Training The Heart.

[Razier Immori Tempest]

Manuelle had said they could go right then and there so Razier nodded and took his arm. "Ok. We'll go then." She wanted to fly, but one she hadn't used her wings in a very long time and two she was fairly sure Manuelle was not ready for that scare. Flying in a plane and flying with an angel were two very different things. She didn't want him passing out, choking her, crying, yelling, squirming, etc. So she stuck with walking.

The walk to the mountains was fairly long and boring, but Razier was relieved when she saw the snow capped peaks loom into view. She started her trek up, now smiling and almost enthusiastic. Easily she found the entrance to the tunnels - easy for her at least, since she'd been there more times than anyone could count. She quickly brought Manuelle inside and consealed the entrance once again. She manuevered her way down a labyrinth of corridors and passages until finally large guilded doors barred the way.

With a simple touch she opened them and sauntered in. Several temple apprentices smiled at her and bowed. She smiled back and nodded at them. "Lady Razier, welcome back. Lord Anrif waits in his chambers, he expected you to come. Oh, who is this with you?" The young woman peered around Razier at Manuelle with a shy smile. "Will he be staying and needing a room?"

"Ah, yes. Manuelle - follow Meralise. She'll show you to your room. Something close to mine if you will Mera, I'm supposed to be watching him." Meralise nodded and motioned for Manuelle to follow her. Razier gave him an encouraging smile and nudged him forward. Once he had left she sighed heavily and put her hands on her hips. She then relaxed a little and headed to the room of her mentor. She knocked before entering and then bowed once she came within sight of lord Anrif.

"Razier. It's been a while since you returned for something other than healing and protection for your charges. Tell me, why are you here?" The man was quite old, but looked only to be about twenty five. Razier was always amazed by it. Especially since he was the elder of the temple and her mentor, yet he was not chosen as the Head Guardian. She had long since put it out of her mind though. "Lord Anrif, I... I came for training."

"Training? Razier you are much too strong for me to fight these days. For anyone to fight. You know that." Razier groaned and nodded. "I know. I don't really need to learn anything new or practice... I just need the structure of training and, ok well, practice. I am a little rusty." Lord Anrif shook his head and smiled. "As rusty as a new screw. You're fine. It really is about the structure isn't it. Are you having trouble teaching your charges?"

"Yes." Razier replied immediately. Lord Anrif eyed her suspiciously a moment, but with a sigh he nodded. "Alright. We'll start now then. Let's go." With that he took off his over robe and tossed it on his chair before moving past the guardian and out into the halls to find an open training ring. Razier followed obidiently and found herself in an atrium with three rings. The two smaller ones were filled, but the largest was open for use. There Lord Anrif stopped and Razier took her position across from him.

"I will give it my all, please don't you hold back either, Razier." Razier nodded and Lord Anrif began. He came at her slowly, decisively and swung, kicked, grabbed, evaded. At first Razier was taken off guard - forgetting how good he was. But in time she was blocking all his hits and landed a few critical ones of her own. She punched him hard in the face, kneed him in the gut, and in just ten moves (graciously given over her usual three) she had him pinned and unable to escape.

"And you said you needed practice. Of course you were a little rusty. Ten moves to get me? Come on - I'm an old man! Do it again!" Razier smirked and let him go. Again they fought. He was more careful now. This time it really did take her eight moves to get him. She furrowed her brow. Lord Anrif ordered she do it again. "You've gotten better 'old man'." Lord Anrif smiled brightly. "What else is a mentor to do when his apprentice has become his boss? I have far too much time on my hands."

"I am hardly your boss. Indeed, I still take orders from you, Lord Anrif." Razier frowned, but Lord Anrif just smiled more. They fought until both Lord Anrif and Razier were exhausted. "Do it again." Razier's eyes widened. "What? We're both exhausted! One of us will really get hurt if we..." Her mentor gave her a stern and commanding look. With renewed strength she continued. "A teacher does not stop because he and his charge are tired. If the pupil isn't getting it they keep at it until they do."

Razier was aching all over, but she kept her precision, she kept her speed. She didn't let up because then they'd just do it longer. Lord Anrif was right. It was about drilling until the end dream is a reality. And this was the relationship of a guardian and a charge. Professional, strict, demanding. The charge hating the guardian's guts for making them keep practicing, the guardian hating the charge for not being skilled or smart enough to get it the first time and frustrating them with continuous physical assaults.

No love. Just hate and power. Struggling and yelling, complaining. At least while they fought. Finally Razier got him in five moves and Lord Anrif called an end to the training session. Razier collapsed to the ground and breathed heavily. Her whole body felt like every bone was broken. She groaned and coughed on some dirt that had been sucked into her throat and lungs when she took a deep breath. "Are you satisfied or do you still need more training?" Razier looked up with more than exhaustion at her teacher.

"I'm... not ready yet. I can't teach him." Lord Anrif looked down at her in confusion a moment and then realization overtook his features. He crouched down and pat Razier's head. "Razier, you have more than enough skill... you can teach him. If this is the only thing stopping you - you have nothing to worry about. You will do great." Razier pushed his hand away wearily and growled. "Alright, alright. Come see me tomorrow morning and we'll train more." Anrif shook his head and turned, leaving Razier lying still on the ground, trying to catch her breath and will herself to get up.

((ehhh... yeah. crap.))

[Manuelle Pearce]

Manuelle had no idea where he was going, so without any objections he followed Razier to the temple. The view was gorgeous, for he had never seen anything like it. A digital camera would have been a nice thing to have right about then. Photography was something that Manuelle always wanted to get into, but he never really had the time. Academics and sports had always been his main focus. Now that he was away from distraction he might have the opportunity. “Do they even have cameras on the island?” he thought to himself as he continued to follow.

He made sure stick closely behind her so that he didn’t get lost because finding this place if you had no idea where you were going did not seem easy. When they finally got inside he noticed the way that others reacted around Razier. They were bowing at her… He wondered if they revered her or if it was just a sign of respect. Manuelle just stood next to her not saying a word, trying to soak in everything that he was seeing. It almost seemed unreal.

Manuelle heard Razier tell the other girl to escort him to his room. He frowned at her as Razier smiled and nudged him forward. He really didn’t want to go anywhere without her. He had no idea where he was and her company would have been greatly appreciated. Nonetheless, he followed the other girl, not really paying attention to where he was going. Before he knew it they were in front of a door and he was being left there. The first thing Manny did was kick off his shoes and flop down on the bed. “What to do now?” he said to himself as he stared up at the ceiling. Within a few minutes he was fast asleep.


OoC: My post is CRAP!! But I promise that the next one will be AWESOME (i hope).

[Razier Immori Tempest]

Razier stayed laying on the dirt floor for five or so minutes and then hoisted herself off the ground. A few attendants came over and offered her help, but she pushed their hands away and stood up on her own. "Lady Razier, your guest is in his room. Would you care for me to show you it?" Razier shook her head. "I can find it myself, but thank you Meralise." Meralise nodded and left.

Razier made her way to her room and washed up in her bathroom. She took a shower and pinned up half her hair. She then changed into clean jeans and a green tshirt and stretched. She was sore, but she asked for it. Razier wandered out into the hall and whispering to the plants on the wall as she went. More attendants came to ask her if she needed anything. "No." It was always her answer.

She liked doing things for herself. It was all she asked for. She came upon a guest room, learning from the vines around the door that Manuelle had indeed entered into it. Razier knocked lightly and then entered to find Manuelle asleep on the bed. She smirked and leaned against the doorframe a minute watching him. Her smirk turned into a soft smile.

When she realized it she wiped the smile off and walked further into the room. She picked up a throw blanket at the end of the bed and covered Manuelle up. "Geeze, I did more than you and I'm not sleeping. Lazy bum." She muttered, but chuckled lightly after it. She couldn't keep her smile away for long when she looked at the boy laying before her. She sighed and shook her head.

"What am I going to do with you?" She asked off hand. What would she do with him? What would happen when they started training again? Would he sleep like this all the time? For a moment the thought depressed her though she didn't want to conciously know why. She ignored the feeling and stepped away, looking around the room. She approached the window that looked out into the same cave that Razier's window looked out into. The sun was beating down through the hole in the cieling, lighting up the cave brightly.

She leaned against the glass and sighed.

[Manuelle Pearce]

Manuelle was having one of those crazy dreams that people occasionally had. You know, the type where you can see yourself in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people doing something…unfamiliar. Wherever he was, the grass was orange and the trees were blue and there were people everywhere, little people. They couldn’t have been more than three feet tall. They were yelling at him but he couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. It was as if they were speaking a crazy language.

“What do you want from me?” he asked loudly. Suddenly, three blue doors appeared out of nowhere. The little people were pointing to them frantically. One of them, and old man, grabbed his hand and led him to the door. He pointed up to a gold plaque on the door that read: …Door of Heart’s Desires… Behind this door is the one thing your heart desire most, whether you realize it or not. Take it and treasure it. Should you deny what is behind these doors, it’ll be lost forever and you’ll never be able to get it back. The old man yanked on Manuelle’s arm. He swallowed hard and stepped forward. Manuelle closed his eyes and opened the door.

His eyes flew open and…Razier?!?! “Ahh!!” He freaked out, getting all tangled up in the throw blanket and fell off the bed. She was standing there as if...no. Could it be? Nah, it was just a dream, right? There were no doors, no orange grass, and no little people. It was just a dream. Now all he had to deal with was the fact that he had just embarrassed himself, majorly.

He blinked a few times to make sure that he still wasn’t dreaming. Standing slowly, he gave a nervous laugh. “Uh..Hiii…” He wasn’t sure what to say but he was sure that he definitely sounded and looked stupid. He laughed nervously. “What are you doing here?” He silently hoped that is was to rid him of his humiliating misery.

[Razier Immori Tempest]

Razier's heart seized. She turned in a flash as Manuelle cried out and watched him tangle himself in the throw blanket and fall off the bed. She rushed over, but he was already to his feet. Her heart was pounding hard against her chest and her breathing was irregular as she stared at him a moment before moving around him and checking him for injuries.

"Gods, Manuelle! I thought..." She closed her eyes as she came back in front of him and sighed. She had thought he had gotten hurt or something. It seemed he had just had a nightmare or something. Her heart was still pounding. Had she been that scared? "Are you alright? What's the matter. Here, sit down." She motioned to a couch and gently guided him over to it by his arm. She sat down on the couch herself, her hand unconsciously going to her chest.

Remembering he had previosuly asked her what she was doing there she turned to him, still trying to compose herself a little. "Uh, well I wanted to check and make sure you had settled in alright. I found you sleeping so I guess you did. I didn't want to wake you... I was just looking out the window a minute. I was about to leave." She stood up again. "Um... if you're ok - you should eat something and... maybe explore a little."

Now that she had been focusing on her body, trying to calm her heart down, she noticed how sore she was from her training. She should get some rest herself, but if Manuelle wanted to explore she'd stay up. Like Hell did she trust him to go around alone while she was basically unconscious. He'd get himself into trouble. "I'm sorry I left you all day. Exploring should be fun for you though... you can explore whenever you want you know? So tomorrow when I'm training again you can do that."

It would be a lot more fun for him. The only other options were watch her train - ridiculously boring - or flirt with the temple apprentices, but Manuelle hadn't seemed enthusiastic about that for whatever reason. She couldn't understand why. It seemed like his sort of thing. She looked to Manuelle and then realized she'd just been staring blankly at him for a while. She cursed to herself and then laughed lightly. "Right, so um... if you want something to eat I can have someone bring you something. If you need me I'll be in my room."

"And try not to scream too much. You nearly scared me to death..." She muttered softly under her breath as she turned around to leave.

[Manuelle Pearce]

Manuelle picked the blanket up off the ground; sure that he never put it over himself. “I’m fine, I think,” he said as he rubbed his back. Manuelle followed her to the couch and sat down with a sigh. “I don’t know. I just had this crazy dream. Whatever, it’s no big deal.” He really didn’t want to give her the details. It was just a little too strange. He’d just have to lock that one away in his memory.

“Hey, wait.” He put his hand on Razier’s arm, indicating that he wanted her to sit back down. “Did you eat yet? If you didn’t you can stay here and eat with me… I mean, if too people are eating, why should they eat alone when they can eat together?” He was rambling and he didn’t know why. That wasn’t something he usually did. Whatever the reason, he just wanted Razier to stay with him. Lately, he’d been enjoying her company.

“What time is it? I really didn’t think that I was asleep for that long…” Manny was usually a heavy sleeper, snoring and all. It wasn’t uncommon for him to fall asleep for hours and not realize it. He yawned and covered his mouth. “Yah, I could definitely eat right now. My stomach feels like a black hole.” She could put anything in front of him right now and he’d eat it. “But only if you eat with me…”

OoC: CRAPOLA!

[Razier Immori Tempest]

((after the day I've had just seeing any post is a godsend *glomps you*))

Just a dream. Razier felt relieved when he confirmed that that was all it was, just a dream that surprised him. He didn't seem in the mood to explain, so she didn't push it - though that wasn't to say she could care less. She was very intrigued. She just didn't always like to push people, besides any dream Manuelle had had to be strange - too strange for her.

She chuckled to herself, but stopped abruptly when she felt his hand on her arm. She looked back at him as he rambled about people and eating together. He asked what time it was, "Uh... late afternoon or evening... close to sunset judging by the light. I know there's a clock around here somewhere..." She glanced around the room, but couldn't find one.

She smiled softly as he yawned and essentially said he was hungry. "You sure? You still look tired to me." She wanted to say more, but the thoughts flew from her mind at his next words, “But only if you eat with me…” As in he'd only eat if she ate with him? She frowned and stared at him in mild confusion. Did he want her to stick around that badly? Why did that make her heart flutter?

"Um, ok. I'll stay. I haven't had the chance to eat yet with training and all. I'll be right back then." With that she left the room. She was gone a few minutes before returning with a tray of food enough for two. She set it down on the table before the couch and hesitantly sat next to Manuelle. She brought her legs up to cross them on the couch and leaned over, snagging a piece of toast off the tray. She nibbled at it idly.

"So... I realize you slept most of the day if not all of it, but... from what you saw of the temple what do you think?" Small talk. Razier hated it, but what else could she do? She couldn't think of anything else to say and eating in complete silence would be awkward. She took a big bite of toast and stared at the wall across the room as if it were the most interesting thing she'd ever seen.

((eck, that was crap.))

[Manuelle Pearce]

Manuelle frowned. Unless he really needed the sleep he hated napping for that long because it was time wasted. Those hours spent having crazy dreams could have been used to do something productive. Of course there were times that he’d rather nap than do some other tedious task even if he wasn’t tire. Regardless, he was sure that there were more exciting things to do in the temple than sleep.

“Yeah. I’m not tired. I was just sleeping because I didn’t have anything else to do. Now that you’re here I don’t have to nap anymore. If you leave I’ll probably go back to sleep.” He said that last part flatly, indicating that that wasn’t what he wanted to do. He smiled at her when she agreed to stay. He’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t a little bit excited.

Leaning back in the couch, he turned to look at her. “It’s pretty cool. I haven’t seen too much of it yet but it’s a hell of a lot nicer than the hide out.” He too grabbed a piece of toast and began eating. “So what exactly do you need to train for? You seem perfect at what you do. I can’t imagine you being any more powerful than you already are.” If it was possible for her to get any better he just might get a little scared.

OoC:

[Razier Immori Tempest]

Razier smiled a little as Manuelle said he'd just go back to sleep. He said it in such a way that implied to Razier that he didn't want to sleep more. For a split second she let herself think maybe he really wanted to spend time with her, but she let the thought fade just as quickly. A thought like that wasn't supposed to make her so happy!

That was why she was training. She was training herself to stop reacting to those types of things. He was just so... charming? When did Razier start to think Manuelle was charming? Probably around the time he started flirting with her. So recently... why did she just suddenly feel these things? It was ridiculous. No one was supposed to just have these feelings pop up right? Love was something you worked at and... and... did she just think LOVE?!

Gods, Razier was way overtired if she was thinking crazy things like that. She barely knew the boy and he barely knew her. Love at first sight, falling head over heel... that stuff didn't happen in the real world and if it did it didn't last long. Right? Right... of course. Razier sighed and picked up a piece of apple as she finished her toast.

Manuelle liked the temple. Well, Razier may not have liked the training and prophecies told to her there, but the temple itself she really loved. She was taken off guard when Manuelle asked why she needed training. "What?" She asked stupidly. She couldn't very well tell him she was training herself to not react to him. That would just be stupid and rather rude.

And wow... had Manuelle just said he thought she was perfect at what she did?! Razier blushed and turned her head away. Ugh. She was doing exactly what she was trying not to. "Um, thanks, but I'm really... not so good at what I'm supposed to be doing." A.k.a. not liking him as more than a charge. Not blushing when he complimented her, not having urges to kiss him at random intervals of time, not having this warm tingly feeling when seeing him sleeping, not wanting to curl up right next to him and hope his peacefulness rubbed off on her.

Oh Gods, she was thinking about it again. Her cheeks darkened more and she stood abruptly. She walked over to the window and tried to hide her embarrassment. She fidgeted with the curtain nervously and bit her lip. "You'll understand when you're stronger than I am. When you can beat me in a fight... you'll understand why I want to train more." Not exactly... but it sounded believable right? Better than saying, "If you were in love with a student you weren't supposed to be in love with you'd want to train and try and get it out of your system too."

Gods! She thought it again! Razier hung her head and her forehead hit the glass. She sighed heavily and clutched the curtains in her right hand rather tightly. What was wrong with her? She was such a masochist or maybe more a sadist. Did she like causing herself torment or Manuelle torment? Surely it was torment for him if she was toying with him like this. She was a horrible horrible guardian and person in general.

[Manuelle Pearce]

Manuelle feelings for Razier were very confusing to him. He knew that he liked her. There was no question in that. He liked her a lot and he wanted to like her more. Manuelle wanted to spend all the time he could with her and get to know her more. He wanted to learn everything he could about her. The only problem was that he knew that it wasn’t appropriate. Part of him was saying screw it, just go for it. The other part of him was telling him to back off.

He had no idea what was happening. It wasn’t too long ago that they both hated each other. Now he was feeling things for her that he never thought he would and he couldn’t tell if she felt the same way. Yeah, she flirted back when he flirted with her but maybe she was just being nice. Manuelle wanted nothing more than to just be upfront about it all and tell her how he felt but he feared rejection. Manuelle wanted to hold her, touch her, kiss her, laugh with her…do everything with her. The craziest part about all of this was the fact that it was all happening so fast and the feelings seemed to come out of nowhere. Regardless of where they came from, the still existed and he had to do something about them. He had to make sense of it all.

When Razier started to explain why she needed training Manuelle got a strange vibe that she wasn’t being upfront with him. He could see her blushing and things weren’t really making sense to him. “I suppose you’re right. I don’t understand…but help me understand.” Manuelle stood and followed her to the window. “I want to understand everything. I want to understand you.” There, he said it and there was no turning back.

When her forehead hit the glass he put his hand on her shoulder. “I don’t know what you feel, if anything at all, but I do. And whatever it is, it’s a strong feeling. I just want to understand it, Razi.” He stepped away from her, in shock that he just told her how he felt. He wasn’t sure what to expect from her so he just stood there behind her in silence.


OoC: eck...

[Razier Immori Tempest]

Razier was a little surprised when she saw Manuelle's reflection in the glass and felt him standing behind her. He had risen from the couch and followed her, but Razier just couldn't understand why. It was making her more nervous though and it only got worse as he spoke.

“I suppose you’re right. I don’t understand…but help me understand. I want to understand everything. I want to understand you.”

Razier's heart stopped a moment. Had he just... Razier mentally shook her head. No way. He was just saying he was confused and she was making it worse right? He put his hand on her shoulder. She jumped a fraction of an inch and turned her head to look at him as he finished what he was saying.

"I don’t know what you feel, if anything at all, but I do. And whatever it is, it’s a strong feeling. I just want to understand it, Razi.”

He felt something? Oh Gods. And... and he called her Razi. She blushed the darkest red she'd ever blushed and swallowed a lump growing in her throat. "Oh." Oh?! What kind of reply was that?! Razier smacked her forehead openly. "Sorry, I um... that was a stupid reply. I want to understand you too, but... a feeling. I mean I'm confused sure, but... beyond that..."

Like Hell Razier would tell him she felt something for him. It was still too weird for her. Besides, what if he was joking around for his own amusement? Razier just didn't want to take the chance yet and what if it was a passing feeling? She didn't want to lead him on and then have the feelings disappear. It could really hurt him and she didn't want that.

"Don't get me wrong - I like you, but as a friend. As a charge. I don't know if I like you as more." I don't know. Not - I don't. I don't know as if she might deep down. Which she did, but... even she wasn't sure she was right. Ugh. Razier bit her lip. Was she screwing this up really bad? She didn't want to scare him off, but she just didn't know what to do.

((ehhhhhhhhh..........................))

[Manuelle Pearce]

Manuelle was sure that he could feel his heart sink down to his toes as Razier said that she liked him as a friend. Not only was it a tremendous blow to his ego (for he’d never been rejected like that before) but it definitely hurt that he put himself out there only to get shot down. He swallowed hard as he looked away, trying to understand what had just happened. She only wanted to be his friend, his guardian.

He thought he was confused before, but now things were worse. Razier had expressed that she had no desires try and figure out something between them, yet her actions had said something completely different. Now that he had put himself out there, there was no way he could go back to being her friend, his charge like he was only moments ago. It would be too awkward. He knew in his heart that she had to be feeling something. Hope was not lost.

The last part of what she said kept ringing in his ears. “If you don’t know how you feel about me, why not take a risk and try to find out?” He lightly held on to her and turned her around so that they were facing each other. “Why not spend more time together and talk more so we could figure out?” he asked as he took a step forward. “What’s the harm in that? You’re unlike any other girl that I’ve met before. You’re extremely attractive, smart, and independent.” He laughed a little. “I don’t do this a lot so I’m not sure if I’m making any sense, but I can’t just ignore the feelings that I keep having when I’m around you and if you feel anything you shouldn’t ignore them either.”

Manuelle raised his hands so that he was cupping each side of her face and looked deep into her eyes. “If you can look me in the eyes and tell me that you have no desires at all to explore any feelings for me, then I’ll leave it alone and forget that this conversation ever happened.” Fat chance. He’d leave her alone, yes, but there was no way that he could forget what he was feeling.

[Razier Immori Tempest]

She had screwed thing up, hadn't she? Razier watched as Manuelle's face fell. Her stomach went with it. Why did it bother her so much to be hurting him? It made her insides knot up painfully. She sighed and mentally berated herself for being an idiot.

“If you don’t know how you feel about me, why not take a risk and try to find out?”

Take a risk... Make a choice? Manuelle was actually expecting Razier to decide something for herself? He continued to speak, calling her attractive, smart, and independant. She blushed. "Hush up." She muttered modestly. A lot of people had called her independant and Rhodes had said she was pretty, but... no one had ever said she was smart and she couldn't understand why Manuelle of all people would.

He stepped forward, and Razier would have stepped back - since the action surprised her - but the window was there. “I don’t do this a lot so I’m not sure if I’m making any sense, but I can’t just ignore the feelings that I keep having when I’m around you and if you feel anything you shouldn’t ignore them either.” She shouldn't ignore her feelings, huh? But emotions got in the way of protecting someone. They made one biased and inobservant.

As Manuelle moved in again and cupped her face she could feel her skin tingling, almost burning at his touch - but it felt... pleasant. “If you can look me in the eyes and tell me that you have no desires at all to explore any feelings for me, then I’ll leave it alone and forget that this conversation ever happened.” Her heart sped rapidly. "I... I don't.... I..." Yeah, right. She couldn't say it. She did have feelings and she did want to explore them. She liked this safe and... happy... feeling.

"Ok." She bit her lip a little more prominently and avoided eye contact, embarrassed by her words. Was she really saying she'd try this with him? She'd explore her feelings for him. She'd... 'date' him? "But, we can't tell anyone if we do this. For several reasons. One it's not exactly practical and two if it doesn't work out..." She trailed off, suddenly really hoping that that wouldn't be the case.

Razier lifted her hands to Manuelle's on her face and pulled them away. Not because she didn't want them there, she just wanted to hold them instead. "This is all a little fast, so don't be surprised if things don't go smoothly. If things don't last." She said softly, not saying she thought they would, not trying to be a pessimist, just trying to be truthful. She squeezed his hands gently and gave a small smile.

What on Earth was she doing? This would probably be a disaster... but looking at Manuelle she just... couldn't help it. She couldn't deny that she did have feelings for him. Feelings she had never felt for anyone before. It was possible they we're romantic feelings, but how was she to know unless she pursued them? Afterall she'd never been romantic with someone - not even Rhodes when they were engaged.

Besides, Manuelle was letting her make a choice. How often did she truly get a choice of her own? One where the answer wasn't already supplied? Not often. And maybe this would help Manuelle too. Maybe he'd enjoy the time on the island just a bit better if he got his chance to see where his feelings lead with her. But what if she really loved him? And then he left... or changed his mind about how he felt for her? No. No, she wasn't going to think about that. Not until it was a reality - which might not be ever.

[Manuelle Pearce]

OoC: Sorry that it’s so late…and so bad. And Happy Belated Birthday!!!

The moment those words had escaped Manuelle’s lips he’d almost wished that he hadn’t said them…almost, but he really wanted Razier to know how he felt so it was worth risking rejection. He just hoped she didn’t reject him (again). He didn’t know what he would do if she did. His chest was heaving up and down as his heart beat in his ears while he waited for her response. “Please say yes. Please say yes,” he repeated over and over in his head. When she said “Ok” it was as if his heart stopped for a second to process it.

Razier seemed to be doubting how long things between them would last and he’d be lying if he said that it didn’t bother him a bit, but he would show her that they could be together, erasing all of her doubts and fears. “We don’t have to move fast at all. I just want to move slowly and get to know you on another level.” The last thing he wanted was to push her away by moving to fast. “We can move as slowly as you want.” He couldn’t help it but he was beaming. He felt like a little girl and it was truly embarrassing.

Manuelle couldn’t control himself. He held her tight in a hug, practically lifting her off the ground an inch. When he realized that he had done it he put her down and smiled sheepishly. Without a word he took her hand in his and led her back to the couch to sit down next to him. “I know that this is going to be a bit strange for you…and me too sort of.” He’d dated a lot of girls, but none like Razier. “But I’m going to do everything that I can to make this work. You just have to trust me. And we don’t have to tell anyone about this if you don’t want to.” He leaned in close to he ear. “It’ll be our little secret.”

[Razier Immori Tempest]

((thanks. I'm sorry it took me a while too, but I had graduation, my all night grad party, then my personal birthday/graduation party, now I'm wicked sick. I wanted to reply though, but don't expect anything amazing.))

Razier watched Manuelle beam while he said they could move slowly. It was infectious. Despite her fears she was smiling back at him just as brightly. She yelped in surprise as he hugged her and lifted her a little off the ground. She hugged him back and buried her face in the crook of his neck with a deep sigh.

She followed him back to the couch and held his hand. “But I’m going to do everything that I can to make this work. You just have to trust me." Trust him... Razier looked him over. Trust him. She nodded and leaned back, until Manuelle came close to her ear and spoke. “It’ll be our little secret.”

She shivered and smiled a little. It was good to know they could keep it under wraps. She was worried about how this would affect her job, how it would affect Manuelle. How it would effect Marielle. Arinada. The whole island. It worried her. It silently ate away at her insides. But she would try. She would and she didn't know why. She just felt like she had to - she wanted to.

So keeping it quiet was a good thing. She could see where this lead and hopefully it wouldn't get out of hand. Especially if it would sabotage Manuelle or Marielle's safety. She made a bold move to lean against Manuelle and wrap an arm around his waist. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. They would be fine. They could do this... right? Everything would be all right...

I'll keep you my dirty little secret...