Shed Never Been On The Sea Before. But Ciara Had Gone And Rae Had Followed, Curious And Eager. She Hovered

She’d never been on the sea before. But Ciara had gone and Rae had followed, curious and eager. She hovered near the woman — teal-haired now, she changed it at irregular intervals for reasons unknown — and watched the land disappear.

Rae wondered what the sea looked like in the real world. In her in-between place it was a sad slip of waves quickly lost to the fog. One night she looked over the edge and caught sight of her reflection in the water. It was curious to see herself again, but the image was gone after a moment.

Ciara was displeased. The crew was rowdy, and Rae stayed out of their way. She pressed close, watching Ciara’s face as she muttered her curses and disgust. Rae couldn’t rightly hear the words, not unless she concentrated very, very hard. And really, she could understand what Ciara was saying just by watching her. She had a very expressive face. Far too often it expressed little at all.

Sometimes Rae touched her, gliding ghostly fingers over her cheek just to pretend she could make the woman smile.

The battle was…strange. Hugely chaotic in a way that was felt more than heard. And as someone without a body, that was unique for Rae. She was close to Ciara, but there were little eruptions all around her, a brightness when someone died. Then the light faded, as it always did. When she had first died, she had watched many deaths, hoping to find another like her. She never did.

Rae turned at the feel of an explosion, the brightness of several nearby souls drawing her attention. And she saw a man charging Ciara with a rapier.

"Ciara!" she cried, tripping back past the woman. Rae didn’t know if she’d been heard or if Ciara merely sensed the attacker, but she turned and parried his blade, firing a shot through the man’s chin that almost immediately separated his spirit.

If she’d had a heart, it would have been pounding. As it was, she just felt shaky, the world a little out of focus. Except for Ciara. Rae scrambled to her feet and stayed near the woman, her anchor in the whirl.

She wasn’t able to save Ciara from all injuries. The woman racked up many and Rae winced to see all that precious blood flowing free. But Ciara didn’t seem to care. It was only when the fight was over that she appeared drained at all, but only at the edges. Only when no one else was looking. But Rae was always looking.

It was only when they were safe again that the world seemed to right itself, move from murky to clear. Rae scolded herself. She shouldn’t have come to sea. What would have happened if she’d fallen overboard? Or been caught in that murky time completely? But Ciara had stayed clear and focused the entire time. And she might have saved the woman’s life. That was worth a little risk, right?

Ciara, though, was still tensed, like a fist. One wrong move and she would jerk, hitting someone. Only with her pistols instead of her fist. Rae didn’t want to see that. Didn’t want to see her…whatever Ciara was to her, thrown overboard. She didn’t want to have to watch her drown. Or worse, get lost in the ocean’s depths with Ciara’s body.

"Calm, Ciara," Rae whispered, huddling close. She rubbed her hands, insubstantial, but she remembered it to be a soothing thing. She laid her head against Ciara’s back. "Calm down. You are safe. Relax. Rest. Soon you’ll be home. I’ll watch you till then," she promised. An easy thing. She needed no rest.

Carefully, Rae wrapped her arms around Ciara, holding her close, pretending that the woman accepted the embrace. It was comforting. “I’m here, Ciara. Just relax.”

She hoped the woman would somehow understand.

She woke slowly, still warm and comfortable, but there was a chill on her face. Aell lay behind her, holding her close in his arms, his face snuggled up into her neck. The quilts were pulled up to their chin. But the stove had gone out. Judging by the light creeping in through the cracks, it was already mid-morning. Milli wondered why he hadn't woken her, but took the opportunity to do something nice for him.

Slowly, she extracted herself from his grasp, whispering softly, "I'll be back, shhh, it's okay." She dressed, because not doing so would be too uncomfortable in the cold, and then went over to the stove. Using long matches, she lit bits of tender she'd placed inside and with some patience, she managed to get the fire going again. More wood was added and she left the face of it open to let more heat into the room.

Then she set the coffee on to heat, knowing he'd enjoy it. And her eyes happened upon the garishly wrapped box on the table. She sat down beside it as she fixed her eyepiece upon her head and read the note.

Milli smirked and glanced back at the still-sleeping man. Then she carefully unwrapped the paper and opened the box.

It was breathtaking. And despite his warning, it appeared to be well-constructed. Milli turned it over in careful fingers, searching for flaws, and found none.

Grinning, she slipped the chain over her head, it was long enough that it hung neatly between her breasts. She checked the fire one last time and pulled the now-hot coffee from the stove. Then she undressed again and climbed into bed with him, wearing only the gift he'd given her, ready to give him a Wintersday gift of his own.

Milli had long since fallen asleep. He left the little blonde curled up in the warmth of the sheets, wrapped like some Wintersday gift just waiting to be opened. Tempting, very tempting but that might be a task saved for the morning. She was fairly exhausted and this time it wasn’t even him that did it. He smirked and shook his head at the thought, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her forehead before he was turning, moving towards the stove. He adjusted the dial, not wanting it fully cranked but a little heat wouldn’t hurt anyone, especially the half-naked man stumbling about in the darkness. As he approaches Milli’s work bench, his left hand descends to pat at the front of his pants pocket. There was a small jingling of metal. Good, he hadn’t forgotten to “borrow” some of her supplies from the shop. He sank down into the chair at the bench, plucking the items from his pocket. Aellarian laid them down to the table, peering at each individual piece. Luckily this handy little set came with an instruction “manual”, which was really just a sheet of used paper containing illustrations of how to piece the thing together. His hand rose, flipping at the light, directing it down as to not shine over upon the sleeping woman. A glance over his shoulder would reveal that she was still sleeping peacefully, good. He tried to be as quiet as possible, keeping the profanity to a minimal as he struggled with each part. He couldn’t see how she did it, while appraising jewelry did require a fine eye, this required so much more. An eye, fingers, coordination, things that he couldn’t lump together so well. It would be crappy if he had to ask for her help on the gift he was giving her, so he stomached through it. Each gear was set in place, each tiny gem, delicated inserted. It took..longer than he expected, minutes turned to an hour, an hour turned into hours. Still, he had to get this done before she woke. Maybe next time he wouldn’t procrastinate so much! Light was slowly filling the room and it wasn’t from the tiny lamp over the bench. The sun was starting to reclaim it’s throne in the sky. Hurry! Oh how he wished he could, but his lids were drooping heavily, his movements slow and clumsy by now. Just..a..bit..more. The final piece and shit! He dropped it! His eyes dart about, searching for the tiny sapphire on the floorboard. He scrambled to the ground, patting his hand along in search of it. There! No..There..NO! Where, oh where was it? “Six help me, c’mon! Where is it?!” There! The little glint of the gem caught his eye and he made a mad dash for it. Safe. The gem was placed, everything was set. The necklace was bundled, placed into a small box, then wrapped with some very unappealing paper to give it such a lackluster appearance. Aellarian carried it over, placing it on the stand with a small note for Milli when she woke. "Don’t touch me! Okay, you can touch me, but if I wake up grumpy, it’s because I procrastinated on making this and stayed up all night putting it together. That said, Happy Wintersday, darling. If it falls apart, you broke it, if it doesn’t, I’m damn good!" -Aell. With an exasperated sigh, he collapses to the bed, sliding as close to Milli as he could. The blonde was drawn back to his chest and he held her tightly in his arms, lulled to sleep by the sound of her even breathing.

Hella Rad GW2 follower giveaway

 I passed a milestone at some point, and despite me having ups and downs you guys stick with me anyways, so I decided that I need to show my appreciation somehow.

  What you can get:

 Any giftable item from gem store worth 800 gems. Can be multiple items, just as long as it’s 800 gems in total.

5 Unidentified Dyes. Who knows maybe you’ll get a pricey one.

10 chocolate cakes because why the hell not

RULES:

Must be following me. It’s a follower giveaway. I’ll be checking.

LIKE and REBLOG to get 2 entries.

No giveaway blogs.

Be comfortable with giving me your GW2 account name. Doesn’t matter if you are on EU or NA server. 

Must have ask box open.

Giveaway will end on January 8th at 1PM Tarnished Coast Server Time. 

~ Good luck everyone!

He ought to have a gift. It was nearly Wintersday. That's what you did with the ones you love, or so she'd been told. Her first thought was a pistol, something sturdy and solid, like him. But that was such a practical thing. Something she would make for him anyway. She wanted to show him she cared, give him something that was frivolous but lovely. A cuff, something to wear around his wrist and remind him of her. Her work with leather wasn't as good as her work with metal. She wasn't as practiced. But she set her mark high and did her best. She dyed the leather red, nearly as dark as his hair. Embossed it with swirling patterns in darker hues, carving it meticulously. She worked fervently when he wasn't around, which wasn't often. She wanted it to be a surprise. Finally, she was off to the market to find a clasp, something lovely, but not girly. What she found was a jade crescent a few shades lighter than his eyes, rimmed with bronze. Milli wrapped it carefully in a length of linen and put it in a wooden box with a bow. It would sit on the counter until Wintersday, taunting him. She smiled. She thought she might rather like the idea of giving presents after all.

So since its christmas i decided to buy and extra copy of my favorite game this year, Guild Wars 2, to give away to a lucky person! ^^

Giving away:

1 Guild Wars 2 Heroic Digital Edition

Which includes the following:

- Guild Wars 2 Game

- 1 Suit of Legacy Armor = A choice between:

Things seem...different once they leave the boat. It's like the world is brighter. Rae keeps pace with Ciara, following the woman but also marveling at the things around her. The brilliance of the sunlight on water, the radiant color of flowers on the hillside, the depth of blue of Ciara's aqua eyes.

Rae sits just in front of her while the woman eats her meager rations. She follows the woman's eyes with her own, lowering her head to keep catching glimpses of that color. So beautiful. She's never seen such a thing. And she's pretty sure that's an accurate assessment, as another person's eyes never made her stop and stare, even when she was alive. Not just from the color.

"I wish I could tell you you're pretty," she says, the vocalizations feeling more natural now. She knows the woman can't hear her, but the sound of her own voice isn't so strange anymore. "I wish you could see it, because you're always so sad."

Like the impulsive girl she once was, Rae leaned forward and hugged Ciara, focusing on her arms, the feel of flesh against her indistinct body. It was momentary and she felt Ciara stiffen, but she sat back, grinning ridiculously. Just as on the ship, she felt better, more real after touching Ciara. She moved away, not wanting to startle the woman more than she already had.

But she was happy. For the first time in longer than she could remember, Rae was happy.