Ari ♫ ♪ ♬ (gracenotes) wrote in emillion, @ 2014-12-29 21:16:00 |
|
|||
There were still some very mild aches and pains from the battle the weekend before, but considering all that had happened between then and now, Aspel felt surprisingly well physically. Which - admittedly - was a blessing considering what she had decided she was about to do. Since the last significant talk they’d had - Faram knew Aspel tried to avoid serious topics with the bard since then - she’d had a lot of time to think. To mull over the brief conversation they’d had before, and…. It caused a knot to tie in her gut. Admittedly, this week they hadn’t seen much of each other. Well, not as much as the norm at least that was. With it being the last week of the show, it wasn’t particularly surprising, and as always, Aspel had arranged to attend the last night of the production. It had become a pattern the smith found herself unable to shrug off after so many years of doing it at this point. If her and Ari were ever to part ways it… The thought was pushed away by the nearly overwhelming sorrow that accompanied even the thought alone. Regardless, Aspel didn’t really have the time to mull over much else as she met a delivery boy out back before slowly - with bouquet in front of her to mask herself from being immediately recognized - made her way through the backstage towards Ari’s dressing room. There were a few curious glances as the councilor carefully maneuvered the bouquet of orchids - hinted at with the last anonymous delivery before - in front of her, with a card that read ‘To a beautiful actress, on a beautiful night. - Anonymous’. Standing in front of Ari’s door, Aspel felt her heart attempting to lodge itself in her throat. This would be okay, this would be acceptable, this would work out, they could share a laugh, and maybe have a talk, maybe, and… It would all be fine. With that, Aspel shifted enough so that she could knock on the door to let the bard know her presence before hiding behind the rather large, and elaborate set of flowers once more. Ari thought that she would miss this show, with its whimsical costumes and merry music. She hadn't yet decided whether she would miss her daily coffee delivery, as it came with a side of expectations she never intended to fulfill, but nevertheless, get memories of the last few months in this theater were largely positive. Even so, it was nice to be finished and sipping on champagne in her dressing gown, taking a few moments before she was likely to receive visitors. Just as she thought this, the first knock came, and she called, "Come in!" When no one did, however, she stood and went to open the door, at which point it became obvious why no one had entered -- surely carrying such a native bunch of flowers had made even knocking difficult. She laughed -- she couldn't help it. "Well," she said, "however will they top this?" The flowers had been coming so long now that she expected them, growing more elaborate with each iteration, but how did one improve upon a near-hume sized bunch of orchids? Surely it was impossible. "Bring them in here, we'll find a spot -" She stopped when she saw the shoes, which most definitely belonged to an opera patron and not a stagehand or delivery person. Aspel thought to speak, to banter against however will they top this, but ultimately decided that perhaps that would give away the entire skit just a touch too soon. Instead, when invited in she paused for a moment to let the bard move out of the way before - carefully - shifting so that she could get a few steps into the room before being fully revealed. However, hiding behind the flowers would only last so long before they had to be set down. With a brief clearing of her throat, hands moved to straighten her dress, as Aspel positioned herself to face the other woman without looking at her just yet. "However shall they top this indeed?" Ari’s arms were now crossed over her chest, her expression hovering somewhere between surprise and amusement. “I should have recognized the shoes,” was what she said, followed by a laugh. Then, “Congratulations on taking your love of games to an unprecedented level -- weren’t you with me for at least two of these deliveries? I cede your flawless victory.” Not that it was difficult to schedule them, but Aspel’s reactions had not given Ari any hint that she might be responsible, which, of course, was testament to acting skills that Ari could not help but admire. And the impressive length of time that this had been going on………. She shook her head, but she was smiling. Amusement was winning. “I take it,” she said, “that next time you will top this by either purchasing so many orchids that even you can’t lift them unaided, or possibly by hanging emeralds from the stems.” Aspel couldn’t help the light laugh that slipped out at Ari’s commentary on her shoes. “They are a rather lovely pair, but I do fear that not even you can recall everything in my wardrobe.” Finally, her gaze rose enough to meet the bards and there was clearly an endless amount of amusement left lingering there. “At least two, yes, I do believe I was.” The smile widened a bit, edging even closer to a grin than it had been before. “You get so many flowers it is rather easy to just think of them from random senders. A trick you ought to try in the future perhaps?” The teasing in her tone clear, amusement lingering around the edges the entire time. “Ah, emeralds from the stems.” A brief thoughtful noise was given to this notion. “I had yet to consider such an option feasible. However, regarding your first suggestion, that just seems a tad…” A thoughtful hum was given as one of Aspel’s hands rotated at the wrist, as if to help with her thoughts, and words. “Much?” With that a full on grin finally emerged. Ari laughed. “Ah, but emeralds are within the realm of possibility, how very nice to know. What I was saying was that it would be difficult to improve upon this one without being a bit much. And just in case you were wondering, I always noticed these flowers. There was a time when Aud and I were quite intent on figuring out who sent them without ambushing florists, because that would take all the mystery out of it.” She uncrossed her arms then, and beckoned Aspel to come closer. “Are you going to stay all the way across the room, darling? Surely you’ve earned at least a kiss for your rather impressive victory, and I do think I’ve earned one for finally closing this show -- I feel as though we can fill both of these requirements at once.” “Well, there was no commentary on the number of emeralds, if they could be fakes, or if they had to be set in anything, so yes, perhaps it may be indeed. Technically, only two are needed to make it plural.” And there was a thought for another game altogether. Though, the other things that had haunted her mind over the past few weeks still lingered in the background, and they were likely to vanish until spoken of. Yet… Aspel found herself not quite bolstered enough to speak of them just yet. “Did you?” There was something sly in the question as her eyes danced with amusement. “I assure you - especially after I learned of your skills I took quite the number of precautions to assure your finding out of this would be quite unlikely.” Though, with these words Aspel consented to Ari’s gesture for her to come closer, and crossed the distance between them before leaning in, not yet kissing the other woman. “A charade over a year, and the least I earn is a kiss?” With amusement, and a quirked eyebrow, there was far more than just a hint of a challenge to accompany the question. Ari wound her arms around the other woman’s shoulders, clasping them behind her neck, and smiled her most innocent smile at the challenge she had been issued. “Well,” she pointed out, “after all, I did say you’ve earned at least a kiss. The top end of the range of what you may perhaps receive for your impressive feat of sneakiness was never specified. As I proved by not ambushing florists, I do like a bit of mystery now and again.” She, too, leaned a bit closer, though she had to rise all the way to her toes to even begin to reach -- unlike Aspel, she did not have a fabulous pair of heels to help her along -- and once their lips were all but touching, murmured, “However, if you prefer I explicitly promise --or immediately deliver -- something more significant, I will do what I can to rise to the occasion.” “I voiced displeasure with the bottom possibility, not the top.” There was pleased amusement in the murmured response, and Aspel hovered just a moment longer in the embrace not moving any closer than the bard had initiated for now. “Though, regarding the top, perhaps I enjoy a bit of mystery too.” With that, a slow shift towards the bard would close the distance for a kiss. That took a bit of time, and when they parted, Ari was smiling slightly. “I suppose,” she said, “that I will have to make note of the fact that a kiss no longer constitutes a suitable beginning. In that case, I have an idea or two…” They could, after all, be a little late to the after-party. By now, her tardiness was practically expected. It was nice, Ari thought through a haze of wine and other liquor (she had grown less discerning as the party wore on) that dawn came so late in the winter. In this case, it meant that they could stumble to her apartment in full darkness, which was somehow better than doing it as the sun rose. Or in any case, in her inebriated state it certainly seemed to be so. Leaning against each other somehow made the stairs easier to manage, too. At least the tavern had been just around the corner, so the stairs were the only real obstacle…. “That, and finding my key,” Ari said aloud, though she had not voiced her thoughts prior. “You must be so accustomed to this by now.” ‘This’ being Ari kneeling before her door, party dress and all, to pick her own lock. “Just give me a moment or three. Possibly four, because it’s dark.” The night seemed a bit of a whirlwind, and thoughts had come in spurts to plague her, but Aspel had mostly been able to shoo them off with little effort as there were plenty of loud voices, animated stories, and drinks to chase away her issues with. However, as they’d broken from the party the concepts, and concerns came dipping back into her somewhat buzzing head. Really, it would be so easy to chase them all away again with another venture into their one agreed upon ‘uncomplicated’ area in their mutual lives, but… The words were passively accepted without thought, and passively a hand come out to lazily linger over any part of the bard she could easily touch. Really, it always brought her a sense of calm, a certain joy, and comfort to have physical contact with the other woman. It was… Soothing. “There is much I am reliant upon.” The word choice was choppy, but true, and her accent a bit heavier from booze. “And you are welcome to as many of my moments as you choose.” Another thought went skipping by, which earned a low murmur. “As long as you shall desire my time.” The lock clicked, and Ari got back to her feet with only a slight wobble. She turned to give Aspel a mildly exasperated look over her shoulder. “I believe we have spoken on this topic at least once; I do not anticipate a lack of desire for your company… anytime, really.” Not anytime soon, though maybe Aspel wouldn’t realize the distinction. “Still, I do think it’s nicer inside in the warmth than out in the cold, so I’ll keep it to only a few moments on the landing. Other moments can be taken elsewhere.” The exasperated look earned a look of mild confusion. The commentary had been meant more of a confirmation of her own dedication in this instance than a questioning of Ari’s desires. Though, the alcohol in her system didn’t exactly allow for sussing out of the other woman’s thought process from her own all that well right now. “My... dedication was all I meant…. by that.” And that word felt heavy in her mouth, and on her chest. However, they were then moving again. “Warmth would be much preferred, yes.” Because warmth was an easier topic to deal with after all. “In we go, then.” Ari ushered the other woman in, then closed the door behind them, fumbling for the light for a moment before deciding there was enough to go on from the streetlights and the moon to get around. She unclasped her cloak, tossed it aside, and stretched her arms over her head before kicking off her shoes and losing several inches in the process. All of which gave her enough time to consider, despite her slightly fuzzy mind, and finally say, “I’ll take your… dedication.” It was, in Aspel’s particular way, a sort of commitment. Sometimes, Ari found it quite amusing that her situations with Drake and Aspel seemed eerily reversed -- Drake’s feelings were clear, while he claimed only to assume hers; as for her dealings with Aspel, she had made herself perfectly clear, and Aspel was… Aspel. And Ari, for her part, had chosen to assume, based on actions, because Aspel was possibly even worse with words of a certain sort than Ari herself was. And that all made her head ache slightly to contemplate. It would take a few seconds for Aspel’s eyes to adjust to sudden lack of light, and then slowly she’d begin to move towards disrobing as well, knocking off some of her own height, and feeling how much cooler the world in general was without the additional layers. “Shall you?” The response had caused the smith to pause mid action in the darkened room, feeling herself tense at Ari’s… Acceptance of such a state, but at the same time… Hadn’t they nearly had this talk before? She hadn’t been able to see it for what it was then, but perhaps now…. “And I have yours?” Ari’s sigh was quite audible, though at least the partial darkness would keep her expression mostly masked (frankly, she had no idea what sort of look was on her face, but she didn’t want it to be examined regardless). “I thought I had made that clear… if not in your preferred method of… delivery.” How much more blatantly obvious did she have to be? More obvious, clearly. Fortunately, she had a bit of wine to smooth her way. “I offered it to you even when I thought you didn’t want it.” And when she hadn’t wanted it, for that matter. She’d mellowed a bit, but even so… There was a long, hesitant, silence that then would stretch out as the fuzzified state of Aspel’s mind attempted to process what she’d said, and what it was she was about to say - she ought not to think about it too much- , but… There was another second of hesitation as she slowly inhaled a deep, steadying breath... “And if I were to imply that perhaps I might want to bring you to Cassul keep?” It was probably good that Ari wasn’t holding on to anything, as she might have dropped it. What was it with this question lately? Was she the only one who sanely wanted to keep her lovers and her parents on separate continents? “I suppose,” she said slowly, “that would depend. I would not turn down a visit,” she had promised Drake the same, after all, “but neither can I promise to be charming if I find you -- or myself -- treated in a manner I don’t like. I assume,” oh Ajora, she hoped, “you do mean… just a visit.” The wilds of Kerwon were not a place for Arielle Chiaro, but she did have to check. Just in case. To stem the tide of her rising distress. Silence - once again - was all Aspel could manage for a moment as she attempted to process the situation - oh dear Faram why was she even trying to have this talk? - and words at hand. Another dragged out inhale was taken before she tried to carefully piece together her thoughts and words. “My family would likely adore you, I see no reason as to why you would be treated with anything but the utmost respect. You would be a guest within the Cassul estate.” How they would treat her, well…. That was a topic that felt best not broached. Though, the emphasis on visit caused Aspel’s face to screw up in confusion in the dark. “Yes, a visit was how the question was intended for framing.” A beat. “Did I imply something else?” “I just like to understand exactly what I’m promising, seeing as I… promise so rarely.” A pause. “And I did mention treatment of you before I mentioned myself at all.” Perhaps it was petty, but her opinion of Cassuls in general, Aspel excepted, was not particularly high lately. “But -- as long as it does not conflict with any previously made agreements...” like the visit to Drake’s family, Ajora, what was her life? “I will, of course agree. And remain pleasant, until I find cause not to be.” There was little that came to mind initially at Ari’s commentary. However, Aspel finally decided on what to say. “They likely will treat me with a distant formality, and comment on how I have gone amiss from the family traditions in passive manners in our language, or not while you are about. It would be impolite to act in another manner.” A beat as Aspel let her scarf be folded between her hands, eyes dropping down to focus on the fabric in the dark as she attempted to keep dismay from her voice with continued thoughts. “If we encounter battle I will likely need you to heal me.” If her past experiences held true, she’d likely obtain little assistance from her family in that regard magically. They’d supply the appropriate bandages, wash bowls, and so on, but… She’d likely be left to mostly left to her own devices for things like that. “No.” A beat. “It would not.” Another moment of silence passed by. “It was… Hypothetical.. You see.” “You never have to ask for healing,” Ari responded immediately. “I don’t like to see you hurt.” And that was an understatement, but Aspel was who she was, in the end. All Ari could do was trot along behind and sing and hope it was enough. Not a cheery thought, but it was what they had. She considered a moment before repeating, “Hypothetical.” Equal parts a relief and… not. “Was it a test, then? Did I pass? Or am I misunderstanding?” “Mm.” Aspel’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and she remained still, quietly considering everything that seemed to be going on around them, and within their own… Relations… Right now. “I…” A slight frown pulled at the corners of her lips. “No…?” A beat. “Yes..?” A heavy sigh was earned. “I do not know.” Once again Aspel fell silent, not sure what to say or do, but the buzz in her head made her want to speak. “I agreed day to day, no?” Her thoughts had jumped, but it was also… Related right now, wasn’t it? “You agreed to more, no?” This was apparently a moment to make her way to her couch in the darkness and curl into its corner, tucking her legs under her. Because as far as Ari could tell, bed wasn’t happening any time particularly soon and… well, as far as answers went, Aspel’s confused stammering didn’t offer many. Actually, didn’t offer any. So she sat, and got comfortable, and said to Aspel’s figure in the darkness: “I… offered more. Twice, actually.” In her own way. “What you take -- or don’t -- is really… your choice at this point. Generally, an agreement takes at least two individuals who are on the same page.” Which they weren’t, exactly. Or if they were, they were both too muddled to see it. There was a long hesitant silence once more as Aspel remained standing in the unlit room. “Ah.” Was finally all she could manage to Ari’s offering of more… Twice. When had twice happened? She remembered once… But twice? Though, the next statement was… Jarring… In a sense. “I take you assume we are not?” “I assume that I… can’t assume,”Ari said carefully. “Or rather, that I can’t assume too much. You agreed to one day at a time when I offered more. I attempted to explain the situation and… well, in any case, your… terms, I suppose we’ll call them… didn’t change. As far as I know, that was the only agreement we ever made. The offers for more are there to be accepted… or not.” She sighed. “I don’t intend to push. This is all taxing enough without that. So… I’ll go, if the hypothetical becomes the actual, and until then I’ll… go along. I suppose.” There was a pause, a long lingering series of feelings pushing for superiority in what she should say next, but instead, Aspel cleared her throat while still standing a ways away in the dark. “And what do you perceive you are following along with now?” “Whatever you’re willing to accept from me… I suppose.” “.....And what has been offered for me to accept?” Well of course she had to restate in so many words. Faram forbid Aspel do anything the simple way. “I believe the first offer was simply a reciprocation of the promise you made me some time ago, to keep me from falling. Although I offered without an……….. expiration date, I suppose we can call it.” And Aspel had balked then. Which, of course, had really set up the next failure: “As for the rest, well. You did say your… general feelings about me didn’t quite match mine.” It had been a bit more convoluted than that, but that had been the basic point of it, had it not? “So I suppose, if we return to your particular word choice, I made an offer of… dedication.” A weak word, really, but what else did she have to work with right now? “Without constraint or qualification of days versus weeks versus… whatever. Which was frankly… is frankly rather terrifying. But accepting that -- or not -- is your decision to make.” Aspel listened, trying to process each new sentence as it came, and letting the words linger. “You feel your offer of dedication without expiration was where our feelings do not meet?” The pieces weren’t really all fitting together particularly well, but… Maybe that was what she had missed? “Or was there another break where our feelings have not… Meshed?” Ari let out a frustrated huff of breath and said, “Really? You practically stopped talking to me over it, and now you do not recall?” She couldn’t help but flinch at the huff. “I am…” Aspel swallowed. “Trying to…” A beat. “Understand why…” What was the why? “I mean, how…” Silence again. “I have never done this, Ari.” A beat. “My relations are… Turbulent, and end…. Badly.” A hard swallow was taken. “Love is not a gentle thing.” The sentence was firm as Aspel swallowed hard again, fingers curling in her scarf, and she found herself struggling all over again. “It is not soft.” The smith forced herself to speak louder than a whisper, even if it was a struggle. “This is very… unlike... love.” Silence once again dominated as Aspel struggled for words. “Love is severe, and often hurts. It is given in hard lessons, and harsh words. It is… It does not.” Her voice cracked a little. “It is not like the enjoyment you bring to me.” Her voice shook. “It is not the calm I feel when with you. It is not the soothing melodies of your songs when played for me, it is not…” Her voice fell out as Aspel valiantly attempted to not allow tears. “This is… Not love.” A beat. “This is…….. Joy.” Well, we have turbulence enough to spare, Ari almost said, but then Aspel continued and… It was quite difficult to decide on what to say after such a surprising and confounding proclamation as this. “I…” she attempted, but the sentence got tangled. After another moment of silence, she attempted again: “I do not think it… must be that way. It sounds… pretty terrible, actually.” Not that the real thing wasn’t terrible too, in its way, but… “Perhaps,” she said slowly, “it can be… different things… but………………” She shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m saying. I just… think you don’t know what you’re saying either. I don’t think I’m wrong, even if I am being particularly eloquent. Ajora, the wine doesn’t help.” No, definitely not. “I think,” she tried again, “that when it’s right it is… more like joy than misery. And certainly not always severity. I’m terrible at severity.” If only she could laugh at herself, this would all be far less difficult. “I’m terrible at… all this, too, but I’m trying to get better.” There was a soft, slightly bitter, and confirmatory laugh that lingered after Ari's commentary of how horrible love was along with a 'Mm.'. Everything she'd ever known of love simply made her hurt, made her heart ache. "I...." The bard’s accusation of Aspel not knowing what she was talking about threw her a bit. "Believe I do know what I am saying in this, and.... Am uncertain if you understand." What was there to misunderstand? This wasn't love... Maybe.... Maybe if she just... Explained herself better... "This is soft. This is gentle.. This is kind... I am.... More kind when with you. I am tender, gentle, and... I feel quite warm with you. You.... I..." There was a low, mildly frustrated huff of air. "I am stronger when I am with you.... You help to give me strength..... That is not like any love I know....." “I understand that you’ve had some really unfortunate people in your life,” Ari said softly. “But… it doesn’t really matter, in the end. I’m not in a place to… ask for words of any kind. But I won’t deny it’s… nice to know what you think of me.” Because whatever Aspel’s strange, twisted definition was, what she was describing sounded far more like Ari’s own feelings than not. Wasn’t that good enough, really? In fact, wasn’t it better this way? At least Aspel wouldn’t needle her to vocalize it, since she herself wasn’t intending to do so anytime soon. But she thought she ought to say something at least. “I think…” she said at last, “that I should at least clarify that my feelings involve no severity or desire for painful lessons or… any of that other nonsense. In case you were wondering.” Because really, if Aspel was this confused on the subject, maybe it wasn’t so surprising that she had taken the note that badly. “I worry about you, and you exasperate me intensely at times but… Ajora, I’m probably a bit drunk to say this, but I think you’ve… made me better. And that scares me, but I’m glad, too. When I’m with you, generally, I mean. About the better part, well…” That was complicated, but really, she’d done enough soul-searching recently to realize that one way or another she was changed. Maybe it wasn’t all bad, but it remained disconcerting. “I’ll lend you whatever strength you need from me,” she finally finished. Perhaps she’d left the last sentence hanging, but this, at least, she could promise. “I am willing to take the risk, I suppose, that this one time, for you, this will not end badly. Perhaps that it will not end, in a general sense.” There, she’d said it. “We can only wait and see about that, considering how inept we both appear to be. And I can… hope.” “You are someone that I enjoy... That is dear to me.” While Ari claimed to not want words, Aspel desperately wanted to try to give them to her… Even if Aspel was barely sure what they were herself. Though, perhaps that was just the ramblings of her half inebriated state telling her to try, to push, to… Figure this out. To figure… Something… Anything out. Maybe it didn’t, or wouldn’t matter in the end, but there was some weird internal nagging that still picked away at her insides regardless of herself. Though, as the bard worked through her next section of words, and thoughts, Aspel couldn’t help to do much but blink a bit dumbly. Hadn’t Ari’s mother said something similar to this? That her daughter seemed…. Changed…? That couldn’t be…. Aspel was not a person who… Changed others for good. Her entire life she’d strayed away from the most nobly chosen paths, and… Though… The smith remained quiet. Considering what Ari had just said, and trying to work through the words in her own muddled brain. “Barnacle.” Ultimately this was what ended up being the one thing Aspel would chose to say. Though there was something a touch uncertain in the word, and the glance she finally cast Ari’s way. There would be a moment or two of silence before Aspel would decide to continue again. “I find…” A beat, finally the scarf was set down, and Aspel slowly, carefully, started making her way around this stack of things and that towards the couch. “That I…” A low thoughtful noise slipped out as she struggled for wording. “Have yet to not enjoy you.” A beat as fingers finally came in contact with the couch arm. “If we have managed to amuse each other this long, I see not why we could not for much longer.” “Barnacle?” Ari repeated. “Faram, I hope I’m not. That would be rather unlike me. Even more unlike me than I’ve been recently.” After a moment of thought, her hand came up to rest on Aspel’s lightly. “But I can’t see why we wouldn’t, either, so that’s something.” An almost-promise -- the best the two of them were likely to do. Possibly ever, but again, did it really matter? They were doing well enough, all things considered. “I suppose I’ll say that we now understand each other, or I think we do. I’m equal parts glad and wary, which should surprise no one, because as I’ve mentioned, I’m rather terrible at this.” And perhaps there wasn’t much more to discuss now, which seemed to be for the best as she really wasn’t entirely sober. “So I guess I’ll just say I’m glad you bought me a drink once and… we can leave it there. Not that I’m not grateful for the subsequent drinks, or the flowers, or the other things, but… you know. I think.” There was a slow hesitance before Aspel spoke again. “Perhaps I would not mind if you were.” Again, as always, the words spoken were vague, but the emotion behind them was firm even if it seemed a touch… unsure. Yet, Aspel’s hand shifted so that her fingers could interlock with the bard’s. A weak smile rose, but it was sincere regardless of itself at Ari’s words of thanks and fear. “And I’m glad for my own misled ideals leading me here… To Emillion.” Because if she had not ventured here, then where else could they have ever met? Aspel took a few seconds more before she gently pulled Ari’s hand up to press a kiss against it. “Perhaps,” A beat. “If you shall allow.” Another pause as her voice remained low, and eyes thoughtfully lowered. “I will take your offer by the m-m...m....” The sentence cut off. A slightly nervous shift in her stance was taken while there was an agonizing second of debate that hung in the air. “.... Week, instead of day by day.” Another pause lingered. “As long as I may change my mind again when I…… Find … The words…. I... “ Aspel swallowed. “Want to say.” Ari thought she was quite reserved not to point out that she’d already said Aspel could take her offer (and her… dedication and the rest of it) in any way she liked -- by days or weeks or months or years or -- But Aspel was trying, and far be it from Ari not to try, too. “Take it how you wish,” she said at last, after only a moment of thought. “I’m relieved you’re willing to take it at all, truth be told. And if you decide you have something else to say, I’ll listen.” Eagerly or possibly with trepidation, she really couldn’t say at this point. “Until then,” she raised their linked hands to her lips, placed a light kiss against Aspel’s knuckles, “this is more than enough. More than… expected, really.” But they would both find their way eventually, wouldn’t they? After all, it seemed they had the time. |