[F11-PP] By Your Side (Telrenya)

[Jomei 0]

The battle had raged on for hours, Jomei fearing for his life more than once against the powerful tyrant that was Tesseleth. However, in the end, the fighters emerged victorious, unlocking another Floor for the players of Aincrad to inhabit and explore. A weary Jomei followed his comrades out of the darkness of the boss’ lair and up towards the next floor, which thankfully was not more caves. The man emerged from the cave, the players finding themselves surrounded by tall trees and mountains, the stars in the sky slowly fading as the sun began to emerge over the peaks of the mountains in the distance. Taking a moment to themselves, the players spoke about exploring the floor, even rushing to find the lair of the next boss. Jomei, on the other hand, had other plans. He stuck with the raid party as they explored, until they found the main settlement of Coral, which consisted of a few log cabins. Jomei watched as the rest of the group began to explore the town, others venturing out already. Jomei immediately ran to the teleport ring in the center of town. “Warp, Taft!” he shouted, and the man vanished in a bright white light.

Jomei’s body materialized, the rising sun over Taft bathing his body in the warm light. Heat was the last thing Jomei wanted to feel after fighting a fire breathing dragon. The Irishman turned his attention to the part of town where his house was located, and hopefully where Telrenya waited for him. Jomei looked to his shoulder, Adere looking exhausted from all of the action. “Why don’t you head back before me, I’ll be right behind you.” With a coo of agreement, the owl took off into the air, soaring over the roofs of the houses of Taft, looking for the familiar brown townhouse.

@Telrenya

((OOC: Takes place directly after the boss fight))

[Telrenya 0]

Staring listlessly out of the glass panes on the first floor of Jomei's living room, Telrenya stood with the tips of her fingers resting against the windowsill. Despite her best efforts, the blonde had been restless throughout the night, and a yawn escaped her lips as Cardinal reminded her of the fatigue that weighed down on her as a result.

After finally pulling herself out of bed, the quiet emptiness of the room had once again loomed in the air around her. Uncertainty and anxiety had nestled its way back into her heart, and she found herself checking both her friends list and her messages for the names of her two guildmates. The sun had just barely started rising over the large town as she had thought to change her clothes to try and shake the unsavory feelings. As she passed by the now-familiar picture sitting in its frame on the other side of the room, her eyes lingered with a soft smile before they dropped down to the dresser below. She was quickly reminded of the 'dress-up party' she had held the day before in an attempt to take her mind off of things. A light chuckle escaped her at the recollection, and with half a smirk resting on her features, she wondered if such a distraction would do her well so early in the morning.

Clad in the Irishman's signature green sleeveless tunic, dark pants, and accessories decorating either of her arms, Telrenya's mind had inevitably wandered itself back to Jomei. Hoping he was safe, and that the boss fight wouldn't be too hard on him after all they'd been through as of late. She wondered, with her mind cloudy and full, just how much time would pass before she could see him again.

[Jomei 0]

The Irishman’s olive eyes followed the owl as her image disappeared behind the tall buildings of the European city. With a bit of haste, the armored man walked through the quiet streets, most players still asleep, leaving the NPCs on their daily routes. The cloak flowed outwards as he quickly moved, his boots tapping against the cobblestone roads lined with houses and shops. As he turned the all too familiar corner, Jomei spotted the row of similar looking buildings, one in particular with the small wooden sign hanging next to the door. His lips curving into a smile, the man broke out into a jog down the block until he reached the door.

The man’s gloved hand fished into a leather pouch on his belt, his slender fingers locating and grabbing hold of the small iron key to his home. Using the item, the man unlocked the oak door, a feeling of relief and safety hitting his body in a wave. Swiping his hand upwards, the man unequipped the leather boots before traveling deeper into his house, seeing that the door to his living room was already opened. As he peeked through the door frame, he saw the familiar dirty-blonde hair of Telrenya, falling down her back over what looked like his own clothes that he had left behind. His cheeks turned a hue of pink, not of the fact that she had gone through his items and found his clothes, but that he was overwhelmed with excitement to see her again.

The ginger quietly entered the room, slipping the long green cloak off of his shoulders and holding it in his hands. Slowly, he walked up behind Telrenya, his heart beating faster the closer he got, and the wider his smile was getting. His feet stopped just behind the woman, as he lifted the cloak up to her shoulders, placing the cloth so it sat on the woman’s body. He chuckled, “If you’re going to dress like me, you might as well finish the look.”

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya's mind was far away, so much so that she didn't notice the sounds of the door gently opening and closing, or the Irishman's careful footsteps as he snuck up behind her. It wasn't until she felt the brush of cloth against her bare shoulders and felt the weight of Jomei's cloak as it slid around her frame that the woman jolted to attention. She had hardly registered his teasing comment before she whipped around to face the man behind her, her expression a mixture of surprise and disbelief before his words clicked into the gaps in her mind. The situation that she found herself in--caught red-handed in her childish actions--hit her with a force that had every muscle in her body tense up. She flushed with embarrassment, wanting to look away but unable to tear her gaze away from his. Part of her wanted to hide, wishing he hadn't seen her like this. But the other, much stronger half of her mixed emotions wouldn't let her hesitate any longer. Telrenya took the half-step forward to close the gap between them before her arms found their way past his sides.

She embraced Jomei, holding him as tightly as her weary arms could manage. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Her muffled voice exclaimed while she buried her face into the man's chest. She felt as though she never wanted to let go, that she would be perfectly happy to stay exactly like this for as long as time would allow, but as she knew that wouldn't be possible she eventually willed herself to pull her head away, only loosening her hold a small amount as her chin pulled up to look into his olive eyes with a warm smile. It was hard to believe that only a day had passed since he left for the frontlines.

Suddenly another wave of embarrassment washed over her as she was again reminded of the clothing she stood in. Her cheeks took on another pink hue that stretched across the bridge of her nose, and she averted her nervous gaze as she began to stammer. "Oh, I-I'm sorry, I--uhm, I just thought--I was--Ahh..." The color on her face deepened to a scarlet as her embarrassed rambling trailed off into a nervous chuckle.

Edited November 28, 2017 by Telrenya

[Jomei 0]

Telrenya’s shock from Jomei’s placing of his cape on her person caused his smile to grow even wider. The girl spun about to face Jomei, the green cloak falling off of her shoulders and too the floor as she did so. The man looked down into the deep brown eyes that he loved, overwhelmed with emotions that he was able to see them again. Without any words, Telrenya stepped forward, her arms tightly wrapping around Jomei, pulling their bodies together. Jomei let his own arms wrap around Telrenya, one around her lower back, the other around her shoulders.

Her grip loosened, allowing her to lift her gaze once again to meet his olive green eyes, the emotion on her face one of the happiest he had ever seen. “I told you I’d come back.” he said with another chuckle and wide grin. Another moment had passed, and a deep blush formed on Tel’s already rosy cheeks. She began to stammer, trying to find an explanation for why she had been lounging in his clothes, rather than her own. He watched as the girl’s embarrassment heightened, no sense to be made from her words. He placed his hand on her warm cheeks and lowered his head down to meet hers, pressing his lips into hers. As he held thier kiss for several long moments, his hands gently moved to her back. Slowly, his lips separated from hers, a smile on his face as he opened his eyes. “It’s okay, Tel” he chuckled, “You make that outfit look a lot better than I do anyway.”

[Telrenya 0]

Her cheeks burned brightly while a flustered expression settled on her features. As if to silence the incoherent thoughts that had spilled from her, she felt Jomei's gentle touch as he took her face in his hands and brought their lips together. An initial surprise quickly melted away into a rush of bliss that washed through her. She returned his kiss eagerly, simply enjoying their reunion while her heart fluttered in her chest.

When their lips parted and her eyes met Jomei's smiling face, Telrenya gave him a shy grin. "Still..." Another nervous, breathy chuckle escaped her. "I should go get changed." She pushed herself up on the balls of her feet, tilting her chin upwards to plant a quick kiss upon the man's cheek before she withdrew her arms from their hold around him. A bit reluctantly, the blonde slipped herself away, hurrying towards the door to head down the hall and up the stairs.

Telrenya entered the bedroom and a soft sigh escaped her lips. The color had drained from her cheeks at last, but the smile lingered across her lips as the Irishman's presence in the room below her brought peace to her heart and mind. She was just about to move herself forward when the feeling of eyes trained on her pulled her attention to the corner of the room. She gave a start when her gaze met with Adere’s onyx black orbs, the owl staring at her with a tired curiosity from atop her perch. Telrenya's hand instinctively placed itself over her fast-beating heart, slowing calming after she had a moment to acknowledge the familiar’s presence in the room. She offered a small, apologetic smile as she hurried to the bathroom, carefully closing the door behind her. While another small wave of relief washed over her at both the ginger's and his familiar’s safety, Telrenya summoned her menus and made a few quick selections to switch back to her outfit from the previous day--a sky blue off-the-shoulder sweater with a plain black skirt. A pair of black stockings were pulled up to her thighs, and the woman ran her fingers through the dirty blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders as she quickly inspected herself in the mirror before hastily making her way back downstairs. She peeked through the doorway to the living room for half a second before entering again. Easily spotting Jomei's wild, ginger hair with his shoulders pressed against the back of the couch, she made her way around and leaned forward over the piece of furniture, sliding her hands over his shoulders and across his chest as her wrists met and crossed over one another. She pulled her head forward and pressed her cheek against his while another wide smile spread over her face. "Ahh, I really missed you." She admitted in a soft voice.

[Jomei 0]

Despite that Telrenya did, in fact, sport Jomei’s attire very well, she decided it was best for her to change out of his clothes. With a smile, Jomei nodded his head, “Alright, if you want.” Jomei said sarcastically with a playful wink. The girl responded with a warm smile, raising her height up a few inches by shifting her weight to the balls of her feet, gently placing her soft lips against Jomei’s cheek. His smile widened as he felt the fluttering feeling in his stomach that would happen any time Telrenya was around him, let alone when she kissed him. The woman then quickly made her way out of the living room to Jomei’s bedroom, where she would change into her clothes. The Irishman watched her until she was out of view, before letting out a heavy sigh of relief and looking around his house. Its scary to think that… I may have never seen this place again.. That I may have never seen Estelle again. he thought to himself. The weary man then began to remove his armor, swiping his hand up and placing the leathers into his inventory. After selecting another icon, a long sleeved green shirt appeared over his torso with a pair of black casual pants. He looked back towards the door frame where Telrenya had retreated to go to his room, recalling the exhausted look in her eyes. He frowned for a moment, hoping that his absence had not kept the girl from sleeping soundly. Turning to his kitchen, the man walked across to the stove top, where the small blue kettle sat. Opening the lid, he poured water into the container before returning it to the stove top, tapping the air in front of the appliance to set the water to heat up and boil. Thanks to the Cardinal system, the water only took mere seconds to boil. Taking a small white mug from his cabinet, Jomei poured the tea into the cup for Telrenya, hoping it would help to rejuvenate the girl with her lack of sleep. Taking the steaming cup in his hands, Jomei walked over to his couch and sat down, the first time sitting down in almost a whole twenty-four hours.

Moments later, Jomei felt Telrenya’s hands slipping over his shoulders, her hands meeting in front of his chest, and her soft, warm cheek pressing into his own as she embraced him from behind. Jomei reached up one of his arms aside him, placing one hand gently on the back of her neck, pressing his cheek back into hers. “I really missed you too, Estelle. I’m just so happy to come back home to you.”

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya let out a soft, cheerful hum as her face rested beside Jomei's. She would gently pull away after a few moments, placing another light kiss to his temple before slowly withdrawing her hands from around him and straightening her spine. She circled around the couch to join him, taking a seat beside the man and leaning her shoulders back against the soft fabric. After a brief moment of feeling herself slowly begin to unwind from all the tension she had carried throughout the past day, the woman's head tilted and she leaned a few inches to the side, gravitating towards Jomei until her temple gently made contact with his shoulder.

For a few long seconds, she wasn't sure what to say. She thought to ask him about the boss fight, but quickly doubted herself before the topic even formed itself in her throat. Surely, he wouldn't want to reflect on what she could only imagine must have been a terrifying experience. Though she was undeniably curious, the blonde would save the topic for another time, if she felt the man was comfortable with it. Still, there was one piece of that puzzle that she couldn't stop from slipping out. "Is Ruby okay?" Her voice was small, with a hint of concern.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei’s eyes closed, enjoying the warmth that came from the woman he loved leaning into him as such. The cheerful hum emitting from her throat forced an equally happy smile to his lips. Jomei felt the woman’s face move from his own, planting another soft kiss on the side of his head. As he opened his eyes, he watched as the arms in the pale blue sweater retreated out of his peripheral vision. Jomei turned to look over his shoulder, watching the woman as she rounded the couch and took her place next to him. As she settled into the couch, Jomei reached forward to grab the small cup of tea from the table, handing it to the blonde next to him. “Here, this should wake you up.” he said with a smile. Her head slowly fell to the side, the side of her temple resting against Jomei’s shoulder. The man’s eyes closed as he took in a deep breath through his nostrils, enjoying the comfort of being home with Telrenya once again. He was truly getting used to having Terenya around in the house all of the time, and the thought of asking her if she wanted to move into his house crossed his mind many times. After a short silence, the girl asked about their blonde counterpart, Ruby, and how she was. Jomei chuckled. “Ruby is fine. A little shaken up from her first boss fight. But she was tough as usual.” he chuckled “You should have seen her, fiery as ever..Even almost picked a fight with another front liner before the fight even started.” he said with a laugh. “Of course, it was someone that probably could have crushed Ruby like a bug if she wanted to.”

[Telrenya 0]

The mug that Jomei handed her came as a pleasant surprise, and Telrenya gratefully curled her fingers around the drink. She enjoyed the warmth against her palms, and the soothing smell that reached her nostrils as she brought the softly steaming liquid closer to her chin. Her smile turned a bit shy at his comment, wondering if her lack of sleep was so obvious.

The light sigh of relief that left her when Jomei told her their feisty friend was okay was almost involuntary. When he continued to explain something about her getting heated with a stronger player, though, Telrenya’s bottom lip stiffened and she let out a tiny groan. "Rubyyy..." She lightly whined the woman’s name in a small mumble. "I’m glad she’s okay, though..." The corners of her mouth curled into a small smile again. Her mind began to wander, still curious about what it was like to battle against a floor boss. For a brief moment she recalled seeing herself in the mirror upstairs the day prior, clad in the leather armor that she planned to use during her own training. When the memory resurfaced the woman was immediately hit with a pang of guilt. Despite not yet having acted on her plans, she still intended to deceive those who were closest to her. Telrenya brought the white mug a few inches closer to her lips, giving the hot liquid a small, hesitant sip. The warmth ran down her throat and did well to ease her mind, aiding her to shift her focus elsewhere.

She lowered her hands to her lap, still leaning against the Irishman's sturdy frame. Her eyes trailed down to the tea resting between her hands, and another thought entered her mind. 'He left yesterday morning... And just came back today, then--' She cut herself off, feeling her spine straighten as she turned to look at the man beside her. "Wait, have you slept since the fight?" She asked with a voice full of concern.

[Jomei 0]

His head shook from side to side as he laughed, Telrenya whining out Ruby’s name, expressing slight distate that she had almost started a fight with Zandra. Though in the end, the woman who sat beside him was just glad to know that she had came out safe, just as Jomei had. The man slowly nodded, “Yeah. Me too. I had given her a couple of items out of my inventory to keep her safer.. After the fight, when we all went up to the next floor, most of us immediately went to the next town, she had gone with us. I wasn’t sure if she decided to stick around and explore, or if she went back to her shop.. It was probably a lot on her mind, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she took a short break from everything again.”

Jomei watched as Telrenya consumed more of the tea that he had made her, the satisfied look on her face made the man’s smile widen. After a moment, she had asked Jomei if he had gotten any sleep since the fight, concern in her voice. Jomei chuckled, “I.. don’t even know how many hours I’ve been up.. No, I haven’t slept since the fight … I don’t even know if I was able to sleep the night before as well.” He lifted his head from atop of Telrenya, looking to the girl on his shoulder, “Honestly, I’ve just been running on adrenaline.” Just as Jomei had said that, he felt a yawn push up from his chest and out through his mouth. His free hand rose to cover his mouth, tears forming in the corners of his eyes, which he wiped away with his index finger. Jomei gently slipped himself from under Telrenya’s shoulder, “I just need to go splash some cold water on my face to wake up.” As he stood up, he placed a quick kiss on the top of Telrenya’s head before rounding the couch towards the door to the main hallway.

As the man walked up the stairs and into his room, he smiled. Though the room looked just as neat as he had left it, he could get the sense that Telrenya had stayed here. Knowing that she felt comfortable enough to live in his house without him around brought a warmth to his heart. His eyes went to the corner of the room, where Adere was on her perch, her eyes closed as she slept. The man smirked before turning to his bathroom and stepping up to the white porcelain sink, as he reached across to turn the water on, his eyes were drawn to a small vial of a black liquid. The curious man grabbed the vial with two fingers, observing it. Tapping the air in front of the item, a small box of information appeared, saying <<Hair Dye: Black>>. Jomei had used hair dye once before, two years ago on Halloween… but he never had black dye. Was it Telrenya’s? Why had she been planning on dying her hair? The man placed the item into his inventory, deciding not to think too deeply on it for now.

[Telrenya 0]

"Mm..." Telrenya mumbled lightly, leaving herself a mental reminder to message Ruby later that day. She only hoped the encounter hadn't put more of a strain on the healer than she could handle, with how much she'd already been through. She still thought it crazy that both players were willing to fight on the frontlines after recent events, not to mention the tragedies and hardships they'd endured long before. Even so, and as difficult as it was to do so, the blonde had tried to reflect upon their decisions as inspiring rather than worrying.

When Jomei admitted that he couldn't even recall how long he'd been awake, the corners of Telrenya's lips pulled down into a disapproving frown. She opened her mouth to protest when he told her he simply needed to wake himself up, wanting to urge the man to rest and get some sleep, but she couldn't find the words before he began to leave the room. All the escaped from her was a small breath of air, and she watched as Jomei disappeared into the hall with a small pout resting on her features. "Mm, don't push yourself..." She was only able to voice the thought in a mumble several seconds after he had left her view. The woman sighed, leaning forward for her elbows to press against her legs. Her arms bent and she held the white ceramic mug close to her face as the soothing scent of the tea wafted in front of her nose.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei cupped his hands, the cold water splashing against his skin and spilling over into the sink. Taking a sharp breath in through is nostrils, the man lowered his head and brought his arms up at the same time, feeling the cold rush of the water as it soaked his face. He repeated the process another two times before shaking his head, droplets of water flinging from the ends of his hair and hitting the floor. Jomei’s hands found the grey towel that hung next to his sink, using it to dry off his face. Now able to see once again, his hand reached across the countertop to stop the flow of water. Jomei’s body still felt exhausted and stiff, however the sudden rush of the cold water did it jobs to wake him up a bit more.

Entering back into his bedroom, he noticed that Adere had woken up, stretching her long wings out to the side. Jomei smirked, watching as the perch she rested on, strangely wobbled, as if off balance. “What the hell?” Jomei questioned, before looking at the legs of the perch. He noticed, under one of them, a small square paper. Adere had hopped off of the perch and onto his desk as Jomei slipped the paper out. Jomei then stood up and stepped over to his balcony to open it for the brown owl. As he took hold of the handle and pulled it towards him, another small square of paper dropped to the ground. Olive orbs watched as the folded parchment hit the floor of his room, leaving the man to wonder just what these were doing there. Adere took flight, making her way outside to go find herself something to eat and stretch her wings, leaving Jomei to bend down and curiously inspect the note.

The ginger took the first square, placing it into his pocket. The second, he took between his fingers and began to slowly make his way back towards the stairs leading back to the living room where Telrenya waited for him. With each step, Jomei unfolded another corner of the paper, until the whole sheet was open, the words now visible to him through the thick creases in the paper. His eyes scanned the red ink, reading each sentence with care.

"In Kyoto I was always so busy studying that I didn't get to enjoy life in the city, but part of me thinks I like places like this better. I'm usually too much of a scaredy-cat to explore on my own, but I've heard of some of the amazing places you can find outside of the cities. Would you like to go exploring sometime? I wonder what the nicest place you've ever been to here was like..."

Jomei smiled, finishing the note, standing in the open doorway to the living room. He looked up to Telreya and smiled, “I wish you could have been there.” he said, as he slowly walked around to sit next to the woman, the note still in his hands. “When we stepped out onto Floor 22. The sun was just beginning to rise over the mountains. The area was very peaceful.. Tall trees, lakes.. The towns were small, filled with cozy log cabins.” As he sat, he turned to look at Telrenya. “I will take you there soon.. Whenever you feel ready to head up that high. But until then.. There’s so many other places I want to take you. So many beautiful places in this world.. I want to bring you to all of them, so you can enjoy them like I did.” Jomei said, a small tinge of pink to his cheeks, looking deeply into Telrenya’s brown eyes.

After a moment, Jomei placed the note on the table, taking the other one out of his pocket, holding it inbetween his index and middle fingers, smirking at Telrenya. “So this is what you do when I’m gone?” he said with a chuckle. “I wonder just how many you hid.”

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya's mind was wandering again, a far-off expression settling on her face as she stared out the window to the brightly-lit city streets past the glass panes. For the few minutes that Jomei had been absent, she found herself lingering on topics she had been trying to save for later: just exactly what the future held. Would Jomei work to gain an even stronger presence in the frontlines? How soon would it be before the next boss room was found, and he would have to fight again? And more questions that were almost as scary to dwell on: what would she do? Was she really determined to train herself alone, in secret? Could she even do it? She didn't want to think about what might happen if one of them were hurt while fighting their own battles...or worse.

She was just about to pull her eyes shut and give a shake of her head to try and banish the thoughts from her mind when a familiar, gentle voice sounded from across the room. Telrenya blinked in surprise, the curled ends of her hair brushing across her shoulders as her head turned to face the Irishman standing in the doorway. Her elbows withdrew from her legs as her spine straightened and her knees shifted to the side as she repositioned herself slightly to face herself at an angle. Her hands slowly fell back to her lap, fingers still wrapped around the warm surface of the mug as he started walking over to her. She realized he was describing the newly-unlocked floor, recalling the beauty and serenity of the environment as her took a seat beside her. The woman's eyes were locked with his, taking in each of his words with a wonderous curiosity while she listened to him explain that there were so many areas of this game that he wanted to show her.

It wasn't until the man leaned forward just a bit to place something on the table in front of them that her eyes shifted, traveling down along his arm to the creased sheet of paper that he set down. Telrenya's gaze rested on the note, the colored ink of her own handwriting contrasting with the subtle embellishment running around the parchment's edges. The memories of last night's escapades came back to her with a pink hue brushing against the apples of her cheeks. Her vision snapped back to the ginger sitting beside her as he gently teased her and displayed a second note between his fingers. Her eyes widened as she stared at the square of paper, shifting back to meet Jomei's olive orbs while her blush spread across the bridge of her nose and took on a deeper shade. She simply stared back at the man, her mouth clamped shut with a stiff bottom lip, a clearly flustered look displayed on her face. Regaining her senses, Telrenya simply pulled a hand from her drink, placing the heel of her palm against one side of her chin while the rest of her hand served to hide her mouth along with the bottom portion of her face. She tore her gaze away, feeling her lips purse behind her small mask. "I... I'm so embarrassed." She managed in a shy mumble.

[Jomei 0]

As Telrenya realized that Jomei had found the notes that she had hidden for him, a blush on her cheeks formed that made almost her entire face redder than his hair. Without words, her eyes shot back and forth, her hand covering her mouth as she mumbled just how embarassed her was. Jomei laughed, letting the small, folded note fall into the palm of his hand before he let his arms slip around Telrenya, giving her a quick embrace. “You’re too cute, Estelle.” He released the woman and looked into her eyes, “Nothing to be embarrassed about, I love this.”

Removing his arms from aside the woman, he sat with his back to the fabric of his couch yet again, eyes going to the small square in his hands. “Guess I’ll take a look at this one too.” he said with a smirk, giving the woman next to him a playful side glance. He opened the sheet, taking care not to rip any of the paper, trying to flatten out the short note once it was fully opened.
"It might not seem like it sometimes, but I actually really like Adere! ^-^ I don't know why I've always felt nervous being really close to animals, but I hope she doesn't take it personally. I'd love to hear more stories about her, if you'd like to share. I wonder how you two first met?"

Jomei smiled, placing a hand over his chest, as if he would be able to feel the warmth from his heart through his chest. His mind went back to the night he had met the once tiny owl out in the woods, remembering both the good and bad times. “It was such a long time ago.. But I remember wanting to find an owl.. Back when I lived in Ireland, when I was just a young boy, we had a really tall oak tree in my yard that I could see from my bedroom window. Every night, before I went to sleep, I would hear the calls of an owl from the tree, and it always soothed me to sleep. I had always wanted a pet owl after that.” he said with a laugh. “So I made it my mission to find one here.. And after a long, scary night, I ended up finding Adere.. And we’ve been friends ever since.”

His gaze turned to Telrenya, a wide smile on his face. “Don’t worry..Adere adores you, shes a very smart owl, so she knows to respect your boundaries.” He placed the second note down on the table, on top of the first one, the creased papers not laying flat atop eachother. The man stared at them for a moment, a mischevious smirk forming on his lips. “Hm… I wonder how many more you hid up there.. I didn’t see any in plain view, so that means whatever else up there has to be really good.” He slowly started to lift himself from the couch, “I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if I just.. Went to look for it.” Telrenya was kind enough to let Jomei read the first two notes, but would she let Jomei go searching for the last? Quickly, Jomei hurried around his couch and made his way towards the door, before running up the stairs to find the last note. As he emerged into his room, his olive eyes began to scan the entirely of the room, looking for another sheet of paper.

[Telrenya 0]

She felt Jomei's arms wrap around her shoulders, and she enjoyed the feeling--however brief--when he pulled her into him. Her blush persisted despite his reassuring words, and she simply let her hand fall back down to meet the mug that she lifted towards her chest with the other after he had released her. She was actually overjoyed that Jomei had found some of the notes she had left him, and moreso that he seemed to like her little messages. Had she been hoping that he would have discovered and read them when she was absent? For a moment she questioned herself, wondering what it was she actually expected to happen, and thinking herself a bit silly for getting so flustered.

The silence that followed as Jomei read the second note was intimidating, and caused the girl to shift slightly in her seat as she brought the cup still half-filled with warm liquid to her lips. She took a long drink, as if to make up for neglecting it earlier. She perked up when Jomei started speaking again, and the color in her cheeks gradually lessened as she listened to him reminisce about both his childhood and his first encounter with his owl companion with a soft smile on her face. He then turned to her and reassured her that the familiar didn't dislike her--quite the opposite, in fact. Telrenya felt a bit of relief when he told her that, wondering if she might work up the courage to give the owl a proper greeting someday soon.

She was quickly pulled from her thoughts again as she caught sight of the smirk pulling at Jomei's features. It was different than his normal, cheerful expression. More impish, as if he was planning something. Telrenya blinked in confusion, staring at Jomei before he hinted at what he planned to do. The gears of her mind clicked into place after he was already standing beside her, and Telrenya had hastily moved to set her mug down on the table in front of her when the Irishman was already hurrying towards the door. "H-Hey! Nick!" She called after him in a flustered tone, but she found herself laughing as she pushed herself to stand and ran after him. After her feet had carried her up the stairs, the blonde found her boyfriend's back facing her as he eagerly looked around the room. Without losing much of her momentum, Telrenya wrapped her arms around his torso, pressing into the man from behind. "No way," She teased him back with another giggle. She leaned her upper body to one side to peek at the corner of Jomei's face past his shoulder "I hid the others so well, you'll never find them in a million years." She lied with a playful grin of her own.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei’s search was quickly interrupted by a force colliding into his back, causing him to stumble forward, and a pair of arms extending out to his sides before wrapping around his body in a vice grip. Jomei laughed with Telrenya, as she joked with him about never being able to find the other notes that she had hidden. Jomei chuckled “Oh ho, and you’re going to stop me?” He wiggled from side to side like a bucking bronco, trying to shake this little bull rider off of his back. The man’s knees bent, lowering him slightly towards the ground once he felt Tel’s grasp loosen slightly. Once he had the opportunity, he spun in place so his body faced towards his girlfriend’s, wrapping his own arms around her upper thighs. Once he held the girl tight in his own grip, he stood up straight, lifting the blonde up off of her feet, laughing as he did so. “Look who’s so tough now!” Jomei teased Telrenya as he turned towards his bed. His feet carried him a couple of wobbly steps forward as he struggled to keep the fighting girl in his arms, as well as in the air. As he continued towards his bed, to playfully drop the girl to continue his search, he had lost his footing, and stumbled forward. Jomei’s body fell forward, Telrenya comfortably dropping into the mattress, with the Irishman going down as well. Throwing his arms out to the side and pressing his palms into the bed next to Tel’s sides, he was able to stop most of his weight from dropping on top of the blonde, and stop his head from colliding with hers. His face hovered inches from her own, a concerned expression to make sure that she was okay, which quickly turned into laughter at his own fault. A red tint stretched from cheek to cheek across the brim of his nose. “S-Sorry, are you okay?” he said through small bursts of chuckles.

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya’s giggles easily persisted as the Irishman continued their playful banter. His struggle against her grip on him, however, caught her off-guard, and the man seemed to be able to easily turn the tables on her. Jomei moved faster than she would have expected, leaving the blonde only able to let out a small cry of surprise as she was whisked off her feet. Her torso leaned forward slightly, and her hands instinctively pressed against the man’s shoulders as her surprise turned into another bought of laughter at his taunting. "Heeey!" She exclaimed, her struggles a bit more hesitant with her now precarious position.

She felt herself being carried, but before should could discern where Jomei had planned to take her, a sensation of falling overtook her. The woman’s eyes squeezed shut until she felt her shoulderblades make contact with the soft surface of the bed beneath her. While the tension that had built in her slowly dissipated, her eyes fluttered back open to meet Jomei’s smiling, blushing face hovering closely above hers. Telrenya blinked in surprise as a pink shade lightly dusted her own cheeks before she was overcome with laughter as well. "Y-yeah, I’m fine!" She managed in reply. A thought entered her mind while she stared up at his close olive eyes, causing the color in her face to deepen a shade. Telrenya hesitated a moment, working up the courage before she lifted an arm and gingerly slid her fingers to the back of Jomei's neck. With mere inches between their faces, the woman would have been hard-pressed not to want to pull him down farther, meeting his lips with hers in a loving kiss. Although the simple desire was her primary motivation behind her actions, distracting the man from his search just happened to be a convenient bonus.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei’s olive gaze became lost in the mesmerizing brown pools that were Telrenya’s eyes. As her face slowly became more and more red with its usual blush, his eyes would shift from her eyes to her lips, and back again, longing to feel the warmth of her soft lips that he loved so dearly. Moving without any sudden movements or noise, he felt the feeling of the tips of her fingers running along his neck, the man feeling a chill run through his body, the hair on the back of his neck standing. He felt her fingers flatten against the curve of his neck as the girl’s hand began to pull Jomei down, bringing him in closer to her rosy-cheeked face. The lids of his eyes began to fall as his lips slightly parted, meeting Telrenya’s lips with her own. His heart began to beat faster as they held this kiss for a long moment, the fluttering feeling in his chest causing a smile to break on his lips while still pressed to the woman’s. The man separated his lips from hers, giving them only about an inch of space between the two. “I love you.” he said to her, a gentle whisper, but words that held a lot of weight between the two. After hearing the woman’s response, he let his head lower again, placing another kiss upon her lips. The heat of her face and skin only made Jomei’s warm up and match hers, his own cheeks taking a rosy pink color. Jomei slowly parted his lips from Telrenya’s yet again, the passion of their kiss still making his blood run hot and heart flutter. A soft sigh escaped his lips, accompanied by a smirk and small chuckle. “So.. was that meant to distract me from finding the note?” he questioned her, his voice quiet, and soft, yet not a whisper. “.. because it definitely worked.”

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya's heart beat rapidly beneath the surface of her chest when their lips collided. She lost herself in that moment, the closeness of their bodies paired with the warmth of their kiss nearly had her head spinning. When Jomei retreated, still holding his face close enough that she could feel the soft air from his whisper against her skin, Telrenya's hand gently slid down from the back of the Irishman's neck to his cheek stained a soft pink. Her thumb glided over his skin, feeling as though it was moving on its own accord as the blonde woman beneath him simply stared, enthralled by the warm gaze his olive eyes cast upon her. The soft words that reached her ears made her heart flutter once again, and as the corners of her mouth stretched into a warm smile of adoration, Telrenya let out the tiniest chuckle with a hint of shyness. "I love you too, Nick." She matched his soft whisper, almost getting lost in his gaze once more until she felt the small space between them vanish again. She felt another rush that surged from her core, spreading outward from her chest as she returned his kiss.

Only wishing the moments could stretch longer, Telrenya's eyes fluttered open once again. She was met with one of the signature smirks that made her heart skip a beat, but his playful words elicited a small, mischievous smile of her own. "N-no, of course not," She only half-lied while she tore her gaze away to give a suspicious glance to the side to pair with her banter.