A note for 'Blaze' Whiteclaw

[Blaze]

((I was waiting for you! ;D))

[valrae]

((Yeah. I wasn't going to move the story anywhere till you either posted or bowed out. Figured since all Blaze and Rook really were doing was talking, it wouldn't hurt any so long as they didn't go anywhere. In the future though, if you happen to know in advance that you'll be unable to post for more than a day or so, please let us know so we can accommodate you better.))

[Blaze]

Blaze watched him go about his business. Her gaze alternated between him and the fire so it didn't appear like she was openly staring at him. She saw his mount return wand watched the care in which he showed brushing her down while he hummed. It sounded like the same tune he hummed on the boat in Menethil. When he was done brushing Arineva down she jerked her eyes back to the fire. She listened as he got his bed ready, he wasn't talking to her. She must have done well in pushing him back away. Good.

"Daybreak."

She looked over to him in time to stare at his back. She saw a couple light welt like claw marks there from earlier and growled softly in her throat reaching her hand up to trail her fingertips along her neck.

Sighing softly she looked about for Mushal. She thought she saw the hint of an orange tail gliding through the shadows but couldn't be sure. He was out there somewhere, watching over her like he always had done.

That Draenei was out there too. Only a short time had passed since they left him on the bank to mull through his own thoughts. She looked to the fish again that was left over and frowned. If it was left too long unattended a bear might sniff it out. Despite the fire bears were getting quite bold. She decided if a bear did wander too close Mushal would alert her in time, so she left the fish on the stick for the Draenei to find.

Daybreak. It would come fast, yet her eyelids didn't feel very heavy. Things on her mind far outweighed any possibility of sleep. Damn him. His scent was locked in her head. She thumped the heel of her hand to her forehead with a grimace on her face.

Looking around again she noted the salve he had mixed up for his neck sitting near by. He hadn't applied it. That was foolish of him! Getting up she picked up the salve and took a step toward him then lingered there blinking. Sneaky rogue. Probably left it there on purpose for her to see. Growling she stomped over to him, and fell to her knees. Unceremoniously she grabbed his shoulder to turn him onto his back.

[Guest Amboro]

The soft sound of dirt under hoof coming up the path from the lake announced the coming of the Draenei as he rounded the top of the dune seeing Rook still asleep and Blaze grabbing his shoulders to turn him over over. Amboro said nothing as he watched the pair silently. The Draenei already knew he was too close to the Huntress for the tiger's liking any would probably be on him soon. And of course he had come up in a clean linen shirt and fresh leather pants to showed he meant no harm.

Large hands crossed behind his broad back as she seemed to not have heard him or chose not to register that he had even showed himself. Looking down to th small fire he saw a fish roasting. Was it suppose to be for him? Taking a seat slowly he reached out for it then stopped seeing if any would protest. With no words from the others he took it up and started to chew at the fish's under belly slowly so it would not seem as he was anxious for the food.

Food in mouth Amboro looked to Blaze's leg and sighed softly. "IF it is any easier I can still heal your wound so you can stop limping." He said softly so as not to wake the Rogue.

[valrae]

He'd closed his eyes, but sleep hadn't come... So he'd listened, and waited patiently for the dark mists to roll in on him. He heard Blaze moving by the fire, Arineva as she purred in her sleep, chasing something in a dream. from time to time he even thought he caught traces of Mushal, stalking like a ghost in the bushes.

But sleep hadn't come. His body was tired, but his mind would not stop running circles. And every time he tried to bend it to some useful task, planning for tomorrow, it would slip away and make it's way back to the object of it's aimless spiraling. Which was over there by the fire. He couldn't see her, but he could hear her.

It wasn't that he'd never been rejected before, he had, and he didn't mind, tastes ran differently for everyone. And it wasn't that he'd never been used before, he had, and he didn't mind, he understood need. ...So what was it?

An eye slid open as he heard her stand and her footsteps draw near. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he let her turn him on his back, looking up into her eyes. A half dozen snarky comments rose to his lips. But as he looked up into her face they stilled there, any impulse he'd had to hurt or annoy her vanishing. Absurdly, her closeness made him feel better.

"Hello," he said softly, smiling up at her.

A smidge of movement caught his eye and he turned his head to see the Draenei approach. He looked at Blaze and flicked his eyes in the direction of the visitor, but for the moment made no other move.

[Blaze]

Mushal did see and hear the Draenei coming, and uttered a low growl upon his approach which made Blaze look up. When she saw him, it was expected, and she nodded to the fire. With a short word to Mushal he stopped his growling and went back to wherever it was he had been. She heard the Draenei's words but decided to focus on Rook first.

"Hello." he said with that same smile that had eaten away at her earlier. Her eyes lingered on his lips a moment longer then they should have. She snorted and held up the salve wiggling it in fingers then nodded to his neck.

Moving the hand from his shoulder she used it to put some of the salve on her fingers to gently apply to his wounds, trying to avoid looking into his face.

[valrae]

"Ah." He murmured when he saw the salve. His mouth curled down slightly. When had he gotten this distracted and careless? He tilted his neck a little back to let her apply it, feeling a little uncomfortable to be in such an unguarded position with the Paladin nearby. Logic dictated the Draenei knew he couldn't hurt him, but the Draenei didn't seem to be entirely operating from inside his head, either. The one thing that kept him from sitting up was that he had appeared unarmed and unarmored.

The feel of Blaze's hands on his neck was soothing, combined with the slightly cool tingle of the medicine. He wished he could close his eyes and relax and enjoy the feel of her hands on him, but obviously that wouldn't be happening.

[Blaze]

Blaze glanced over her shoulder again at the Draenei, then back to Rook, taking care to apply the salve on his wounds. Even when she finished she continued to touch him. She could tell he was not relaxed. Probably because of the nearness of Amboro.

Over her shoulder she called, "Share fire," then turned back to Rook, her fingers now trailing over any of his exposed tattoos.

[Guest Amboro]

Silently Amboro backed away from the fire to make room for the other two Elves. All that was left of his fish was the skeletal remains of what had been a fish. Removing the skewer from the fish head he tossed both into the fire and watched Blaze's back. At least this was an improvement from their usual run in's. There was no yelling, no threats, no raised voices. Sighing softly to himself he stared down at his lap , she still had said nothing about having him heal her leg.

Not having Mushal right on top of him either watching was a nice surprise though he was correct in know that he was near by, something he needed to remember. Wiping what remains of the fish on the back of his pants he turned his gaze back to the heart of the fire.

[valrae]

Rook stayed on his back and watched the Paladin through the corner of an eye. He felt himself relax just a little in spite of himself, as Blaze traced the sinuous black lines of his tattoos from wrist to shoulder. In spite of everything the pleasant look stayed on his face. A shame this had to all be happening now, at once. Or he could have enjoyed it more.

As the silence stretched on he felt the urge to do or say something, just to foment some sort of action, somewhere.

Still, it seemed that she had some sort of plan, and he was content to stay where he was and wait until it played out.

[Blaze]

It was surprising the rogue hadn't spoken yet. She was impressed, and a little worried. Maybe he had fudged up the salve and it ate away at his vocal chords making him unable to speak. Her hand froze and she peered into his eyes anxiously. Was he okay? He didn't look upset in anyway and she did feel him relaxing. Her hand started moving again. Perhaps things were okay.

Blaze looked back over at Amboro. "My leg is almost perfect again. No need for magic," she cupped Rook's cheek a moment then straddled him as if he were a horse continuing to speak to the Draenei, "You share the fire. Make a move to hurt, Mushal let me know," she rode her hips against Rook's then leaned forward matching their bodies up and rubbed her nose to his, first one side, then the other allowing their breath to mingle again before she pulled back slightly and nodded to Amboro, "Daybreak we move out."

She glanced back to Rook and slide off to his side draping her arm and leg over him getting comfortable. She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

[valrae]

Rook blinked as she slid on top of him. This was... Odd. Enjoyable but odd. Again, it rankled a little to lie still and just be a part of whatever Blaze's plan was, but he felt he owed it to her, somehow, to let her see it through.

The thought that occupied him was whether this sudden closeness was genuine or just a part of whatever she was doing at the moment.

His mind stumbled in a circle over it until she shifted atop him, and he had to concentrate briefly to prevent his body from reacting in the way it definitely wanted to.

When their noses touched he couldn't help from closing his eyes and gently brushing back, making a soft noise deep in his throat. Whether or not it was genuine it was so, so sweet.

He lay still, bemused, as she rolled off and got comfortable next to him. This was lovely but he still felt terribly vulnerable laying on his back near the specific individual who had tried to choke the life out of him not so long ago, tiger lurking in the shadows or no.

As he watched the Paladin out of the corner of his eye, he gradually realized that he wouldn't be sleeping tonight. He used his small, quiet sigh as an excuse to snuggle slightly closer to the huntress next to him, a grin spreading briefly over his face.

Ah well.

Could be a lot worse.

[Guest Amboro]

It took all of the Draenei's will power not to let his face split into an open snarl at the two. The only thing that kept him from getting back up and stomping Rook's face in with on of his hoofs was Blaze sitting right on top of the Rogue. His breaths became more visible as he restrained himself. The two of them was making it harder and harder for him to keep his vows made to the Naaru long ago.

White knuckled fists grasped the bit of dirt and grass beneath him. Turning his steady gaze from the pair of Elves he tried staring into the fire chanting his vows over in his head.

[Blaze]

Blaze grinned inwardly and yawned curling her arm further over the rogues chest, then grinding her pelvis more into his hip as she readjusted her leg over his. She would have a fitful sleep so long as the paladin didn't do anything stupid.

She wondered what Rook was thinking right now. No, she knew, the noise in his throat had been indication. It took all she had not to respond to the noise with her own. For not being a druid the rogue was awfully good with signals.

Peeking over the expanse of Rook's chest she peeked at the Draenei. From the look of his body language his small mind caught a bit of her signals as well.

Nuzzling more against his shoulder she nipped at the flesh once before uttering a deep relaxed sigh. Sleep found her moments later. The last of her thoughts was how potentially interesting the night was going to be with those two shooting daggers at each other and then all day tomorrow.

[valrae]

Yes, sleep was definitely going to be out of the question, judging by the look on the Paladin's face. He wondered idly if she was doing this to spite them both, to exploit the Draenei's painfully obvious jealousy, and his own discomfort with having him so near. If that was the case then kudos to her, fine job.

His mouth twisted with annoyance.

He noticed with a trace of amusement that she appeared to be asleep already. He smiled at the sound of her steady breathing. She was quite a creature. Warm, too.

...

Ah, good old fashioned ambivalence. He chuckled inwardly, not at all a stranger to the feeling.

He shifted again slightly to get more comfortable. It was going to be a long night.

[valrae]

(( Well... Hmmn. Waiting on Amb at the moment.. I suppose if we don't hear from him sometime soon-ish, let's just continue on, and he can try to rejoin us later if his posting schedule settles down. Blaze if you want you can skip to tomorrow morning, otherwise I'll get to it sometime later. Also check your mail, pretty please.))

[Guest Amboro]

((I will have a post later today, bu this weekend is going to be rather bumpy trying to post wise but as a heads up now I am going to try and be on as much as possible but I'm not sure how much that will be exactly))

[valrae]

Rook was up well before dawn, gently and reluctantly extricating himself from Blaze's warmth and embrace and padding around the camp. He hadn't slept during the night, and the first order of business was to fix something that would keep him awake through the next day. He sparked a new fire on the dead ashes of the old and quickly set about making the mixture, a heavily diluted thistle tea that he could sip throughout the day to keep him alert.

With this steaming in a vial over the small fire, he brought out his collection of mixed potions and checked them one by one, looking for spoilage. He held each up to the light to check the color, and certain ones he uncorked briefly to ensure they had the proper smell. Only one had gone off, due to a cracked seal around the cork. The damage had probably been caused during yesterday's long ride. With an annoyed snort he drained the spoiled mixture onto the ground.

When the vial of tea was heated properly over the fire he removed it to make way for breakfast, long thin stips of salted boar bacon which crackled as he set them atop a large flat stone in the center of the fire, using a small stick to turn and flip them every so often.

While the bacon was cooking he saw to his leather armor, brushing off the last remnants of beach sand (triggering a memory which made him smile) and sliding on each piece in between making sure the meat was cooking properly.

When that was completed he woke Arineva and saddled her, affixing his travel packs once again as the big cat fidgeted, rested and anxious to be off. By then the boar bacon had turned crispy, and he moved the strips off the cooking rock to one further from the center of the fire where they would stay warm without burning.

...And with that there was nothing more to do but wait for Blaze.

[Blaze]

Mushal had ended up going to sleep at their feet, one large paw draped over Blaze's ankle. When the rogue stirred a low growl rumbled in his throat but that was all. The tiger didn't even move or bother to open his eyes. That is until Rook was fully moved away, at which time Mushal inched his way up beside place in his spot and laid against her. Such a thing would have woken Blaze up if not for the fact she had awoken at the first moment Rook had begun to pull away, but she pretended she was still sleeping.

So she watched Rook go about his business through slitted eyes and tiger fur. She draped an arm and leg over the tiger to which he flattened out even more and began to purr.

Her ears twitched when he placed the bacon on the fire and her stomach growled. Continuing to watch him she saw the smile as he tended to his armor, deciding he must be happy to be putting it back on. She closed her eyes, and could still hear his heart beat. Blaze wondered if he had slept at all, it was hard to tell due to the light.

When he sat back down to tend to the bacon she stared at his broad back and wanted to reach out and run her nails down it like a cat with a scratching post. She chuckled and rolled onto her back amused by her thoughts. Silly silly silly. Yawning she sniffed the air then rolled back over to peer over Mushal who was separating the two elves.

"Smells good."

[valrae]

He glanced back to her and smiled, just a bit tiredly. "Good morning. And thank you." He pulled the warming rock out of the fire entirely and scooted it closer to her, grabbing a strip and clamping it in his teeth.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked as he chewed on one end. "I'm afraid I don't make a very good mattress, but I did my best."

He chased the bite of bacon with a swig of tea, and winced. The two tastes were something less than complimentary. Still, it would help...

He looked to the east, where the sun was not yet risen though it was painting the sky above the mountains. "I'm set to be off whenever you're ready. No rush quite yet, though, so enjoy yourself."