Who Needs Cupid?

by **Zhol** on February 24th, 2015, 2:44 am

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..76th Winter, 514

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Zhol was supposed to be watching, but he wasn't.

Well, he was, he just wasn't quite as focused on the correct priorities as he should have been. He was supposed to be watching as Khara fired arrows into the extra target he'd picked up at the start of the season, for exactly this purpose. He was supposed to be paying extra attention to the way she held the bow, the way she stood, the way she'd planted her feet in the sandy floor, the way she held her shoulders with each draw.

Unfortunately, trying to observe those things made his eyes stray a little too close to utterly distracting things. Trying to focus on her shoulders let his eyes stray to the inviting curve of her neck, along the line of her jaw, and linger on the lips that her teeth periodically gnawed at in an inexplicably enticing way. Trying to focus on her stance led his eyes up the curve of her legs, and to other places that made his face turn bright crimson as his mind began to imagine what it might be like if it were his hands making that journey instead of his eyes.

He was embarrassed about it, though not guilty; that was the twisting sensation of last season, and had thankfully been left far behind when winter had dawned. Before, he'd always wrenched his eyes away for fear of being noticed, but now he didn't have to; now he was allowed to look at the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on without subterfuge; and yet embarrassment, because of how much he didn't want to look away. It wasn't lust that filled his eyes, though it was certainly there, clinging to the edges like dew drops on glass. He wanted all the things that he was supposed to want, and yet he wanted all the other things as well; so the fact that Khara wanted to wait, the fact that she didn't feel ready, wasn't even a question or a consideration. It didn't matter anyway; if he were standing close to her, if his hands were on her, his every desire would be to draw her into a kiss and hold her forever in his arms, and he would be overjoyed to stay that way forever.

The sound of the arrow striking the target gave him the focus that he needed, at least for the moment. He waited for Khara's posture to relax slightly, before he uttered the words he spend every waking second aching to say, an insatiable smile spread across his features. "I love you."

by **Khara** on February 24th, 2015, 2:46 am

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It had been Zhol's idea to begin practicing within the indoor riding area of the Skyhigh Stables. Well... At least when it came to her joining him. Even as they had set up Khara had the sneaking suspicion that other bored stable workers over the years must have done similar, especially in Winter. Though judging by how Hansi had seemed fairly grumpy over the prospect, Khara doubted that it had happened in quite some time. Either way, Zhol had made the suggestion clearly as a way to just have them practice together in private, but there was no way that he fully knew how much the gesture meant to her. Mostly because she hadn't told him.

It wasn't that Khara was willingly keeping secrets - that sort of thing had stopped Seventy-Seven days ago and wasn't something the girl was keen on resuming - it was more that she just hadn't said anything. You could call it lying by omission if you wanted, but either way there never really had been a convenient or even appropriate time that came up to explain what happened every time she even attempted to near one of the public ranges. At best it would cause needless fretting, at worse... Well, Khara didn't want to think too much about that.

She knew that Zhol knew on some level, though. He had learned to pick up on her small hints of anxiety long before she had allowed herself to be completely free with her emotions around him. And if there was any question, the fact the girl couldn't seem to wipe the smile off her face the entire time they had been there was more than enough to let him know how important it was for her. Archery had not only been a necessity to learn, but it had been the single thing that Khara could ever think of as a hobby of sorts. Not being able to practice it had been painful. Thankfully, Zhol fixed it. See? Her thoughts chimed in. Told you he fixes everything.

The bit of Pavi he spoke sounded strange to her ears, the words still foreign despite having heard them many times over throughout Winter. There was a difference, she suspected, between knowing what someone was saying and actually understanding which word meant exactly what. Khara knew what the phrase overall meant, though, and it brought a small blush to her cheeks and a demure lowering of her gaze away from the target.

Her warm gaze flickered to Zhol and she felt the small smile that had faded only a bit with her focus on the target return full force. "I know."

"You will never tire of saying that, will you?" The barest hint of a teasing tone crept into her words but it vanished utterly with her next, "I love you too."

No matter how many times she told him, the words still came out somehow bashful sounding. Not from shame or embarrassment, it was something Khara couldn't quite put her finger on but knew it had something to do with the fact it felt like there was a bunch of fluttering birds within her every time she said it.

She dragged her attention back to the target and the quiver that had been placed at her side rather than across her back. The stables were warmer than the outside world by far, but there was an undeniable feeling of comfort from wearing a coat still. An arrow was drawn out slowly and looked over before she nocked it and raised her bow once more. The string was drawn back slowly as she tried to keep herself aware of all the little places where her form tended to fail. Draw elbow was lowered a bit, shoulders forced to relax as she sighted the target.

"Staring at me is not going to help you so much, I think." She commented with a small smile, knowing full well that Zhol knew she didn't mind in the slightest - not anymore.

The break in concentration to make the playful comment cost her in accuracy as the shot was released. It had been that quick glance she had given him just before the string had left her fingers that was to blame. Still, the arrow did actually find the target - even if it wasn't anywhere near the center - and Khara figured the mistake was entirely worth it.

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

by **Zhol** on March 3rd, 2015, 1:28 am

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How did she do it? All she'd said was four words, three of them he'd just said to her mere moments before; and yet every time she uttered them it felt like an explosion in his heart. For him, they were words that simply refused to go unsaid, an overflow of indescribable, boundless affection that leaked out into his voice. For Khara, each time she said it was a new admission. She wasn't repeating a sentiment, you could feel the heartfelt sentiment in every word. It wasn't just a reaction, wasn't a reciprocation: she loved him too. She didn't just like him, wasn't just attracted to him, didn't just love him; she loved him. It wasn't just the word, it was that desperate, frantic meaning behind it, that urgent attempt to force those five letters to convey something too infinite and intricate and intimate for words to ever be described, and yet that all-consuming desire to try anyway. Every time she said it, every time he heard it, it took all the willpower that he could muster not to drop everything, throw his arms around her, and never let her go, ever.

"It probably won't help with my archery, no," he conceded, drawing an arrow of his own, and carefully settling into his stance, a direct reflection of Khara's. This was the hidden benefit of his backwards-handedness, one of the many things that had set him apart during his early life: his dominant left hand meant that with skills such as this, he didn't need to turn his back to his instructor in order to shoot. That made copying far easier, true; but it also made it all too easy to steal stray glances in her direction, and distract himself with things far more beautiful and interesting than a dreary target.

Of course, it also meant that when Khara was watching him, he knew full well that she was. Every time that realisation struck, he became hyper aware of his body, of his limbs, of the faults in his posture, his grip, his stance. On the one hand yes, it spurred him to improve, in the perhaps futile hope that he might one day be good enough at this for Khara to be even the slightest bit impressed; but on the other, it raised the stakes, every mistake he might make being performed under the gaze of the person he couldn't bear to disappoint.

That didn't stop him flashing a wink and a grin in her direction, setting the arrow into place on the bow string, and beginning the creaking process of drawing it back to fire. Like Khara had taught him, he focused on transferring the tension into the muscles in his back, letting them do the work so that his arms could concentrate on aiming. He concentrated on his breaths, careful to empty his lungs completely so that every shot he fired was as close to exactly the same as the ones before as he could make it. He counted backwards from three, feeling the composite sandwich of wood and bone groaning with stored tension. He felt his aim waver slightly - two - the muscles in his arms still not quite strong enough to wrestle the full potential out of the powerful bow that he'd purchased. He reached one, and tried to ignore the blurry, unfocused shape of his hand lurking in the corner of his eye, not drawn back nearly as far as he wanted it to be.

The count ended, the bow string slipped from his fingers; the arrow shot forward, impaling itself in the outermost ring of the target. His shoulders sank. All his practice, and he was still barely even in the same kingdom as success. So much for impressing Khara. So much for earning the respect of the Inarta.

So much for being something other than a useless liability the next time he found himself out in the wilderness, relying on Khara, or Azira, or Sira to save him from the dangers that he could do little more than distract.

He bundled up those feelings, wrapping them tightly and forcing them down into the depths of his mind where he belonged. He let his eyes stray back to Khara, and a smile crept it's way between his disappointment like sunlight between clouds. "But what it does help with is burn every exquisite detail of the woman I love into my memory, so that when I am alone and missing her, I can close my eyes and perfectly remember just how breathtakingly beautiful she is."

by **Khara** on March 22nd, 2015, 6:58 pm

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Khara felt entirely foolish for how she reacted whenever Zhol complimented her. The way her insides felt like they had suddenly been filled with feathers, the way she knew her skin turned pink, the giddiness that went straight to her head that made her smile as though she was a child playing a game of keeping a secret - All of it was entirely so unlike her. She was used to feeling nervous, used to that constant questioning in the back of her mind, but this was a different kind of nervous and Khara was pretty sure she liked this form far better.

"Oh, well in that case you can watch as much as you want." She tried to sound confident, teasing, flirtatious even, but Khara wasn't entirely sure she was successful. Everything had sounded more like some sort of timid concession to her and she knew how uncomfortable that tended to make him.

The only way she knew how to make sure his thoughts didn't try and accuse him for trying to coerce her into anything was tell the truth. That was easily done enough nowadays. "I like when you watch me."

It was something that Khara was fairly sure she had told Zhol before, something she had admitted but couldn't quite place when or where. Maybe it was only something she had meant to tell him. Either way, it felt good to say it. As much as his eyes upon her was a source of disquiet, it was always a more happy sort because she knew there wasn't any judgement in his emerald eyes, only adoration and the occasional wonder that she couldn't fathom how she had earned.

There was more hesitance in looking away from him than she had expected, trying to return her attention to selecting an arrow from her quiver. The process was nothing more than a glorified way to waste time, though. Khara knew there wasn't any arrow better than another at her disposal, and especially not for simply practicing with targets.

Finally one was chosen, far more at random than her attentions probably should have accounted for, and readied it against the string of her bow. Another glance was cast towards Zhol, a reassuring smile to hopefully back up what she had said. A deep sigh escaped as she looked back towards the target and shuffled her feet until they seemed to fall just under her shoulders. The bow was raised once more as Khara tried to pull back the string at the same time in a smooth movement like how she had seen others at the ranges do. It was the way she had been taught, after all, but she still couldn't help but think it must be far more awkward than she wanted - it certainly always felt that way.

Muscles were relaxed in some places, tightened in others as Khara tried to take stock in making sure they were the proper ones. She tried to slow her breathing, steady the upwelling of excitement she always seemed to feel in the wake of Zhol's professions of adoration. Focus was drawn down the length of the arrow once more, aiming tip towards center of the target. One last breath was drawn and slowly released as she allowed the string to leave her fingers as well, her hand continuing the backwards motion in her best approximation of the follow through she had observed in a hunter the Season prior. Her bow tipped forward after the shot was released and Khara begrudgingly waited a tick or two before finally lowering it and letting herself see where the arrow had landed.

It was shock that came upon her at first as she saw it had managed to actually make it to the very center ring. It wasn't even remotely dead on, still veering to the side it always seemed to and if she was brutally honest it did look like the tip of the arrow had actually plunged just outside of the circle but Khara couldn't help but feel the thrill of having accomplished it anyway.

She looked to Zhol, knowing her excitement was plain on her face, the small yell of achievement held in even though it felt like it would make her chest burst. "Your turn!" She exclaimed, though couldn't help but blush again at the challenging note her voice took on.

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

by **Zhol** on March 22nd, 2015, 7:49 pm

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His turn?

It was a constant struggle to work out which version of Khara, which emotion, which state of being he adored about her most. Ask him, and every time it would almost certainly be whatever one she was displaying at that very moment. Sometimes it was how peaceful she looked as she slept. Sometimes it was how happy she was, wrapped around his arm and smiling, just content to be together. Sometimes it was the embarrassed squirm as she received a compliment, or the timid smile that followed after she delivered one. Sometimes it was the Khara who kissed him and then whispered, as if admitting how badly she had wanted to was some great secret.

Right now though, he was convinced that it was her excitement and fleeting confidence that he loved the most. Khara so often seemed like she was weighed down beneath a burden, of nervousness, inferiority, and dark memories. There were times when Zhol was able to lift the burden; to carry it for a while; to offer her a reprieve; but that was temporary, that felt like a bandaged wound rather than a healed one. Moments like this though, instances where Khara did something herself that shrugged those burdens off her shoulder and left them scattered on the floor? Those were precious. Her pride instilled a pride in him that was larger by magnitudes; not just at her success, but at what other thoughts and sentiments she had to wrestle aside just to be able to feel it.

The challenge was something new though; this playful side of Khara had formed slowly, and was so utterly different from the Khara she had been before. Even as recently as fall, the concept of making such a challenge towards an Avora would have mortified her; petch, even challenging a peer would have done the same. It wasn't the fact that her skills were superior to his - though that was certainly a factor - it was that she was at ease. She was relaxed. When they were together, he ceased to be an Avora, and she ceased to be a Chiet. It wasn't that they became equal, it was that it suddenly didn't matter; and that was more perfect than anything Zhol had ever hoped for.

It did mean, however, that Zhol now had to demonstrate his inferior archery skills, under the full scrutiny of the woman he adored, and whose opinion was more important to him than the will of the gods. Learning archery had secretly begun as a way to impress her; now though, it was more a showcase for his various shortcomings.

His breath trembled as he readied the bow; that was annoying. His hand tried to do the same too, but he willed sense into it, carefully nocking an arrow raising the bow. He bit his lip, trying to focus as much as he possibly could, repeating the description of a proper archery stance over and over in his head like a mantra. For a brief moment he closed his eyes, thinking back to his meditation techniques; as always he imagined a flickering candle, projected his anxiety into the fluttering of the flame; steadied his breathing, forced the flame to sway back in forth in pace with it; and then he stopped, one long, slow exhale that left the candle flame steady and still.

He opened his eyes, focused his shot, encouraged a little more tension from the bow string and then, before the brief calm of his meditation could subside, aimed down the arrow shaft and silently willed the projectile to strike true.

by **Khara** on March 22nd, 2015, 8:43 pm

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Khara watched him while trying to seem casual about it, waited as he readied the shot as her mind considered things, tried to pinpoint the exact moment he was about to release as a playful thought surged forward and couldn't be denied any longer.

"You know, when you look so focused, it makes me wish to take you back to your room." She said with a mischievous grin. It wasn't the exact phrasing she wanted to use but she watched gleefully the way Zhol's eyes widened as his concentration was obliterated and as the shot left his fingers messily, the arrow soaring unexpectedly and missed the target entirely.

He had done it to her before, after all. It was only fair. For a tick, however, her amusement became guilt at having made him mess up the shot. The guilt threatened to darken into dread at the smile at her lips faltered. But no, this was okay wasn't it? She tried so hard to make herself think of him only as Zhol and not an Avora, not her superior, her better as far as all of Wind Reach was concerned. The conscious effort that had to be put into such a thing had all but negated itself as Winter had progressed and she came more and more only to see the man she loved than his caste. It was what he had wanted, it was what she had wanted, what they needed in a way.

It was that particular thought that brought the smile hesitantly back to her, an embarrassed overtone taking over her posture even as she took a step towards him.

"Sorry?" She offered and was glad to hear it came out in a impish nature rather than reflecting her sudden onslaught of worry. Her eyes had fallen to look at anywhere but his as the panic had tried to set in but they slowly rose once more to meet his, the uncertainty that lingered in her expression clearly seen.

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

by **Zhol** on March 22nd, 2015, 9:01 pm

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Zhol's cheeks were bright red in an instant. At first he thought he'd misheard. It wasn't the first compliment she'd ever given him, but it was so forward, so confident, so -

So exactly what you've desperately been wanting to hear her say.

He pushed the thought aside, trying to ignore it, but unable to bring himself to disagree. It wasn't the implication of it that had his insides squirming like he'd accidentally swallowed a bag of eels. It wasn't what was left unsaid, it wasn't the implication of things that might happen once she dragged him there. It was simpler than that. It was more important than that.

Khara had never said anything like that to him before; not just in that way, but on that subject, in that vein. She told him she was lucky, she told him she loved him, she complimented his personality, the things he did; but never this before. Never something so... what even was the word? The things that she had thought he wanted when they first met; the things that had happened to her since; the dark, heart-wrenching admission that she wished it had been him instead; she had never uttered anything like that since. Not just wanting him instead: wanting him, period.

You did this to her. You told her she was pretty. Maybe she only said it to put you off.

That thought twisted in his gut, and he tried to ignore it, but couldn't succeed. It plagued him as he shuffled awkwardly towards him, a few small steps bringing him to her side. "You am be only sorry," he fumbled, struggling to convey his sentiment in Nari. His eyes glanced at her, sheepish, nervous, and hopeful. "If you am not be honest."

by **Khara** on March 22nd, 2015, 9:46 pm

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Her face lit up in an instant as she realized that her words didn't just have a teasing effect on him. She hadn't planned on it meaning anything greater when she had spoken, but what Zhol had said in reply rang true. There was no need to be sorry, there was no need to feel any shred of guilt. It may have felt a bit embarrassing to be so forward with something she normally shied away from but there was nothing bad about telling him how she truly felt. Even if she had only planned on saying it to tease him.

"I don't lie to you," Khara stated, trying to inject as much confidence as possible, the thought he might not believe her needing to be completely removed. "And I do not lie about that."

The last phrase left her entirely too timid for her liking but there was no helping it, the sudden rush of heat and the way her free hand rose so her fingers could weave into the fringe of her scarf likewise couldn't be stopped. It was one thing to admit such a thing in a spontaneous, but it was another to have to double back and confirm it not only to Zhol but herself as well.

It was a subject that seemed to require a great deal of care between them and Khara knew very well why that was. The truth of the matter was always there, though. She longed to be with him, to share that sort of thing; if only her body and mind would cooperate and come to an agreement on that, though. Fewer things were more frustrating than the sudden waves of anxiety that came upon her sometimes when they were alone together.

Now wasn't the time to think of that though. Here wasn't the place to think about that. Not with the constant quiet voice in the back of her mind reminding her that anyone else who worked at the stables could stumble upon them at any moment. Practicing archery was one thing, practicing other things was not something Khara wished to be a public affair.

Reluctantly she turned towards the targets, her head nodding subtly in their direction in an attempt to redirect Zhol as well. "I am still a small sorry about making you miss. You looked very much like you were going to make a good shot. Maybe... maybe we can make a game of it?"

The suggestion was spoken before she had even fully formed the idea in her head. A contest between them seemed like a very inappropriate thing to do, even if it was just for fun.

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

by **Zhol** on March 22nd, 2015, 11:19 pm

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First a seductive admission like that, and now a challenge? Who was this confident, assertive, indescribably attractive version of Khara, and where had she been hiding herself? Every night, Zhol fell asleep thinking that he couldn't possibly love Khara more; every morning awoke, and the day brought him another reason to fall for her all over again.

He reached out with his hand, brushing her cheek with only his thumb, careful not to let the rough leather of the archery glove touch against her delicate skin. "Challenge?" he whispered softly, gazing into her eyes, feeling desire hook around his stomach and drag him irresistibly closer. His lips met slowly, gently with hers, light on speed but heavy on passion, a breath escaping his lungs as he kissed into her, a tiny involuntary groan of contentment carried along with it.

He drew back and smiled, his eyes on hers once more. "Accepted," he finished, letting his touch linger on her cheek for just a moment more, before turning agonisingly away.

"Three arrows," he announced, returning to his side of the makeshift range quickly, carefully plucking out the stated number and stabbing them point first into the sand beside him, ready to be snatched as soon as they were required. "The person with the most -" He waved vaguely down range towards the targets. "- point thingies wins." He wrinkled his nose. Point thingies. Technical term.

A coy smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Winner decides what they win from the loser?"

by **Khara** on March 29th, 2015, 6:35 pm

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It was entirely unfair of him and Khara would have accused Zhol of cheating if she'd had the breath to do so. Her suggestion had been cautious and not necessarily meant as a competition between them, though that wasn't really the issue. The issue was the kiss he had just walked away from before stating the supposed rules of this little match. How was she supposed to focus on archery after something like that?

She did manage a small nod eventually but in understanding of the simple plan and the wager, despite their vagueness. Winner decides what they wanted from the loser? That could mean anything; for a tick the thought tried to cause panic within her. Whatever the purpose of the attempt, it was extremely short lived as Khara watched Zhol prepare. Such a bet could be dangerous with most people, but this was Zhol and this was her and whatever conniving part of her mind couldn't come to terms with her utmost faith in her well-being around the horse boy could hurl itself into The Tomb of the Fallen.

Her eyes wandered from Zhol, to the three arrows he had stuck into the ground in front of him, and finally wandered down the makeshift range to where their two targets waited. Three shots? She could do that.

"No cheats," Khara teasingly warned as she mimicked Zhol's setup by removing three arrows from her quiver and planting the tips into the soft sand off to her right.

She still felt... Dizzy wasn't the right word, but neither was nervous or even excited. Khara didn't think there would ever be an accurate term for the way that Zhol made her feel sometimes. It made her feel like part of her had entirely left her body and was floating free, soaring as high as an Eagle could fly. Right now, though, she rather wished it would come back down to it's rightful place so she could more clearly focus on actually trying to win the little competition.

One final glance back to Zhol was given before Khara plucked the first of the three arrows she had set aside from the ground. She felt her grip on the bow adjust, trying to recapture some semblance of proper form and technique despite feeling as though she couldn't have been more distracted. A deep breath was let out as the arrows was nocked and her bow raised. The mental checklist of all the little positions and tips and constant urging to relax came to her naturally enough and Khara felt her posture shuffle and shift until she felt it was more or less correct. She briefly found herself wondering if falling into a proper stance would ever come as naturally as all the criticisms her head could come up with when something was out of place.

The string was drawn back, more instructions and directions coming to mind. It was frustrating in a way but undeniably helpful as well. If nothing else, it seemed to drag that floating bit of herself back within her finally. She still felt a little giddy but nothing like the breathless loss of self to happiness like earlier. Still, she wasn't as focused as she could have been, as she had been, and when the arrow was released Khara instantly knew she paid for it. Her shoulders sagged a bit as she spotted where the arrow had embedded into the outermost ring of the target. Too high, too far right. You're better than that, Sparrow. Now was not the time she wanted to hear the familiar chastising tones of her mother in her head. This was supposed to be fun, after all.

The dismayed sigh that left her was instantly regretted for not being held in as she looked back to Zhol and forced a smile. There were all manner of things she could have said, You might as well start figuring out what you want, or even a jest of I did that on purpose, where among the favorites. Instead she remained quiet and simply gestured to him with her free hand to take his turn.

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

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