Nefarious froze. He had never expected being... hugged. No one has ever done such a thing in all his life. He has taken punches, kicks, rocks, even a chemistry experiment to the head, but nothing quite like this. The strangest part was, it did not make him feel uncomfortable one bit. He did, although, feel a little strange when she rested her head against his chest. But, it was not a disturbing strangeness, it felt nice. Though Mariana was cold to the touch, her embrace made him feel warm, like the sun on an autumn day.
He decided to live in the moment for once. He cautiously wrapped his arms around her shoulders, slowly sliding them down her back to the center. They stood there like that for a moment until he moved one arm and ran his long fingers through her thick, smooth, soft, brunette hair. Pausing on the tips, letting go, then reaching his hand back up to the top of her head to do it again. She must have just washed it, for it was still a little damp and it smelled like roses. He felt strangely intoxicated by the scent, and bent over a little until his nose rested on the top of her head.
Deeply inhaling once, he pictured a rose garden in his mind. A vast, never ending rose garden, illuminated by the gentle light of the full moon. The roses were of many colors; some red, some white, some pink, some yellow, and even some black roses.
His hold on Mariana tightened without him even noticing it. But she did. She held tighter to his waist and he straightened out his posture.
How far do I want to go with this? He thought. Maybe it would be a better idea to let go. He decided to ask her.
"Are you disturbed at all by this?" He questioned.
"If you mean our embrace, no." She said, setting her head against his chest again. "Are you?"
"No." And he was being honest. "It's just new to me."
"What else would be new to you? Just out of curiosity."
"Anything affectionate like this."
She looked up at him, smiling. He smiled back at her. Suddenly, they were interrupted by someone shouting.
"Wow!" It was N. Gin. He had walked upstairs and no one even noticed. Mariana and Nefarious quickly stepped away from each other.
"N. Gin, what are you doing here?" Nefarious asked, not so sure of what to say if N. Gin wanted an explanation.
"I haven't seen you for ten hours, man! I was wondering what you were doing. I always thought you would be a ladies man." He winked and stuck a thumb up.
Mariana was blushing now. She turned away, pulling up the hood of her robes, setting her forehead against the wall. ...No, more like slamming her forehead against the wall. Not repetitively, only once. And it looked like it hurt.
"Ow..." she moaned quietly.
"I know how you feel, girl!" N. Gin tried hard not to laugh. "It takes a pretty thick skull to be able to smack your head up against a stone wall and not feel something!"
Mariana was getting angry now. "Banshee..." she raised her voice a little, as if she were calling someone.
Suddenly, the Banshee that had scared Nefarious half to death appeared next to her.
"Oh no... not again!" Nefarious was ready to run.
Mariana pointed to N. Gin, and said something in the language Dr. Cortex's book was written in. The Banshee gave her a wide evil grin, saluted her, then turned towards N. Gin. She wailed, making the two men cover their ears in pain, then floated at running speed over to N. Gin's position. He screamed in terror, then ran away down the stairs, Banshee following him.
Nefarious gave Mariana a dumbfounded look. "What did you just say to it?"
She shrugged, laughing a little. "Just to chase him without harming him until he got worn out."
Wow... even Necromancers are humorous. He thought, laughing. "Poor N. Gin. Wait, no, I take that back. By the way... why did that... um, thing, the Banshee... call you 'master'?"
"She's loyal to Necromancers." Simple as that. "Unless she has a job, she comes right when you call her."
A Banshees job is -according to Celtic legend and folklore- to visit a family when there will be a death in that family, and wail. They are, not completely, harmless. They could hurt you, or even kill you if they wanted to, or if commanded to, but they are very peaceful spirits. But though they are peaceful, they are an omen of death. Their wailing, tells when someone in the family will die, and warns them. But, if several Banshees were to appear, it would mean someone great or holy has died. Their wails can be so piercing, they have been known to shatter glass.
"I need to get her a cloak..." Mariana said to herself. She suddenly jumped and looked down. Nefarious had her pendant laying on his palm. She was still wearing it, too.
"You really like pentacles, don't you?" He asked curiously.
She smiled. "That's a pentagram." She traced the outline with her index finger. "See? The star's inside the circle. No circle is a pentacle, with circle is a pentagram."
He brushed her hair behind her ears. She had dangling pentagram ear rings, too. "What are pentagrams and pentacles for?"
"Mostly ritual purposes, but I put these on just because I like the design. I mean, come on. Something as simple as a star inside a circle? You have to admit, it's cool."
Nefarious nodded, smiling. He agreed. But, he preferred the pentacle, if he was going to wear one. "Now..." he said. He got an idea. "Back to the subject before we were so rudely interrupted..." He paused, unsure of what to say. He felt a bead of sweat run down his face, and he was probably blushing like crazy. His heart was thumping hard.
"Yes, Dr. Tropy?" Mariana looked up at him curiously. She put a hand over his heart. "Slow down..."
"You can feel it?" He was impressed yet again. She nodded. "Umm..." He was going to regret this, and he knew it. But it did not matter to him. He leaned over a little until they were eye to eye. He then gently pressed his lips to hers. It was not really a kiss, it was more like just a light touch, until he moved his bottom lip just slightly, pressing a little bit and turning his head just a little.
It was not a passionate kiss, either. Simple, light, and very, very sweet. When he let up, he noticed the shocked expression on her face.
"I'm sorry..." he apologized. "I... don't know what got into me..." He was already beginning to regret it.
Mariana lightly put her fingers to her mouth. She was blushing, almost turning beet red. "Thank you..." she said quietly.
Nefarious was not sure why she was thanking him, but it made him happy to know that she was not upset with him
