Disclaimer: same old, same old... DL not mine... Ari mine.
Ch4: Storytime
Everyone had just gotten there by the time Raistlin and Ariana showed up. They said their hellos and then got right into the story. Tanis started first, setting the scene. The group took turns narrating when the part pertained more to them or when a detail was needed. Tas wanted to tell most of it, but he was only given the chance to speak once or twice due to his rambling nature. Riverwind spoke little and Raistlin even less.
Throughout, Ariana sketched the group, attempting to piece together flint and Sturm as their personalities arose. She paused occasionally to ask a question or clarify and issue.
Tika was around most of the time, leaving only when drinks needed refilling.
Raistlin watched Ari most of the time, noting the mood of the group echoed into her face. When they got the deaths of their comrades, tears ran down her face as much as those around her, grieving for the heroes she never knew. It was like she was feeling everything they were. As he gazed at her, he tried to find something wrong that would lead him to hate her. Or at least give him some clue as to her motives. He searched for some argument against her, found several, but couldn't put the heart into them.
The afternoon wore on into night and eventually the Inn was closed. The group huddled around the fire, finishing the last of their tale. Once it was over silence reigned, each companion thinking over their feelings and soaking in what they had learned and, for the past hours, had relived. Tas was asleep, head on the table, snoring gently.
Ari closed her sketchbook and put down her pen, flexing her cramped hand. "That was some adventure," she murmured, "I wish I could paint it all. But that would be impossible unless I made a book, and that isn't what you want. Here," she passed the sketchbook around, "Did I manage to capture Flint and Sturm?" The companions each took their turns looking at the pictures, agreeing that the likeness was very good.
"Yea," Ari covered a yawn, "Where does one take a bath in this place?"
"We have a public bath. It's free. Someone can show you where to go," Tika offered.
"Just point me in the right direction."
"It's to the left of here, past about three trees and on the ground. There should be a sign on it. I think it's open for another half hour or so."
"Thanks."
She emerged half and hour later, in a tank top and cotton pants, hair in a braided rope down her back, bag slung over her shoulder casually. The night was a little cooler than the last had been and the stars and moons were out, casting a reddish silver glow on everything. The hour was late enough that most of the windows in the surrounding tree houses were out, as were the lamps that lit the walkways. Luckily the moons were nearly full, enough so that she could see fairly well.
Raistlin slid out of the shadows, hood drawn up in spite of the warmth. Ari jumped a little, startled at his noiseless appearance, and then went towards him.
"What took so long?" he snapped, irritably.
"I was enjoying my bath. I didn't know we were meeting afterwards or anything. Did you tell me and I just forgot?" she asked, standing no further than a few inches from him. "Could you take you hood off? I like to see people when I talk to them."
He obliged, an unreadable mask upon his face. As she reached up to touch his cheek, he flinched away. "What do you mean by saying that last night's dreaming proved that? How do you know what I dreamt?"
"When I touched your knee this morning I envisioned what you feelings were concerning a dream you had last night. Some pictures came too. From the emotions I pick off you, you should be acting very differently. Why won't you just open up to me?"
"You wouldn't like the view," he snarled.
"Can you tell me your story? From what everyone said, I could get a sense of who they are, but I cannot for the life of me understand you."
"And you shan't. You have no right to know anything. I am a private person." He turned to go home. She followed at his heels.
"No you aren't. You're a coward!" In disgust she kept walking to the house even after he had stopped in shock. She marched up the stairs and into the house. Tika was still up, and on a whim, cut Ari's hair short when she asked her to.
Then, Ari went into her room to read and pout.
Raistlin was still standing there, minutes after the confrontation. He was trembling in anger and shame all at once. 'How dare she read me like that and presume I wanted her,' he steamed internally. He did, however, want her, whether or not he realized it. 'How could she even suppose it's possible? If I tell her anything then she will not only shrink from the darkness of my soul, but she would have leverage over me. I have to remain cool, 'calm, collected , and aloof. Like I was far too above her to care that she was interested. How could I pour myself out with the fear that she would reject me?' He shook his head. 'I don't even know if I want her to accept me. Why should I create a dependency or a weakness?' Raistlin shivered, pulling his robes tighter. He hadn't nearly enough answers, he thought, as he made his way home, heading for the room next to his and knocking.
"Come in," Ari called out.
As he entered, she looked up from her book on her bed. "Go away," she told him, focusing on the book once more.
"May I talk with you?"
"Evidently not; I'm reading. Besides you haven't had any time to think things through."
"You cut your hair," he noted, shoving away the mental voice who commented on how boyishly cute it made her look.
"Yes. Tika did it for me. It's way too hot here for long hair. It should grow back in due time." Ari did not look up at any point during the conversation. She had read the same line about five times by now and was growing irritated. "Would you please go now? I will maybe talk to you sometime tomorrow. Preferably when I am not attempting to read."
Raistlin came in further, closing the door behind him. He got a slight thrill from aggravating her the way she annoyed him-by not going away. "Why do you want to become friends?" he asked, folding his hands so that he could not fidget.
Ari sighed dramatically, slamming the bookmark into the novel, "Great book," she stated with mock enthusiasm, "Can't put it down." Then, she sat up, smoothing out the bed sheets she had been laying on top of, patting the space besides her invitingly.
He came over and sat down, tucking his hands into the sleeves of his robes, hugging his arms.
"Why do you need to always know the motives that drive a person? Would it possibly kill you to take things as they are-just accept the situation and be content? That is the reason you don't have friends. You analyze them to death when you should just be there for them. It is possible that someone would like to be your friend. Like me, for example." She was becoming frustrated with him. He seemed to have a tendency to bring the worst out in a person, solely because he was so aggressive and challenging.
"I didn't come to be criticized. I came for answers," he replied. A part of him was telling him to just shut up and listen before he made her angrier. In those last few minutes he hadn't thought it in her nature for her to be so irritated.
She sighed. Obviously she wasn't getting it through to him that if he were a little more pleasant it wouldn't kill him. "I don't have any ulterior motives, okay? I am not the kind of person who hides what they feel; I like to get all the cards laid out on the table." This time there was a pleading note to her voice. She was done being angry. It drained her.
Raistlin stared at her for a few minutes, golden eyes trying to pierce into her heart and discover what was really there. She looked away, his gaze being far too burning to keep eye contact with.
"You have anything to say?" she asked, nervously. She had said a lot and wasn't sure how he was taking it. She twisted the hem of her shirt in between her fingers.
He shook his head, still gazing levelly.
"Can I kiss you?"
An eyebrow rose, "You didn't ask the first time. Why would you need permission now?" His heartbeat quickened at the thought of the kiss.
"Because last time I disturbed you. I want to make sure it's all right." She leaned closer to him, carefully watching his expression.
"We're friends, right?" he asked. At her assent, he went on, "Friends don't kiss."
"Oh," was all she could manage, feeling a blush creep up her neck and into her face, scalding her pointed ears. "Sorry."
A malicious smile tinted his lips. "Go to bed-it's almost morning," he suggested, getting up and leaving.
"I think I love you," she told him, after the door was closed and she had picked up her book again. Ari had about as much luck as she had had when Raistlin had come in. Her thoughts scrambled frantically through her mind, each one claiming precedence over the last. Desperately she wanted to be friends-and then some. His secretive ways intrigued her and his unfriendly attitude made her want to know him and understand what made him like that. She was also attracted to him. Everything about him she found visually appealing and the strength of his personality drew her. 'Perhaps he wants to be more than just friends,' she mused, filing through the mental images she had picked up. The interest was definitely there, as was the potential. An ache had gone through her when they had kissed. She wanted more than that one kiss. As she blew out the candles for the night she began to scheme of ways to steal a kiss or two more, maybe a walk holding hands. Ari was willing to be doing anything just as long as she could be around the man who caused such a rush of emotions. She slept fitfully, excited for the next day.
Ariana sat at the kitchen table flipping through her sketchbook. She had enough drawings to make an interesting mural and many ideas-the trick was combining images. Over her ears were her earphones, blaring Weezer's blue album. She bounced to the music, mouthing the words right along with the band. Caramon and Tika were managing the Inn; they left behind a pot full of hot coffee and a plate of cooling raisin scones.
As she stared at the scones for possible inspiration, an idea struck. Ari gathered up her cd player, sketchbook, plate of scones, coffee pot and two mugs, heading for Raistlin's room. She gave to door a nudge with her foot and it swung open.
Raistlin didn't bother to look up from his books so she entered, sliding the plate and the pot next to him on the desk, the cups following with a clink. That caught his attention and he glared over at her, the sun catching the color of his skin and making it glow. "What are you doing?" he asked. In the morning sunlight he knew with clarity what it was that made him irritated so much with her: she was so damn persistent! The kender blood in her disturbed him and it was her kender-like mannerisms of talking too much and being so cheerful that made him choke on any nice words that he might say to her.
"I got lonely in the kitchen and thought I'd draw in here with you. I brought coffee and scones. Peace offerings." She poured the coffee in to the cups, leaving one for him and nudging the scones toward him suggestively. With her cup of coffee, she plunked down on the floor by his desk, turning her music on lowly this time.
He glanced down at her, stopping himself from reaching down and stroking her hair. She looked so pretty today in black pants that went mid-calf and had a ribbed black tank top. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, bangs clipped back, and strands of hair escaping at the nape of her neck. Around her throat was a black cat's collar, red heart and bell dangling down. At that point she didn't have much on the page, so she sat, absently fiddling with the wire attached to her earphones.
Ari leaned back against the desk, looking up at him. Her eyes bounced shyly away from his. She took the earphones off and looked back to him, "Morning," she mumbled, keeping her eyes on his for only a few seconds. He reached down and took her chin with a delicate hand.
"Make eye contact, please."
She did so, holding his gaze for a quite a while. "You and your masks. You can't hide a thing behind them when you touch me, " she whispered.
He pulled away back his hand as if burnt, staring at it. Ari put aside her sketchbook and rose to her knees. She folded him into an embrace, nuzzling his jaw until he turned toward her and she kissed him.
No sooner had the kiss been initiated when the door swung open. Caramon lumbered in, "Hey, Raist, have you seen Ariana?" He stopped, mumbled an apology and backed out of the room.
Ariana shrank away guiltily, mouthing 'sorry' to the furious mage. She picked up her things and ran out of the room to find Caramon. The kitchen was bathed in green sunlight, coming in from the trees where Caramon was puttering around. He glanced ocer at her, blushing slightly.
"Well, I have several ideas sketched out," Ari began. "I was trying to think of another, but you found me before I was done. So... here's what I have." She opened the book to where she had started. "My favorite's the inn scene. It could look like an extension of your inn or one that you visited on your adventures."
The big man nodded, thumbing through some of the pages. "I think the inn one is the best. Now, while I've got you, I need to talk about when this could be done and payment for this. The summer is my busiest season what with all of the tourists. It's not busy after midnight until about early in the afternoon. People don't come in until later."
"Sounds good. I like to stay up late. If you could rope off a few feet around where you want the mural to be it would really help. I wouldn't want customers getting wet paint all over themselves. As for payment, as long as you feed me, let me stay here and buy my supplies, I don't want anything. This is a vacation away from my work for me, and a good opportunity to practice my painting."
"That's a deal, then." He was about to say something, but stopped, and then started again. "Are you and Raist... um...?"
Ariana snapped her book closed in finality. "I doubt it. He isn't sure what he wants right now; at least as far as I can tell from the emotions that I can read off of him. I'm an empath and so I can feel these things. I just don't know what to do about him. I really like him."
"Yeah? Tika seems to think that he likes you. I think so too. You would be good for him," he added, surprisingly perceptive.
Ch4: Storytime
Everyone had just gotten there by the time Raistlin and Ariana showed up. They said their hellos and then got right into the story. Tanis started first, setting the scene. The group took turns narrating when the part pertained more to them or when a detail was needed. Tas wanted to tell most of it, but he was only given the chance to speak once or twice due to his rambling nature. Riverwind spoke little and Raistlin even less.
Throughout, Ariana sketched the group, attempting to piece together flint and Sturm as their personalities arose. She paused occasionally to ask a question or clarify and issue.
Tika was around most of the time, leaving only when drinks needed refilling.
Raistlin watched Ari most of the time, noting the mood of the group echoed into her face. When they got the deaths of their comrades, tears ran down her face as much as those around her, grieving for the heroes she never knew. It was like she was feeling everything they were. As he gazed at her, he tried to find something wrong that would lead him to hate her. Or at least give him some clue as to her motives. He searched for some argument against her, found several, but couldn't put the heart into them.
The afternoon wore on into night and eventually the Inn was closed. The group huddled around the fire, finishing the last of their tale. Once it was over silence reigned, each companion thinking over their feelings and soaking in what they had learned and, for the past hours, had relived. Tas was asleep, head on the table, snoring gently.
Ari closed her sketchbook and put down her pen, flexing her cramped hand. "That was some adventure," she murmured, "I wish I could paint it all. But that would be impossible unless I made a book, and that isn't what you want. Here," she passed the sketchbook around, "Did I manage to capture Flint and Sturm?" The companions each took their turns looking at the pictures, agreeing that the likeness was very good.
"Yea," Ari covered a yawn, "Where does one take a bath in this place?"
"We have a public bath. It's free. Someone can show you where to go," Tika offered.
"Just point me in the right direction."
"It's to the left of here, past about three trees and on the ground. There should be a sign on it. I think it's open for another half hour or so."
"Thanks."
She emerged half and hour later, in a tank top and cotton pants, hair in a braided rope down her back, bag slung over her shoulder casually. The night was a little cooler than the last had been and the stars and moons were out, casting a reddish silver glow on everything. The hour was late enough that most of the windows in the surrounding tree houses were out, as were the lamps that lit the walkways. Luckily the moons were nearly full, enough so that she could see fairly well.
Raistlin slid out of the shadows, hood drawn up in spite of the warmth. Ari jumped a little, startled at his noiseless appearance, and then went towards him.
"What took so long?" he snapped, irritably.
"I was enjoying my bath. I didn't know we were meeting afterwards or anything. Did you tell me and I just forgot?" she asked, standing no further than a few inches from him. "Could you take you hood off? I like to see people when I talk to them."
He obliged, an unreadable mask upon his face. As she reached up to touch his cheek, he flinched away. "What do you mean by saying that last night's dreaming proved that? How do you know what I dreamt?"
"When I touched your knee this morning I envisioned what you feelings were concerning a dream you had last night. Some pictures came too. From the emotions I pick off you, you should be acting very differently. Why won't you just open up to me?"
"You wouldn't like the view," he snarled.
"Can you tell me your story? From what everyone said, I could get a sense of who they are, but I cannot for the life of me understand you."
"And you shan't. You have no right to know anything. I am a private person." He turned to go home. She followed at his heels.
"No you aren't. You're a coward!" In disgust she kept walking to the house even after he had stopped in shock. She marched up the stairs and into the house. Tika was still up, and on a whim, cut Ari's hair short when she asked her to.
Then, Ari went into her room to read and pout.
Raistlin was still standing there, minutes after the confrontation. He was trembling in anger and shame all at once. 'How dare she read me like that and presume I wanted her,' he steamed internally. He did, however, want her, whether or not he realized it. 'How could she even suppose it's possible? If I tell her anything then she will not only shrink from the darkness of my soul, but she would have leverage over me. I have to remain cool, 'calm, collected , and aloof. Like I was far too above her to care that she was interested. How could I pour myself out with the fear that she would reject me?' He shook his head. 'I don't even know if I want her to accept me. Why should I create a dependency or a weakness?' Raistlin shivered, pulling his robes tighter. He hadn't nearly enough answers, he thought, as he made his way home, heading for the room next to his and knocking.
"Come in," Ari called out.
As he entered, she looked up from her book on her bed. "Go away," she told him, focusing on the book once more.
"May I talk with you?"
"Evidently not; I'm reading. Besides you haven't had any time to think things through."
"You cut your hair," he noted, shoving away the mental voice who commented on how boyishly cute it made her look.
"Yes. Tika did it for me. It's way too hot here for long hair. It should grow back in due time." Ari did not look up at any point during the conversation. She had read the same line about five times by now and was growing irritated. "Would you please go now? I will maybe talk to you sometime tomorrow. Preferably when I am not attempting to read."
Raistlin came in further, closing the door behind him. He got a slight thrill from aggravating her the way she annoyed him-by not going away. "Why do you want to become friends?" he asked, folding his hands so that he could not fidget.
Ari sighed dramatically, slamming the bookmark into the novel, "Great book," she stated with mock enthusiasm, "Can't put it down." Then, she sat up, smoothing out the bed sheets she had been laying on top of, patting the space besides her invitingly.
He came over and sat down, tucking his hands into the sleeves of his robes, hugging his arms.
"Why do you need to always know the motives that drive a person? Would it possibly kill you to take things as they are-just accept the situation and be content? That is the reason you don't have friends. You analyze them to death when you should just be there for them. It is possible that someone would like to be your friend. Like me, for example." She was becoming frustrated with him. He seemed to have a tendency to bring the worst out in a person, solely because he was so aggressive and challenging.
"I didn't come to be criticized. I came for answers," he replied. A part of him was telling him to just shut up and listen before he made her angrier. In those last few minutes he hadn't thought it in her nature for her to be so irritated.
She sighed. Obviously she wasn't getting it through to him that if he were a little more pleasant it wouldn't kill him. "I don't have any ulterior motives, okay? I am not the kind of person who hides what they feel; I like to get all the cards laid out on the table." This time there was a pleading note to her voice. She was done being angry. It drained her.
Raistlin stared at her for a few minutes, golden eyes trying to pierce into her heart and discover what was really there. She looked away, his gaze being far too burning to keep eye contact with.
"You have anything to say?" she asked, nervously. She had said a lot and wasn't sure how he was taking it. She twisted the hem of her shirt in between her fingers.
He shook his head, still gazing levelly.
"Can I kiss you?"
An eyebrow rose, "You didn't ask the first time. Why would you need permission now?" His heartbeat quickened at the thought of the kiss.
"Because last time I disturbed you. I want to make sure it's all right." She leaned closer to him, carefully watching his expression.
"We're friends, right?" he asked. At her assent, he went on, "Friends don't kiss."
"Oh," was all she could manage, feeling a blush creep up her neck and into her face, scalding her pointed ears. "Sorry."
A malicious smile tinted his lips. "Go to bed-it's almost morning," he suggested, getting up and leaving.
"I think I love you," she told him, after the door was closed and she had picked up her book again. Ari had about as much luck as she had had when Raistlin had come in. Her thoughts scrambled frantically through her mind, each one claiming precedence over the last. Desperately she wanted to be friends-and then some. His secretive ways intrigued her and his unfriendly attitude made her want to know him and understand what made him like that. She was also attracted to him. Everything about him she found visually appealing and the strength of his personality drew her. 'Perhaps he wants to be more than just friends,' she mused, filing through the mental images she had picked up. The interest was definitely there, as was the potential. An ache had gone through her when they had kissed. She wanted more than that one kiss. As she blew out the candles for the night she began to scheme of ways to steal a kiss or two more, maybe a walk holding hands. Ari was willing to be doing anything just as long as she could be around the man who caused such a rush of emotions. She slept fitfully, excited for the next day.
Ariana sat at the kitchen table flipping through her sketchbook. She had enough drawings to make an interesting mural and many ideas-the trick was combining images. Over her ears were her earphones, blaring Weezer's blue album. She bounced to the music, mouthing the words right along with the band. Caramon and Tika were managing the Inn; they left behind a pot full of hot coffee and a plate of cooling raisin scones.
As she stared at the scones for possible inspiration, an idea struck. Ari gathered up her cd player, sketchbook, plate of scones, coffee pot and two mugs, heading for Raistlin's room. She gave to door a nudge with her foot and it swung open.
Raistlin didn't bother to look up from his books so she entered, sliding the plate and the pot next to him on the desk, the cups following with a clink. That caught his attention and he glared over at her, the sun catching the color of his skin and making it glow. "What are you doing?" he asked. In the morning sunlight he knew with clarity what it was that made him irritated so much with her: she was so damn persistent! The kender blood in her disturbed him and it was her kender-like mannerisms of talking too much and being so cheerful that made him choke on any nice words that he might say to her.
"I got lonely in the kitchen and thought I'd draw in here with you. I brought coffee and scones. Peace offerings." She poured the coffee in to the cups, leaving one for him and nudging the scones toward him suggestively. With her cup of coffee, she plunked down on the floor by his desk, turning her music on lowly this time.
He glanced down at her, stopping himself from reaching down and stroking her hair. She looked so pretty today in black pants that went mid-calf and had a ribbed black tank top. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, bangs clipped back, and strands of hair escaping at the nape of her neck. Around her throat was a black cat's collar, red heart and bell dangling down. At that point she didn't have much on the page, so she sat, absently fiddling with the wire attached to her earphones.
Ari leaned back against the desk, looking up at him. Her eyes bounced shyly away from his. She took the earphones off and looked back to him, "Morning," she mumbled, keeping her eyes on his for only a few seconds. He reached down and took her chin with a delicate hand.
"Make eye contact, please."
She did so, holding his gaze for a quite a while. "You and your masks. You can't hide a thing behind them when you touch me, " she whispered.
He pulled away back his hand as if burnt, staring at it. Ari put aside her sketchbook and rose to her knees. She folded him into an embrace, nuzzling his jaw until he turned toward her and she kissed him.
No sooner had the kiss been initiated when the door swung open. Caramon lumbered in, "Hey, Raist, have you seen Ariana?" He stopped, mumbled an apology and backed out of the room.
Ariana shrank away guiltily, mouthing 'sorry' to the furious mage. She picked up her things and ran out of the room to find Caramon. The kitchen was bathed in green sunlight, coming in from the trees where Caramon was puttering around. He glanced ocer at her, blushing slightly.
"Well, I have several ideas sketched out," Ari began. "I was trying to think of another, but you found me before I was done. So... here's what I have." She opened the book to where she had started. "My favorite's the inn scene. It could look like an extension of your inn or one that you visited on your adventures."
The big man nodded, thumbing through some of the pages. "I think the inn one is the best. Now, while I've got you, I need to talk about when this could be done and payment for this. The summer is my busiest season what with all of the tourists. It's not busy after midnight until about early in the afternoon. People don't come in until later."
"Sounds good. I like to stay up late. If you could rope off a few feet around where you want the mural to be it would really help. I wouldn't want customers getting wet paint all over themselves. As for payment, as long as you feed me, let me stay here and buy my supplies, I don't want anything. This is a vacation away from my work for me, and a good opportunity to practice my painting."
"That's a deal, then." He was about to say something, but stopped, and then started again. "Are you and Raist... um...?"
Ariana snapped her book closed in finality. "I doubt it. He isn't sure what he wants right now; at least as far as I can tell from the emotions that I can read off of him. I'm an empath and so I can feel these things. I just don't know what to do about him. I really like him."
"Yeah? Tika seems to think that he likes you. I think so too. You would be good for him," he added, surprisingly perceptive.