The sound of the birds singing in the trees filled the air along the beach, mingled quiet crackling of a camp fire and the sound of the waters of the pristine lake moving about. The mid afternoon sun was beating down on the beach, in a scene that seemed almost too perfect and serene to be real- a few wisps of cloud moving through the otherwise unhindered blue sky.

Marinar sighed contentedly as he eased into the sand by his campfire, pushing his dirty jacket off and kicking off his boots before lying back on the sand and closing his eyes simply soaking in the rays of the sun against him. He had managed to get here after a long journey down from the mountains- a long, but rather uneventful journey. He sat up once again, this time pulling himself to his feet and peeling his dirty black shirt off of himself, dropping it into the splashing waves and then proceeded to ring out the water, tossing it onto the sand by the fire. Washing the dirt off only to throw it in the sand seemed a little bit counter productive, but apparently it was not for Marinar.

He looked down at his shoulders, chest and abdomen- surveying the couple of new scars on himself, aside from the fair number of scars he had earned in his wanderings, some large, some small, he was a rather impressive physical specimen- as most nomads were, he assumed. Proceeding to unlace his bracers as he sank back into the sand, he watched the waters, setting the leather bracers down and removing his fingerless gloves. It was rather disconcerting for Marinar at these moments, where there was just something so perfect and only he was around to see it. He missed his family more than he was willing to admit, but unless he could travel beyond death there was no chance of them returning to him and that simply made him more and more disheartened.

Marinar shook his head, attempting to push thoughts and memories from his mind physically. The last thing he wanted now was to ruin the scenery by getting lost in his thoughts as he often found himself doing recently.

Freshness from the cold waters were relaxing to the ashen winged wonder of wind, not only that it could get as cold as the whispering winds, but water could also move as the invisible air could move in the sky. On her knees, with the cold water up to her chin, she hummed a tune that only her ears could hear. Gently her eyes were closed as the small strokes of water pushed and pulled her left the right. In below the waters, her tan hands were rubbing her knees in a circle motion as a small white shirt danced at the rims. Ploay didn’t trust nature not to have gazing eyes, so she never went to take a bath fully uncovered. She would always wear a whit skirt and a small shirt that had not sleeves. Goose bumps were along the middle of her back all the way up the back of her slender tan neck. Small splashes of fish made their way around her body, not to disturb what seemed to be relaxing. Nothing in the world could break the woman out of this trance of meditation until she had finally gotten her fill. Ploay only wished that she had Samarin to enjoy this with her as well.

Feeling like she had gotten cleaned enough, her body lifted from her knees, to her feet and she was standing. The sand from the wet ground got in between her toes as the warm sun already began to dry off her wet neck. Her black raven hair was tied up neatly in the back with only a few strands hanging down. It was a picture of up kept ness, but also a wild side to the hair style. Slowly she opened her eyes with her head bowed to the water just in time to see more fishes. This time they were swimming around her legs as they went there marry way. But along the cost there was someone who seemed to catch her attention as she was about to dry her wet dripping hair. Like eels the stream of lake water slivered its way down from the roots of her hair, all the way down to her slender shoulders. Her dry clothes where laying nearby him, more or less it looked like he didn’t even realize that her clothes were just a few yards away.

Gently she moved in the water taking one slowed step at a time, really as fast as she could go in the water. I shouldn’t have anything to fear, Ploay thought to herself as she moved closer to her pile of clothes. With her left arm she stretched it up to the sun and made a wave to the man, “Hello,” Ploay said softly as she reached the edge of the lake, still deep enough to stand in. Finally she stopped before she went closer and wondered just how long was he there, and why did he look so familiar.

It was a strange thing, that Marinar had cleaned himself up but still maintained his usual gritty ruggedness, whether it was the short stubble on his face, his musculature or his stature, or some other indefinable quality, he never lost the essence of the outdoor life that follower him seemingly where ever he went. His eyes were closed, the sun beating down and warming him from head to toe when a particularly familiar voice reached his ears. His eyes opened, unsheathing a deep green that seemed to contain all the greens of a forest in spring in a single circle. His eyes turned to the source of the voice- an angel… a very familiar looking angel at that.

”Hello.” Marinar replied, watching her carefully for a moment, studying her movements, her looks and her voice to any memory he had, despite how faint it may have been. He knew unless he could place who she was and where he knew her from, it was going to drive him mad. He glanced at his sword, sheathed with his belt dangling from it, the end pushed into the sand, making the hilt stand erect and aligned with the horizon. Somehow he knew that she had no qualms with him and upon noticing the other pile of clothes, aside from his own, he realized just what had brought her by him.

”Have we met before?” He asked, curiously cocking his head slightly in her direction. He seemed to have no issues at the moment about the fact that he was wearing essentially just enough to be mildly decent- apparently the barbarians of the mountains were not too interested in teaching etiquette about wearing clothing. Or in the least, Marinar was too content where he was sitting and quite fine with the way he looked. Considering how he was built that would be no surprise.

That’s when it clicked who she was, or at least, the event in which they had met. The day at Alunta Falls when he had nearly been shot by someone bow and arrow happy, then had been involved in a cave in following an earthquake. Which of the three women was this one though? His memories of them each were rather vague, one had stood out in his mind more than the other two, but he was not willing to go out on a limb and assume it was one or either of the two for fear that he would get it wrong. More than once Marinar had heard that ‘it is bad to look a fool to another person, but worse to look a fool to a beautiful woman’ and this woman certainly fell into that category.

The more she studied his dark deep green eyes, the more she wished she could remembered where she first saw them. A small shade of pink brushed over her tan cheeks, molding into a different color then before. Her heart seemed to be calm, but his beauty was tempting her heart to beat faster. Yet the thought of her beloved Earth Guardian was still in her mind, so her thoughts were more or less controlled. Something about him in her mind reminded her of water, no waterfalls. Looking up at the clear sky she squinted her brow together so she could think better with ease. She remembered there being an earthquake and two other ladies. And that there was a huge cave in, but other then that he mind was a blank. “I remember when I used my guardian powers to push everyone deeper in the cave, so we wouldn’t be buried alive.” Ploay said as she looked down at him, then quickly away with a blush when s he caught herself staring.

Eventually her violet dark eyes found their way to her neatly folded pile of clothing that was kept dry despite the cannon ball she did when she first go here. First she folded her clothes and took off strait up in the sky, and folded her wings and body and fell gracefully down in the water. She didn’t know how far she fell, nor did she care, all she knew was that it was fun to her.

With long strides she moved her slender tan legs though the water to her clothes at the bank. When she got in the shallow water, up to where the water only covered her feet, she realized her clothes were skin tight against her. Water dripped from her eyelashes, hair and other places on her body. With two hands she drooped them down to her hips, the turns her palms towards herself, and sent a long gust of wind. Everywhere that the wind blew on her she instantly got dry. But it was a cold price to pay. As soon as she stopped her whole body shook as goose bumps appeared.

Ploay wrapped her hands around herself as she grabbed her clothes and put each layer of clothing on. Then finally tying it all together with her famous brown sash. “I never got your name back then I don’t think, or at least I cannot remember it. Would you like to tell me?” Ploay said as she finished tying the knot and looked back up at him.

The bonuses of having a war and travel forged body seemed to be more than just the ability to be strong and intimidating. Marinar watched her brilliant violet eyes and studied her face for a few moments as the light blush flushed through her cheeks, fairly sure that he could put together just what she was looking at- and not many could blame her- after all he was an impressive physical specimen. He smiled slightly to himself when he noticed her blush and turn away and allowed himself an indirect glance over her form. A woman who looked like that likely had not stayed ‘on the market’ as it were, for long, he assumed, but his assumptions had been wrong before, of course. And it was not like that had stopped Marinar from making a pursuit before. A little competition had always been encouraged among the barbarians.

Marinar propped himself up onto his elbows and watched her over his shoulder, at least she remembered him vaguely. He pondered just how to answer the question, whether he should give him name or not. ”It’s Marinar.” He replied, eventually turning his eyes away from her and onto the lake after he had spent a relatively short but quite effective amount of time looking over her damp raven hair and wings. He pushed himself up and brushed the sand off his back, several long whip scars running down along his spine, other than that, his skin matching the deep tan tone of his skin in every other visible part of his body.

”And you are… Ploay… right?” He asked, cocking his head at her while laying back into the sand on his elbows- her show of wind power and the mention of blowing everyone into the cave being the thing that jogged his memory the best. He wondered how he had failed to remember her right away, or even worse, how he had managed to not give his name to her when they had been through something surprisingly climactic like that cave in. He resigned himself to stop questioning his memory and his intelligence, things had changed since then- he would just have to make up for his failing to act properly back then.

It was a small surprise that he remembered her name, and a small embarrassment was felt on her part for forgetting. How in the world she could forget a attractive man like that was unknown, even perhaps to the goddess of nature herself. But anything was possible. Even to forget someone like that. She nodded when he said her name and she moved slowly closer to him, then sat down next to him. With a small smile she looked into his eyes. “Did you come here to enjoy the peace and quiet?” She asked him as she raised her knees up, hugged them and rested her chin on top of her hands.

((eep attack of the shortness sorry!!)

Marinar smiled slightly and looked back to her out of the corner of his eye when she sat down by him. Seemed that his wish to have some company to share in the sights was being granted to him… that was a first, having a wish come true. He turned his eyes back out to the water and nodded slowly, surprised how calm he was despite the relative stranger sitting next to him.

”One of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen.” He replied, looking over to her. ”Which is saying something.” Marinar smirked subtly before looking over at his sandy black shirt lying on ground, still soaked through and through. ”And it’s just a good place to stop… rest… get cleaned up.”

This was the third or fourth time that Marinar had laid down and rested in this very stretch of beach. There was something about this spot that drew him in, day or night, rain or shine… this was the sort of place he could imagine stopping and living in… of course, considering he had no money, no job and no need to settle down, that was not exactly likely to happen any time soon.

"Is this your first time here?" He asked, his voice rather quiet, but still strong and rough as it always was.

(OOC: Ick, short one too.)

Casting her gaze across the massive lake she smiled to all the wondrous sights, sounds and smells. Strange yet pleasant smells pushed and shoved themselves tying to have the guardian smell them first. The result was lovely because she could smell the mixtures of trees, grass, and the smooth fresh water itself. Her ears picked up on the small slashing sound the waters made while beating against the soft sand. Even the wind currents seemed to be calmed down, an emotional response to the guardian’s relaxation. Whenever she was angry the winds would act as if there was a huge tornado coming down from the heavens. But that would happen very few times in her life, yet when it did no one could expect it until the wind started to pick up.

Today was going to be different than any other day because when she first woke up she just knew that. It was a beautiful day, at a beautiful place that had a beautiful guy next to her. Yet the lake was a place that she knew well from other adventures here. But in all those times she was alone, and didn’t have the chance to share it with someone. However with the stranger she hardly knew sitting next to her seemed to make everything more alive and magical. Which made her turn her attention away from the view to look at the handsome stranger again, “Once I have and it is more wonderful when you share it with someone.” Ploay smiled at him, and was tempted to lay down on the sand. But then her clothes would get sandy, and she would have to take another bath while washing out her sandy clothes. It was a while away from her shrine, an awful long time to go without getting her garments clean. Just sitting down would make a sandy bottom, but that was easy to fix, just brush the sand off.

She looked at the man and noticed that he didn’t seem to care anything about the sand. A wild spirt who wasn’t afraid to get a little dirty. Finally she thought to herself, I can always get cleaned up again. Slowly she fell on her elbows and gently laid down with holding herself up with her elbows. “Heh, it’s a nicer view from down here it would seem,” Ploay said to him as she looked up at the sky with a smile.

Feeling the sun warm him to the core was a feeling that Marinar never seemed to be able to get enough of. He loved the rain and snow but you could not lay out in the rain and snow and have your spirit lifted just from that, not to mention that it made traveling about a pain in the backside. There was some sort of ethereal, uplifting quality to being out in the sun, at least on Marinar’s part. A small smile tugged at his lips as he glanced back over at the wind guardian at her mention of it being better when having someone to share it with.

”I completely agree.” He said quietly, watching for a moment and his smile growing a tad when she lay down in a similar fashion to him. Apparently he was good company, at least that was how he took the gesture, and she was not planning on taking off as soon as possible like a fair number of people usually did around Marinar. The fact that he was being about as warm and friendly as was possible for him likely helped his case, but as far as he remembered, Ploay was one of the few people he had come across in his life that was quite easy to get along with from the start. Of course, his experiences around her had been limited and his memory was failing him so that likely helped to sugar coat his impression of her.

He chuckled a bit when she made her comment on the view from down there and glanced back at her, his statement seeming to have a double meaning- in his mind anyway. ”It does tend to be nicer from this point.” He said turning his eyes at the sky and letting himself ease back entirely onto the sand, having allowed himself enough time to look over her stunning features before interlocking his fingers behind his head and closing his eyes for a few moments, just letting the sun soak into him. While his eyes remained closed, visions of all that he had seen that day, things of amazing beauty, ran through his mind; all the different views of the lake and the forest, the angel next to him, the virtually clear sky and the brilliant array of sights from under the surface of the water. He most assuredly would return here some time in the future, it was too magnificent not to come back.

All types of weather was pleasurable for the guardian of wind no matter how hot or how cold it was outside. But if she spread out her massive black wings in snow they would become dirty, and she would shiver all the way in her travels. If it were to rain the weigh would pull her down to the soft muddy ground below. And of course she could easily twist the winds so they were never a bother to her in the crazy movements of wind.

She lightly smiled when he said he couldn’t agree more. It was something every girl liked to her now and then. It was much better then struggling all day long with disagreements.

In the corner of her eye she looked at Marinar, because he was very different then the other people she had known to come into contact with. He seemed to bare something every different that she couldn’t place her finger on it. To her he was attractive, but not just because of the outside, he had something inside. Maybe later that day she would know what it was about him that she liked.

The guardian gently chuckled when he looked at her. It too a moment to realize he meant it by two things, not just one. “Have you been doing okey? I haven’t seen you since the first day we met.” Ploay ended when she started to see light purple hues from the clouds as the huge sun began to cast its final rays across the lake. The different shadows from the trees and grasses made it look as if people were dancing along the lake. After looking back at the lake she looked back into his deep dark green eyes. She enjoyed this peaceful time with him, and wanted to get to know more about him.

There as a certain indefinable quality in the angel that made Marinar drawn to her, physically he was being polite and not moving closer to her- yet anyway- but the chances to look into her brilliant violet eyes he got, he gladly took. If nothing more she seemed to be fun to be around, made things less serious and dire, and more importantly, it took Marinar’s mind off his troubles. He kept his eyes on hers for a few moments as he began to answer her question.

”I have been… alright.” He said, turning his eyes to the sun as it set in a haze of swirling purples and oranges. He loved watching the sun set, it was the perhaps only constant thing in his life, at the end of the day, the sun disappeared and when the day began, the sun returned. A cool evening breeze began to come through, far from chilling for Marinar, who was still used to the mountain winds and driving snow that came many nights. ”Lonely, mostly… to be honest with you.” honesty was the best policy; Marinar was a fairly terrible liar, after all. Why he was willing to admit something like that, however, rather than just leave it as “alright” was beyond him.

”How about you?” Marinar asked, more out of genuine curiosity than just to be polite and his voice carried that fact with it. He turned his face towards her, adding to the evidence that he was truly interested in her answer, and cocked his head slightly, glancing around her at the painted sky behind her that seemed to be some sort of all too realistic looking painting. He pulled a hand out from behind his head and dragged his fingers through his hair, a few bits of sand scattering through his earthen brown locks of hair before bringing his hand to rest on his abdomen, his fingers absentmindedly beginning to trail over several old scars that were only visible up close.

Gently Ploay crossed her slender legs, right on over the left while she listened to him talk. There seemed to be a loner type of energy he gave off, but nothing reviled him to be lonely. Many a time she felt the cold lonely winds, and nothing or no one could really fill in the empty spot. But finally, after walking though the lands she finally found someone that she could settle with. Someone who would end her feeling of being alone all the time. But also someone who would give her space to spread out her wings and fly wherever she wanted to go. Looking into Marinar’s dark greed orbs she finally started to see the hints of loneliness. It was such a feeling that seemed so common to people. And the problem was that he still felt lonely, he hadn’t found anyone one he could really talk to. “If you ever need a friend I’m here,” Ploay said as she looked back to the horizon of the sun.

The hues of color were as if in a dance to show who would be the last to cast off its final light. Just about the colors the first few stars began to make their appearance. Her favorite part was when she sun’s light stopped being a show hog, and went down so the stars could cast their shine. But even the sun and stars had a pattern to take, and each day was the same old pattern. The guardian couldn’t say she was a fan of things always doing the same thing all the time. Because she was a being of air, one of the most chaotic and unable to guess what it was going to do next. A sense of reality, and logic was always temporally lost when the wind had a chance to blow. It could breeze gently, or give body throwing gales.

When he asked her about herself Ploay was still looking at the small shimmers of star light. Her shoulder raised the dropped back down while she continued to gaze at the heavens. “This and that, nothing much same old same old,” Ploay said in a quiet voice as she turned her head to look at him again. The same old same old wasn’t really true but she didn’t want to talk this poor man’s ear off. Nothing much happened to her that this man needed to know about.

It had been nearly a decade since Marinar’s family was lost to him, since everything he knew and understood and had grown used to was taken from him. Since then he had roamed, from east to west and north to south there were few places he had not traveled through or explored. It hurt so much to think of before he had become a wanderer, a pain that no balm or healer could set right, deeper than any sword or arrow could cut. There were nights when he was alone and he lay in the forest or on the plains that he would feel the sadness, the pain and the hatred overwhelmingly coming over him, but he had no cure for it. To stop and remain in one place seemed to be almost as painful as thinking of his lost family and friends.

”I appreciate it.” Marinar said quietly to Ploay in reply to her statement about her being his friend. ”Likewise.” He said, glancing over to her and lifting his hand from his abdomen and glancing past her eyes to her long raven hair. ”You… uh… have some… seaweed…” He said with a slight smirk, lightly brushing the green from her hair with his free hand and tucking a few strands of her hair behind her ear before withdrawing his hand and bringing it to rest in it’s previous spot.

His eyes lingered on her face for another moment before looking up at the showy splendor of the fading sky. For some reason he preferred sunrise to sunset, the start of a new day, it made some part of him think that perhaps he was getting a completely fresh start in life but every new morning he still found the same scars both on his body and on his heart, no matter how many sun rises he watched. The sun’s painted clouds began to fade away faster and faster on the horizon and more and more stars appeared in their set places as the haze of day vanished.

”I love the night… there’s something… calming about it.” Marinar stated, slowly pushing himself back into a sitting up form and reaching over for his shirt and jacket, brushing away the sand on his back and the back of his hand before balling the shirt and light coat up together and resting them on the ground to double as a long pillow- if she wanted to star gaze with him she was evidently welcome to.

Ploay took one more final glace at the sky when Marinar noted about the seaweed, she had so carelessly forgotten, or didn’t know she had it in her hair to begin with. Before she could reach up and comb it out with her tan fingers, his hand reached up and took care of it. At first she blushed but then she smiled at him as he got rid of the problem for her. “Thank you,” she said kindly while gazing at his dark green eyes. Her heart seemed to be high that she made a new friend, and he seemed to be rather kind and gentlemen like as well. It was a quality that seemed so rare but nice at the same time. Maybe she has been flying in the air too long not to notice people like this. And it was possible all of her flying trips could have missed her from him. Because according to her he didn’t have any wings, and it was possible many times she could have flew over him.

Ploay nodded as she watched darkness quickly engulf the last few rays, and there was no more sign of light anymore. “The night is nice, but it is a shame that there are so many dangers like vampires who make the night unpleasant.” She commented as she shifted her eyes to the left, towards the grassy area. It would be a shame if mindless creatures did ruin the night, espessly this night with a new friend.

She smiled as he laid his shirt and jacket together. For some reason she didn’t think that he would mind if she laid down next to him. If he mind she could always lay down on the sand, never hurt her anyway. Ploay moved herself closer towards him then laid down with her head on his jacket. She studied his face with a smile then looked back up at the sky. More and more stars were quickly appearing and there were pictures in the sky that she noticed. Lifted her right hand, she pointed at the group of stars that looked more or less like a fish. Or four stars in a ling with two triangles shaped like a tail fin. “That sort looks like a fish huh?” Ploay asked him as she remembered the times she went fishing with her dad when everything in her life was so simple. Simple days seemed to be ages ago, but now with this man, everything seemed simple once more.

Marinar almost physically winced as he took in a long, deep breath at the very mention of vampires. Provided he was not caught off guard, he was fairly confident that he could handle any incursions they faced, but he hoped that they would not be interrupted… the idea of just being able to spend time with his new found friend was incredibly appealing.
”I hate vampires…” He whispered almost inaudibly and practically entirely out of his control. They had taken from him what he loved most; nothing could make him forgive them for that. Nothing.

He quickly found he could not resist a smile when she moved over to lie next to him and watch the stars. Marinar smiled slightly back at her when she looked over at him and studied his face, he shifted slightly closer to her and moved his head on a bit of an angle on their ‘pillow’ and let his eyes flow up her arm to her fingertip and then onto the stars she was pointing out. He chuckled a bit at the sight of the star cluster.

”Yes, I suppose it does look a bit like a fish… but if you move your head… it looks a tad like a tree.” Marinar smirked a bit and point out a couple extra stars that made it look vaguely like a pine tree before cocking his head the opposite way. ”Or… if you look the other way… it’s a tad like an arrow. Now I just suppose we have to find the bow it was fired from.” He smiled a bit, letting his eyes roam the sky before glancing over at her out of the corner of his eye, seeing the stars glimmer against her violet eyes and silently thanking anyone who was listening for bringing him this new friend. Even if they went their separate ways after spending some time together, he hoped that there would still be fond memories for them both.

Slightly Ploay smile faded as she heard the loathness in his voice about vampires. Maybe something awful happened to him, that he wasn’t ready to share with her. But whatever the case was Ploay could feel slight sadness in his voice, so in instinct, she reached over with her left hand and softly squeezed his right hand. Slowly she moved her hand back together and folded them on her stomach. Her smile appeared but with more of a compassionate feeling which lit up her facial features. Hatred was something she knew very well, and also knew that most hatred came with sadness as well. The light squeeze she gave him was her way of saying: It is okey to hate once and awhile, and it’ll be alright. But it was understandable if he didn’t understand her, very few did.

Ploay lightly chuckled to his comment about the different view of stars. “Or it could be a stick with two triangles.” Her smile turned into a smirk and she laughed at herself. Anything could look like anything if you use your imagination, but this was more of a funny comment then a serious one. The guardian’s mind was still on his word about the vampires, and she was curious about what he was feeling.

The guardian turned on her side and looked at him. She studied his face for a bit, and pondered if she should go snooping around in his life. It would be awful if she lost his friendship because she was too nosey, so she waited a few seconds before she go the nerve. “Did the vampires, hurt you in more ways than one?” She asked him quietly, and had sadness in her voice that her friend was hurt. Maybe more ways than one. And it was also possible that he just hatred them with no reason at all. Ploay listened for him to tell or, listened for him to tell her it was none of her business.

Marinar could not help but smile at it at feeling her hand squeeze his. It was the first physical contact he had had in years, if you excluded the physical contact of combat and torture. He had to admit he liked it, having someone that he knew was not out to hurt or cause him more pain than he already experienced in his daily life. He left his hand open for her hand to return to it if she liked, because he certainly would not have any objections to being reminded that someone out there did not hate him nor want him dead.

He chuckled a bit and listened to her laugh about the stars, her laugh is what he always imagined the laugh of an angel sounded like. ”Yes, I suppose it could be… but it’s not as fun to think of it being that.” He smiled and lightly nudged her with his shoulder. Marinar ran his fingers through his hair moving the few flecks of sand scattered through his dark locks about before his hand came to its resting place between the two of them once more.

When the wind guardian turned onto her side to look at him he looked from the stars in the sky to the stars in her eyes and turned his face towards her, and looked over her features before his dark green eyes stopped on her violet ones when she spoke. The loneliness that spackled through the green before became more evident in his eyes at the mention of what the vampires did. His eyes spoke volumes, a tale of lost love, untamed pain and a crushing defeat, shielded from the world for so long and kept from anyone else.

”I… once lived in the mountains, with my clan… My father was the chieftain of the barbarian clan… ten years ago, vampires came down on our camp… they killed everyone who resisted… my father, my friends… my wife…” His pain soaked voice became quieter as he spoke, never once losing the roughness or the stung sense of masculinity despite the sensitiveness of the issue at hand. ”They took everything important to me away… the only way I survived is they thought I had been thrown to my death from a cliff… the scars on my side are all from the fall…” Marinar’s fingers ran over a few scars down his side closest to her. ”They made me bury my family.”

Her violet eyes flicked around his eyes, trying to hold back tears. He had such a sad story to tell it sadden her. Yet for some reason as he was saying this, he seemed to be strong saying. There were no quivers in his voice, yet there was obvious sadness. She never seen someone to hold back their feelings, not to shed a single tear. Ploay, unless looked at her reflecting seen someone to hold back their emotions. She took her hand, and gently squeezed it, “I am sorry for your loss,” and then she embraced him. Ploay knew what it was like to loose your family and home, not by death but by a different way. But she didn’t feel like telling him of her own loses when he is coping with his own.

Ploay let go of him and laid back down on her back, and continued to look at the stars. Her smile was gone, and her eyes were shifting from different patterns in the sky. Now what do I say? She asked herself in silence.

Marinar was surprised by the embrace but did not resist it- that was the first time he had been hugged in over a decade, the last person to have done that was his wife… inside his heart and soul screamed to have their pain acknowledged but Marinar’s body refused, his mind buried the agony that he faced inside deep down under the façade of a tall, strong, handsome warrior. Yes, that was part of who he was, but he was a damaged man, his anger and hate inside him, his dangerous lusts for revenge that boiled inside him when he or someone close to him was hurt, it was slowly killing him from the inside out. Bit by bit with every death he caused and every step he took to getting his vengeance he lost more and more of himself and what made him human and compassionate.

”Thank you.” That was all that escaped his lips as he watched her pull away and look back up at the stars. His skin almost stung as the warmth of her embrace faded away and the grips of the darkness that encompassed his soul returned. He watched the glimmer of the stars in the sky carefully, looking for one pattern in particular before realizing they were too far south to be able to see it. A slight sigh escaped Marinar’s lips as he looked over to Ploay once more.

”Do you have a family somewhere? Husband, children?” He asked quietly, the gripping roughness of his voice holding steady as he broke the silence once more. He wanted to learn more about his new friend, it had been a long time since he had cared about learning more than was necessary about another person- but it had also been a long time since he had been able to call another sentient being a friend.

She nodded to his words of thankfulness, and felt like she had help, even if it was just a little bit of an embrace. Simple hugs usually did some helping, or it could have done more damaged both in and out of the body. She knew from experience not to hug someone tight with broken ribs, or hug a very aggressive person in anger. But sometimes mistakes needed to be taken so she wouldn’t do them again. And she has done enough mistakes to last one human’s lifetime. Slowly the silence began to pass between the two new friends, and Marinar asked her a question that was an opening door for her to talk about herself.

Ploay’s head turned to the left and she looked into his eyes. The white specks of shimmering stars still sparkled in her violet eyes. She didn’t want to go in to too much of detail about her past. Something that not everyone in the world needed to really know about. It was her story that should never be told to any ears that could hear. Yet she couldn’t deny her new friend as he told her his heart breaking story. There would be no fairness in it at all, and the odd silence would rise up again and snatch at the two beings enjoying the stars. That was something she didn’t want to happen, she couldn’t let it happen. So she confessed her story that no other ear, not even Samarin knew all the answers to.

“I had a family, my mother was in and out of my life, my father eventually died from age. I never lived with my family all my life, when I was of adult age they more or less kicked me out with a curse. I did have a husband once but that was a long time ago, and he died as well.” Ploay paused and looked back up at the night sky. Her voice was quiet as she was slowly telling him the sweeter side of her story. The side that didn’t get into much pain. “No kids, never had any. I have a brother but I haven’t seen him in months. The only real family I have now would be my dragon, wind, and my love, Samarin.” Ploay slid a light smile on her lips thinking about the earth guardian. But even he didn’t know everything that happened in her life.

She held back a yawn, and looked back at the man next to her, and wondered what he would say next.

Marinar listened closely to each word that passed her lips, her story was vague, yet somehow it was enough to satiate his curiosity. Her family had turned on her, it seemed. It seemed a strange thing to throw your own flesh and blood out; Marinar had always had a good relationship with his father, though his mother had died in child birth, which made his father be all the more protective of Marinar- he was a living memory of his mother. His father had been over protective at times because of this but had raised him well, aware of both his lineages, and proud to be different.

The way that the angel reacted to the mention of this Samarin fellow and the mention of the dragon made Marinar feel the cold embrace of loneliness once more and much more obvious. Even his new friend had someone to fight the loneliness with… and Marinar still had no one. His eyes became pained and as he looked at the sky he closed them, burying the agony that came with each passing moment deep inside.

”He’s a very lucky man, Samarin.” Marinar said, opening his eyes once more, scanning the sky again. He was unsure that he would ever find someone who could take the place of his wife, Shandra. Not a day went by he did not miss her, and in times when he was around people who had found someone else to care about he found himself missing her all the more. Every time he saw the color auburn he remembered the way her matching hair would fall and frame her face, every spring rainfall reminded him of the smell of her perfume and every night he lay with empty arms he remembered how much he missed her. Every day his heart ached at least once, and every day he reminded himself of his goal: to become so powerful he could save anyone he cared for from dying. No matter the cost.

Violet orbs belonging to the guardian shifted away from the man at the mention of Samarin. Ploay wasn’t sure if Samarin was lucky, or even if she was lucky to be with him. There didn’t seem to be any love, but just illusion between the two. Although she had people who cared, they didn’t take the cold loneliness away that she knew so well. Her life seemed to be always untouched by everyone but her. Hardly anyone knew about her past, her feelings, dreams, fears. This stranger next to her knew more about her past then Samarin did right now. She couldn’t help but feel like the earth guardian never cared about what she was feeling, because he never asked. So her past never came up in conversation. Even the earth guardian’s past was shaded in mystery to her, and seemed to stay that way. Ploay’s life not only stayed lonely, but with more boredom in it.

“He may be.” She spoke in a whisper with her eyes still away in the distance. Not up at the stars but at the other side of the small vegetation around the lake. Her eyes were watching the dancing fireflies. “But I still get lonely. My dragon is grown and on its own most of the time. And sometimes I wonder if you can love or be loved by someone who you know nothing about, and they know nothing about you.” She turned her attention back to the stars and sighed. All this talk about pain was depressing, and depression sent a shiver of numbness up her spine. For the cold night didn’t help at all in the least.

Gently and quietly she wrapped her arms around herself and shivered slightly. Crossing her legs again she stiffened to get slightly warm. With each second she could feel the air getting colder and colder. “When I was very small,” Ploay began to say, changing the subject from her fear in her relationship. “Me and my friend used to watch the heavens like this, then take a night swim somewhere. But its way too cold to do that.” The guardian smiled and laughed remembering the small simple things in her early years. Although she didn’t look like it, she was very old.

This time the tables turned. Hearing the very familiar emotions in her voice, Marinar reached over and gently squeezed her hand rather than the other way around as had been shortly before. He decided it was not his place to say what or who loved who, so he refrained from speaking his mind on the matter, that there was no way that someone who actually cared could care that little could be in love. The illusion of love, perhaps, the fantasy and the romanticized kind of love, maybe… but the pure kind that was patient, kind and caring above all else? No way. Marinar gently released her hand and withdrew it from her.

His eyes roamed, a smile tugging at his lips at her story of her and her friend, but he noticed her shiver. ”Here.” He sat up and pulled his “pillow” from under his head, brushing the little bit of sand from the shirt as he unfurled it and draped it around her. The size difference between the fair angel and the muscular barbarian evident in how easily Ploay might be lost in the folds of his shirt and how baggy it would be should she have attempted to wear it. Marinar had been raised in the coldest regions of the Ered Annon Mountains, so he was fairly resistant to the feeling of the chill in the air and even so, he was used to being cold in the night, so he had no problems giving up some of his own heat to keep her warm.

”It was nearly cold enough to make icicles hang off me earlier, I would hate to think what would happen if we tried swimming now.” Marinar said with a smirk, turning and picking up a stick from the sand and prodding at the fire he had made back when the sun was still in the sky, sending a flurry of tiny dancing embers fluttering into the night sky as the fire lit up brighter once more before laying back down in the sand next to the angel.

Just before she got the chance to shift her ashen wings, he spoke and moved his shirt out from under him. There was no way of telling what he was going to do with his shirt in her mind, until he did what he wanted. Gently he spread the big shirt on her, and Ploay finished wrapping it around her front. A smile formed on her lips as she looked down at her shirt covered hands. “Thank you,” she whispered with her head still looking at her covered hands. His manly scent filled her noise in a pleasing freshness. Ploay pulled up the shirt closer and tucked it under her chin when he went to cause a bigger fire. Already the flames began to send off heat that warmed her feet.

Ploay was wondering how long she was going to stay here, but for however long she had enjoy this time with him. When he laid back down next to her she couldn’t think of anywhere else to be, or anywhere else she should be. It was just her and him, laying back looking at the bright shiny white dots in the sky. And enjoying one another company next to the auburn flames. Still with just a foot distance apart, she could feel his slight body heat. He might be cold too, Ploay thought as she moved an ashen wing out from under her. She turned to her side and looked in his eye.

Stretching a little, she laid the dark wing across him. Ploay hoped he would get mad or think she was degrading him. It was getting to become a cold night, so it never hurt anyone to get a little warmed up. The guardian smiled. “Is this any better for you?” She asked him while still being less then a foot away from Marinar.

Thankful she didn’t mind him taking the liberty of giving her the shirt to warm up, Marinar smiled a bit, but he was a tad surprised when he felt the soft wing drape over him. He glanced at the beautiful dark feathers and gently trailed his fingertips along them before he heard the angel ask he question. He smiled and nodded a bit ”That’s great.” He noticed how outstretched her wing had to be to cover him so he scooted over towards her a tad, closing the foot by a considerable amount.

He could not help but take in the refreshing light scent that accompanied her; it reminded him of the smell carried on a gentle spring breeze. Aside from that he could also not help trailing his fingers along her feathers, quite taken with how soft and smooth they were.

”What’s it like to have wings?” Marinar asked quietly, turning his forest green eyes from the ashen wings to her violet eyes, turning himself towards her a little bit. They had pretty much passed the point of holding back friendly things that could be observed as more than just friendly, so he decided that he was not going to waste the time trying to remember how to be as polite as possible without feeling like a tool. ”Being able to fly… never really caught my interest until just now.” He smiled a bit and absentmindedly let himself get lost in the comfort and warmth of feeling her wing against his skin.

Very discreetly, her left cheek found its way to his shoulder as she scooted a tad closer to him. She heard somewhere that two people can keep warmer longer when they are very close to one another. The guardian never had a chance to test this theory out, because her wisdom would beg her not to go anywhere cold, standing still. She loved to cold snow of the tundras, but never just sitting in one spot, always moving to keep warm. Not only did getting closer to him proved the theory right, it was also enjoyable to feel nice muscles, that AREN’T trying to hurt her. There was a guy she liked who had a nice figure like this, but in her opinion he was one of the worst mistakes she could have gotten with. Ploay believed that this man next to her wouldn’t raise an unkind hand to her.

Her violet eyes darted up at him to his question. At first she was at a lost to words, because she hardly knew what life wasn’t like without wings. But then it hit her like a boulder. When her angelic powers were sealed up, she had no wings to fly, making her a very easy to catch target for some mean people. Without her beautiful wings, she couldn’t have survived with much ease, and she wouldn’t be much of a wind mistress if she couldn’t dance in the harsh gales. “They may be big, but they come in handy when I need them, so its nice. And they do make good blankets,” Ploay said with a smirk on her face.

Ploay poundered his question for a moment, looking down at her covered hands. “Do you want to?” Ploay raised her head up and gazed into her dark green eyes. “Fly I mean, I bet I could take you for a ride. Unless...you know, if you’re scared of heights.” Ploay smiled at him and understood if he was scared of heights, most people were.

As Marinar felt himself warming up drastically, he felt the warmth of her snuggling up against him and resting her cheek against his shoulder- he could not help but smile a bit and slide his hand lightly to her hip then over to the small of her back- if any one asked, they were staying warm, it was a perfect alibi, and it was true, so Marinar could see nothing wrong with this. He smiled a bit at the mention of the gorgeous ashen wings making good blankets among other uses. ”I can definitely see how that would be useful.”

He raised an eyebrow to her at the first portion of her statement, asking him if he “wanted to” without classifying just what the “to” was initially. The suggestion to go flying was a surprising one to say the least. It was hardly a secret he was a fair sized man, between his muscle weight and his stature he had to wonder how she would be able to manage to carry him should he agree. The idea of having the thrill of soaring in the skies was an undeniable attraction.

”It would certainly be a first for me…” He smirked in reply. ”Me? Scared of heights? Not quite.” Marinar chuckled a bit, having gotten used to very impressive heights while he was growing up in the mountains. After a contemplating few seconds and another breath of the unique mixture of her heavenly scent and his earthly, masculine scent brought together by their closeness, he nodded. ”Sounds spectacular, actually.” He answered, awaiting her reaction and pondering just when she had wanted to try this out, after all the view of the heavens was better at night but it made the land less easy to see.

Ploay smiled and lifted herself on an elbow, still facing him with her wing gently draped over his chest. It would be a shame to end this closeness of warmth to go flying, but the guardian had no idea if they would ever get another chance at it. The world was a mighty big place, and one should take as many advantage as possible, because no mortal lives forever. “I know you’ll just love it.” She replied, sitting herself up, and drawing her wing back to neatly fold it with her other wing with her back. As soon as their bodies stopped touching Ploay could feel the instant chill of the lone night air. Taking a long deep breath of all the scents in the cool night air she rose to her feet and held a head to him.

Although the night would make it harder to land, the guardian of wind was more or less an expert on how to fly. Thanks to all those crazy stunts when she began to fly, just to see how far she could push until she reached her limit. Once she flew blind folded, and that wasn’t a happy ending after the bumped into a couple of walls, and sides of mountains. If she just flew a little faster those day she wouldn’t be here today. But night flying was much better then being blind folded. Sure if was hard, but the white dots in the sky, and the shimmer moon made it at least somewhat possible to handle.

Her eyes turned to the fire. It would be put out if she took off too fast. But realizing his biggness, she would have to get a big gust of a start to be able to lift him up in the air. Then the air currents would make her transport much easier. The guardian shrugged in her mind and turned back to the man. “If you’re sure you really want to do this, just wrap your arm around my waist, hold tight and I’ll do the rest.” Ploay grinned at him while her offering hand was still out for him to take as a sign he was ready to go.

Marinar could not help but feel a bit disappointed when her wing pulled away and she did as well but the prospect of seeing the land from a bird’s eye view made that fade rather quickly. As the cool embrace of the night breeze came around once again he gladly took her hand and pushed himself back up into standing up, grasping the jacket that had been her pillow and pulling it onto himself, just to attempt to keep the edge off of the cold from the evening, since eh assumed high in the air was colder than on the earth. He smiled a bit and nodded to her instructions.

Just don’t drop me and we’ll be good.” He jested, his hand moving along her waist as he lowered himself down a little bit, hooking his arm snugly around her waist. The warmth of her body heat seeping through her clothes and mingling together with his own heat as he looked to her gorgeous violet eyes ”Ready when you are, love.” He smirked.

He glanced at his sword standing erect in the sand but decided that he did not need to worry about it, there were not exactly that many enemies a sword would be useful against in the sky, and he certainly had no reason to distrust Ploay. He assumed she would know how to find their little partial camp when they were finished, and even if she did not, as long as he could find the lake again, he could find it under his own accord. With that bit of self reassurance, he glanced upward at the midnight sky, each of the glimmering lights cascading a flood of light upon the land and the lake, he could only imagine what it was going to be like to see them all shining against the lake from above. Every passing second was making him more and more excited about what he was going to be able to see and experience.

With a deep breath she felt the big man’s arm around her slender waist, and the feeling of doubt came into her soul. She wasn’t sure if it would be easy to lift this man off the ground itself, with all the pull of gravity against her. The wind currents she trusted, but in her own strength of lift off she was doubtful. But there was no turning back now, if Marinar wanted to fly and see the ground from heaven’s view. Well by gods he would get his wish!

Extending those great ashen wish there came a flying air that sent a gust behind her, which was strong enough to knock down a man, if there was a man behind her. She swallowed hard as her violet eyes gazed up in the night clear sky, looking at her goal. There was an air current a couple of feet up, but it was a few yards away. It would take at least ten wing strokes to be able to get to it if she flew slowly. One wing stroke in the sky slowly, would amount in one second. At first she would go slow, but then pick up the pase if her passenger was ready for some more serious flying. But the first task was getting them both in the sky, then she could use her wind powers if her wings weren’t strong enough. Since she has flown over more then five hundred years, the wing muscles were very strong, and cloud lift at least one hundred and eighty pounds plus her weight. The problem was, just how much did this man weigh?

Ploay bent her knees a little, and wrapped her arm around his back to get a firm hold of him. Her right foot came in behind her so she could push off easily. “One...two...three,” As soon as “Three” was said, she pushed off on her right foot and instantly started to flap her massive wings. Her wasn’t as heavy as she thought, but still her was quiet heavy to her. Quickly she got up to forty feet, and leaved off so their bodies were facing the ground. Flying east ward she made her way to the air current. In ten seconds she made it there, and outstretched her wings, and glided east on the wind current. Her total wing span was ten feet. Every so often she would flap her wings to stay in the air, but she didn’t have to flap too often. “Are you enjoying it?” She asked him as their bodies flew in the night sky as close as possible, side to side.

Escaping the confines of the earth was a feeling unlike anything other. Marinar had grown accustomed to only wanting to be apart from the ground for so long, because if he was apart from it for long it meant he was falling to his doom. But feeling the total embrace of the air as he held snugly to Ploay’s core was invigorating to say the absolute least, to go the full extent, Marinar could say it was one of the most incredible experiences of his life.

The way the stars and moon reflected off the lake far beneath their feet whilst feeling the embrace of the wind, seeing the tops of the trees and the movement of animals in the clearings of the woods only added to the utterly fascinating and compelling view of everything below, it was one of the most amazing things in the world. At hearing the wind guardian’s voice, Marinar looked up at Ploay, the way the wind traveled through her hair while up here in her element and the way the stars dazzled in her eyes only made her all the more captivating to look at, a sight that perhaps even trumped the view of everything down below combined.

”It’s fantastic.” He replied, smiling a bit. The nagging feeling that he was going to fall lingered in his mind a bit, but he managed to push it aside for the time being, not wanting anything to hinder his view of the breathtaking scenery. Even if this was the only time he would be able to be safely off the ground in his life, this was something he would remember until his mortal life came to an end and he moved into the great beyond; the night that not only he made a friend, but he escaped the ground’s laws for a few moments.

“Woot!” She exclaimed loudly as she picked up speed, and flew though the winds themselves. The air current was picking up more speed, and started to point upwards, and gladly Ploay began to fly higher. The current helped a lot as it pushed her higher and higher. Everything on the ground began much smaller then it was a few moments ago. Finally she leaved off again, facing the ground as she began to fly west ward. They were up in the air at 70 feet high as the wind swiftly whispered though them. Her hair flung behind her like long grass in a windy day. Turning on her side she flew sideways, holding onto Marinar tightly as he was closer to the ground. Then she pulled him back up and they where on the same altitude.

But the cold winds weren’t being merciful as the shrieked against her tan soft skin. A shiver was let out from her as they flew over the small fire that he started. Gently she started to slow down, and put her feet towards earth as she stayed at the same hight. Now they weren’t moving no where and her wings kept flapping to keep them both up in the air. “Forgive me, but the coldness is getting to me,” she told him as her whole body shook, and it took everything in her power to keep from chatting her teeth away. Slowly the began to descend, and her feet slammed firmly on the ground with a slight hard pull from gravity.

Ploay stood in front of him, letting go of him in the process as she smiled a big smile. From the looks of things he seemed to enjoy himself up in the night sky with her. Also their small little “camp” was just behind him. Happily she looked and saw that the fire still glowed brightly in the dark. “Now to get warm again,” she said as she started to rub her arms with both hands. Whatever sleepiness she was having before she flew, it was certainly gone by now.

Marinar took a deep breath as they began to descend once more, upon feeling his feet touch the ground he loosened his hold on her and let her pull away. ”That was amazing…” He said with a very strong smile, a rarity for him. He was still a bit surprised that a woman her size could hold him with what seemed like relative ease, of course his knowledge of flying people was limited so he had little to base that assumption on. He could get a sense of just how cold she was and he quickly grabbed some more kindling from a pile he had gathered earlier, tossing it into the fire, making embers dance into the air once more.

”Thank you.” He smiled and wrapped his long muscular arms around her snugly for a few moments, embracing her as a thank you and pulling back a bit, rubbing her arms with his hands when she did, hoping to help heat her up again. His dark green eyes found her brilliant violet ones once more and for just a split second he felt himself get lost in them.

The barbarian’s mind roamed a bit, wondering how in the world the man that she had called her love earlier could not want to know everything there was to know about her, how her family could have had the heart to throw her out in any shape or form. He decided that he was going to allow himself to deem her the first person that he would protect at all costs- no matter how powerful she may be, he wanted to be able to be the knight in muddy armor whenever she needed him, but he lacked the ability to put that want into words at the moment so he just smiled a bit to her.

Ploay did have time to hug him, because he left to help rub her arms. Next time she would be slow to embrace him again. His warm embrace felt so wonderful she couldn’t put it to words how it felt to have a big strong man hug her in a non violent way. Quietly, under her breath could hear she sighed happily, and a light red blush painted across her cheeks in a mellow way. Looking up in his dark green eyes she stood up on her toes a little, and pecked him on the cheek. “You’re welcome Marinar,” she said with a smile.

Slowly, she reached out and took his right hand in her left hand, and gently pulled him down with her as she sat on the hard ground. Although the ground was slightly cool, the warm fire next to them helped a lot. Pulling herself to his side, she sat next to her with her cheek on his shoulder. Her ears listened to the sound of the crackle of flames, as her violet eyes watched the auburn colors dance against the darkness. “So what was your favorite part?” She asked him while her eyes were still watching the fire. Her mind roamed at what she would do if she looked into the dark deep green eyes of his. He had such a sad past, but for some reason he seemed to but it all behind him and be happy about it. Ploay smiled to herself while wrapping her arms around his arm.

Already the closeness between the too made her all warm and fuzzy inside. Plus warm outside as well. Still her eyes gazed at the flame, the fear of of hurting Samarin was installed in her mind.

The bit of blush on Ploay’s face did nothing to take away from her beauty, only accentuated just how cute she could be. Marinar smiled at the light kiss to his cheek, there was not much doubting that he could get used to that. He gently let his fingers trail down her side and along her wings and was more than happy to take a seat next to her as she tugged him down next to her. Seemed that this friendship was growing faster than he realized, feeling her lean against him and feeling her arm wrapped around his was a feeling that he also could easily get used to. He found himself resting his chin lightly against her head, nuzzling against her slightly, this being just about as comfortable as he had ever been with another person.

Marinar got a bit of a grin on his face when she asked about his favorite part. ”The part where we were flying.” He grinned, the dancing embers of the fire flickering off into the sky as heat poured against the pair as they sat so snugly together on the sand. He brought his free hand over to rest on her knee as he gave his actual answer.

”just after we got off the ground… that was my favorite… the feeling of being free from the ground… it was unreal.” He said, staring into the flames as the fire danced and reflected in his deep green eyes. A content sigh escaped his lips quietly as he thought about the flight again, his fingertips absentmindedly tracing along her knee as he rested his cheek against the top of her head. The memory of the flight still making adrenaline cascade through his veins, but the strangely calming effect that Ploay had on him countering that just enough to keep him very awake without being overtly excited.

Ploay looked down to where his hand was rested on her knee, she didn’t know if he realized what he was doing or not. But his touch was very warm and comforting, yet still she didn’t feel alright with this. So she softly took his hand, and rested it on his own lap and she continued to be close to him still. She couldn’t believe how fast the day was going into deep nightfall, the coldness surely proved just how cold it was. Ploay knew past midnight the air would become more freezing till she could hardly fly without shaking to death.

“Yes,” she said in agreement with him while she gazed deeply in the fire. “It is really wonderful.” Ploay looked up at Marinar’s deep green eyes. “It is really getting late, I should go now. Are you staying here?” She gazed in his eyes and waited for his answer.

Marinar gave himself a mental smack in the forehead when she moved his hand away. At least she had not pulled away entirely, so he had that much to be thankful for, and he managed to hide his self disappointment well enough that it would not be obvious that he even noticed his hand had moved. Marinar was thankful that at least he had not lost his new friend due to his assumptions, he hoped not anyway.

At the mention that she was leaving, Marinar felt as though his demon of loneliness that lingered around him had just tapped him on the shoulder, and when he turned to face it, it smacked him across the face. His reply was short and simple to her "I'm staying." as his eyes lost their spark and turned towards the fire, remaining on the dancing flame as it licked at the late night air.

Again, he found himself mentally beating himself over the head, this time however, merely for the fact that he had allowed himself to start thinking that there was going to be someone around for more than a short while. He resorted to assuming that he was not going to see Ploay again after this, so he returned to his somewhat cold and distant demeanor that he had grown both familiar and accustomed to in the past decade.

(Ack, short. Sorry.)

Ploay was disappointed that he didn’t want to go to her shrine with him. He seemed like he’d have fun by himself more. So she didn’t ask any more questions on the matter. Standing up she turned to him, and leaned forwards to kisses his forehead. Then suddenly she embraced him. “See you again tomorrow morning, same place?” She asked him as she slightly let go a little and smiled at him. He was a new friend and she couldn’t wait until she could see him again sometime soon.

((yeah yeah I know I stink))

Marinar returned the surprise embrace and smiled a bit at her question. Apparently he would not have to go back to being lonely like he had expected. "Maybe I should come to you this time... change of scenery." He smiled a bit, trailing his fingers through his earth brown hair and looking back into her vibrant violet eyes. He too hoped to see her again soon, but he was a wanderer, and if he was merely staying on this beach for awhile while she came back to visit him, he was being a pretty poor wanderer.

The opportunity of being able to go see someplace he had never seen before and be around his new friend at the same time was an opportunity he could not even begin to think of passing up. He brushed his fingers along her feathers while releasing her from his side of the embrace, awaiting to hear what she would think of his idea.

((I'm far worse.))

Ploay smiled and chuckled a little bit, “I couldn’t agree more. Might be fun.” Fun in what way she wasn’t sure, because there wasn’t that much excitement in the shrine of wind. But she guessed there could be something they could do. And she was sure that maybe just maybe he’d enjoy a ride on the big dragon that she loved so much. Also being so close to the shrine of earth, he could meet her love. That would certainly be very nice. “If you can’t find it, just follow the wind and it’ll lead you to me.” Ploay waved then took off in the air and headed for the shrine of wind.