The rain and hail beat down well into the night as the four of them sat at a booth at the edge of the common room of the Potted Pickle. Luna had been singing for a while showing off her talents as a bard, but the crashes of thunder outside kept startling her and the last had done so much as to have her pull a string from her harp in panic. She was worriedly replacing the string now with Vivian sitting very near and helping. Micheal had thought her brilliant blushes every time she jumped at the nearby crashes of thunder would have driven her from the stage, but only worry for her instrument had. The villagers had laughed, cheered, and clapped along to her song while she played though.
Their dinner had come as compliments of the house for her playing, and for a little payment for the job they would be undertaking when the storm let up. It turned out Luna and Dexter had come here not only to hopefully meet up with more guild members returning from the trip, but also to get a head start on their hunt once the storm passed. They had come from the larger city of Three Bridge and only passed through Mayonn on the way here, taking the long way around to avoid passing through the wild and sticking to patrolled roads.
Luna complained that they could have brought along others from the guild who were staying in Mayonn or left notes for them to follow, but Dexter had none of it. He claimed he didn't need help to complete the job, but did admit to it being safer with people to watch his back while he laid the traps and baited the Bear Dog in when Vivian and Luna hounded him a little. For his part Dexter turned out to be a Nomad, which was true in both senses of the word as he did tend to wander and it was the name of his race.
Vivian teased him about his short scaled tail that he kept hidden, and remarked to Micheal that Dexter also had scales on his back, chest, arms, and legs like many human men would have hair. Nomads had no real home, and never gathered in large numbers, instead often wandering human and other peoples settlements in service to their Path.
The Path was an inborn sense for a type of destiny all Nomads had, and in this world all of them were marked with the adventurer's curse. The Path pressed them like a compulsion and was the majority reason why they never gathered in large numbers. Dexter's was set atop his right breast, a common place for it among his people or so he told. Micheal of course knew all of that but the last about the marks.
He hadn't written in the marks, but the Path, and the Nomads themselves as a demi-human race had all been in his own writing. They had slight resistances to poison, and suffered little effect from eating raw meat or stale greens, but other than a gland that made them naturally more athletic than humans they were just that for the most part. He knew only from his own writing that Dexter was hardly a full blooded Nomad. The full blooded ones would appear almost like lizard men from Soul Caliber or the Warhammer fantasy series, and would grow bigger with age besides. Dexter was young though and Nomads had a near immortal life span...assuming they survived that long with the effects of their Path guiding them into danger. It wasn’t too unlike the adventurers mark that way, and that made Micheal wonder about the force that made the marks.
He paused for a moment to wonder if Dai Hammat, another of his characters, who was an ancient Nomad hero would be alive and roaming in this world. He hoped so. He could use the wise lizard's guidance, but acknowledged how unlikely it would be to actually find the man if he didn't want to be found. The simple words and descriptions he had made of the Hero would have taken real and gritty form in this reality to make him a thing of legends. He would just have to listen or find a way to ask lest he let out his secret.
Dexter eyed Micheal even as they sat on their side of the booth together. Vivian had been keeping a little distance between herself and Micheal too after telling Dexter of their relationship, but it still seemed to boil at the man. Micheal took it from the way he had reacted that he had been one of the men who had tried to woo the High Elf in the past and failed. If he were a cat his tail would have been lashing as he sat. His eyes when not looking at Micheal seemed to want to take after something on the hunt. Mrs. Arlee's daughter, Melly, had been serving them, but shied away whenever Dexter stared at her until Vivian kicked him under the table.
Each of them had a smooth barrel-like wooden tankard of ale set before them now in various states of pending consumption. Dexter had put away four of the things already while Micheal was about ready to be done with his second. He was a large man, but alcohol always went to his head so quickly. Vivian smiled at him as he pushed the tankard into the middle of the table. One of her booted feet touched his calf, and he couldn't help but give her a little smirk as she made that little gesture with her tongue while the Nomad was looking out over the common room. He had been insistent that he be on the outside of the booth 'just in case anything were to happen'. Micheal figured Dexter just liked having him cornered in some manner, but hadn't complained.
The ceilings in the Potted Pickle were a little higher than the buildings in Rosebridge at least. So he wasn’t feeling claustrophobic or anything.
“So what magic lores are you going to follow?” Dexter suddenly asked. He hadn't turned to look at Micheal or really make any other indication that he was addressing him, but the question made it obvious enough.
“I'm not sure.” Micheal answered leaning down on the table a little bit and listening to rain and wind rattle the shutters. Whatever had inspired the name, the Potted Pickle had a sturdy roof and well sealed windows. Not a drop of water came in, but under the door before Mrs. Alree had jammed toweling under it. “Vivian said spirit can be used well with faith based spells, and some other things, but I don't think I'd have an easy time following any of the gods here.”
Even Luna looked up from her harp as he said that, but she continued working with Vivian to fix the harp and didn't say anything.
“Is that so?” Dexter asked, turning one curious eye toward Micheal.
“She said something about beast mastery too, but we didn't really get into that much on the road.” Micheal grumbled.
Dexter gave an affirmative grunt.
“Beast Masters can be useful, but you almost always have to spend time with the type of monster you're going to train. There are a few useful ones that have been domesticated by people with the skills to bring them in, but all the really good Beast Masters are dead and gone now. People barely remember their names.” He looked at his mug of ale and swirled it with a motion of his hand before setting it next to Micheal's in the center of the table.
“They can learn spells to command, and even heal their bonded pets. It all takes spirit and charisma, but you've got a decent Intellect attribute so it would probably be better for you to learn some of the hybrid spells like healing, warding, and such from the churches or mages--religion or no. I'm not sure if any of the gods but Ynneria would teach you without claiming faith to their church though. Lyanodred maybe too, but you should reconsider. I'm not saying I'm a man of faith myself, but I knew before I saw your mark that you had a fire inside. The church of Ynneria would take you in and grow you well I think, but you'd have to give time to enter their convent and become one of them for that. You'd learn the first aid skills, basic herbology, the structure of the body and its organs, then finally healing all while under the Goddess's protection. You'd come back to us as a very potent healer if I had to bet, one who would maybe even fight back a little.” He smiled grimly at Micheal over his shoulder. “It's good to have a healer that won't back down if the back line gets hit or the group gets ambushed.”
Micheal gave the man a smirk in return.
“I know first aid.” He said as he continued looking over his hands. “And something called basic life support. I just renewed my certification back home. I'm no surgeon, but I did take anatomy and physiology in school, passed with flying colors even mostly thanks to the teacher and her excellent study guides.”
“He did know what parts were which when we harvested those two monsters the other day.” Vivian added absently while holding her fingers on something on the bottom side of the harp. Something squeaked into place and she let go as Luna sighed in relief. She plucked at the string and winced at the sound before she began tuning it with the end opposite of where Vivian had been holding. Luna made various faces as she tuned the string with their conversation clearly drawing her ear.
“What's basic life support?” Dexter asked Micheal, turning in his seat enough to look at him directly.
“It's mostly a system of skills in response to an emergency. Usually you only do what you can to keep the person alive until professional medical services arrive, but your actions before can be critical.” Micheal explained. He gestured toward the bar where a child was talking with her mother and brother.
“Say one of them had choked on their meal. Part of my training includes various ways to remove the blockage, and other parts of it would allow me to bring them back to consciousness if they passed out or keep blood pumping through their veins if their heart's stopped. It's extremely tiring and you can break a person's ribs if you're not careful, but I could get them breathing again if I got to them in time, or keep them alive long enough for someone to get one of your magic healers.” He explained.
“So you are a healer.” Dexter said before taking a sip of his ale.
“That's only advanced first aid Farren.” Vivian clarified. She eyed Micheal with a fond and curious eye. “I'm surprised he knows it, but it sounds right from what I've learned from Pellana about it. She was telling me on the way to Rosebridge that she had met a man in the south who had revived a baby after a situation like Micheal just described, but he had been a village healer for years. Pellana was brought there in time to see the man hand the frightened babe back to her mother.”
Dexter grunted.
“Why aren't those skills on your mark then Micheal?” Luna asked. She looked like a doll in her lace and pretty dress, but one of her long ears was oriented toward the children. A small smile grew on her face and she glanced at the brother and sister as the mother began tickling both children sitting on her knees. They had about as hard of a time with the storm as Luna did with her sensitive ears.
“The fishing skill only showed up once he used it with me, and then must have progressed to his former level or equivalent of his skill in his other world when he used it again.” Vivian provided.
Micheal shrugged.
“Maybe I have to demonstrate the skill here first before they'll show up.” He laughed softly. “Don't see many forklifts around so I guess I won't get forklift certified on this mark for a while.”
“Forklift?” Luna and Dexter asked almost perfectly in sync.
Micheal shook his head. “It's a complex machine made to lift and retrieve things. It's got more steel put into it than I think might be in this whole village. The ones I'm familiar with with two forks about as wide and thick as my hand and can handle loads of up to a couple thousand pounds.”
“Are your pounds the same unit of weight as ours?” Luna asked.
Micheal blinked and looked around for something to compare it to, but then sighed.
“It's probably in the same ballpark, but unless we were to compare the master weights of your units against mine we wouldn't know if they were exact.” Micheal scratched at his growing stubble. He would need Vivian to help him shave again. The thought of using that straight razor still made him feel a little chill.
“Ball..park..?” Luna asked, her ears wilting in concentration as she shot confused glances at the woman beside her.
Vivian glanced at her friend, but was also looking at Micheal.
Micheal sighed loudly.
“Right, I suppose idioms are a bit weird here if you don't have baseball.”
“Baseball seems straight forward enough.” Dexter said, jumping into the conversation once again. “A game involving a ball and bases wouldn't be too strange a thing for kids around here to play. It must be something rather popular where you come from for you to so casually reference it.”
Micheal nodded appreciatively to the man.
“Played in these so-called ballparks? One in every town or something?.” He asked and returned the nod Micheal gave him. He was taking in the 'from another world' thing remarkably well.
“You'll have to show us some time. How many people does it take to play?” There was a slight bit of challenge to his voice, as if he was ready to spot the inconsistencies in a lie however.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Micheal blinked, but smiled as he thought. It had been a while since he played. “We would need a bat, and a number of gloves made, but just the four of us could cover the basics for practice.” He laughed. “It would be like playing in the major leagues if your guild is as athletic as Vivian, but it would be fun.”
The night had gone on with Micheal explaining the rules of America's favorite pastime as best he could remember them. Both Vivian and Dexter enjoyed the idea of putting their skills head to head against one of their guild mates at bat or pitching, and they talked late into the night about who would play best at each of the positions Micheal had explained for the fielders, and who would be the most formidable at bat. It did take some explaining that there was no specific use of targeting a player in the field to hit them with the ball and incapacitating them, the result most likely being caught and another out being made, but if adventurers were like major league players with their boosted abilities maybe that would be a tactic in the game for them at the higher levels of attributes. Maybe baseball would be a bit more of a blood sport with the near superhuman strength and skill of adventurers playing it.
Before the last patron had left to brave the rains and return to their homes they too decided to retire to their rooms. Dexter Farren did give Micheal quite the glare as he returned to his room with Vivian, but for the most part talking to the man that night had been pleasant.
Vivian shut the door behind the two of them and went over to the fireplace to get it going using the remains of the embers inside to get some more tinder going. The room was cold compared to the summer heat with the wind and rain storm outside combining with the chill of the night. Her boots came off beside the fire and before he had managed to unlace his own entirely she was gliding over to him on her bare feet. She hardly made a sound on the wood flooring. She knelt in front of him as he sat on the bed and helped him remove his boots though he hardly needed it and she set them aside before coming back up to sit next to him. The fire crackled as it ran red and orange fingers over the split logs kept in the iron rack near the fireplace.
She took his chin in her fingers and looked him in the eye for a short time. Her confidence and smooth flowing nature was back, but there was a fire in her eyes too. A hunger that she didn't seem to always mirror burned in there, but she seemed to feel it all the same. From what he had gathered of Luna's and Dexter's impressions of her actions even coming up the stairs, the way she had giggled and drawn both their eyes to her as she clung to his arm, and the way the two of them had looked at each other and then at him. It gave him hints that Vivian was not quite acting herself.
He gestured to the left with his chin the way Luna and Farren had gone. “They were both really surprised you had taken me as a lover. I'm not sure if they believed you until you were on my arm as we came up the stairs. I saw the look you gave Mrs. Alree and her daughter too by the way.”
Vivian's eyes opened wider and her smile faded a little. The hunger in her eyes faded some too and she tilted her head at him with a slight smirk at what he mentioned at the end. Her eyes searched his for a moment and then she pulled away enough to not be considered leaning against him. She took his hand into her lap and played with his fingers for a moment seemingly lost in thought.
She looked up at him then looking a little guilty, but then shook her head and looked back down. She played with his fingers a little more and then spoke after a little while longer as the fire crackled and the dying wind of the storm beat tiredly at the tightly secured shutters over the windows. Her cheeks grew a little red as she spoke, but she looked to have made up some resolve to say the words.
“I think my reproductive cycle is starting.” She said softly. She laughed nervously and brushed back her hair.
“High Elves aren't like human women, not exactly. You asked before how old I am, and I guess the answer is somewhere around forty five--I haven't always been able to keep track...or wanted to really.” Her face reddened a little more. “Among my people I would still be considered a child by some, and a young adult by others, but this is my second time through the cycle. The first happened right after I was tossed out of my home for the curse mark that appeared on my back. It was hard to be young and alone like that with only my mothers words of guidance to rely on. The first time lasted about a year and I never took anyone to my bed or got taken to one.” She said.
“Came close once...” She added reluctantly, touching the scar on her cheek. “But that man became the first man I killed instead of the first man who had me in a bed.” She smiled up at him after saying that.
The look in her eyes and the tone of her voice showed the pain it had once caused her to take a life even in defense of her own body. Her fingers laced into his and she looked down at her legs and lifted her feet off the hard wood to spread her toes in the air before bringing them up and tucking her calves under her thighs to sit on her knees as she preferred.
“The urges are pretty intense this time if it really has started, but thirty years is a little soon for that—but it was also too soon for me when I was first thrown out. Usually it takes forty to fifty or at least it was for my mother.” She said softly. She looked at him and back to her hands. “Is it a bother if I ask you for...for it often?” She looked at him and watched his expression from the corner of her eye, her cheeks red as she spoke.
Micheal shook his head. “Not now that I know why...or in general really.” He said with a small self effacing laugh.
In truth he had planned some of this as part of the Elves lore, but had never finished it or put much thought to it past what it would take for such a long lived species to not simply run out menstrual cycles after a relatively short window of their lives. It would have been easier to simply hand wave it away with magic, but he had always thought that magic and science should and would play together in fantasy worlds made real. He had envisioned spirited women like Vivian exploring the world and doing good before finally returning home or settling down for a time to raise a few children before the end of their long lives. Elven men would just gallivant about like most human men did, but had never really thought out the details of the society to detail.
He pulled her hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of hers. She smiled at him, but caught onto the serious look in his eyes.
“We haven't exactly been careful about it. How long before you end up with child?” He asked, trying to keep his own nervousness about it off his voice. The thought had often come up after the action, but never during. Sex was too strong an expression of being alive for him to pull away from it. Not after what had happened, and certainly not when Vivian seemed to want it as much as he did.
Vivian inhaled deeply and her eyes went a little wide, but she only shifted and held tight to his hand. She looked down at her lap for a moment and then shook her head and faced him once more.
“It's--” She gulped and straightened. “It's uncommon for crossbreeding to occur.” She managed through the apparent heat in her face. “At least that's what I've been told and I've never met a half elf of any kind before, but maybe they just don't talk about it.” She finished in a rush while almost beating back her hair with quick little nervous swipes at it.
He smiled at her and pulled her close to kiss her forehead and put his nose to hers. She was stiff at first, but then started to relax a little. Her hand squeezed his tight, and he squeezed back.
“That's good and too bad I guess.” He said as he gave her a couple eskimoe kisses. She returned them gently pushing her nose in beside his almost close enough for a real kiss, and then again on the other side, a wide smile on her face. She let out a lovely little breath then too and Micheal felt a now familiar fluttering start in his chest. They had good chemistry for this, and it was part of the reason bringing that up had been somewhat difficult for him. He didn't want her to stop wanting him, but he had needed to know why.
He ran his fingers through her hair as she put her arms around his neck and pulled herself in close. Her arms were shaking a little and her grip a little tighter than normal...well at least for when they had their clothes on this was tight. She sniffled a little bit and he almost froze, but then continued touching her hair and her back through it.
“Sorry.” She said pulling away just a little to wipe at her nose and eyes with her sleeve before pressing back into their embrace.
“For what?-- the crossbreeding thing or you crying all of a sudden?” He asked her while not stopping his gentle stroking through her hair.
She gave a little forced chuckle through her sniffles. “Both maybe. I don't know.” She squeezed him tight. “I've just been silly lately.” She said into his neck. “I usually think about things rationally. I don't sleep with men I barely know. I don't trust men I barely know.” She put a great deal of emphasis on the word 'trust', and she squeezed him a little tighter after she said it. “But I trust you.”
Micheal returned Vivian's hug with all the warmth he could manage. He didn't really know what to say to that otherwise. Clearly she was still committed to hanging on to him in one way or another. He wondered just what had made her start crying when she shifted her legs to a straddling position across his lap without pulling away from the hug and the two of them seemed to sink into each other's arms. Vivian sniffled a little more and wiped her nose.
“And I don't cry.” She said with a half suppressed croak and her eyes filled with determination behind the tears dripping from their corners.
“If it matters I trust you back.” He said after a long silence.
She gave a huff of a laugh. It gave him a little energy to keep going anyway.
“I know you're observant and educated. And I know you're patient, kind, and all sorts of determined when you want to be.” He put one hand across her shoulders and the other he wrapped close around her midriff. “You're a teacher and mentor to adventurers in your guild. It seems both Luna and Dexter hold you in esteem.” He paused a little thinking of just what to say before it came to him. “The more I learn about you the more I like who you are Vivian.”
Her ears twitched a little and her arms around his neck shifted some. The embrace somehow grew a little more...together. She seemed to fit just right against him like this.
“I feel the same about you.” She whispered. “-But still I've been feeling a little more each night that I just don't know you as well as I should. You make me happy, you're loving, and gentle, but my cycle has got my head and heart in knots right now.” She said through a few more sniffles. “It makes it hard to think, or to be sure I'm doing the right thing.”
“Don't worry you and your cycle have me all twisted up too Vivian.” He said after a few long moments filled by breathing in the scent of her and leaning his head against hers.
“I will still count you as a friend if things need to change, but...well I hope this is obvious, but it wouldn't upset me to keep going as we are. You're lovely and sexy, and you've been a really good friend to me in this place. You're like a dream.” He laughed at a sudden thought. “You're the hero to my damsel in distress actually now that I think about it.”
Vivian laughed softly against him, fought it down, but then let it out again as she wiped at her tears.
“Totally swept me off my feet and saved me.” He said carrying on in light of her energetic reaction. He made a mock 'tsk'ing sound. “All the stories in my world have the prince or the knight saving the princess from the monster, not the other way around.” He held her tight against him as she laughed a little more.
“Is that what I am? Your knight and shining armor?” She said, fighting through the laughter and earlier tears with her head against his shoulder. “The Ruldanjan knights have stories just like what you're saying and they're always so typically heroic and the lady always swoons the moment she's saved.”
“Don't you feel my knees tremble every time you kiss me?” He asked her, meaning to keep her laughing. He did love to hear her lovely melodic laughter and her fitful giggles.
“I wasn't going to say anything, but actually...” She drawled, eyes flashing with amusement, and his face actually flushed with heat. Did his knees actually wobble when she kissed him? He found himself frantically trying to remember his knees not shaking, but kissing her always took one hundred percent of his attention.
She laughed harder yet and tucked her arms under his to pull herself tight against his chest as she laughed on and had to pull back right away again to wipe at her eyes again this time just from the strength of her laughter. She was giggling so hard she almost sounded like she had a bad case of hiccups. She stopped only when she suddenly came down to kiss his neck and run her hands through his hair in a way that gave off a sense of hunger and possessiveness. Her hips pressed in tight and her chest was already close. They held each other for long moments like that, both enjoying the heat that had yet to spread over the room.
“What was that you said our first time together?” He asked softly. “'Adventurers don't always have the time for this sort of thing'? If that's the case then I'll promise to do my very best to make you laugh and fall heads over heels with me, and to learn every little thing you're willing to teach me about yourself or this world. I'll earn that trust you have in me over and over again Vivian. I promise.” He pulled back from the embrace enough to kiss her on the cheek. She pressed into the kiss gently then turned her head to put her mouth to his. There was the slight dull light of lust in her eyes mixed in with warmth and vulnerability. The kiss wasn't exactly lacking passion, but it did bring that warmth between them up higher in his chest. She sniffled and wiped her nose again quickly with her sleeve again before going back in for a longer kiss. This time the soft touches of her tongue seemed to light a bonfire in his chest. There were tears on her cheeks, but her arms were back around his neck and she was pushing him back onto the bed.
She pulled his shirt up out of his trousers and practically ripped his belt open. Her kiss never lost any heat, and she only stopped to pull the dress over her head and to get him out of his shirt. Tears fell freely down her cheeks for a time. Micheal wasn't sure why she was still crying, but he could hardly think with her pressed in close and kissing him so passionately. That heat in his chest burst through him as they kissed and his body almost moved on its own together with Vivian to remove the rest of his clothes and to orient themselves on the bed with Vivian on her back.
She still wore her long woolen stockings and leather garter belt, but that was all. They came together, her hips shifting to welcome him in, her ankles tucking in against the backs of his thighs, and her hands near to clawing at his back to bring him into another passionate kiss. Her tears had stopped, but now there was a new fire in her eyes when he saw them. Just that moment of looking into them seemed to burn the feeling down into his heart. She pulled at him, grabbed at his hair and arms, and welcomed him in with an intense warmth that paled all the times before. Their bodies moved in time and came together time and time again in an intense loving embrace. Time and thought faded away. Vivian began to make sweet loving moans at their coupling, her body trembling and sweating; writhing to meet with him again and again. He seemed to feel no tiredness or fatigue as long as she kept pulling at him or taking him gently with her own hands to unite them together again after long breathless kisses. Their desire for each other seemed to meld into one force driving the both of them to the point of exhaustion before the end.
Micheal's hair was soaked through. His arms, legs, and hips, and just about everything else felt like they were about to go numb, but he was filled from end to end with a deep and honest satisfaction. Vivian collapsed onto his chest heaving air heavily through her nose after doing most of the work of their last pairing. They had gone on until they both seemed to strain to do any more. Vivian's lovely auburn hair tumbled about mixed with light and dark patches from her own sweat and picked up his when the long locks brushed against his sweaty body. It was undone and loose and thankfully he had someone remembered to be mindful of it as to not pull any from her scalp this time with careless movements.
Her legs trembled atop his hips as she turned her head to look up with him with satisfied eyes with her head laid on his chest. She found his hand and laced her fingers in with his. The two of them were slick with sweat, and only the light of the moons outside gave the room any illumination. The wind blew outside with the light tinkling of rain on the roof above them. Every inch of her seemed to glow in the weak moonlight, her hair, and the sheen of sweat on her silky skin.
Once she caught her breath she reached over to her pack without letting go of his other hand or truly dismounting him. She fished her waterskin from her pack and took a deep drink resting back on her knees again. Her loose hair spilled over her body, sticking sometimes where she shone with sweat, and casting shadows over the other side of her body. He saw rather well in the dark like this, the moon had always given more than enough light for his eyes. They must have had a good deal of time for their eyes to adjust besides with no lamps but the low fire in the room, and the clouds outside had come apart enough to let in a good deal of moonlight.
She turned toward the window still sitting atop his hips and admired that moonlight on their coupled hands. She looked to the shuttered window which dripped still with falling light rain, but it seemed the clouds had abated at least somewhat. She tilted her head out at the rays of moonlight that shone through the shutters and Micheal was struck suddenly by the sight of her loveliness. Her long hair draped across her shoulders and down her back, the dim moonlight playing on her skin, the turn of her neck as she looked out of the window with a brilliant and warm calm settling into her emerald eyes that shone with silver in the moonlight. Her ears stood for a moment up to sharp points before wilting slightly as she took his hand up to her belly and opened his palm upon it. She was breathing easier now having recovered from their little marathon already. She touched the fingers of his left hand one by one, spreading them wide over the soft skin and defined muscle underneath, and a slow smile spread across her face.
“You promise huh?” She asked, blinking slowly and smiling down at his hand, but he had the feeling she didn't need him to answer. “I suppose I should promise the same in kind shouldn't I?” She said looking up toward him.
She let his hand fall away and leaned down over him, her hair spilling down off her back and casting her face and body in mysterious shadows until she drew very close above him.
“I promise to love and guide you as best I can. It is my greatest hope to give you happiness here, and for you to survive your mark. I'll teach you everything I can and find you teachers when I can no longer aid you. I promise to be by your side as long as our love is strong-” Her eyes began to glisten with tears as she spoke on. “--Even until age and the passage of time steals you from me. As long as our love is strong...” Something deep and meaningful rose in Micheal's chest as he heard her whispered words, his heart leaping in his chest at every word, and filling it with hope and promise.
She leaned in and kissed him gently, tears falling from her cheeks onto his as she did. Something seemed to hum in the air around them as they kissed and they both pulled away at the rainbow flash of light that spilled through the room.
Vivian looked about drawing her hair and hands over her breasts, but the light had almost come from Vivian's back just above and near his hand. She reached for her spear near the bed, but he patted her on the hip to get her attention.
“I uh...” He said hesitantly. “Looks like I learned a skill.” He said sheepishly holding his marked left hand up for her to view the glowing runes.