Raven smiled as she opened her eyes, a sense of warmth flowed over her, her mind was groggy from sleep. She sought out where Tyrael lay, becoming puzzled when she couldn't find the warmth of his body next to her. She rubbed her good eye, wiping to sleep from it. The pale embers of the fire still smoked, she looked past them to wear Tyrael sat, in the same position as he'd been when she'd fallen asleep, although at some point in the night he'd also given into sleep. Raven's confusion cleared and gave way to realisation. She shook her head. "Don't let your guard down." She said to herself. She heard Tyrael shift. She found it amusing that she'd had such a dream, of him of all people. She slowly got to her feet and started to dress fully before he'd completely woken up.
"I hope you weren't planning of trying to sneak off." Tyrael said, she heard tiredness in his voice that said he'd not slept for very long. She took some satisfaction in that.
"Wouldn't dream of it." She said sarcasticly. "After all, you'd only track me down and follow me again, right?" She wrapped her belt around her waist and shivered slightly from the memory of that dream, of his hands caressing. What on earth would posses her to have that dream. She blinked and looked over to the small bundle of black fur curled up on her scarf. She sighed and leant down and stroked Merlin's belly. "Common my little friend, tis time to move on." Merlin protested greatly to her taking the scarf, but eventually gave in and stretched.
"Don't suppose you'll reconsider following me." She half asked.
"Not until I've been forgiven for my stupidity." Tyrael replied pulling his hood up over his head. Raven was in awe briefly, as the shadows of his hood feel over his face she was reminded of the drawings in the Book Of Cain, she grabbed her satchel and swung it over her shoulder, she thought briefly how she glimpsed briefly into his form self, and pushed the thoughts away.
Tyrael sighed, somewhat glad to be away from the heat of the desert sun, but truthfully the shaded trees of the forest offered no real comfort. He watched Raven up head, they'd been travelling together for a week now and she'd spent most of those days in silence, except maybe to snap at him. Every now and then a softer side showed and she would thank him for something, usually collecting firewood or some other mundane task. Most nights he sat watching for any kind of would be attacker, mostly because he wasn't eager to sleep. Part of him hated how she'd gotten under his skin that night in the desert, how close she'd gotten to him. He closed his eyes and ran his hand across his cheek and neck, he almost feel the way her lips felt there. Since then every time he closed his eyes and gave into sleep he would feel her body hot against his.
Something snapped him back to reality. "Stop day dreaming will you, there's a village nearby, just over that hill." He blinked for a moment and followed where she was pointing with his eyes.
He nodded, trying to push those images from his head and cleared his throat. "Alright, would be good to sleep in an inn for a change." He paused. "I can't sleep out in the wilds, to easy to be snick up on." She raised a brow at him before shrugging.
"I sleep perfectly fine." Before he had time to interject she added. "Even before you started following me." She smiled. "But it would be good to sleep in a real bed, and to drink fine ale."
"I still owe you that drink." Tyrael said with a smile following after her. For the first time since they'd first parted ways she seemed to relax around him, she was laughing, it was not a thick heavy laughter, but rather the laughter of someone remembering a happy memory.
"That's right you do." She smiled back at him as they walked down the hill and broke through to trees into a clearing. Filled with a few small building. A mill, a few small huts and a larger build that had a creaky sign hang from it with the image of a stags head painted on it. He watched as Raven covered her face and began walking again.
"Why do you hide your face like that?" Tyrael walked be her side and glanced at her, her good eye looked back at him as if he'd asked a stupid question.
"I don't like people asking about them." She placed her hand on the door of the inn and pushed it open. "It's not that I feel disfigured or anything like that, I was never beautiful to begin with." Her words drew a surprised look from Tyrael, he held the door of the inn open and followed her in. The heady smell of ale filled his lungs.
"You were beautiful though." He stopped and realised they way he'd phrased that. "That's not to say you're not beautiful now, you still are, it's just..."
Raven laughed. "Here, let me take that shovel from you, angel, before you dig a deeper hole." She turned away from him and leant on the bar. Tyrael groaned and rubbed the back of his head. Still hadn't grasped all this, all this being human. Maybe he never would. "Any free rooms?" Raven said to the innkeeper.
"You a criminal?" He asked running his eyes over the pair of them. "Only criminals would try to hide there face like that."
Raven rolled her eyes for a moment. She shifted her weight and stood back. "No, but my husband is a very jealous man, he wont let another living man look upon my face." Tyrael pointed a puzzled look at her until she lay a hand on his chest and he realised she'd refereed to him as her husband. "Those that have seen my face, well it was the last thing they saw."
Tyrael looked at the innkeeper who was inspecting him perhaps deciding whether it would be worth calling her bluff. Tyrael grinned mischievously and wrapped his arm around Raven, letting it rest on her hip, possessively pulling her against him. He clearly took raven by surprise because she stiffened against him.
"100 a night. Up the stairs." The innkeeper, passed them a key and Raven chucked some gold at him.
Tyrael unwrapped his arm from around Raven's waist , hesitantly, as they closed the inn room door behind them despite his reluctance to let go he wore a smug expression. Pleased to have taken the woman by surprise, she was frowning, though not at him, but the room. "Dammit, should have come up with something else." She placed her hand on her hip and Tyrael laughed as he peered past her to the bed, it was not a huge bed, but large enough to two people to sleep comfortably.
"I'll sleep on the floor." He said chuckling as laying his sword against the wall and unclipped his cloak. He draped his cloak over the sword before tugging at the straps of his armour. He let out a sigh of relief as he lay the chest plate down. Quickly followed by the rest of the plate mail. He stretched his arms, he felt so much lighter without all that armour.
Raven unwrapped the scarf from around her head, laying her satchel gently down and flopped onto the bed, it was a simple hay bed, not overly luxurious, but much more so than dirt and sand. She glanced over as Tyrael removed his armour, she'd almost forgotten that it wasn't actually part of him, she never truly seen him without it. Her mind flashed to the half naked Tyrael from her dream, she felt heat rise in her cheeks and she diverted her gaze to the ceiling as he turned around.
"I've never seen you without your armour on before." She said trying to feign amusement, the fact was she was impressed, her dream was perhaps not that far off, though it was hard to tell, the tunic he wore was loose, the leather chaps however were tight around his legs. She blink and sat up tearing her eyes away..
"I've never felt relaxed enough to remove it in company before." Tyrael said, she met his eyes and smiled softly.
"Oh I dunno why you feel so comfortable around me, remember I hate you want to kill you ect. ect." She pushed herself back and leant against the wall.
"If you were going to kill me, you'd have taken your chance by now." Tyrael grinned. "I don't believe you'd intentionally hurt or kill me."
Raven laughed. "Right, I'll make sure to make it look like I accidentally shot you in the back."
As if instinct had forced him to do it his hand slid under the tunic to the scar just above his hip. "Well, you've come close to that bef-" Tyrael was so surprised by the crashing sound of metal on metal on wood that he stiffened, the scramble of tiny paws and a shocked squeak as his sword fell onto his armour almost made he chuckled and he turned and watched a black creature streak across the room.
Raven laughed as Merlin climbed up the bed and huddled up on her lap. "Merlin." She scorned, but it wasn't exactly serious. "You shouldn't be playing with the angel's stuff.." She chuckled and rubbed the ferrets belly and laughed a little as he squirmed. Tyrael shook his head picking his sword up again.
He sat on the bed and fell back closing his eyes briefly, opening one eye to inspect the golden eyes peering down at him. He smiled and reached up stroking the ferret's head, it chattered happily. "No harm done little one." He felt Raven shift positions and he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, she'd moved to lay on her back, her arms on her stomach. "You seem more comfortable around me, or is it more of e case you've accepted you can't be rid of me?"
"Oh definitely the latter, angel." Perhaps it was a bit of both, she wouldn't admit it to him though. She stared up at the ceiling, and for a long while they lay silently, well besides from the chatters of the ferret playing between the on the bed, sometimes jumping on run of them to get fuss. She yawned and found exhaustion taking hold, she closed her eyes and let herself fall aslee