Author's Notes: I don't own anything but Valaine blah blah blah...This takes place in the morning after the events of Dance in the Rain, but I didn't think they were related enough to put them in the same story. You don't have to have read it, but you might miss a joke or two.
Hope you enjoy it!
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Valaine moved down the hallway, a smile on her face and a spring in her step. She was, overall, brighter than usual this morning, seeming to radiate happiness. It wouldn't have been terribly unexpected if a flock of birds had decided to perch on the window and started singing. She was just that happy, and part of it was due to the terrible weather the night before... well, she wouldn't have called it terrible, seeing as how she just loved heavy rains.
The party would be traveling to Coveya Kurg'annis as soon as possible. Valaine was ready for the trip, but she wasn't sure if her companions were. In fact, there was one who wasn't even awake, a fact which Valaine became aware of as soon as she entered the Veil's main room.
In the corner - or where there would have been a corner, if the theater hadn't been round - was a pile of blankets engulfing a certain hagspawn. Valaine folded her arms, shaking her head. If he wanted to sleep past noon again, he had another thing coming.
She walked over, looking down at him. Gann was covered in about three - maybe four - blankets, with only his face and one of his feet peeking out. He slept on his side, on top of yet another blanket. In typical Gann fashion, he wasn't quite smiling... though he did seem strangely peaceful. Valaine couldn't help but grin, somewhat taken with his sleeping face. Maybe she just liked him better when he wasn't making sarcastic remarks about her.
Sitting on her knees in front of him, hands in her lap, Valaine leaned over and whispered, "Wake up."
This accomplished absolutely nothing.
"Wake up," she repeated, louder this time. He didn't even twitch, just kept sleeping quietly. Valaine was jealous - she snored.
Frowning, Valaine wondered if Gann needed to clean his ears. If he ever did, he did it when no one else was around. She suppressed a giggle, picturing him struggling with those ears she so often thought about tugging whenever he bothered her.
"Come on, wake up," she pleaded, gently pulling on his earlobe. He flinched, but still didn't wake. "We're going to Coveya Kurg'annis today, Gann. If you don't wake up soon, I'll be very unhappy."
Not that Valaine thought he cared about making her unhappy, considering the number of times he'd teased her and outright insulted her lack of tact.
"Wake up or you get no breakfast," she declared, flicking some water onto his face. He groaned and shifted under the blankets, but still refused to awaken. Now that she thought about it, when was the last time any of the party had had breakfast? Her stomach growled, though she didn't know if this was because she wanted food or spirits.
Gann was a heavy sleeper. He always had been, from the day they'd met. She'd never had this much trouble getting him to wake up, though. Maybe his dream was interesting. Valaine started to wonder what it could be about before realizing that Gann's definition of 'interesting' was probably vastly different from hers.
She sighed, narrowing her eyes. Briefly considering throwing a magic missile at him, she instead opted to poke him in the nose.
He swatted her hand away, mumbled something incoherent, and rolled over.
Damn.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. Intending to grab his shoulders and shake him to the hells, Valaine grabbed the edges of the blankets, removing them in one smooth motion.
Immediately after doing so, she bit back a shriek and threw them back over him. She tucked herself into a ball, her face burning to the point where she expected steam to roll off her skin.
After a few moments of mild hysteria, she uncurled herself and looked back at him. He had barely moved at all. Her frustration with him was tempered by sheer embarrassment.
"Have you no decency?" she squeaked, still blushing. This was the most she'd seen of a man - ever. Didn't people usually sleep in pants, or at least have something preserving their modesty? Then again, she remembered that his clothes had been thoroughly soaked from their dance the night before. Sleeping in wet clothes was probably uncomfortable for other people. She decided it was her fault as well - what business did she have, flinging sheets off of people?
This would never have happened if he would just wake up already.
She sighed, once again shaking her head at him. Kaelyn and Safiya were probably awake by now. At this rate, she'd be half-dead from lack of spirits before they got to Coveya Kurg'annis.
Deciding to sit down on the other side of him, so she could see his face again, Valaine's eyes widened as her hand sank into something damp. So that was where his clothing had gone... and apparently, it still wasn't dry. She took his shirt, smoothed it out, and slapped him in the face with it.
He winced, eyebrows knotting together in confusion. Valaine bit her lip, wondering if it had hurt. She wouldn't know anything about being slapped with a wet shirt. For a second, his eyelids just barely fluttered... and then he rolled again, this time onto his back. Valaine growled, slamming a fist onto the floor. She'd served Neverwinter's City Watch, managed to become Knight-Captain of Crossroad Keep, and saved the world from the King of Shadows, but she couldn't get a hagspawn to wake up. This was pathetic.
"I really, really don't like your attitude right now," she muttered, glaring at him. He just lay there, sleepy and serene as ever. She noticed he was smiling now... grinning, actually. Gann seemed so very amused. Valaine wanted to wipe that stupidly broad grin right off his face.
Moments passed, and as Gann's smile faded, so did Valaine's anger. She let out a long, heavy sigh, folding her hands in her lap. It was so hard to blame him for anything when he seemed so innocent in his sleep. Up until now, Valaine hadn't thought it was possible for him to look truly carefree and innocuous. It made him... softer, somehow. She'd heard that people lost all their cares and concerns while sleeping - was it the same for someone like Gann? Why wouldn't it be?
She was looking directly over him, eyes searching every inch of his face. If he were awake, he'd be making some sarcastic comment about her creepy staring. Truth be told, some part of her wished he would.
For one fleeting moment, he appeared still and... unreal. Like a painted portrait, hanging on some rich noble's wall. Inhuman gray-violet skin, dark eyelashes like feathers, slightly parted lips.
In this moment, Valaine crept closer, shutting her own eyes, leaning in to kiss those lips. Her heart was beating so fast and so loud that she could hear the blood pounding in her ears. Her face was inches away from his - all she had to do was close the distance...
She hesitated, fearing his reaction. It felt as if he'd only just started to warm up to her - this could ruin everything. Did she really want to do this?
A bead of water came loose from her hair and splashed upon his forehead. Valaine took a deep, shuddering breath, too afraid to do anything, too afraid to do nothing.
"You shouldn't have stopped. I don't mind, you know."
"EEEEEEEeeeeekkkk!!" Valaine leaped backwards, landing with a loud THUMP on the floor. Breathless and mortified, she buried her face in her arms, curling herself into a ball yet again.
She could hear Gann laughing at her, and the sound of rustling fabric. Her blush deepened, and she made a futile attempt to make herself even smaller.
He was tugging at her arms, trying to pull her out of her ball and make her stand. She resisted, punctuating every yank with a high-pitched whine.
Somewhere in the midst of her mind, which had been thrown into chaos, Valaine thought that both she and Gann were being very, very immature.
With one final pull upwards, Gann managed to wrestle Valaine free from her position, holding her arms so that she dangled helplessly in the air. She squirmed and tried to kick him, with no success whatsoever.
"Calm down," he chuckled. "You'll hurt someone like that."
"You... you were awake this whole time?" she spluttered, white eyes wide. She was grateful for the fact that he was wearing pants now.
He lowered her to the ground, catching her as she stumbled. "Not the whole time. I was forced to awaken when I was suddenly attacked by a damp shirt."
"Then why didn't you say something?" she shrieked, seizing his shoulders and shaking him vigorously. He slipped his arms around her, holding her against his chest.
"Now, now. Just because the mouse was caught admiring the cat doesn't mean she needs to get violent, hm?"
"What do you mean, mouse admiring cat?" She scowled up at him, stepping on his foot. It didn't seem to faze him. "I wasn't admiring you! And you are not a cat!"
"Would you prefer 'mouse staring at cat in a slightly unsettling way, then attempting to kiss cat while mouse thinks cat is asleep?' I think 'admiring' is less of a mouthful, Valaine." Gann was smirking at her for what had to be the thousandth time since they had met. She was at a loss for words, but had just enough to spit out a sentence as he brought his face closer to hers.
"Let me go," she hissed, "because I... I don't appreciate torture."
"Torture?" His lips were just brushing her ear as he whispered, making her shiver. "Have you stumbled upon some barbs for your words, Valaine?"
"Maybe," she mumbled, her confidence slipping along with her anger. The only thing left was piles and piles of humiliation. "Maybe... you're just..." She swallowed hard, unable to finish the sentence.
"Ah, I see." She stiffened as he traced her spine, convinced that he was doing this just to make her feel even worse. "So, where are we off to today?"
"C-Coveya Kurg... Kurg'annis," she stuttered.
"Hm?" He tapped one of his ears. "I couldn't quite hear you - perhaps a little louder?"
Ew. He really does need to clean out his ears, Valaine thought, craning her neck to get the best look at his ear. "I said, we are going to Coveya Kurg'annis," she stated.
"Interesting. Now, in case the Coven runs on a 'no shirt, no shoes, no service' policy, I ought to get ready." He released his hold on her - finally - and headed over to what remained of his clothing pile. "Oh, and if you ever think of trying something like that again, I'd prefer it if we were both conscious."
As he waltzed out of the room, down the corridor, Safiya entered from the opposite direction.
Leaning on the door frame, she raised an eyebrow. "Valaine? Do you need any help picking your jaw up off the floor?"
Valaine nodded.