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+---- Thread: My best enemy (/showthread.php?tid=11562)
RE: My best enemy - Maea - 07-16-2025
Her little return grin was decidedly smug, glad he was catching on so quickly. [say]"I'm full of good ideas,"[/say] she admitted breezily, responding to the kiss with two, for good measure.
And in her defense, Maea really did try to get up. Sliding reluctantly off Liam's lap, she tried to get her legs beneath her so she could stand, and was more than a little shocked when they gave out on her. She laughed, a bit embarrassed, and tried again - aaand nothing. Limp as a noodle, she was, and a pair of quietly accusatory eyes turned on the soldier. [say]"Help me up,"[/say] she demanded, voice suppressing a bubbling mirth while sounding awfully like 'take responsibility' and 'look what you're doing to me'.
RE: My best enemy - Liam - 07-16-2025
[say]”I’ll be sure to remember that,”[/say] Liam said with a wink. And then Maea was trying - and failing - to rise from his lap, and the soldier couldn’t help but chuckle, even as she turned playfully accusing eyes on him. Moving her gently to the side - she was so light - he shifted her off his lap before pushing himself to his feet with a groan. They must have been on the forest floor for a while, for his legs to feel so stiff in the aftermath.
Reaching a hand down to Maea, he waited for her to take it before pulling her up with him, moving his hands to her waist, just in case she needed a moment to steady herself. There was a sound in the glen beyond the bushes, and Liam looked over just in time to see a buck bounding away through the trees. Laughing ruefully, the soldier shook his head at their luck. Ah well, another time, perhaps.
RE: My best enemy - Maea - 07-16-2025
She might need more than a moment, actually. A lifetime... really might not be enough to steady the tremble in her knees, and she took full advantage of the support he offered until she was sure she could support her own weight. Her whole body felt off, hot and heavy in unexpected ways; if this was how he would affect her every day, things might get a bit dicey before she got used to it.
The rustle off by the glen drew her gaze, leaving her with the afterimage of a buck dashing off among the trees. [say]"Good fortunes"[/say] she murmured after it rueful if amused that their distraction with one another had saved a life today. [say]"Which way to the water?"[/say] It murmured softly in the background, beckoning with promises of cool relief and silvery beauty to stave off a heat that was turning muggy and sticky with the passing of time.
RE: My best enemy - Liam - 07-16-2025
Liam waited until Maea was steady on her feet before releasing her, bending to pick up the crossbow he’d left lying on the ground. Quickly disarming it, he tucked the arrow back in the quiver, then slung both that and the crossbow strap over his shoulder before taking Maea’s hand in his. [say]”This way, I think,”[/say] he said, leading the way west.
Thankfully, the forest seemed inclined to smile on the couple today, because it seemed like it took no time at all before they arrived at a burbling section of the river. A few rocks out in the middle created small rapids, tiny waterfalls that made the most wonderful background noise. The trees, leaves in brilliant shades of emerald, hung over the water’s edge, keeping them in the shade. A gentle breeze blew in off the water, fluttering over the two humans and providing a refreshing burst of coolness.
It was a beautiful setting. Liam sat down the crossbow and quiver beneath a tree, then unbuckled his sword from his belt and lay that down beside them. Then he was tugging off his boots and socks, rolling up his pants, and wading into the shallows, turning to Maea with a crooked grin when he was ankle deep.
RE: My best enemy - Maea - 07-16-2025
Thoroughly charmed by the scene they came upon as the forest opened up, Maea lingered a while longer just to soak it in. Slowly undoing the laces of her boots, her eyes roamed the glittering waterfall as it spilled down the rocky ledges, sometimes frothing and other times bending across the rock like a translucent sheet of glass. Water had always spellbound her, long before she ever learned to work it with magic, and in moments like these the longing for that ability came back with a pang of bittersweet regret.
Liam made his way down to the water's edge before her. Watching the supple shift of his back beneath the shirt proved an excellent distraction, one she could watch for days without ever growing tired of. His smile as he turned to look at her made her swallow thickly; gods, he was beautiful. How had she ever been able to forget a face like that?
Fumbling with the other boot, suddenly she couldn't move fast enough. Tugging it off while dancing on one foot, Maea hiked up her trousers to the knee with some effort even as she hurried down to join him; breath catching as she splashed into the water, and clasped her arms around his back.
[say]"This is much better,"[/say] she said, muffled against his spine. Whether she meant the water or the hug was anyone's guess.
RE: My best enemy - Liam - 07-16-2025
There was a moment where Liam was standing in the shallows, looking back at Maea with a smile on his face, where he felt his heart was full to bursting and that he could not die happy. Not, of course, that he wished for that any time soon; but gods if Maea hadn’t been exactly what he never knew he needed. Now that they were together, Liam felt… complete, in a way that he’d never expected to feel again.
The soldier chuckled as Maea hurried towards the water, awestruck by the way the sun gleamed along her hair and highlighted her skin. When she reached him, wrapping her arms around him and murmuring into his spine, Liam tilted his head back, turning his face into the sun, and smiled. [say]”I’d have to agree.”[/say]
Twisting in her grip until he could lean to kiss the top of her head, Liam wrapped his arms around her. [say]”Have I told you lately how glad I am you decided against moving to Torchline?”[/say] he asked. That he could have lost her to time apart and distance between chafed, and he was relieved that such a thing had never come to pass.
RE: My best enemy - Maea - 07-16-2025
[say]"I don't think so,"[/say] she replied, more than happy to feel him wrap his arms around her. She fit so very perfectly right here, and marvelled over how they'd never done it before. Hugged, or kissed, or gone on long adventures in the other's gaze. How might their relationship have developed if they'd kept in contact from the first time they met? Or indeed if she'd gone through with her plans to start over in Torchline?
[say]"I might have to find a way to thank Flora,"[/say] she said. [say]"If not for her, I may never have stayed here long enough to appreciate the Greatwood. Or you."[/say] Although, that last one she couldn't say for certain. If her response to his stares that one time had been so strong, perhaps they would have found other ways to meet. Not as immediate or easily as they had while searching for roses, but...
[say]"I'm grateful too. Thank you for asking, back then. It actually meant a great deal to me."[/say]
Shifting her weight slightly, her toes dug into the gravel of the bottom, soothed by the flowing water. Glancing down when something brushed against her ankle, she smiled; vibrant scales gleamed subtly as goldfish schooled around their legs, drawn to the sshahdow they cast over the surface.
RE: My best enemy - Liam - 07-16-2025
Liam hummed, the sound a soft reproach for himself. [say]"Well, I should have. Having you here... it meant the world to me, even before."[/say] Before he'd allowed himself to feel things that he had never planned to feel again. Before he'd allowed Maea into his heart and soul, forging a bond that he couldn't imagine ever having denied. And now that she was here, now that she was his? It was like the Greatwood itself was brighter and more vibrant for having her walking amongst its trees.
Mention of Flora pulled a dry chuckle from Liam's chest; would Maea still want to thank her if she knew that Flora had kissed him that time? That had he not denied the queen her wishes, she might have done more? Was that the kind of thing he should mention, now that he and Maea were a couple? Or did it matter, since it was in the past - and hadn't been something he'd wanted to pursue, even then? [say]"We'll send her a fruit basket,"[/say] he suggested.
Something flickered against his ankle and he looked down with Maea; goldfish had gathered in the shade they cast, flitting to and fro and drawing a smile from Liam. [say]"I think we're stuck here, now,"[/say] he commented of the fish. [say]"They seem to have made us their new home."[/say]
RE: My best enemy - Maea - 07-16-2025
Something in his tone drew her attention. The dry laugh, the almost sarcastic suggestion - was she imagining it? She wanted to ask, but before she could formulate a question he was distracted by the fish, and Maea didn't know how to bring it up. She probably was reading too much into things, as it was a bad habit of hers.
Laughing and letting the matter go, she looked around and nodded at a nearby rock that jutted into the river. [say]"Maybe if we shuffle over there, we'll be able to sit down at least."[/say] Though she was in no hurry to go anywhere. The sun was warm against her skin, and the steady rise and fall of Liam's chest was soothing. Despite her heightened awareness of her own body, and of his whenever he moved, the burn was reducing into a mellow moldering, like embers a moment before they burned out. A fire like that could survive for weeks and months, ready to flare up at the slightest gust of wind; at the smallest bit of encouragement and attention. A rather pleasant notion, to be sure - that some day, at a time and place of their choosing, they would let it loose and see where it took them.
RE: My best enemy - Liam - 07-16-2025
Liam hummed his agreement, but made no move to shuffle anywhere. They'd sat for so long near the glen that standing was almost a relief. Eventually, perhaps, when they tired of standing here aimlessly, they could meander their way towards shore - but for now, it was perfectly lovely to stay in the shallows with goldfish tickling their feet. Speaking of, Liam tilted his head, his eyes dancing with mischief. [say]"Are you ticklish?"[/say] he asked suddenly, seemingly out of the blue - but with one particularly fat goldfish nibbling at his toes and making him shift in place, it seemed like as good a time as any to ask.
His thoughts, though, circled back to the encounter he'd had with Flora. It felt somehow wrong not to say something. If they ever ran into the queen - or, worse, if Maea ran into her alone - and Flora said anything, wouldn't it look like Liam was trying to hide it? Even if it had happened before he and Maea were together... He took the uneasiness in his chest as a sign to speak. [say]"I... feel like I should tell you about something that happened with Flora."[/say]
RE: My best enemy - Maea - 07-16-2025
If he wasn't moving, she wouldn't either. Like frozen in the middle of a slow dance, they remained entangled by the river's edge, guarded by curious fish. When his question dropped it came so out of the blue that Maea's squinted to catch her his gaze came off somewhat suspicious, as though that innocence was a front for planned mischief. [say]"Maybe,"[/say] she replied vaguely, reluctant to arm him with that kind of information. [say]"Depends... if you mean the fish, then no."[/say] Perhaps there were other places not quite as alright, but she wasn't going to admit that.
Any teasing died down however, when Flora's name returned into the conversation. Growing quite still under his arms, Maea spread her hands to lay flat against his back; steeling herself against an uneasy weight she didn't have a name for. [say]"Yes?"[/say] Her voice sounded calm, which she was thankful for. And nothing could possibly have happened between last night and this very instance, so whatever it was, it should be fine. She was fine, they were fine. [say]"I'm listening."[/say]
RE: My best enemy - Liam - 07-16-2025
Maybe she was ticklish. Alright, then. Challenge accepted. Or... would be accepted, on another day. It was just one more thing on the list of details to learn about one another, one more thing that Liam was eager to find out for himself.
But then he just had to go and try to be honorably by disclosing something that probably didn't need to be disclosed. He regretted bringing it up as soon as the words were out of his mouth, but here they were. There was nothing for it now but to share. [say]"She kissed me,"[/say] he said flatly. [say]"A couple weeks before the pool party."[/say] Long enough ago that Liam and Maea had certainly not been together, but near enough that it was uncomfortable to remember. [say]"I told her no."[/say] And then she'd asked if it was because of Maea - and he hadn't known how to answer her. Indeed, it might have been that very moment that had sent him down the path into the Ancient's arms.
Maybe they really should send Flora a fruit basket.
RE: My best enemy - Maea - 07-16-2025
The stillness spread further as his words sank in. Maea didn't stiffen, exactly, but it was a preternatural kind of quiet about her, like she breathed only out of habit and suddenly stopped. A breeze toyed with the long strands of silken hair, setting a few at odd angles from the ponytail. A few strays caught on her lip, but she didn't seem to notice; her gaze was distant, watching some far off scenery with a desperately neutral expression. Wanting to be fair, and reasonable, even though lacked the context to grant any clemency.
[say]"How did it happen?"[/say] Again, she sounded very calm. Maea was proud of that. No hysterics here; he'd said no. That was good. It helped. But. Not enough to make her drop this, because the pool party was long after Flora had teased her about Liam and writing his name in her journal, which meant that she'd at least been vaguely aware of a connection between them. Didn't that mean...
But no. She shouldn't jump to conclusions. Not until she'd heard the full story.
RE: My best enemy - Liam - 07-16-2025
Maea was still - unnaturally so, in a way that made Liam think that this had been poor decision making on his part. Or maybe it was good - to go ahead and get it out in the open, so that there were no secrets lingering. Even if his heart stuttered in his chest for entirely the wrong reasons, terrified, suddenly, that by sharing this, he was losing Maea. And on only day one. That had to be some kind of record.
[say]”I was on the beach, and I saw her training. But she was punching wrong, so I stopped to correct her. We ended up sparring. I had her pinned, but then she kissed me. I stopped the spar, told her she won. She asked if it was because of you.”[/say] Liam paused. [say]”I didn’t know what to say. I cared about you, but I hadn’t admitted to myself that I wanted more than friendship. Anyway, she seemed upset, so I left.
“I saw her once more before the party. I apologized, in case I’d given her the wrong idea. She said she’d asked you if there was anything between us, and you’d said no, so she thought I was fair game. She said she’d been broken up with recently and was just looking to feel something.”[/say] He shifted nervously. [say]”There’s nothing between Flora and I. I just… I didn’t want there to be any secrets.”[/say]