Forever More (Private)

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

Cycle four of Melora, Spring, Era XIV


Three quick raps on her door.

Followed by another three, this time slightly louder.

It was ridiculously early in the morning for any god-given tourist to be stumbling about awake, but Erenthril wasn’t necessarily god-given (debatable), and he certainly wasn’t a tourist. Yet there he was, dressed simply in a dark blue cloak concealing a white silk vest and black pants, stylistic black leather boots, embroidered of course, peeking out from underneath. The worst thing about it was, the Inn had a terrible habit of becoming freezingly cold in the mornings. Eren could almost distinguish his breath every time he exhaled, and he kept rummaging with his hands in his pockets trying to warm them. Occasionally he brought them up to breathe a bit of hot air into them, loosening up the stiff digits of his, tapping his foot anxiously and praying someone – Nikki, blondie, lionoid or otherwise – would open up the door and get the ball rolling.

It was mentioned that it was uncommonly early in the morning. Correction: it was damn near still dark out. There was a peek of a few gleaming golden rays across the horizon, but given the festivities following the Regent’s arrival, the only people out and about in the small port city were the fisherman who’d missed the opening ceremonies and were docking in the harbor. The sky was still dark, though a light tint of blue was beginning to seep through and mesh with the grayish dawn hue, and from what Eren could discern the brightening would be pleasant enough. Quite pleasant, in fact, if he had anything to do with it. As much as he disliked playing weatherman and whatnot.

“For Phedos’ sake hurry up..” he mumbled, the thought occurring to him that whilst he’d told Nikki he’d be coming by early to pick her up, he hadn’t mentioned how early. Let alone that he’d be there before sunrise.

[Nikki L'Evienne]

In her dream she was flying over Prime. There were cabbits attacking and she was the one who was saving the Empress. Which was funny, because she was sure that there hadn't been an Empress for a while. But still, she was standing on a rooftop explaining to her trusty deputy, a cabbit who was in the rebellion like her, the Cabbit-Rebel Commando was telling her about some very important mission when there were three sharp knocks....

There was someone knocking on the door? She slowly opened her eyes and wondered at the fact that it was still so dark. But no matter how much she ignored the first three, there were then three others and Nikki felt her dream slip away from her, thereby relegating the Cabbit-Commander eternally to the realms of the unconscious.

"Hang on!" she called, her voice still thick with sleep as she stumbled to the door. Maybe Nellie had gone into labour, she considered. Maybe Milo wasn't well, or there was an issue.. whatever it was, Nikki stood up and stumbled towards the door, which she opened.

And Erenthril was presented with a picture. A vision. Nikki wore a pair of red silken pyjama's, bright crimson and figure hugging. Her chocolate brown hair was dishevelled and her eyes were drooping with sleep.

"Eren?!" she asked, looking at him with half-closed lids "Is.. what's the matter? Is... is everything alright? Come in." she said, opening the door a little wider as she smiled at the Roseman, the obligatory Roseman, who was standing in front of the door. She rubbed her eyes as she looked at him and crinkled her nose as she ran her hands to her hair, realising just how dishevelled it looked "Oh dear.. that isn't good. What's the matter Eren? Is everything alright? Is Milo ok? What about Nellie? Is the baby coming? What's the matter?" she asked, looking at him with eyes that showed her concern.

She suddenly was aware of the fact that she was wearing her pyjama's and nothing more and she flushed slightly, but her concern for those she cared for went deeper and so she waited to find out what was wrong.

Because there had to be something wrong since he was here in the middle of the darkening.

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

Eren was beginning to shiver as he cast a furtive embarrassed look at the Roseman to his right. What was taking so bloody long? Forgetting the fact he was an Elementalist – it wouldn’t have made good sense to alert the entire entourage of Milo and Nikki’s protection just how capable he was in his own defense – he bounced up and down lightly on his toes and rubbed his arms together close to his chest for warmth. When Nikki finally did open the door she was presented with a shivering Elf wrapped up tightly in his cloak with his arms tucked in and his eyes briefly fascinated with the distracting clouds of steam that seemed to rise up every time he exhaled out of his mouth.

“Ohmygoshthankyou,” he breathed out fluidly, the words flying off his lithe – yet freezing – tongue with a heavy elven lilt melody to his tone as he brushed briefly past her and stepped into the cozy room. The brief contact of feeling her body against his brought more warmth than the actual environment, granted, but he stepped past her anyways with a genuine smile, shaking off his hands and loosening his cloak a bit as he thought of the poor Roseman outside.

“Everything’s fine, I promise. It’s an hour before sunrise though, and you’d best be getting around. Good thing I woke you up…” he winced as he said it. That was certainly debatable, judging by a quick look to how comfy that bed was probably looking to her. No doubt she might as well slap him and crawl back into it. Well-trained eyes struggling to keep above her neckline as his gaze shifted to her, he couldn’t help but chuckle in light of the situation. How could he have forgotten to wake her up? No worries, though, of course, judging how the occasion was worth it, but then again… she certainly looked very cozy, and the bed certainly looked very cozy, and Eren was having trouble enough persuading himself that a walk on the beach would be the more entertaining out of the two options.

Phedos was he a sucker for snuggling.

Crossing his arms in front of him, he waited for a reaction to the proposal – certainly willing to put up with a bit of early morning grumpiness if it meant getting her out of this room, and the temptation of going back to sleep that came along with it.

[Nikki L'Evienne]

He looked cold, dancing there, and she smiled in groggy half-sleep at his bouncing on his toes. The room that he came into was warm, with the still-glowing embers of last darkenings fire keeping a level of heat in the room. The bed, of course, was there, blankets flung back and evidence that Nikki L'Evienne enjoyed snuggling up in bed. There were rich thick blankets that matched the room and one, should Eren pay attention, that most certainly did not fit in with the decoration of the room. This was an old off-white blanket that was patched in places.

When he said that everything was fine and she'd best be "getting around" Nikki looked at him incredulously. "An hour before sunrise?" she said, quietly, looking at him. "You.. woke me up an hour before sunrise? And there isn't an emergency?"

She looked for a moment as though she was going to be angry, irked or even grumpy and then laughter caught her and she too chuckled "Eren... it's a good job I like you. It's... this isn't even morning. Its the middle of the darkening. Where are you planning on going precisely? I was right in the middle of a really nice dream, I was saving the Empire from cabbits!" she said, looking at him with a perplexed and still-sleepy expression. She rubbed her eyes then and cast a longing look towards her bed. "Alright.... alright. So... where are we going? What are we doing? I don't think I've ever been outside in the middle of the darkening, what do you have planned Eren?"

And as he answered she stepped forwards and planted a chaste kiss on his cheek "Good morn to you, by the way" she said, with a smile. She wasn't sure whether kissing him at all was a good idea, or what he wanted. And if it was down to her then she was fairly sure that she would have kissed him on the lips. But this was .. unusual. Nikki felt a tingle of excitement at the thought of kissing Eren, but nervous too. And nervous wasn't her usual state of affairs. So she decided on a compromise and kissed his cheek. That was good, she reasoned, it was a kiss so he knew that she wanted to kiss him, but it was just his cheek... oh good lord.

Casting him a wry smile, Nikki listened to his answer and tried not to over complicate her life before sunrise. It was a good rule, she decided.

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

“No, there’s not any emergency,” he grinned as he caught sight of the blanket, something to tease her about later. Or question after should curiosity get the better of him again – and it was probably unwise to poke fun at a potentially serious matter to begin with. Blowing warm air into his hands as he shifted away from the doorway and towards the bed, his hand descended and trailed absently over the outer edge of the covers, listening to her speak as his eyes examined the roosting place of the Regent’s sister.

“A nice walk on the beach.. I thought,” he spoke in an offhand manner, eyes still bemusing themselves with the off-white oddly patched blanket, though he was sure not to touch it. People were touchy about things like that; he knew he was, and the last thing he wanted to do was cross boundaries.

Then again, that’s sort of what she did when she planted the small kiss on his cheek. Almost immediately his chin tilted to the side and he briefly returned a small peck of his own on her cheek before she could turn away. A soft smile graced his lips as he turned away from her and gave a pointed glance to the wardrobe closet and the bathroom. “Do you want me outside while you change?” there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes at the thought.

[Nikki L'Evienne]

"A nice walk on the beach sounds lovely, Eren, but surely it would be nicer if we... well, could see whilst walking on the beach?" she looked at him and a crooked grin moved her lips upward as she saw his eyes stray to her blanket. "It's my blanket" she said, rather primly "I've had it since I was young and I take it to bed with me. I know its a silliness, but I find it comforting... care to make comment?" she asked, arching one eyebrow with a smile.

The kiss on her cheek caused her a slight flush, however, and caused a pause as she wondered what to do or what to say. She looked at him and then returned quickly to sassy as he asked if she wanted him to wait outside "Well, what exactly did you have in mind?" she asked, one hand on hip, unaware of the mussed nature of her hair although she was very aware of the silken pyjama's as she spoke to him.

"I was thinking that you could warm your hands here while I step into the bathroom to change. Would you excuse me, please?"she asked and stepped towards her clothing. "Honestly, what should I wear? I have so little!" she exclaimed, chuckling at how not true that was. Selecting some things, she stepped into the bathroom, quickly reapperaring for a moment to say "Please, make yourself at home, however you want, if there's anything you'd like, please help yourself"

And then a few moments later, long enough for her to brush her hair and teeth, get dressed and so on, she stepped out. She was wearing a fire-orange dress, tiny straps holding it up. The top of it was all the fire-orange colour, to her waist, where the dress flared out slightly and the colour shifted from the fire-orange to deep crimson. A pair of strappy red sandals and a red bag completed the look, along with a dash of red on her lips.

She was holding a deep red wrap, enough to shield her from the early brightening cold and as she stepped out she said "Well, are we going to the beach straight away? I suppose it would be nice to watch sunrise, but that's still a few candlemarks away, isn't it?"

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

“You’ll see soon enough,” he grinned, chuckling and shaking his head at the notion of blankets and comments. “And… I think I’ll abstain. I’m not one for getting tangled up in blankets and comforts,” he failed to suppress the snicker that followed, but he shrugged it off anyways and returned with an arch of both his eyebrows in mock surprise, delighting in the simple pleasantries he found in Miss Nikki L’Evienne. She seemed to possess a rather humble streak for a person who spent countless brightening in the luxurious confines of the Imperial Palace.

Eren maintained a bemused silence at her question, though he did offer a quick nod of the head when she told him to make himself at home. Sitting on the edge of the bed, his hand trailed over the recesses of the crinkled covers while she changed, finding it both amusing and embarrassing that she was in the next room over getting undressed. He slowly stood and played with the brooch fastening his cloak, eyes roving about the room in cat-like grace before they spied a window and he quickly moved over towards it. Peering through the shutters, he blinked at the dark night sky that was paling above, the luminescence of the moon slowly fading in favor of a more radiant companion. They still had time.

When Nikki reappeared, Eren caught himself staring more at her dress than at her face and a flush of red dashed across his cheeks. “Just a candlemark away, actually, so we’d better hurry. There’s really only one decent spot to get the vista at the right angle, and I figured it might take us a while to reach it,” it, of course, being outside of the port and away from the inhibitions of civilization. In all reality it would have taken someone like Eren a good few minutes, but throw in the fact he wasn’t planning on using Arcana excessively while he was with Nikki and the troubling prospect of having a few bodyguards in tow, well, they’d be reaching their destination by foot.

“I took the liberty of packing some bread, cheese, and a few apples for brunch later, if that’ll sate your appetite?” he moved away from the window and toward the door with a wink, shouldering the knapsack that was concealed beneath the cloak, waiting to see if she was ready for a very early morning stroll.

[Nikki L'Evienne]

"I'll see soon enough?" she asked, a wicked glint in her eyes. "Well, it's a rare man that can intrigue me before the suns arise, so I'm pleased to tell you that you're already doing well" she grinned.

His face when she reappeared caused a slight flush to tinge her cheeks also. She smiled and nodded, however, happy enough to get moving with him. she asked, motioning to the worn blanket and turning her lopsided grin on him. "Well, hurrying is good. It might wake me up. If we're going to be sitting, should I take my snuggle?"She supressed a giggle at the thought of Sir Alaine carrying her blanket and raised her hand in surrender before he had chance to answer "I was joking" she smiled at him and walked behind him. At the suggestion of brunch though, and the question that followed, she chuckled a deep and throaty chuckle, supressing a much more lewd laugh, if truth be told.

"Well, I'm certainly looking forward to it. Whether it sated my appetite or not, I'll let you know after I've tasted it... shall we go?"

That said, flirting complete for the moment, anyhow, she waited and dutifully followed him from the room, bodyguards in tow.

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

“I happen to be a very intriguing individual, thank you very much,” he was all smiles for her. She didn’t know the half of it.

Departing from the room much as he’d entered it, aside from having Nikki in tow, Eren stepped out of the room and back into the freezing hallway. The dimly lit candles seemed to possess an almost groggy aura about him as he blinked the sleep from his eyes and stifled a yawn, nearly stumbling into one of the Rosemen stationed outside her door as he turned down the hall and started a ways. Almost forgetting she was part of the procession, he turned around and waited until the door to her room was locked and she was intent on following. Beyond that, it was a simple quick jog down the stairs and a push out the heavy oak doors until the quintet – Nikki’s lionoid and blondie included – were off into the early morn.

Chelseanna was a beautiful city at night. It really was. Equally so in the morning, when the glassy dew still hung off every upturned leaf, the gray tapestry up above stretching out before slumbering during the day. The doors and windows were all locked and barred, of course, but that did nothing to hamper the natural beauty and antiquity that seeped through every archway and illusionary façade. Slowly making his way towards the beach, Eren’s hand gently slipped into Nikki’s own, warming her fingers with that unnatural tempo of heat his own always seemed to possess. He cast a brief smile at her before returning his attention to the direction they were headed; the layout of the city was very easy to get lost in, after all, especially with the obsession some of its denizens had for tricks and illusions.

The sound of the waves was rather soothing, if anything else could be used to describe the rhythmic steady ebb of the tide that lapped at the graceful beaches. The black masses that glided across the gray sands seemed to come quite literally out of nowhere, the horizon tucked away from view, an unfathomable distance away. The moon’s fading light cast playful rays across the waters, dazzling and sparkling atop the eerie dark shallows.

“I’m glad you were game for this. The vista I want to take you to is a ways yet, and up a rather large hill – but I think you’ll be fine,” he gave her a playful poke in the shoulder, the thought occurring to him that she was wearing a rather nice dress. Oh well, he could always carry her if she preferred.

[Nikki L'Evienne]

"Now that I have no doubt of" she half-said, half muttered to herself. She grinned wickedly at Eren should he notice it and simply carried on walking. The darkness of mid-darkening was fading now, but as the suns started to whisper a promise of the brightening ahead Nikki felt a thrill of excitement.

"You know, we could be the only people in the world right now who are awake and seeing this" she whispered, her hand in his and her smile soft and content. Her fingers curled around, holding on to his and looking down at the two hands, intertwined. His hands were warm, she considered, thinking that that was a good thing. She held on and walked, looking around with an expression that was almost childlike. "I hope we are, really. I mean... I hope that there are a million other people to see it on a million other brightenings, but this one, this dawn should be ours... silly nonsense, I know." she shook her head, banishing such foolishness from her head. It must be the elf next to her, she thought and smiled fondly at him.

"I'm game for a lot of things, I'll have you know. I'm not quite the prissy queen that I appear" she said, a wicked tilt coming to her mouth as she smiled "I happen to be a very intriguing individual, thank you very much" she continued and poked her tongue out at him with a practically saintly expression as she copied his words.

"And I wouldn't be worrying about me, thank you. Just make sure you keep up, alright?" she quipped, walking and squeezing his hand gently. Would he kiss her she wondered, and then banished such foolishness from her head. Just enjoy what there was and take it from there, she knew that she had to do that, but he got full marks for romantic, it had to be said.

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

Eren could only grin back in cheerful repose as she mimicked his words, shaking his head at the quip and saintly expression that clung to her face with angelic grace. “Well, I’m not sure about that,” he retorted quite cheekily himself, rolling his eyes at the prissy queen comment in mock despair as he squeezed her hand gently and cast a half curious half bemused expression back at the guards. Should he care what they thought of him at this moment? No… probably not.

The pair continued to lead a trail of footsteps into the sand, skirting along the edges of the tide. A variety of things were left there, of course. Seaweed being chief among them, but also a few rocks. There was a slight crunch beneath their shoes, most likely seashells, but Eren wouldn’t make light of the subject. No… they could wait, to be sure, especially since they were losing time with each passing minute. A quick glance to the east, across the dark horizon of waves, confirmed his rising suspicions; it was nearly daylight, and the first rays of sunlight would be stretching out across the sky in just a little while.

“I must confess, you look gorgeous in that dress Nikki,” he spoke as the sand became choppier, a mixture of dirt now being added into the foundation that stood beneath them. No longer was the ground perfectly flat, no… instead it started to roll a bit, jumping every so often in vertical rises that required a little more effort than was probably expected. At every crest of each small mound, however, Eren was there to help her along, holding her hand, offering his arm, prepared to catch her should she fall.

“We’re almost there Nikki, none too far now,” he whispered quietly, pointing out with his arm at some hill far up ahead. It was much too tall, taller than all the others combined and then some, almost as steep as some of the buildings in Chelseanna seemed to be. It was grassy, that much could be surmised from the dark murky distance they stood, and a small copse of trees could be seen trailing down the opposite side of it, their tips swaying in the wind.

Whether or not they’d make it there… however…

[Nikki L'Evienne]

He looked back at her guards and she smiled slightly. It was strange having them there, she was quite quite sure. After all, she'd grown so used to them that she barely noticed them these brightenings, but that had been long in coming and wasn't true either, entirely. So she noticed his glance and simply squeezed his hand gently. They were there, yes, but she and Eren were here and that distinction was enough for the young L'Evienne.

She walked confidently along the sand, wondering at what was crunching underneath and imagining some of the stories that she would have come up with as a child. She would have stopped to explore, maybe, but Eren seemed to be intent on getting where they were going and as quickly as they could. She knew that there was something very specific that he wanted to show her and so she moved quickly.

And it was then, perhaps, that Erenthril Mael'tharias would get his first glance of Nikki L'Evienne being more than she appeared. Or perhaps he had already glimpsed that and that was why she found the Elf so attractive. She took his hand on each of the vertical rises, certainly not something that she had expected and she used the help he proferred. But she was agile. Not in the way of someone who had spent their life in a beautiful Palace, no Nikki L'Evienne had some kind of life before she was the Regents sister, and clambering lithely around was certainly part of it. She clambered happily, seeming to be quite in her element and grinning up at him as she held on to his hand and happily accepted his help.

"Good. I'm bloody exhausted" she whispered back at his reassurance that they were almost there, although she was not panting at all, nor did she seem particularly s