She tugged at his hand, only to find herself going absolutely nowhere. She furrowed her brows and turned around to face him once more, peering up with squinted eyes, as if to ask if there was something the matter. He was silent for a moment, his eyes seemingly gravitating towards her marked hand as it held his own. Was it bothering him, the handholding, or the mark? She felt her palms begin to sweat a little bit, and the fear of becoming a bother to him struck her like a sudden snake bite to the arm. She thought of letting go of his hand, of moving a little bit farther away. Where were they going, and why did it all feel so fast?
The next happening occurred so quickly, so suddenly, that she found herself reacting with a soft gasp. The kiss was fleeting, chaste, and sweet, paired up with a mumble of thanks. She shyly looked up to try and catch his eye, but he was looking off into the distance, his face flushed and swollen with embarrassment. She stifled a giggle as she brought up her free hand and rested it on her cheek. Her face was so warm that her fingers felt incredibly cold against it. When he had finally regained composure, she looked up at him with a sheepish grin.
"Who marked you? I mean...that's a mark of favor, right?"
Interested, then. She hoped that it wasn't something that bothered him, but the question alone made her assume the opposite. He was curious. She nodded towards her hand, though the mark was covered by Wrenmae's palm. "Rak'keli," she said fondly, a grateful, endearing smile forming on her lips, "a mark of favor, indeed, it gives me the ability to heal."
She had to thank the goddess for it, it was a given. If it wasn't for her, she wouldn't have gotten the boost she needed in order to become a doctor. It seemed more appropriate for a medical practitioner, when compared to the mark of Avalis. Though she loved the goddess and appreciated her blessings and her presence, she found her affections gravitating towards Rak'keli more often. The goddess of healing had played a part in her aspirations of helping others, after all. Out of Avalis, Rak'keli, and Laviku, she cherished the second the most.
Wrenmae had mentioned something else interesting, once more. The young man appeared to be teeming with information that she had never even heard of or read about, and that led her to become more and more intrigued with him. He spilled out knowledge like they were common words, common knowledge. They seemed to spill out of his mouth just as simply as he breathed in the air, and while she envied him for it quite a little bit, it also led her to be more drawn to him than ever.
"Ionu?" she pondered, as they began to walk down the street and take in the sights, "another subject to read about, then! Sounds like it's a god." She made a mental note to visit the library and read about Ionu, who she deduced to be the god that reigned over Alvadas. She hadn't heard much about the city of illusions before, but she remembered reading a bit about it back at the isle. Ionu must be the god of illusions, perhaps, then?
"Ionu, Alvadas, familiars," she nodded to herself, as they toured the city. She pointed out a few landmarks, the most famous and frequented places, and other notable parts of the city. As she hadn't been in Zeltiva long enough just yet, the information she had on it was next to nothing. It was silly, really, because she was just as much a tourist as he was.
They held hands the entire time, casually, happily, as if it were a natural occurrence. She felt safe around him, comfortable around him, ecstatic around him. Her nerves went wild whenever their arms bumped, whenever their eyes met, or whenever she caught sight of his smile. His laughter lingered in her mind like a catchy tune, and his features were ingrained into her head like a nostalgic piece of art. He was so familiar, so, so very familiar. She'd never experienced illness, she'd never experienced pain, but when she was there next to him, next to Wrenmae, she felt twice as healthy, twice as well.
She sneezed.
The Konti sniffled and pressed her free hand against her nose as she heard her companion say her name. "What bad timing," she mused quietly, "ugh, I must've inhaled some dust." Shrugging the thought aside, she turned to Wrenmae and furrowed her brows, flashing him a playful pout.
"Eru?" she said softly, before laughing the nickname off. No one had ever called her that before, not even her family members. Her sisters used to call her "Dite," but only when they were joking around. She missed her sisters. While they weren't at all that close to begin with, they still had their moments. She choked in a sob as she pushed aside any and all memories of her siblings; they were gone, and she was better off thinking about them another time. She wasn't about to cry in front of somebody she'd just met.
Did they just meet?
She shook her head confusedly as she listened to what he was saying. "Thank you for showing me around, it means a lot to me...I mean, it was chance that you dropped your hat when you did, but I'm glad I caught it." She remembered how it had all happened, and mirrored the smile that formed on his face. It was all so amusing, so surprising, so surreal. She replied with an enthusiastic nod.
"I was thinking tomorrow we go to a restaurant. I'll register for the University tonight and get a dorm room."
"Oh, a dorm," she blurted out, only to realize that she had voiced her thoughts out loud. Her eyes widened as she cupped her mouth, only to fail at stifling another giggle. "You should try applying for one on my block, I'm on the twenty-fifth, I believe?" she looked up into the sky, as if it had the answers, "I'm not quite sure, I just know where it is. You should ask when you get there, I suppose."
"Or perhaps you could room with me," she chuckled silently, but quickly shunned the words away. It wouldn't be proper. They had just met, after all, and he was male - she wasn't even completely used to seeing masculine, short-haired people yet. It would be a huge step for both them, and herself.
She jumped when she realized that she'd forgotten to respond to his invitation. "A restaurant?" she queried, as she tapped her chin. She feigned reluctance to accept the offer, pursing her lips and furrowing her brows, pretending to find an empty slot in her schedule.
"That sounds like a good idea," she responded with a nod, giggling, "just knock on my door, I suppose. Surely enough you'll manage to get a room on my block, if that's what you'd like, since we have two empty quarters."
Her cheeks flushed to an even deeper shade, one that might've been comparable to ripe apples, or cherries. Shifting her eyes from one side to the next, she wondered if it would be alright to kiss him back on the cheek. "Would it be proper?" she argued, "would it be the right thing to do?" She let the voices in her head battle it out, only to end up exhausted and with no solution.
Agh, nevermind, then.
The next happening occurred so quickly, so suddenly, that she found herself reacting with a soft gasp. The kiss was fleeting, chaste, and sweet, paired up with a mumble of thanks. She shyly looked up to try and catch his eye, but he was looking off into the distance, his face flushed and swollen with embarrassment. She stifled a giggle as she brought up her free hand and rested it on her cheek. Her face was so warm that her fingers felt incredibly cold against it. When he had finally regained composure, she looked up at him with a sheepish grin.
"Who marked you? I mean...that's a mark of favor, right?"
Interested, then. She hoped that it wasn't something that bothered him, but the question alone made her assume the opposite. He was curious. She nodded towards her hand, though the mark was covered by Wrenmae's palm. "Rak'keli," she said fondly, a grateful, endearing smile forming on her lips, "a mark of favor, indeed, it gives me the ability to heal."
She had to thank the goddess for it, it was a given. If it wasn't for her, she wouldn't have gotten the boost she needed in order to become a doctor. It seemed more appropriate for a medical practitioner, when compared to the mark of Avalis. Though she loved the goddess and appreciated her blessings and her presence, she found her affections gravitating towards Rak'keli more often. The goddess of healing had played a part in her aspirations of helping others, after all. Out of Avalis, Rak'keli, and Laviku, she cherished the second the most.
Wrenmae had mentioned something else interesting, once more. The young man appeared to be teeming with information that she had never even heard of or read about, and that led her to become more and more intrigued with him. He spilled out knowledge like they were common words, common knowledge. They seemed to spill out of his mouth just as simply as he breathed in the air, and while she envied him for it quite a little bit, it also led her to be more drawn to him than ever.
"Ionu?" she pondered, as they began to walk down the street and take in the sights, "another subject to read about, then! Sounds like it's a god." She made a mental note to visit the library and read about Ionu, who she deduced to be the god that reigned over Alvadas. She hadn't heard much about the city of illusions before, but she remembered reading a bit about it back at the isle. Ionu must be the god of illusions, perhaps, then?
"Ionu, Alvadas, familiars," she nodded to herself, as they toured the city. She pointed out a few landmarks, the most famous and frequented places, and other notable parts of the city. As she hadn't been in Zeltiva long enough just yet, the information she had on it was next to nothing. It was silly, really, because she was just as much a tourist as he was.
They held hands the entire time, casually, happily, as if it were a natural occurrence. She felt safe around him, comfortable around him, ecstatic around him. Her nerves went wild whenever their arms bumped, whenever their eyes met, or whenever she caught sight of his smile. His laughter lingered in her mind like a catchy tune, and his features were ingrained into her head like a nostalgic piece of art. He was so familiar, so, so very familiar. She'd never experienced illness, she'd never experienced pain, but when she was there next to him, next to Wrenmae, she felt twice as healthy, twice as well.
She sneezed.
The Konti sniffled and pressed her free hand against her nose as she heard her companion say her name. "What bad timing," she mused quietly, "ugh, I must've inhaled some dust." Shrugging the thought aside, she turned to Wrenmae and furrowed her brows, flashing him a playful pout.
"Eru?" she said softly, before laughing the nickname off. No one had ever called her that before, not even her family members. Her sisters used to call her "Dite," but only when they were joking around. She missed her sisters. While they weren't at all that close to begin with, they still had their moments. She choked in a sob as she pushed aside any and all memories of her siblings; they were gone, and she was better off thinking about them another time. She wasn't about to cry in front of somebody she'd just met.
Did they just meet?
She shook her head confusedly as she listened to what he was saying. "Thank you for showing me around, it means a lot to me...I mean, it was chance that you dropped your hat when you did, but I'm glad I caught it." She remembered how it had all happened, and mirrored the smile that formed on his face. It was all so amusing, so surprising, so surreal. She replied with an enthusiastic nod.
"I was thinking tomorrow we go to a restaurant. I'll register for the University tonight and get a dorm room."
"Oh, a dorm," she blurted out, only to realize that she had voiced her thoughts out loud. Her eyes widened as she cupped her mouth, only to fail at stifling another giggle. "You should try applying for one on my block, I'm on the twenty-fifth, I believe?" she looked up into the sky, as if it had the answers, "I'm not quite sure, I just know where it is. You should ask when you get there, I suppose."
"Or perhaps you could room with me," she chuckled silently, but quickly shunned the words away. It wouldn't be proper. They had just met, after all, and he was male - she wasn't even completely used to seeing masculine, short-haired people yet. It would be a huge step for both them, and herself.
She jumped when she realized that she'd forgotten to respond to his invitation. "A restaurant?" she queried, as she tapped her chin. She feigned reluctance to accept the offer, pursing her lips and furrowing her brows, pretending to find an empty slot in her schedule.
"That sounds like a good idea," she responded with a nod, giggling, "just knock on my door, I suppose. Surely enough you'll manage to get a room on my block, if that's what you'd like, since we have two empty quarters."
Her cheeks flushed to an even deeper shade, one that might've been comparable to ripe apples, or cherries. Shifting her eyes from one side to the next, she wondered if it would be alright to kiss him back on the cheek. "Would it be proper?" she argued, "would it be the right thing to do?" She let the voices in her head battle it out, only to end up exhausted and with no solution.
Agh, nevermind, then.
