Newfound Emotions

Numair sat in his study, a firm hand grasping a quill. Dipping it in black ink, he drew it back up to the paper. Dear Daine, The same words were written on every single piece of parchment that was discarded into a large, crushed pile by his desk. I lov- He growled in frustration as again he crumbled the paper. Could he not find the exact words needed? Sighing, he stood up and stretched his muscular arms. His stomach grumbled softly and he decided to go get something to eat. He walked out the door and, to his surprise and delight, saw Daine, about to knock. He stopped short to avoid crashing into her.

"Oh, hi, Daine." He blushed crimson under his tan.

"Hi, Numair. I was wondering if we were having a lesson today." She blushed dark red for a reason even she didn't know.

"Yes, I was wondering if you could come by my tower for astrology tonight, Magelet. Maybe we could have some Carthak-themed dinner. Nothing too exotic. Just some Carthak vegetables, maybe, and some sort of meat. No game."

He smiled a large, charming grin. It wasn't really a date, was it? He hoped that Daine wouldn't take it that way. He was delighted when her face broke into a grin.

"Okay. I'll come over at the seventh hour past the noon, okay? I'll bring my brain with me. See you tonight, Numair."
"Goodbye, Magelet."

That night, at seven o'clock, Numair heard a quiet knock on his wooden door. To his surprise, it was a red, black, and white woodpecker. Its pointed beak was making a small dent in the door. The mage suddenly smiled. He had an idea who this was. It became quite clear when the form began to change into a human.

"Daine!"

The girl didn't notice for a second. Then she quietly attempted to cover herself up. She scrambled behind a rock, blushing deep red.

"Could you get me some clothes?"

The crimson-faced man disappeared into the house. He returned with a pair of black breeches and a blue tunic. She quickly put them on behind her rock and came out, fully dressed. Smiling with embarrassment, she walked inside. There was a meal on a table. Many fully cooked, exotic vegetables were scrambled in a pan. Fish was laying on two plates, spices surrounding it. Numair put the vegetables on the plate with a spoon and passed it to Daine, sitting down. The two began to eat with the silverware that Numair provided.

"Wonderful. Carthakis sure get to eat some good stuff."

Numair replied, "Yes. We'll start our astrology lesson when we're done."

An hour or so later, Numair finally led Daine to the tower. A telescope was there that she proceeded to look through. She gasped slightly as she saw the moon. It was so beautiful tonight. She felt an arm touch her back. She quickly saw that Numair was looking at her with a look of passion in his eyes. They stared at each other intimately for a few seconds, but finally there lips met. Gently Numair's lips caressed her own. Daine gasped as she came up for air. She had no idea... As Numair gently backed up, she pulled him back.

"No. Don't stop." She whispered the words passionately, bringing him back towards her. The muscular arms wrapped around her, and she ran a hand through his hair.

"Oh, Numair."

"Daine..."

An extra voice was added to the sensitive whispers. It was Lindhall's.