The adventurer had left in a hurry. As a result, it was just me and Finlo. The animals were there too of course, but that didn't change how much more aware I suddenly became of his presence.
“You should be proud princess, that kid is going to train twice as hard now that he needs to earn the respect of a beautiful girl.” His voice and tone changed, he even slowed down his normal speech, taking his time so he could watch my reaction as he teased me.
I looked away from him, turning to the war beast. “Finlo… If you're going to give me a compliment like that… Please don't joke around at the same time…”
“Uh…” he froze again. Maybe it was because I was still embarrassed, or because I just found out he was only a couple years older than me, but when he called me beautiful it made my face heat up. He probably saw it too because he looked away immediately, like he had seen something he wasn't supposed to. “Sorry… Siya.”
“It's fine ok…”
Seeing him in his armor after just winning a duel filled me with a certain sense of awe. He was wearing full armor, tight leather fashioned with metal plates. His hair was covered in sweat and I could see it coming off of him in the cold air like steam.
His short and spiky ice white hair looked soaked. Still, somehow he smelled like flowers, instead of gross and sweaty.
I took another step back as the silence only made my heart race. “Oh hey, that big beast you were riding, is its skin really made out of rocks?” I may have been a little awkward, but at the very least my brain still worked quickly.
He turned to it and his eyes lit up like stars. “It's far tougher than ordinary rock, so much so that it's actually considered easier to catch them alive and tame them than it is to hunt them. In the oldest rock horns there stones crystallize and become harder than diamond, they're amazing.”
I let out a breath of relief, ‘It worked.’ I was curious about it anyway. “Tougher than Diamonds? Is that really possible?”
“I know right, I've only ever seen one like that though, when they get to that size they become more valuable than dragons, so they are killed on sight. It's said that those crystals make the best wedding bands because they are indestructible.”
‘Maybe it didn't work…’ “Wedding bands?” I'm sure in reality it was just a meaningless fact to him, but to me the thought of marriage, or a relationship at all for that matter, made me feel flushed. Seeing as how I had no romantic experience whatsoever, even receiving a compliment from a boy made me feel shy.
His eyes narrowed and he stepped closer. I could feel the air grow warmer, and see sweat evaporating off of him in the cold. “Are you doing alright Siya?”
I could feel myself begin to sweat, as I chuckled nervously, taking a step back to stay at a comfortable distance. “Oh it's fine,” I said, turning away again. I knew why he was asking. I could feel my face only heating up more and more as he pushed the issue.
“You sure?” Suddenly I could feel his hands grabbing onto mine. “Your hands are sweating… But it's cold.”
I ripped them away, crossing my arms and looking him straight in the eyes. I was done retreating. It wasn't like he was going to actually do anything. Still… I couldn't help my body's natural reaction to him being so close. “It's probably just the poison.”
I knew it wasn't poison… But I was too embarrassed to tell him what was really happening.
“What!”
‘I may have spoken before thinking again…’ I got a bad feeling about just how badly he was going to overreact.
He grabbed my hands again and quickly pushed his forehead against mine to check my temperature. “Well you're not running a fever. You're actually a bit cold. Are you feeling alright? If you're not, I can carry you back.”
Instead of turning away, my eyes stayed locked on him and grew wider as I became stiff as a board. “No, that's alright. I think I'm fine. Besides, I'm always cold, so that's normal.”
“Hm…” He backed away. His face was telling me he wasn't convinced. “Well… We should still get someone to check up on you, you can at least get something warm to drink.” He grabbed my hand and tugged, dragging me away.
His hand was so warm and soft I almost didn't want to peel away. He wasn't holding on tightly though so the moment I hesitated he stopped and let go. “Finlo… I said I'm fine… I can take care of myself alright.”
He smirked, “We both know that's not true.”
I wasn't sure what made me more annoyed, the fact that he said it out loud, or the fact that in all likelihood it was actually true... “Oh whatever.”
He paused and thought for a moment, “seriously though, you could be in danger right. isn't poison bad for people as weak as you?”
I rolled my eyes. ‘It's supposed to be bad for everyone, you guys are just insanely tough.’ I couldn't say that out loud though or he would only get more worried. “Look, I'm fine now right, I just needed some fresh air.
I probably just turned a little red because of how much you kept embarrassing me.” After I finally said what I should have in the first place he seemed to relax. I could feel the tension between us evaporate as I expressed how I was really feeling. “You were just really close… And that made me feel shy ok.”
“Ok… So the poison?”
I let out a sigh. He didn't even acknowledge what I said, keeping a one track mind. ‘Well, whatever.’
The adventurer had left in a hurry. As a result, it was just me and Finlo. The animals were there too of course, but that didn't change how much more aware I suddenly became of his presence.
“You should be proud princess, that kid is going to train twice as hard now that he needs to earn the respect of a beautiful girl.” His voice and tone changed, he even slowed down his normal speech, taking his time so he could watch my reaction as he teased me.
I looked away from him, turning to the war beast. “Finlo… If you're going to give me a compliment like that… Please don't joke around at the same time…”
“Uh…” he froze again. Maybe it was because I was still embarrassed, or because I just found out he was only a couple years older than me, but when he called me beautiful it made my face heat up. He probably saw it too because he looked away immediately, like he had seen something he wasn't supposed to. “Sorry… Siya.”
“It's fine ok…”
Seeing him in his armor after just winning a duel filled me with a certain sense of awe. He was wearing full armor, tight leather fashioned with metal plates. His hair was covered in sweat and I could see it coming off of him in the cold air like steam.
His short and spiky ice white hair looked soaked. Still, somehow he smelled like flowers, instead of gross and sweaty.
I took another step back as the silence only made my heart race. “Oh hey, that big beast you were riding, is its skin really made out of rocks?” I may have been a little awkward, but at the very least my brain still worked quickly.
He turned to it and his eyes lit up like stars. “It's far tougher than ordinary rock, so much so that it's actually considered easier to catch them alive and tame them than it is to hunt them. In the oldest rock horns there stones crystallize and become harder than diamond, they're amazing.”
I let out a breath of relief, ‘It worked.’ I was curious about it anyway. “Tougher than Diamonds? Is that really possible?”
“I know right, I've only ever seen one like that though, when they get to that size they become more valuable than dragons, so they are killed on sight. It's said that those crystals make the best wedding bands because they are indestructible.”
‘Maybe it didn't work…’ “Wedding bands?” I'm sure in reality it was just a meaningless fact to him, but to me the thought of marriage, or a relationship at all for that matter, made me feel flushed. Seeing as how I had no romantic experience whatsoever, even receiving a compliment from a boy made me feel shy.
His eyes narrowed and he stepped closer. I could feel the air grow warmer, and see sweat evaporating off of him in the cold. “Are you doing alright Siya?”
I could feel myself begin to sweat, as I chuckled nervously, taking a step back to stay at a comfortable distance. “Oh it's fine,” I said, turning away again. I knew why he was asking. I could feel my face only heating up more and more as he pushed the issue.
“You sure?” Suddenly I could feel his hands grabbing onto mine. “Your hands are sweating… But it's cold.”
I ripped them away, crossing my arms and looking him straight in the eyes. I was done retreating. It wasn't like he was going to actually do anything. Still… I couldn't help my body's natural reaction to him being so close. “It's probably just the poison.”
I knew it wasn't poison… But I was too embarrassed to tell him what was really happening.
“What!”
‘I may have spoken before thinking again…’ I got a bad feeling about just how badly he was going to overreact.
He grabbed my hands again and quickly pushed his forehead against mine to check my temperature. “Well you're not running a fever. You're actually a bit cold. Are you feeling alright? If you're not, I can carry you back.”
Instead of turning away, my eyes stayed locked on him and grew wider as I became stiff as a board. “No, that's alright. I think I'm fine. Besides, I'm always cold, so that's normal.”
“Hm…” He backed away. His face was telling me he wasn't convinced. “Well… We should still get someone to check up on you, you can at least get something warm to drink.” He grabbed my hand and tugged, dragging me away.
His hand was so warm and soft I almost didn't want to peel away. He wasn't holding on tightly though so the moment I hesitated he stopped and let go. “Finlo… I said I'm fine… I can take care of myself alright.”
He smirked, “We both know that's not true.”
I wasn't sure what made me more annoyed, the fact that he said it out loud, or the fact that in all likelihood it was actually true... “Oh whatever.”
He paused and thought for a moment, “seriously though, you could be in danger right. isn't poison bad for people as weak as you?”
I rolled my eyes. ‘It's supposed to be bad for everyone, you guys are just insanely tough.’ I couldn't say that out loud though or he would only get more worried. “Look, I'm fine now right, I just needed some fresh air.
I probably just turned a little red because of how much you kept embarrassing me.” After I finally said what I should have in the first place he seemed to relax. I could feel the tension between us evaporate as I expressed how I was really feeling. “You were just really close… And that made me feel shy ok.”
“Ok… So the poison?”
I let out a sigh. He didn't even acknowledge what I said, keeping a one track mind. ‘Well, whatever.’
