[FIN] Elephant Overhead [Merik]

[Merik Dragmire]

"Enemies can become friends, and friends enemies almost instantaneously with just the right stimuli; if we hadn't slept together would you be comfortable with my hands this near your neck?" Merik asked as Nairore's hands took charge of his.

He would never have told her that he agreed about his 'skills' but he certainly didn't argue when she began listing tips. His hands weren't made for a task like this and he could never figure out the right amount of strength to use, unlike in cases of battle where he just KNEW how much force was needed for the desired result.

Soon enough she seemed tired of trying to improve his abilities and decided to show him through use on him. Unfortunately it was fairly wasted on him as he was accustomed to a slightly harder life. If his muscles were aching he typically ignored them, or occasionally drank himself to sleep.

"Sooooooooooo...do you want me to try again or would you rather that we just call this little experiment a failure?" he asked with a smirk after she had worked at his muscles for a little bit without much discernible effect that he could notice.

[Nairore]

x x

Despite her best efforts Nairore couldn't make much headway. It would take a day and a half to relax Merik's worn and weary muscles, it seemed. She doubted Lori would even have much effect, though she would never let her sister get that close to the man anyway. She may have been spoiled by his influence, but she wasn't about to let Lori go down the same path. Then again it would probably be difference since Lori was a hybrid by birth and actually fit into the society where she lived. Nairore had always envied her that, just a little.

She sighed when it was clear there was nothing happening and Merik's words just proved it. Alright, so much for her doing nice things like trying to give massages. She grunted a noncommittal response to Merik and then settled down in his spot, with his pack as her pillow, and folded her arms under her head for just a little extra support. Those multi-colored eyes fell to the heavens as they always seemed to do when they were camping outdoors and she examined the stars. Once she had found their consistency comforting, but now after everything that happened, it felt naive and ignorant.

"You know some people believe fate can be read in the stars?" she commented somewhat randomly. "I've never believed them. I've watched those stars all my life and they've never changed. So either we're in a boring, fate-less age, or they simply don't tell anything," she said with a dry, sardonic smirk. "What's your take on it?" She shifted and looked over at him. Despite the enchantment waning both of her eyes still caught the firelight with ease and sparkled quite brilliantly, albeit somewhat lazily. In her reclined position, stretched out across the blanket, she gave Merik perhaps the best possible view, her body almost inviting him to come down and join her.

Which it was. Her games might've gone awry but that hadn't ruined everything.

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[Merik Dragmire]

Merik continued staring into the fire, seemingly entranced by the dancing flames, after Nairore stopped her own attempt at a massage. He listened to what she was saying before he tore his gaze away from the fire and turned to find her lying down once more. He watched her for a few seconds before lying down and joining her in stargazing.

"I believe that it is possible that some people can read the future, both individual and in general, by the stars, tea leaves, palms, and so on." he did think it was possible, in fact if some of the journals he had read were true his own birth had been predicted over a century beforehand. "For the most part I think that the people who claim to have the ability are just faking. But among the mass of frauds there are probably a few with genuine talent for it..."

The King turned his head and his gaze drifted back to earth as he took in his companion again.

"Or I could be completely wrong and they're all liars who are just good at sounding truthful."

[Nairore]

x x

She stared up at the stars and considered his words. Naturally he had some belief in the divine, in being able to foresee the future. It seemed to be a requirement for a ruler to not commit entirely to one way or the other. By the sounds of it Merik was skeptical. His flippant listing of the various supposed means and the further admission of how he could be wrong told her he wasn't a vehement believer. She felt a smirk. Truthfully she wasn't. Having studied the stars quite often she couldn't see how they could predict something, nor did she see why they would. They were lights in the sky, and that was the end of it.

Then she felt his eyes return to her. She really didn't mind, which in and of itself was a very strange feeling. Her entire life she'd been in the eyes of the Knights. They'd gawked and stared and given her just about every sort of look imaginable. From the dirty to the perverse, she'd always been an object of some sort to them. Either something to satisfy their imagination or a tool of her father's. She'd always been a little self-conscious of this, knowing that these feelings stemmed from her blood mostly. Gerudo weren't people to them, or so drilled her father with her right there beside him.

Yet it was different for Merik. When his eyes were upon her she was a person. He was still sizing her up, but instead of objectifying her she was his kin. Despite her multi-colored eyes or her upbringing, he saw her as the Gerudo she was and that made it feel different, special. Enough anyway for her to justify her actions, the past few weeks with him and her change in disposition. Coming into Castle Town she didn't know what to expect, especially considering her changes. Her one golden eye and the red roots in her hair that seemed to be streaks of fire across her head. Zenethil would disprove entirely of both of them.

And yet she found she didn't care. Her head turned to meet Merik's gaze as he lay next to her, watching. She shifted her weight just enough that she could close the gap between then, though she was still on her back, their sides touching. With the gap closed she sealed it by moving her face close to his, pausing momentarily before kissing him. This time she didn't have any games in mind.

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[Merik Dragmire]

Merik didn't allow the kiss to last long knowing that there was a last important matter they needed to settle and they way they were going it was going to wind up pushed to the bottom of the very long 'to do' list. So reluctantly he pulled back and placed a finger to Nairore's lips.

"Have you figured out how you intend to face him?" There was no real need to elaborate on who 'he' was, it was obvious enough. "Once we're out of the forest, and especially once we're nearer to Castle Town, we'll be more likely to be noticed by Knights who may very well report back about you. I've got an object that can make you appear as you were if you wish to use it, but if that is your choice I'll need to make some arrangements of my own to ensure I can pass without issue as well."

Once he finished speaking he removed his finger and allowed her to speak once more.

[Nairore]

x x

Nairore pouted as he broke the kiss and put his finger to her lips. Then he spoke of some rather sensitive issues that had been bothering her and just like a mind reader he hit home with his point. She grunted with dismay that he had even brought the topic up. Her business in Castle Town was exactly that, her business. He didn't need to be involved, especially since the more it loomed on the horizon the more sticky it looked like it would be. When he withdrew his finger to let her speak, she sighed.

"You really need to work on your pillow talk," she murmured, giving him a humorless grin. There was an urge to seek her comfort in the stars once more as she touched on the issue, but she found that focusing on him, looking into his golden orbs was enough to keep her comfortable to. On the flip side he'd be looking into hers, one blue and one gold, and perhaps the biggest problem. She would never be able to lie about why that was to her father. He would know immediately upon seeing her that something was wrong.

"Keep your tricks," she said dismissively. "He's going to find out no matter what. It might give him time to prepare, if they even notice. Any Knight that recognizes me probably can't even remember the color of my eyes anyway," she said and laughed, again quite humorless. "If anything it'll be more important to hide you. The changes in myself are enough, I'd rather father didn't know the truth about my tutor just yet. A little bit at a time."

Then another thought occurred. "Although considering how overbearing my father can be . . . perhaps your efforts would be best set arranging a way out of the city under a lot of pressure. For the two of us. Things might get a little chaotic . . . not even the stars would be able to say what awaits in Castle Town," she said and shrugged, shifting her body closer to and pressing against his.

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[Merik Dragmire]

Merik slipped his arm around Nairore as she scooted closer to him again. Giving her a reassuring smile he leaned forward and placed a kiss to her forehead.

"I can arrange for a series of distractions in town to keep the guards occupied if we need to make a quick escape, lucky I've got a lot of friends in the market." He said as he began considering who best to call on in case of trouble.

He held her quietly while he planned, trying to work out all the possible outcomes and one possibility that kept coming up was that Nairore might not be able to escape if all the guards were alerted to keep her there...

"I won't intrude on your business with your father or your sister, but I'll be nearby just in case things go badly. You may not know me at the time but I'll be there if you need me."

[Nairore]

x x

This man had been the plague of the Hylian Knights for almost all of her life, yet he had constantly been able to avoid them. He'd given her father a headache on numerous occasions and even she had been frustrated trying to find him and end the 'menace' on a few of Zenethil's campaigns she'd gone on. Here she was now, wrapped around him so casually, so intimately, and watching as he planned her escape from a very similar situation. She looked up at him as he planned, looked into his eyes, and found herself wishing she could see those gears turning and get a taste of that brilliant mind.

Instead she settled for those lips, craning her neck up and placing another kiss against them. "There's still another three weeks at least before we get to Castle Town. More if we end up getting lost on our way out," she cooed, then threw her weight to the side, her entire body shifting so that, for the second time that evening, she was straddling his waist, a leg on either side of him. Her hands caught herself on his chest, her arms in such a position giving him a much nicer view of her chest. "Three weeks of just you and me and a lot of horseback riding," she said with a smirk.

"You know, this might be the secret to motivating the Knights to actually kill you," she joked, leaning in close and pressing her body against his once more. "If they saw that you had me like this they would all try twice as hard to kill you out of sheer envy," she said with a feline grin, leaning in and kissing him again. "No need to think too much about Castle Town anyway. I work much better on instinct." Apparently after just one night together he had unlocked a hidden side of her, buried away by years of pious teachings from her father.

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[Merik Dragmire]

Merik chuckled as Nairore rolled back on top of him and leaned forward once again, granting him a marvelous view on the way down.

"You'll need to watch out, no one has ever managed to break your stallion and you might find yourself in for a rough ride." he retorted, feeling more than a little ridiculous even as the words were leaving his mouth but he let it slide.

Once she made her little joke about the way to kill him he grinned wickedly up at her.

"All it took was a sacrifice from a very loyal knight to ensure that all the others were finally dedicated to their cause of wiping out the greatest evil of all." he said teasingly as she pressed against him once more. "Well your instincts have served you well so far, no reason to start questioning them now." he said as his lips moved to her neck and began to play along her flesh.

[ooc: we should probably fade out soon <_< ]

[Nairore]

(I'm just going to say this is a good spot~)

[FADE OUT]

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[Midna]

Rewards given. Thread locked and moved~