Heirot

Soran tensed a bit as warm arms wrapped around him, but he didn't push away. "Those are interesting....does it hurt?" Mizuki's soft voice asked over his shoulder as she touched his arm.

"I don't know if you could call it pain, but it's hard to get used to. Siren designed them to synchronize with my pulse and draw energy from my bloodstream. It's like something is lightly wrapping around each of the veins in my arm and chest simultaneously," he said thoughtfully, opening and closing his fingers to shake off the tingling feeling that was left behind. He leaned back against her subconsciously, tensing his jaw to fight off a yawn. When he bit back his instinct to push away, her arms were surprisingly comfortable. He decided to force himself to relax for the day, if only to see what would happen. "How does your ankle feel?" he asked, reminding himself not to be embarrassed by her embrace, though he was anyway.

Mizuki nodded, her face rubbing against his slightly. "That must feel weird."

"How does your ankle feel?" he asked. Mizuki looked down at her ankle and actually thought about it.

"It still hurts but, I guess if I can ignore it and stay off it longer I'll be fine. Heck I'm standing now.." she pointed out smiling. She liked the feel of him leaning against her and her hugging him. "Are you still tired? If you are we can go back. I think the clothes might be dry now.." Even though her mind was thinking the exact opposite.

Soran turned back and looked at her leg. "It doesn't matter when we go, but you shouldn't be standing on that," he said sternly. He abruptly realized that twisting backwards had put him nearly cheek to cheek with Mizuki, and he twitched his neck backwards intuitively. "Sit down and rest for a while. The clothes will look after themselves," he told her.

Mizuki smiled and hugged him again. She felt very playfull right now.

"What if I refuse?" She teased, but she let him go anyway and sat on the rock he was leaning on. She was slightly a head taller than him sitting on the rock. Her hair was still damp and some strands were plastering to her face.

"If you refuse, I'll have to tie you into a chair and drag you around," Soran said sternly. He looked up at the half elf with a bold grin.

Mizuki smirked back at him. She felt the wound on her arm lightly, at least THAT didn't impaire her walking. Her smirk turned into a grin seeing Soran in her father's clothes. He didn't look like her father at all, Soran had a determination around him and a quite handsome eminating from him. Her father was a loud handsome, everyone knew it and told him and he had taken a certain amount of pride in it, and his sense of determination was only there when he was fighting. Not like Soran who seemed to be always determined.

"What's so funny?" the rogue challenged, crossing his arms indignantly as he got the strange sense he was being laughed at. the sleeves of his shirt hung several inches past his fingertips. He dropped the subject as a young man with a basket of laundry came hiking down the hill toward the stream bank and approached them. Soran shifted his posture to block the barely-dressed Mizuki as the stranger looked at them and waved.

"How's the wash current today?" the man called congenially.

"Better down that way," Soran replied evenly, pointing upstream.

"Thanks. Is someone there with you?" the man said curiously, leaning sideways to make out the woman whose head was sticking up above the rogue's.

"No," Soran said firmly, with a nod upstream.

The man looked confused, but kept walking past them and on along the streambank. After he was out of sight, Soran put his hands behind his head and leaned against the rock as if nothing had happened.

Mizuki watched Soran hide her from the man until he finally left. She grinned evily at Soran. "And you're allowed to look at me? I'm in a robe, it's ok." She laughed and took his hands away from the back of his head. She held his hands for awhile rubbing her thumbs across the tops of his hands. His hands were so strong, but not as big as her fathers.

Her heart swelled with an emotion she couldn't place at the moment.

Soran's ears felt warm as she stroked the backs of his hands. "A bathrobe means you have nothing on underneath. It doesn't count as clothing if it only brings to mind what it's supposed to be covering," he defended casually.

"That's the same as normal clothes." She countered smirking. "Besides, weren't you walking around nakked this morning? I seem to recall Rai telling me so.." She smiled evily at him, knowing perfectly well it wasn't true but she wanted to tease him.

Soran tossed his head. "Hmf, I was hardly naked. The twirp just stole my shirt," he retorted. Thinking of Rai reminded him of something else. "Blade's growing pretty fast," he said, pondering. He thought to himself that he might need to find work when they got to Hepian.

Mizuki smiled cutely and nodded. "It's his Dark Angel blood." she replied and looked away distantly. She thought of how happy she was now. Her son coming into her life... which wouldn't have been possible if Gaberial hadn't... She closed her eyes at the painfull memory. She didn't want Soran to see the hurt in her eyes. It was strange how Blade makes her happy, when knowing how he had even come about. If she didn't think about it, she could pretend he was Soran's, or just looked like him, but she can't keep pretending that little lie.

Blade was a product of Gaberial's action's on her, not Soran's. Even though she could probably sleep easier if it was Soran who had giving her Blade and not the Lord of the Dark Angel's. She bowed her head facing her lap.

Soran frowned as Mizuki's spirits suddenly seemed to drop. "Is something wrong?" he asked her quietly, ducking slightly to make out her expression.

Mizuki figured it was better to let it out. "I just... remembered how Blade was even here." She said quietly still looking at her lap like an ashamed child. "I think that if I had only fought him harder... it might have never happened, but then I wouldn't have Blade, and I love him so much..."

"Don't even think about blaming yourself for what happened. If someone wasn't trying hard enough that day, it was me. You have nothing to be ashamed of," Soran said firmly, placing his hands on Mizuki's shoulders sternly. He remembered overhearing her scream of terror from the ground below, and choosing to hold his tongue in order to enter the fortress undetected. If he had shouted to her, everything might have been avoided. But for Mizuki to feel guilty.. He felt a flicker of rage at the thought of what that fool angel had done to her. He stopped his anger and bottled it, realizing that it could make Mizuki feel worse.

Very cautiously, the rogue slid his arms around Mizuki into a light embrace. "You don't have to like what that fool did to you in order to love your son," he said more gently than before, with complete confidence.