against hers and her mind and heart reeled when they did. She could taste the essence of him, she thought, and she remembered his relentless interest in everything she said or did, his willingness to do things he hadn’t done before, and wondered if this was new to him too. The thought of causing him any sort of pain dragged heavy claws against the insides of her ribcage like a very real, living beast that had taken up residence there. But there was something else new, keeping the beast company. Some strange, worried warmth that she neither knew how to identify or what to do with. Her own reluctance to change brought her hands up as though to push him away, but that warmth only let her rest her fingertips against the skin of his stomach, and there was nothing she could do to either push him away or pull him closer. She wasn’t even sure of which it was she wanted more to do. She just knew her sanity was stuck somewhere in the middle of the two and she had no idea whose side she was on, or if she and Crim were set opposite each other or on the same one.

Finally he wasn’t quite so close, and the air felt just thick enough to slow her way to the ground as she sat heavily against the footboard of the bed, drawing her knees up like she had the night in the park, but this time knotting her hands in her hair. ”I don’t know what to do,” she moaned. ”It can’t be real. I didn’t think this way about you before. Not like this.” She told herself she wasn’t crying, but her eyes were wet nonetheless. Her chest heaved as though she’d just been to the top of a mountain and run back. ”Whatever I think about you, whatever my opinions, they have to be on my terms, and yours.” She lifted her head. ”It isn’t fair to think of you just because of these.” She looked down at her ring. ”It has to be real.”

But what would they do now? Tellen didn’t know the way to Ellesmera and suspected that Crim still wouldn’t take her. She may find her way eventually, but he would have to be with her, or close to her, regardless. Whatever they did, it would have to be together.

[.:[Crim]:.]

The warmth of their kiss faded from the present as Crim withdrew slightly, He noticed she promptly fell to the floor crying. Crim knelt by her side and listened as she said what he was afraid to ask. She did feel this way about him, About them. Crim knew in his heart that if the ring had truly meant them to fall in love it would have been a instant thing, not this gradual skittish affair. Crim moved beside her, sitting at the bottom of the bed with her. Crim extended his arm to encompass her shoulder and softly pulled her to his chest. The two alone in a storm of emotions each their own.

"Tellen, I know it sounds strange and I know you may think that this is because of whatever happened. But I do want this." he looked to his right shoulder, her face looking up at his. Moving too slowly kiss her forehead Crim Felt as if maybe he had found at least one safe place in which to hide from the emotions clouding him. "And I pray you feel the same."

Unnoticed by either of them, as Crim spoke what he truly felt and that he had come to this realization the golden apparition on his finger started so fade slightly as if losing potency, the magic had cursed them to Folly, and to find despair, yet it seemed like that was not to be so.

Crim rearranged himself slightly as the arm she was laying on had gone completely asleep, Her shallow breathing and occasional sob reminding him that she was there

"If you do feel the same way. We can go wherever you want, I want to be by your side, We could go tell your parents! Imagine how happy your father would be! Or if you want we could wander and do what we will."

And so it was that with emotions almost visible in the air, swirling around them like an invisible cyclone with them at its heart where it is calm. The two sat for sometime and Crim slowly lowered his head to rest on hers and passed into a calm sleep. They were both aware that it was noon, But the morning had been trying and at the time nothing seemed more natural to Crim than wanting to take a nap. The golden sun lit itself upon his skin as time slowly passed. the room was warm and it was comfortable there, with Tellen in his arms. His waking dreams were of something else this time, not the usual archery.

'On a field of green, cloaked in birch and permeated with summer's bloom there stood a solitary Birch tree. Separated from its fellows it was of moderate height. For it needed the support of other branches to climb higher. A single white arrow fell from heaven and struck the ground near it. The arrow shifted and morphed and grew into a grand oak, The two trees Separate from the world of the forest and yet not alone. With the support of each other the trees flourished and Crim say many seasons pass.'

[Lisenet]

”And I pray you feel the same.” She did. But it wasn’t real. It didn’t matter what they felt if it was only a curse, just as if you took a noble girl and put her in merchant clothes she was still a noble. But his lips had felt so soft….

Eventually she eased into a light sleep, what with the warmth of the sun and of Crim and his arm around her shoulders. It was such a pleasant place to be, at that moment, and yet still so baffling and puzzling and confused. Either way, it couldn’t hurt either of them to lean against each other, still sitting on the floor at the end of the bed, for a couple of hours, could it? She decided that whatever the curse may do it couldn’t hurt her more than leaving the circle of his arm felt like it might do, and she stayed.

She woke early the third morning since the day they’d been cursed and slipped quietly, barefoot, from the room, stretching sore and stiff muscles and doing her best not to wake him. She returned with a basket of hot rolls stuffed with summer fruit and a letter Maud had received for her, from Tellen’s mother. Already that was a poor sign. Tellen did her very best to avoid her parents’ notice while wandering, it would only worry them to know all of what she got up to. But that couldn’t be helped now, so she tore the letter open, read it once, cursed once, read it a second time and cursed rather more eloquently. She crumpled it into a ball and cramming it roughly though the opening of her satchel before sitting on the side of her bed and yanking her boots on.

”My mother,” she announced irritably, ”has just informed me that if she doesn’t see me by the solstice she will declare me dead and give all of my inheritance to my brother. Bloody hell, she would do it, too.” One foot laced up, she dropped it to the floor with a thud and started on the other. ”Since you’re stuck with me now,” she sighed, ”you should know that my family is of the minor nobility, and the solstice at which she so politely demands my presence is actually the annual Solstice Ball that the reigning king—now queen—has held for decades. They move it around to different estates, and this year it’s at ours. Oh holy hell.” She dropped her second foot and froze, eyes popping wide and hands going stiff. ”Oh holy hell,” she repeated, considerably more intimidated by her newest thought than by her mother’s letter. ”I’ll have to introduce you to my father.”

[.:[Crim]:.]

Crim was awoken from his pleasant slumber suddenly when he heard the irate noise of Tellen Cursed loudly. springing to a half crouch he looked around and all he saw out of place was Tellen was reading a note. Tellen swore again this time so much so that Crim said quite suddenly "Tellen!" He watched as she threw herself onto the bed and began lacing up her boots. The room had taken on a sharp edge as if he could almost see the tension rising off the note in little spirals. As he looked at Tellen who was hastily booting her other foot she swore again. Crim stood uneasily as she continued and then was blown away by the revelation she passed onto him. Crim laughed inwardly at himself. He was already dressed so he was waiting for Tellen to play catch up. It took not long for her to do so but then Crim insisted on oiling his tunic and bow as he had not done so in quite some time and he feared they would both crack. It delayed their departure only minutes. Tellen stopped and paid the innkeeper and chatted for a while before a slight nudge from Crim, who was behind her, got her moving again.

As they started walking down the long and somewhat narrow streets of Teirm Crim decided to pick only a few questions that he would ask her. At least at first. They passed a well and Crim stopped to resupply his water skin before they returned to the road and again headed for the gate. The mist was an easy gray today and it bothered him little. The long sightlines of Teirm's ruler straight streets pleased Crim, it would make for an excellent bowshot if they guards and people were not in the way.
Once they were through the merchant quarter and into the most rundown section of Teirm near the front gates he tried slipping his hand into hers, appearing unbothered about the task that was now set before them

"So m'lady I am full of questions, can you answer them?" continuing he asked "What exactly does this Solstice ball imply, Why are we half running? And most importantly Why does introducing your husband to your father make you cringe so?" he added the last line with a little chuckle. He could tell her response was going to be a good one.

They walked past the guards and continued on the path south aiming for what he assumed was the gap in the spine. They talked amiably about how Crim was going to have to at least dirt his hair and blunt his ears, How he was going to have to call everyone by their title and not their name. It was basically a one sided lesson on the interworking of the court etiquette, Something Crim disapproved of but would try his earnest as it apparently meant much to Tellen. After a short while reached down as they walked among the path and slowly took hold of her hand loosely, his gauntleted hand somewhat dwarfing hers.

"So what exactly do we tell your parents when we arrive? And please tell me about them."

[Lisenet]

It took an impatient push from Crim, stuck behind her on the stairs, to remind Tellen that talking to Maud was not the reason they’d gotten up in such a hurry. Or at least, she had. Just before they passed underneath the tall heads of the gates she felt the back of his hand brush along hers and made a point to adjust the straps of her pack. ”We’re half-running because we’ve got only two weeks to get to Carvala while walking—she doesn’t waste time, my mother. And it makes me cringe because my entire family will believe I behaved dishonorably and that is why I’ve gone off and married so hastily and without informing any of them. It would solve that particular belief if I told them what really happened, but then there’s the stigma of having such rockheaded people in my family that a good lot of them won’t believe me. Although it would solve an awful lot of problems to put the idea in their heads, at least. I’ll think about it.

”The Ball is a yearly celebration to recognize the reigning king—or queen—that is also used to honor those nobles who may feel slighted that they don’t get regular visits from their regent, as all of the simpering nitwits ought to be there, they’re all invited. And it’s a delightful deadly devious little social event where we can all gossip about every one of ourselves and primp and preen and show off. It can be fun if you know what you’re doing and are in the mood of it. Otherwise it’s duller than the wrong end of a nail.” She huffed irritably, trying to slow her pace to be more accommodating to the pace she preferred to hold, and so she’d appear slightly less mad to any other passersby. Crim ought to know by now she had madness in her already, so she needn’t put on any facades for his benefit. And if he didn’t know he’d figure it out quick enough, stuck as they were.

”Now listen,” she began, sounding tired already. Then she started in on the general etiquette, manners of address, mannerisms and societal norms and delicacies he would be expected to know by the time they got there. ”Forget dirt,” she said in reference to his hair. ”Walnut juice, applied properly, will dye it anything from light brown to black to green if you do it right. It’ll dye your skin, too, so we’ll have to be careful or we’ll both look like idiots. Your ears.” She sighed. ”We’ll hide. Short of cutting them off that’s the best there is.” She grinned. ”Oh, do you know how to dance? You shall have to learn. And we’ll have to decide just who you are, too, because we can’t tell them the truth in that aspect.”

As they marched on she made a mental list of all the things he would need to know or acquire before they arrived. He already spoke like a noble, even if his accent was slightly peculiar; there was little they could do about his more than slightly peculiar appearance, but after she got him into a proper tunic and darkened his hair, he’d look halfway normal; dancing would be the most difficult to learn; titles would be little problem, as most of the nobles she knew and he would be forced to interact with introduced themselves by name and title, then forgot the title and just called each other by name. ”I’ve been wondering,” she asked then. ”What’s with all the straps and buckles on your clothes? By the gods, they look like they only complicate things.”

His hand ran along hers again, and since he seemed determined to have it she let him take it this time. It couldn’t harm anything, and she didn’t need it for the time being. When he asked of her parents, she groaned. ”Our story….” She chewed the inside of her bottom lip as she thought it over yet again. ”I would like to tell them the truth. I’ve yet to tell an outright lie to my parents—with the intent to deceive them rather than amuse them, at least—and wouldn’t like to start now. The only thing that I think needs changing is a bit of your history.” The thought struck her, as she thought of how unexpected his had been, that she was surprised he hadn’t even batted an eye when she briefly told him hers. "My father is fairly easy-going I suppose, so long as you don't deserve his discipline. He has more of it than either myself or my brother do, in many instances. My mother had to run our household and us without our father's help a lot of the time, so she's earned her right to be called a force to be reckoned with, though she's always available if you need a softer word with her."

[.:[Crim]:.]

Crim groaned inwardly, Caravala. That was Leagues away all the way north nestled next to the spine. He listened as they walked along the road, the only other travelers were far ahead of them although Crim could see that they carried weapons openly. Tellen was going on about the ball that they were about to attend. In all it sounded like a dismal experience. Gossip? primping and preening? Worst off was the dancing though. Crim couldn't dance, having never even been to a party besides the one in, well never mind. Crim let go of Tellen's hand and withdrew it to his side as they talked about such other things as the dying of his skin, which he was opposed vehemently to.

" My hair we can dye black as it would stain nicely in my white hair. add to the fact that by simply brushing my hair more down and to the side i cover my ears completely so we should be good there, "

He continued down the road a bit with her beside him while he pondered her next question. Which was what are al the buckles on your tunic for. In fact Crim wore the tunic because it could be re-arranged layer by layer to form different styles of tunic and was handy for all sorts of occasions. but he doubted if Tellen would understand that, he decided to try anyways. "Well my tunic is a bit of a special one, It was designed so that it can become almost any style of tunic at the mere rearrangement of layers and patterns. Look, see where my collar seems to go above my sleeves? That's actually three different layers and I can reorganize them into a somewhat decent formal attire." Crim pointedly ignored the Dancing bit.

After traveling throughout the day Crim refused to hunt when Tellen lit the fire "Look what happened last time I left you for ten minutes, Besides there were men on the road openly carrying crossbows." So they ate from Tellen's pack which was still soft rolls and fruit. that Evening as Crim made one of his intermittent walks around the campsite he noticed Tellen sitting in front of the fire with her knees drawn to her face again. Crim ghosted over silently in the moonlight and sat himself by her. Close enough that she could lean on him if she wanted to but that was her move to make this time, He had started to notice that it seemed like she got a bit more irritated with every step closer to their destination.

And so it was that her sitting a few feet from her that he said in a long and low tone. "I am rather afraid of this ball Tellen, I do not like social hierarchies where things are based on what family you are born into. I still can barely remember your proper title except for "mi'lady". Not only that but this trip seems to have you worried which makes me uneasy, but worst of all. I cannot dance, I never have. I vaguely remember my parents doing it on a rare occasion but do not remember the slightest on how I would go about doing it. I know also that you want to tell your parents the truth. Just know this, I would tread carefully, telling people what happened may cause a stir bigger than was intended. And as for altering my history, What exactly should we say? You are far better at this kind of thing then I am."

They sat for sometime before the fire, Crim almost deciding not to when he asked "Want to teach me to dance?"