Post by Soleil on Nov 6, 2008 11:23:59 GMT -5
It was now an official habit, Zane rode his horse at night, just as the dusk started to settle in and the sky was full of bright stars. He rode his horse with out a saddle but that didn't mean he didn't use his saddle blanket on his ride. The ride lasted a while and eventually, not wanting to tire his horse, the two returned to the stables. In the chill of the night Zane was wearing a padded shirt, thicker in the sleeves than the chest. It was the off white wool that could be found on the cheap. He wore a dark hunter green cloak over that, hood drawn up over his head. He grabbed a bale of hay and brought it into his horse for feeding; upon dropping it the straw loosened and the bale broke apart. The horse went to work on her supper allowing for Zane to brush her light tan coat out. The brush fit neatly into his palm and with circular motions the body of the horse received it's massaged brush.
At that moment, Naevah was within the stables herself, in the stall with her own horse. She had filled his feeder bins with oats and gave him an apple for a special treat. As he ate, she moved around him, cleaning out the stall. She still wore the dark green dress from early on in the day, and her long braided hair was pulled back and away from her face. As she worked, she hummed quietly, unaware that Zane had come into the stables. After she was done cleaning up the stalls, she began to brush the soft whitish/silver fur of the stallion who continued to eat. When she looked up, she saw him in the stall across from the one she was in. Eyes narrowed quickly before she turned her glance away and back to the horse, pretending as if she did not see him there.
He had arrived and brushed out his horse, having not noticed the soft hum due to the grumbling of his horse while she ate. His attention fully given to her until finally he was satisfied with the brush job he gave her and with a soft pat he went to turn and leave the stall. That was when he finally noticed her. She looked as she did before but now it was night and the only light was the soft glow of the moon as it filtered into the stalls. He pushed back the hood of his cloak, the one that rest rested across broad shoulders, and approached her quietly. She was ignoring him and he didn't know that. He thought he had the upper hand and chose to lean against the end of her horse's stall, arms folded across his chest as he watched in on them. How long would it take for her to notice him he thought. Yet all the while she was cunningly ignoring him despite his knowledge. Several minutes passed before he spoke up, from the dark of the night his voice traveled in the chill air on visible breath, "what is ye horse's name?"
Naevah knew he was there the whole time, though still, she continued to keep herself busy in brushing the horse. Despite the coldness, Naevah had not come out with a cloak or anything. She just wore the dress. When she heard his question, she did not look up, but still answered him. "Silver..." Her eyes finally lifted and finally she gave her attention to him, even if it was in the briefest amount of time. "And yours?" Eyebrow raised in curiosity before she turned her eyes back to her horse and continued on brushing him. Bumping into someone twice in one day? Naevah never considered that a good thing.
He smiled as he noted how she avoided looking at him. Curiously, he silently pondered this rare phenomenon. It amused him but he also wasn't sure if he had upset her so fully that she wanted nothing to do with him. Her inquiry into the horse's name reassured him that conversing with her was ok. He looked over his shoulder at his horse for a moment before speaking her name. "Artemis." He hadn't named the horse but she was rather given the name from the queen herself. It was after the Greek goddess of nature. A strong horse with a strong name. "Do you ride at night?" A brown brow inched upwards in question on his face. Perhaps they were riding the isle at the same time and didn't know it, how peculiar. His body rolled out of it's leaning position against the wooden pillar of the stall and he took the several steps, closing the gap between them. A palm went to rub the neck of the horse, "nice to meet you Silver."
Why she had given her horse such a simple name, she did not exactly know. The horse was given to her long ago from her father when they departed and she could not think of a fitting name for him, other than a name that would describe him. Later, she understood that the horse was as valuable as what her father probably paid for it. He was a good horse and shined and was very reliable and strong. She never really liked horses much until she had Silver. "Aye, I do, sometimes...When I can. What kind of life would a horse live if they were always kept inside their stalls?" She continued to brush his fur until Zane stepped in and moved closer to them, his hand moving up to touch the neck of the horse. Her eyes widened slightly and the horse began to back up nervously. Naevah shook her head and moved to calm the horse done, speaking quietly and sofly to settle him down before he could act up and hurt one of them. She looked back to Zane and shook her head again. "He does not like to be touched by others he does not trust..." Both of her hands moved up to hold Silver's nose and she whispered quietly against the fur of his nose. "Shhh... It's okay, he did not know." Her lips gently pressed against the middle of his nose and she smiled softly, the horse seeming to calm down. The way she said the words to Zane, almost sounded as if she spoke about herself too, and not being touched by those that she did not trust either.
He watched the horse back away and instantly he felt bad. His own body backed up until he hit the stall wall behind him. He wasn't frightened of the horse, not in the least he just knew he should give them some more space. But he had done it so quickly that the back of his head came flat against the wooden wall of the stall and a soft thunk could be heard. Fingers quickly rose to the back of his head and he grimaced slightly, not because of pain but more because of embarrassment. He recovered though and those emerald colored eyes observed the intimate moment she shared with the horse. A smile curled up the corners of his mouth, leaving long dimpled lines. He almost felt privileged, like this was a side to the woman that no one got to see; no one but the horse that is. He didn't chose to speak because he didn't want to break the magic of the moment. Then she finally looked at him and he spoke up. "It looks like you both have similar personalities." He could tell that she was very distant from everyone based on their previous meeting. The two probably got a long because neither one trusted anyone easily. Where as him and his horse were very welcoming to everyone. "Sorry about that." He said it to both her and her horse.
She looked back to her horse when Zane accused her of having the same personality of her horse. While some might have been offended by such, she took it as a compliment, whether it was made to be one or not. She knew her horse well enough to know that he was a good one. She smiled faintly and shrugged her shoulders as she looked back to him. "You did not know." Her hand was slowly released from the horse's nose and she placed the brush on a shelf, finishing up with anything else that needed to be done around the stall. When she finished, she stepped out of the stall, holding the door open for him in a way to tell him to get out too. She tilted her head to the side a bit and looked at him curiously. "How's the bump of the head feeling?" Oh, she had not seen it happen, but she sure heard it...
He was grateful that she hadn't snickered at his blunder, being the new guy his pride wanted him to be smoother than that. He hadn't even rubbed his head when she was looking, only groping it when she was busy with her chores about the stall. As she ushered him out he pulled the sides of the cloak around him, pushing through the harrow space that was the stall doorway. This was twice now that she had held the door for him, a fact he was not proud of. But he made no comment other wise and out into the stable they were, the more predominate smell of hay, oats, and horse greeted them. He didn't actually mind the smell that much when in a stall but in the main area of the stables the smell was much stronger and more foul. That wasn't why his teeth clenched though, oh no. They clenched when she asked about his head. So much for being grateful. " It is feeling quite lovely actually. Thank you for asking, your concern is very flattering." His chest had thoroughly deflated into a soft sigh and his hands released the edges of his cloak; at least now he could rub the bump and not having to hide it.
Naevah laughed quietly at his words and made sure the door to Silver's stall was shut and locked properly before she moved away. The empty buckets she had replaced were lifted and she walked over towards the area where they were stacked up for others to use when they needed them. "Put some of the snow outside on it... Might help." Once she was finished all the rest of her chores, she made way for the main doors of the stables to leave, not knowing if he would follow along with her and leave too.
He made an attempt to help her carry the buckets. She was a lady and he was supposed to be gallant and all of that but she didn't seem too eager to let him help her. That and her ice suggestion sounded heavenly. He did in deed follow behind her as she left the stable and for a small moment he gulped in the night air. It's soft chill was a welcome on the strong lines of his jaw and his head tilted back to gaze at the multitude of stars. He loved the night more than he loved the day because he saw great beauty in the silvery moon light. He bent over and picked up some of the loose fluffy snow that still clung to the ground, hoping to stay for a few more days before melting back into the earth. He packed it as best as he could and held it up to the back of his head. "Beautiful idea." That was his comment of thanks and that was it. He really hoped she wouldn't stay on the topic of his bump much longer. His fingers grew colder and colder as he held the snow in his bare hands, those leather gloves had been forgotten in his room. Tonight had been much warmer than previous nights and he wished to enjoy it, not knowing he'd need them to tend to his bump. " I still do not know your name yet, m'lady."
When she stepped out of the stables, she glanced around the night curiously, a small sigh escaping her as she seemed to look in several different directions, mainly to see if guards were posted in every post she had set for them to guard in. Once she was convinced they were, she turned to watch as he lifted the snow and brought it to his head. She nodded once and then looked away again, trying to think of what she needed to do next. Her schedule had been so filled with routines she had to go through every day, and now at this time of night, she had a little free time on her hands before she could retire and get what little sleep she could. Now there was an awkward silence between the two, and she found herself not knowing what to talk about, or even if he wanted to keep conversing with her, or if they would go off in their separate ways as they had before. But when he stated he did not know her name, she looked back at him and shrugged her shoulders. "It's Naevah... Northam. Why do you ask?"
He had met two of her guards the other night when he had bumped into the queen on the shores. One had fallen asleep on duty and when roused nearly attacked Zane. He now felt slightly uneasy around them because they didn't know him, and much like her self, didn't trust him. The snow had all but melted and the water was brushed off into the sides of his cloak. Fingers now dry he rubbed hands together in the hopes of warming the now stinging tips. "Do you think it unusual for a man to want to know the name for whom he speaks with?" She was like a puzzle to him, half assembled and half a mystery. She obviously was pre-biased to dislike him, him being calvary and all. He cupped his hand to his mouth and blew warm breath into it. He wasn't sure if he gave the answer she was looking for but there it was. " I realize I just met you today but...How long have you known Silver?" It seemed like a delayed question and for the most part it was. He was stretching for conversation.
She shrugged her shoulders at his first question. "People like us don't need to know names." She looked away from him, her arms moving to fold over her chest, hands rubbed at her arms to keep away the chill from getting to her. She was a tough woman, one that had been busy all day that forgot she'd need a cloak by the time her day was done. She stared off into the horizon and continued on with her reason why for her last statement. "Knowing names only forces us to know and remember that person... And if we fight in wars, and lose the ones we know the names of. . ." She glanced back to him, a serious and stoic emotionless expression upon her features. "Then we'd have to remember them, wouldn't we?" She raised a brow again and then looked away, back to the horizon. She fell silent, never was she a great conversationalist. But when he started speaking again, then asked her the question, she was a bit confused at the way he put his sentence together. What did Silver have to do with him realizing he'd just met her? "My father gave him to me before I left home... Five years ago. So five years I've known him."
"We do not need names? That is all that we fight for isn't it? We risk our lives for the name of the queen, the name of this isle and yet knowing your name is not needed? I disagree. If I ride into battle I must know the name of those that I am fighting for, or I will perish almost assuredly." He went about his little rant with some passion in his deep voice. He was that way, time to time. He moistened his lips and spoke in a more softer voice, practically lost into the wind. "Even with out a name I doubt I could forget you." Zane was a man of stories and people and places remained fresh in his mind.He could remember almost everyone he had met on his journey's to the shore. But perhaps he said all this because he had yet to lose anyone, anyone besides his parents and sisters. But that was when he was just a boy and the feeling of loss was apparent as long as he could remember. Fingers, still numb, undid the leather laces that held the cloak stead fast around his shoulders. He whipped it off only to place it around her. He had notice the chill set in as she clutched to her self for warmth. Hands patted her shoulders before he stepped away. "He traveled with you? Amazing. I was never able to have a horse of my own, boats do not settle well with them and I lived on one for many years. I just met my girl the other night but we got along instantly." He smiled softly thinking about it all. How quick he was meeting people and how much he was enjoying his time here.
She listened to his little rant of disagreement with her and she laughed quietly, shaking her head. "Then you will remember them, and become attached to those you hold names to..." She looked away from him once more, eyes focusing on the horizon again. She had seen friends die in war and she knew how much it stung and hurt. She allowed herself to get close to them and now she'd always remember them. But for those she never held onto the names of, they were like a distant memory that had been carried away by the wind. She did not see him as he removed his cloak and moved to her to drape it over her, the weight of the material was felt upon his shoulders, followed by his hands and she slowly turned to look at him with narrowed eyes. She laughed and shook her head, pulling the cloak off of her shoulders and holding it out back at him. "I do not need this. I don't need your help. I'm not some damsel in distress, here...I can take care of myself." The thing about Naevah, was that she was extremely stubborn and prideful, especially when it came to being around men who believed they were stronger and tougher than she was. She was not a typical lady that needed to be treated as a delicate flower. It made her laugh, almost. The rest of his question about her horse traveling with her had been ignored for now, but she remembered fully how difficult it had been getting that horse into the boat when she helped the queen and others escape from Saelis and she had to have the horse pulled up with ropes from the waters to get him up onto the ship.
"You have lost someone dear to you than. Is that why you are so distant." He didn't mean to say the last bit aloud, it was more of a revelation that should have been to himself. But she grew distracted from that because he had followed the words with a kind gesture. The cloak was taken off though and held out at arms length as she tried to give it back. He had suspected her rejection of it, knew it was coming the moment he had thought to give it to her. "Will you take the bloody cloak girl. You are in a dress and I am in a thick shirt, it is only fair. I'm not doing it because I think you need my help." he sighed, frustrated that she was going to fight him on this. She must have been used to getting her own way with this curt attitude."Your pride is going to get you sick. If you don't want to be treated like a girl you shouldn't dress like one." he said his statement with another sigh. He continued to walk at an arm's distance from her, not offering to take the burden of his thick cloak from her hands and bent down to pick up another snow ball for his head. The raised voices stung like daggers into the thick of his skull and with the cool ice it slowly drifted away. He had never been so frustrated at a woman before. Actually, he didn't know very many women. He had lived his life with a boat full of men.
She just rolled her eyes as he argued with her about taking back the cloak, and instead moved to pick up another chunk of ice setting it on his head to relieve his bump. When she was convinced he would not take his cloak back, she shrugged and grinned a sarcastic grin before fingers let go of the cloth and the cloak was dropped to the ground. She'd rather get sick than to give in to a man's demands. She turned her back to him and folded her arms back over her chest, eyes moving back to the horizon again. She thought to herself about the reasons why she was so distant and hostile. It was not really because she had lost someone, she hadn't. No one that she really loved anyway. She had lost good friends, but it was nothing too damaging. She missed her father, though. And the reason why she had to be away from him was because she was not accepted there as a warrior. They would not allow her to do what she knew best how to do. Her father was the one that demanded she left to try and make something of herself, and now, she was. But she felt like she had nothing left. Her mother had died when she was born, and she never knew her. Though Naevah hardly let anyone know these secrets to her life. She was not a very emotional person and kept to herself mostly.
Zane straightened and watched as she dropped his dark green cloak and it fluttered down into the snow making an indent there. He rolled his own green eyes at the girl. "Silly girl." He smiled knowingly though, leaving it where it fell. If she was going to be stubborn so would he. "that was an expensive cloak you know." He kept following her none the less and when she would finally turn and look at him he was going to assault her with his snowball. A soft loft right at her head, the brave girl that she was and the valiant military man throwing snow balls at her. First that was probably horrible inappropriate, she was a commander and he was not even close. But he did it none the less. A lofty snow ball right at her, when she was looking so she would know it was coming. A smile adorned those lips and folds of long dimples framed his mouth. It was rare to see Zane laugh so much but here he was laughing away. He didn't know what to expect, so far he could predict most of her reactions but now... when he threw the snow ball he had no clue if she was going to get mad, laugh, or worst. He figured that the cloak was abandoned already and was already a price paid to have this laugh from his snowball assault. Perhaps one day she would share her emotional baggage with him and the two would realize they have so very much in common. But for now it was a fact that went amiss and lost to the sea of no action.
When she turned to look at him, she instead got a glimpse of a snowball flying right towards her face, too quick for her to duck. The cold snow shattered right into her face and her arm moved to quickly wipe it away. The deadliest glare was given to him as she stood there staring at him with narrowed eyes. For a moment, she did not do anything but stare at him. She was not the laughing, happy-go-lucky, playful type of woman. She was always so serious and deadly. She felt that lopping the heads off of enemies was her way of fun, even though it wasn't. Naevah shook her head at him and slowly walked closer to him, closing the space between them. She stood only inches from him, her face dangerously close to his own as she stared right into his eyes with a serious glare. And since that might probably distract his eyes enough, she quickly swept her foot under his, knocking him off of his footing and she pushed him down into the snow. She bent down and picked up some snow in her hands and threw it right back into his face before she moved over to where his cloak was, lifted it, and threw it over his head. Once all that was done, she finally began to walk away from him.
His laughing stopped as her stare remained icy. The snowball had been light and fluffy and broke easy, tiny little lobs of it slid down the slant of her rounded nose and her high cheek bone. It glistened in the silvery light that the moon shown on it. The smile still remained as he pondered just what it was behind those blue eyes. Did she hate him now? He watched her close the space and her face grew ever so close to his. He could smell her hair and hear her breathing in the chilly air. He didn't back down and he would go nose to nose with her unyielding. Though his mouth did lose that smile upon it; it fell away as she had approached him, slipping more away with each foot that brought her closer. And when she arrived at her destination she did take him off guard and her leg caught his sending him down to the snow padded earth. As he fell to his back he almost, instinctively grabbed at the hem of her dress but he held back and simply fell to the ground. Snow, soon covered his face. It stung at first, being so cold. But he started to lick it off his mouth while his fingers brushed it off of his face. Eye lashes pushed open with flecks of snow caught in them. It was already to late, his planned retaliation was swatted when she tossed his own cloak on him. In a last minute ditch effort he tossed the fluff ball he had made in his hand. His head was covered and he couldn't see just where she had gone off to but he made a guess and tossed the snowball in that direction. It landed to her right, by a few inches. A pretty good toss for not looking. Following his last attack he just fully collapsed into the snow and allowed himself a moment to laugh under the hiding of his cloak.
Naevah heard that snowball come flying towards her and then watched as it landed away from her. Eyes fell back to him, watching as he collapsed back into the snow and laughed. And then something happened. The faintest smile crept along her lips, though it was not her usual sarcastic one. The man had guts, she had to give him that, at least. Quietly, she turned and made her way back towards him, leaning down to lift the cloak from his face. "What is so funny?" Though her words came out in more of a threatening manner. She leaned down some more, her free hand that did not hold the cloak up, gripped some more snow and she held it over his face in a threat. Though, if anyone knew Naevah well enough, they'd know it was not a real threat, she would have used her sword for that. This was an actual playful threat, but there was no playfulness to the expression she wore.
He just thought she'd storm off, go inside a warm building and ponder the night. Again her actions surprised him and instead she came back. He felt the cloak lift off of him and saw her very scary looking face. His smile this time did not falter. It remained as she looked down into his green eyes. The cloak had mostly dried his face but his hair was wet. He sat up slightly, upper weight resting on his elbows as he watched her threaten him with more snow. He wasn't sure what to say, what was so funny. "you." He said it because indeed he was laughing at her. Not in a rude or mean way at all. He had seen all different sides of her that night and his own snowball fighting had amused him. "And so what are you going to do about that?" He looked between her face and the snowball she had prepared and his head even nodded to it. His own breath still catching up to him from laughing so hard.
She tilted her head to the side, her expression never changing. Eyes shifted to look at the snow in her hand. So he found her funny, did he? What would she do about it? "This..." She quickly moved her hand towards his face, shoving the snow into it and smoothing it out all over his face. When her hand was removed she stepped over his legs, straddling his own as she turned to face him. She crouched down, not sitting on his legs, but almost close enough to that. Her elbows were set onto her knees and she stared at him in a menacing kind of way. "Do not laugh at me... You have not seen the worst of what I can do to a person...And you better hope that you never have to..." She remained crouched over his legs, staring face to face with him, even though his was smothered by snow now.
He let her smother his face with snow, head moving to follow her hand in a welcoming sort of way. When he was a boy on the boat, if he was in trouble he'd get lashed. That was how things went and when his punishment came he would laugh in their faces with each thrashing. This attitude struck with him even now and that was why he allowed her to ice him. He watched her pose herself over him and proceed to threaten him. He saw her as joking along with him despite her very serious expression and and that was why he felt comfortable with his next action. While she went on and on about just what she could do to him he chose to pull at her ankles. They rested near his hands already and she was posed over him reliant on her feet still. One hand half pulled at one before it went to push her shoulder back, guiding her body into the snow next to him. The other hand fully yanked at her ankle and turned she was. "Oh, but what if I can get you to laugh with me?" A brow inched upwards as he was now straddling her, knees pushed into the snow and dirt combination on either side of her legs and his fingers went to attack her sides. She had remained straight faced this whole time. Would she crack under pressure or was he risking his life? "I promise I won't laugh unless you are from now on." And he meant it.
He had moved quickly enough to manage to get her off of him and down in the snow next to him. Eyes narrowed up at him as he straddled her legs now. She felt the cold snow begin to soak through the back of her dress and sting at her skin, but she showed no emotion to it. When he moved to tickle her, her straight face remained. Ah, so she was not ticklish. She only grinned, in a way that would cause him to believe his attempts were useless and she would not be weak enough to laugh at such a thing. "Nice try... Sorry..." Eyebrow rose as she remained still underneath him, one of her hands moved down, fingers tightly gripping around his wrist, pulling his hand away from her side. For a woman, her grip was actually quite strong, and she held that grip tightly around his wrist as her eyes remained narrowed on him.
A sigh escaped as he failed to retrieve a laugh from her and her own hands took hold of his wrist, pulling them free from their embankment. Those green eyes went from one of her blue to the other, looking deep inside them. "You might not be a damsel in need of saving but I am a man who needs to leave here with some dignity." He smiled slightly into the face of his defeater. Yes, he might be above her but in reality she had won every battle she set out against him. Every single one. While he didn't like to lose he also didn't mind admitting defeat to her. She had a strong will and while he looked down at her face he admired that. And while he knelt there in the snow he found the moment extend on and on, the smile fading from his lips for a slightly different reason now. "What does one have to do to get you to laugh?" He had gotten her to smile but he had failed to coax that laugh from her.
Naevah kept her fingers locked around his wrist even as he spoke to her. Eyebrow rose, as she remained under him, unmoving. "You need to leave with dignity? Why because you are being defeated by a woman?" Her eyebrows furrowed a bit as if she was displeased of being judged in such a way if that was his reasons for saying what he did. She shook her head, about to push him off of her until he questioned her again. A look of confusion spread over her features for a moment before she answered. "Laugh? Why? What's the point? It makes you feel good? Aye, so does a lot of other things, I don't need to waste my time doing such things." In truth, Naevah had lost touch with the things that made her feel happy or want to laugh, she didn't really know how else to answer his question because she did not know what would make her laugh.
He listened to her answer and a frown tugged at the corners of his lips and those brows furrowed together. "What else makes you feel good than? Since you don't need to waste the few insignificantly small seconds it takes to laugh, what do you do to feel good?" He had never heard anyone describe a laugh as feeling good but it was truth in itself wasn't it?" His wrists were no longer stiff and to the point of fighting in her hands, they stilled and he just looked at her. Did she not know how to laugh. Was that why her face was so stone cold just moments ago. He shivered slightly. Not just because he was cold, which he was, but because of the seriousness the conversation had gone. He wanted her to elaborate, suddenly he wanted to know everything there was to know about her. His new goal was to get her to laugh, even if it didn't happen tonight he made a personal vow to himself. "Bloody hell... I'm not saying you shouldn't win because your a woman or anything like that. I know your tough already. I want you to laugh for you and I'd like to leave with a bit of dignity because I was trying to impress you. Not because I have some complex that your a woman. I was liking that fact until I found out how damn difficult you are because of it."
Now what exactly did make Naevah feel good? She thought about it for a moment before answering. "Winning. Defeating a man that underestimated me and thought he could bring me down... Getting a new weapon. And being respected and seen for what I'm capable doing..." She'd leave all the emotional sappy good feelings behind, never really ever feeling those things firsthand, anyway. Though he stopped is fight against her grip around her wrist, she still held onto it tightly, eyes watching him closely as he admitted he wanted to leave with some dignity because he was trying to impress her. That had caused an eyebrow of hers to raise, but she remained quiet as he continued speaking. She grinned slightly at his last words and shook her head. "Aren't most women difficult, anyway?" Naevah wasn't like most woman though, and she probably was more difficult than they were, but in a completely different way.
"Nothing for fun though? You don't do anything besides work?" He wiggled his wrist free, not by force but because she let him. His fingertips, slightly damp from the snow, traced their line over her rounded nose and her full lips. It left in it's wake a trail moister. From there, off it slipped and so did he. Her one hand was still gripping strong to his wrist and his own hand in turned shifted to grab hold of her arm, hands interlocking wrists as he helped her up. He hoped that wasn't going to cause another riot from her and make her explode in fury again. "I guess you have gotten joy out of tonight, beating a man. Except I didn't underestimate you." His green eyes lowered and he picked up his cloak with his still free hand and shook it out. "In fact I think it is you that have underestimated me."
It would seem that way that Naevah did not do much for fun. She mostly kept herself busy with her work, anyway and hardly had time for fun. She stared up at him as he trailed his finger over her nose and lips, but said nothing. When he helped her up, she stood back up out of the snow, and released his wrist, hands moving to brush the snow from the back of her dress. Blue eyes found him again when he spoke, eyebrows furrowing slightly at his last statement. "Have I?" Naevah was used to men telling her that she was incapable of fighting and winning in battles. So she spent her time with them, always needing to prove herself, just to earn the respect she wanted. They never had to worry about being underestimated by her, because they always believed themselves to be stronger than she was. She just stared at him in wonder, as if he saw her as an equal and did not underestimate her. Lips parted and that deep, strong voice spoke quietly. "I'm sorry, then, if I have..." She nodded to him. "Have a good night..." And before he could say anything else to her, she walked away, heading back to the military building to her quarters.
At that moment, Naevah was within the stables herself, in the stall with her own horse. She had filled his feeder bins with oats and gave him an apple for a special treat. As he ate, she moved around him, cleaning out the stall. She still wore the dark green dress from early on in the day, and her long braided hair was pulled back and away from her face. As she worked, she hummed quietly, unaware that Zane had come into the stables. After she was done cleaning up the stalls, she began to brush the soft whitish/silver fur of the stallion who continued to eat. When she looked up, she saw him in the stall across from the one she was in. Eyes narrowed quickly before she turned her glance away and back to the horse, pretending as if she did not see him there.
He had arrived and brushed out his horse, having not noticed the soft hum due to the grumbling of his horse while she ate. His attention fully given to her until finally he was satisfied with the brush job he gave her and with a soft pat he went to turn and leave the stall. That was when he finally noticed her. She looked as she did before but now it was night and the only light was the soft glow of the moon as it filtered into the stalls. He pushed back the hood of his cloak, the one that rest rested across broad shoulders, and approached her quietly. She was ignoring him and he didn't know that. He thought he had the upper hand and chose to lean against the end of her horse's stall, arms folded across his chest as he watched in on them. How long would it take for her to notice him he thought. Yet all the while she was cunningly ignoring him despite his knowledge. Several minutes passed before he spoke up, from the dark of the night his voice traveled in the chill air on visible breath, "what is ye horse's name?"
Naevah knew he was there the whole time, though still, she continued to keep herself busy in brushing the horse. Despite the coldness, Naevah had not come out with a cloak or anything. She just wore the dress. When she heard his question, she did not look up, but still answered him. "Silver..." Her eyes finally lifted and finally she gave her attention to him, even if it was in the briefest amount of time. "And yours?" Eyebrow raised in curiosity before she turned her eyes back to her horse and continued on brushing him. Bumping into someone twice in one day? Naevah never considered that a good thing.
He smiled as he noted how she avoided looking at him. Curiously, he silently pondered this rare phenomenon. It amused him but he also wasn't sure if he had upset her so fully that she wanted nothing to do with him. Her inquiry into the horse's name reassured him that conversing with her was ok. He looked over his shoulder at his horse for a moment before speaking her name. "Artemis." He hadn't named the horse but she was rather given the name from the queen herself. It was after the Greek goddess of nature. A strong horse with a strong name. "Do you ride at night?" A brown brow inched upwards in question on his face. Perhaps they were riding the isle at the same time and didn't know it, how peculiar. His body rolled out of it's leaning position against the wooden pillar of the stall and he took the several steps, closing the gap between them. A palm went to rub the neck of the horse, "nice to meet you Silver."
Why she had given her horse such a simple name, she did not exactly know. The horse was given to her long ago from her father when they departed and she could not think of a fitting name for him, other than a name that would describe him. Later, she understood that the horse was as valuable as what her father probably paid for it. He was a good horse and shined and was very reliable and strong. She never really liked horses much until she had Silver. "Aye, I do, sometimes...When I can. What kind of life would a horse live if they were always kept inside their stalls?" She continued to brush his fur until Zane stepped in and moved closer to them, his hand moving up to touch the neck of the horse. Her eyes widened slightly and the horse began to back up nervously. Naevah shook her head and moved to calm the horse done, speaking quietly and sofly to settle him down before he could act up and hurt one of them. She looked back to Zane and shook her head again. "He does not like to be touched by others he does not trust..." Both of her hands moved up to hold Silver's nose and she whispered quietly against the fur of his nose. "Shhh... It's okay, he did not know." Her lips gently pressed against the middle of his nose and she smiled softly, the horse seeming to calm down. The way she said the words to Zane, almost sounded as if she spoke about herself too, and not being touched by those that she did not trust either.
He watched the horse back away and instantly he felt bad. His own body backed up until he hit the stall wall behind him. He wasn't frightened of the horse, not in the least he just knew he should give them some more space. But he had done it so quickly that the back of his head came flat against the wooden wall of the stall and a soft thunk could be heard. Fingers quickly rose to the back of his head and he grimaced slightly, not because of pain but more because of embarrassment. He recovered though and those emerald colored eyes observed the intimate moment she shared with the horse. A smile curled up the corners of his mouth, leaving long dimpled lines. He almost felt privileged, like this was a side to the woman that no one got to see; no one but the horse that is. He didn't chose to speak because he didn't want to break the magic of the moment. Then she finally looked at him and he spoke up. "It looks like you both have similar personalities." He could tell that she was very distant from everyone based on their previous meeting. The two probably got a long because neither one trusted anyone easily. Where as him and his horse were very welcoming to everyone. "Sorry about that." He said it to both her and her horse.
She looked back to her horse when Zane accused her of having the same personality of her horse. While some might have been offended by such, she took it as a compliment, whether it was made to be one or not. She knew her horse well enough to know that he was a good one. She smiled faintly and shrugged her shoulders as she looked back to him. "You did not know." Her hand was slowly released from the horse's nose and she placed the brush on a shelf, finishing up with anything else that needed to be done around the stall. When she finished, she stepped out of the stall, holding the door open for him in a way to tell him to get out too. She tilted her head to the side a bit and looked at him curiously. "How's the bump of the head feeling?" Oh, she had not seen it happen, but she sure heard it...
He was grateful that she hadn't snickered at his blunder, being the new guy his pride wanted him to be smoother than that. He hadn't even rubbed his head when she was looking, only groping it when she was busy with her chores about the stall. As she ushered him out he pulled the sides of the cloak around him, pushing through the harrow space that was the stall doorway. This was twice now that she had held the door for him, a fact he was not proud of. But he made no comment other wise and out into the stable they were, the more predominate smell of hay, oats, and horse greeted them. He didn't actually mind the smell that much when in a stall but in the main area of the stables the smell was much stronger and more foul. That wasn't why his teeth clenched though, oh no. They clenched when she asked about his head. So much for being grateful. " It is feeling quite lovely actually. Thank you for asking, your concern is very flattering." His chest had thoroughly deflated into a soft sigh and his hands released the edges of his cloak; at least now he could rub the bump and not having to hide it.
Naevah laughed quietly at his words and made sure the door to Silver's stall was shut and locked properly before she moved away. The empty buckets she had replaced were lifted and she walked over towards the area where they were stacked up for others to use when they needed them. "Put some of the snow outside on it... Might help." Once she was finished all the rest of her chores, she made way for the main doors of the stables to leave, not knowing if he would follow along with her and leave too.
He made an attempt to help her carry the buckets. She was a lady and he was supposed to be gallant and all of that but she didn't seem too eager to let him help her. That and her ice suggestion sounded heavenly. He did in deed follow behind her as she left the stable and for a small moment he gulped in the night air. It's soft chill was a welcome on the strong lines of his jaw and his head tilted back to gaze at the multitude of stars. He loved the night more than he loved the day because he saw great beauty in the silvery moon light. He bent over and picked up some of the loose fluffy snow that still clung to the ground, hoping to stay for a few more days before melting back into the earth. He packed it as best as he could and held it up to the back of his head. "Beautiful idea." That was his comment of thanks and that was it. He really hoped she wouldn't stay on the topic of his bump much longer. His fingers grew colder and colder as he held the snow in his bare hands, those leather gloves had been forgotten in his room. Tonight had been much warmer than previous nights and he wished to enjoy it, not knowing he'd need them to tend to his bump. " I still do not know your name yet, m'lady."
When she stepped out of the stables, she glanced around the night curiously, a small sigh escaping her as she seemed to look in several different directions, mainly to see if guards were posted in every post she had set for them to guard in. Once she was convinced they were, she turned to watch as he lifted the snow and brought it to his head. She nodded once and then looked away again, trying to think of what she needed to do next. Her schedule had been so filled with routines she had to go through every day, and now at this time of night, she had a little free time on her hands before she could retire and get what little sleep she could. Now there was an awkward silence between the two, and she found herself not knowing what to talk about, or even if he wanted to keep conversing with her, or if they would go off in their separate ways as they had before. But when he stated he did not know her name, she looked back at him and shrugged her shoulders. "It's Naevah... Northam. Why do you ask?"
He had met two of her guards the other night when he had bumped into the queen on the shores. One had fallen asleep on duty and when roused nearly attacked Zane. He now felt slightly uneasy around them because they didn't know him, and much like her self, didn't trust him. The snow had all but melted and the water was brushed off into the sides of his cloak. Fingers now dry he rubbed hands together in the hopes of warming the now stinging tips. "Do you think it unusual for a man to want to know the name for whom he speaks with?" She was like a puzzle to him, half assembled and half a mystery. She obviously was pre-biased to dislike him, him being calvary and all. He cupped his hand to his mouth and blew warm breath into it. He wasn't sure if he gave the answer she was looking for but there it was. " I realize I just met you today but...How long have you known Silver?" It seemed like a delayed question and for the most part it was. He was stretching for conversation.
She shrugged her shoulders at his first question. "People like us don't need to know names." She looked away from him, her arms moving to fold over her chest, hands rubbed at her arms to keep away the chill from getting to her. She was a tough woman, one that had been busy all day that forgot she'd need a cloak by the time her day was done. She stared off into the horizon and continued on with her reason why for her last statement. "Knowing names only forces us to know and remember that person... And if we fight in wars, and lose the ones we know the names of. . ." She glanced back to him, a serious and stoic emotionless expression upon her features. "Then we'd have to remember them, wouldn't we?" She raised a brow again and then looked away, back to the horizon. She fell silent, never was she a great conversationalist. But when he started speaking again, then asked her the question, she was a bit confused at the way he put his sentence together. What did Silver have to do with him realizing he'd just met her? "My father gave him to me before I left home... Five years ago. So five years I've known him."
"We do not need names? That is all that we fight for isn't it? We risk our lives for the name of the queen, the name of this isle and yet knowing your name is not needed? I disagree. If I ride into battle I must know the name of those that I am fighting for, or I will perish almost assuredly." He went about his little rant with some passion in his deep voice. He was that way, time to time. He moistened his lips and spoke in a more softer voice, practically lost into the wind. "Even with out a name I doubt I could forget you." Zane was a man of stories and people and places remained fresh in his mind.He could remember almost everyone he had met on his journey's to the shore. But perhaps he said all this because he had yet to lose anyone, anyone besides his parents and sisters. But that was when he was just a boy and the feeling of loss was apparent as long as he could remember. Fingers, still numb, undid the leather laces that held the cloak stead fast around his shoulders. He whipped it off only to place it around her. He had notice the chill set in as she clutched to her self for warmth. Hands patted her shoulders before he stepped away. "He traveled with you? Amazing. I was never able to have a horse of my own, boats do not settle well with them and I lived on one for many years. I just met my girl the other night but we got along instantly." He smiled softly thinking about it all. How quick he was meeting people and how much he was enjoying his time here.
She listened to his little rant of disagreement with her and she laughed quietly, shaking her head. "Then you will remember them, and become attached to those you hold names to..." She looked away from him once more, eyes focusing on the horizon again. She had seen friends die in war and she knew how much it stung and hurt. She allowed herself to get close to them and now she'd always remember them. But for those she never held onto the names of, they were like a distant memory that had been carried away by the wind. She did not see him as he removed his cloak and moved to her to drape it over her, the weight of the material was felt upon his shoulders, followed by his hands and she slowly turned to look at him with narrowed eyes. She laughed and shook her head, pulling the cloak off of her shoulders and holding it out back at him. "I do not need this. I don't need your help. I'm not some damsel in distress, here...I can take care of myself." The thing about Naevah, was that she was extremely stubborn and prideful, especially when it came to being around men who believed they were stronger and tougher than she was. She was not a typical lady that needed to be treated as a delicate flower. It made her laugh, almost. The rest of his question about her horse traveling with her had been ignored for now, but she remembered fully how difficult it had been getting that horse into the boat when she helped the queen and others escape from Saelis and she had to have the horse pulled up with ropes from the waters to get him up onto the ship.
"You have lost someone dear to you than. Is that why you are so distant." He didn't mean to say the last bit aloud, it was more of a revelation that should have been to himself. But she grew distracted from that because he had followed the words with a kind gesture. The cloak was taken off though and held out at arms length as she tried to give it back. He had suspected her rejection of it, knew it was coming the moment he had thought to give it to her. "Will you take the bloody cloak girl. You are in a dress and I am in a thick shirt, it is only fair. I'm not doing it because I think you need my help." he sighed, frustrated that she was going to fight him on this. She must have been used to getting her own way with this curt attitude."Your pride is going to get you sick. If you don't want to be treated like a girl you shouldn't dress like one." he said his statement with another sigh. He continued to walk at an arm's distance from her, not offering to take the burden of his thick cloak from her hands and bent down to pick up another snow ball for his head. The raised voices stung like daggers into the thick of his skull and with the cool ice it slowly drifted away. He had never been so frustrated at a woman before. Actually, he didn't know very many women. He had lived his life with a boat full of men.
She just rolled her eyes as he argued with her about taking back the cloak, and instead moved to pick up another chunk of ice setting it on his head to relieve his bump. When she was convinced he would not take his cloak back, she shrugged and grinned a sarcastic grin before fingers let go of the cloth and the cloak was dropped to the ground. She'd rather get sick than to give in to a man's demands. She turned her back to him and folded her arms back over her chest, eyes moving back to the horizon again. She thought to herself about the reasons why she was so distant and hostile. It was not really because she had lost someone, she hadn't. No one that she really loved anyway. She had lost good friends, but it was nothing too damaging. She missed her father, though. And the reason why she had to be away from him was because she was not accepted there as a warrior. They would not allow her to do what she knew best how to do. Her father was the one that demanded she left to try and make something of herself, and now, she was. But she felt like she had nothing left. Her mother had died when she was born, and she never knew her. Though Naevah hardly let anyone know these secrets to her life. She was not a very emotional person and kept to herself mostly.
Zane straightened and watched as she dropped his dark green cloak and it fluttered down into the snow making an indent there. He rolled his own green eyes at the girl. "Silly girl." He smiled knowingly though, leaving it where it fell. If she was going to be stubborn so would he. "that was an expensive cloak you know." He kept following her none the less and when she would finally turn and look at him he was going to assault her with his snowball. A soft loft right at her head, the brave girl that she was and the valiant military man throwing snow balls at her. First that was probably horrible inappropriate, she was a commander and he was not even close. But he did it none the less. A lofty snow ball right at her, when she was looking so she would know it was coming. A smile adorned those lips and folds of long dimples framed his mouth. It was rare to see Zane laugh so much but here he was laughing away. He didn't know what to expect, so far he could predict most of her reactions but now... when he threw the snow ball he had no clue if she was going to get mad, laugh, or worst. He figured that the cloak was abandoned already and was already a price paid to have this laugh from his snowball assault. Perhaps one day she would share her emotional baggage with him and the two would realize they have so very much in common. But for now it was a fact that went amiss and lost to the sea of no action.
When she turned to look at him, she instead got a glimpse of a snowball flying right towards her face, too quick for her to duck. The cold snow shattered right into her face and her arm moved to quickly wipe it away. The deadliest glare was given to him as she stood there staring at him with narrowed eyes. For a moment, she did not do anything but stare at him. She was not the laughing, happy-go-lucky, playful type of woman. She was always so serious and deadly. She felt that lopping the heads off of enemies was her way of fun, even though it wasn't. Naevah shook her head at him and slowly walked closer to him, closing the space between them. She stood only inches from him, her face dangerously close to his own as she stared right into his eyes with a serious glare. And since that might probably distract his eyes enough, she quickly swept her foot under his, knocking him off of his footing and she pushed him down into the snow. She bent down and picked up some snow in her hands and threw it right back into his face before she moved over to where his cloak was, lifted it, and threw it over his head. Once all that was done, she finally began to walk away from him.
His laughing stopped as her stare remained icy. The snowball had been light and fluffy and broke easy, tiny little lobs of it slid down the slant of her rounded nose and her high cheek bone. It glistened in the silvery light that the moon shown on it. The smile still remained as he pondered just what it was behind those blue eyes. Did she hate him now? He watched her close the space and her face grew ever so close to his. He could smell her hair and hear her breathing in the chilly air. He didn't back down and he would go nose to nose with her unyielding. Though his mouth did lose that smile upon it; it fell away as she had approached him, slipping more away with each foot that brought her closer. And when she arrived at her destination she did take him off guard and her leg caught his sending him down to the snow padded earth. As he fell to his back he almost, instinctively grabbed at the hem of her dress but he held back and simply fell to the ground. Snow, soon covered his face. It stung at first, being so cold. But he started to lick it off his mouth while his fingers brushed it off of his face. Eye lashes pushed open with flecks of snow caught in them. It was already to late, his planned retaliation was swatted when she tossed his own cloak on him. In a last minute ditch effort he tossed the fluff ball he had made in his hand. His head was covered and he couldn't see just where she had gone off to but he made a guess and tossed the snowball in that direction. It landed to her right, by a few inches. A pretty good toss for not looking. Following his last attack he just fully collapsed into the snow and allowed himself a moment to laugh under the hiding of his cloak.
Naevah heard that snowball come flying towards her and then watched as it landed away from her. Eyes fell back to him, watching as he collapsed back into the snow and laughed. And then something happened. The faintest smile crept along her lips, though it was not her usual sarcastic one. The man had guts, she had to give him that, at least. Quietly, she turned and made her way back towards him, leaning down to lift the cloak from his face. "What is so funny?" Though her words came out in more of a threatening manner. She leaned down some more, her free hand that did not hold the cloak up, gripped some more snow and she held it over his face in a threat. Though, if anyone knew Naevah well enough, they'd know it was not a real threat, she would have used her sword for that. This was an actual playful threat, but there was no playfulness to the expression she wore.
He just thought she'd storm off, go inside a warm building and ponder the night. Again her actions surprised him and instead she came back. He felt the cloak lift off of him and saw her very scary looking face. His smile this time did not falter. It remained as she looked down into his green eyes. The cloak had mostly dried his face but his hair was wet. He sat up slightly, upper weight resting on his elbows as he watched her threaten him with more snow. He wasn't sure what to say, what was so funny. "you." He said it because indeed he was laughing at her. Not in a rude or mean way at all. He had seen all different sides of her that night and his own snowball fighting had amused him. "And so what are you going to do about that?" He looked between her face and the snowball she had prepared and his head even nodded to it. His own breath still catching up to him from laughing so hard.
She tilted her head to the side, her expression never changing. Eyes shifted to look at the snow in her hand. So he found her funny, did he? What would she do about it? "This..." She quickly moved her hand towards his face, shoving the snow into it and smoothing it out all over his face. When her hand was removed she stepped over his legs, straddling his own as she turned to face him. She crouched down, not sitting on his legs, but almost close enough to that. Her elbows were set onto her knees and she stared at him in a menacing kind of way. "Do not laugh at me... You have not seen the worst of what I can do to a person...And you better hope that you never have to..." She remained crouched over his legs, staring face to face with him, even though his was smothered by snow now.
He let her smother his face with snow, head moving to follow her hand in a welcoming sort of way. When he was a boy on the boat, if he was in trouble he'd get lashed. That was how things went and when his punishment came he would laugh in their faces with each thrashing. This attitude struck with him even now and that was why he allowed her to ice him. He watched her pose herself over him and proceed to threaten him. He saw her as joking along with him despite her very serious expression and and that was why he felt comfortable with his next action. While she went on and on about just what she could do to him he chose to pull at her ankles. They rested near his hands already and she was posed over him reliant on her feet still. One hand half pulled at one before it went to push her shoulder back, guiding her body into the snow next to him. The other hand fully yanked at her ankle and turned she was. "Oh, but what if I can get you to laugh with me?" A brow inched upwards as he was now straddling her, knees pushed into the snow and dirt combination on either side of her legs and his fingers went to attack her sides. She had remained straight faced this whole time. Would she crack under pressure or was he risking his life? "I promise I won't laugh unless you are from now on." And he meant it.
He had moved quickly enough to manage to get her off of him and down in the snow next to him. Eyes narrowed up at him as he straddled her legs now. She felt the cold snow begin to soak through the back of her dress and sting at her skin, but she showed no emotion to it. When he moved to tickle her, her straight face remained. Ah, so she was not ticklish. She only grinned, in a way that would cause him to believe his attempts were useless and she would not be weak enough to laugh at such a thing. "Nice try... Sorry..." Eyebrow rose as she remained still underneath him, one of her hands moved down, fingers tightly gripping around his wrist, pulling his hand away from her side. For a woman, her grip was actually quite strong, and she held that grip tightly around his wrist as her eyes remained narrowed on him.
A sigh escaped as he failed to retrieve a laugh from her and her own hands took hold of his wrist, pulling them free from their embankment. Those green eyes went from one of her blue to the other, looking deep inside them. "You might not be a damsel in need of saving but I am a man who needs to leave here with some dignity." He smiled slightly into the face of his defeater. Yes, he might be above her but in reality she had won every battle she set out against him. Every single one. While he didn't like to lose he also didn't mind admitting defeat to her. She had a strong will and while he looked down at her face he admired that. And while he knelt there in the snow he found the moment extend on and on, the smile fading from his lips for a slightly different reason now. "What does one have to do to get you to laugh?" He had gotten her to smile but he had failed to coax that laugh from her.
Naevah kept her fingers locked around his wrist even as he spoke to her. Eyebrow rose, as she remained under him, unmoving. "You need to leave with dignity? Why because you are being defeated by a woman?" Her eyebrows furrowed a bit as if she was displeased of being judged in such a way if that was his reasons for saying what he did. She shook her head, about to push him off of her until he questioned her again. A look of confusion spread over her features for a moment before she answered. "Laugh? Why? What's the point? It makes you feel good? Aye, so does a lot of other things, I don't need to waste my time doing such things." In truth, Naevah had lost touch with the things that made her feel happy or want to laugh, she didn't really know how else to answer his question because she did not know what would make her laugh.
He listened to her answer and a frown tugged at the corners of his lips and those brows furrowed together. "What else makes you feel good than? Since you don't need to waste the few insignificantly small seconds it takes to laugh, what do you do to feel good?" He had never heard anyone describe a laugh as feeling good but it was truth in itself wasn't it?" His wrists were no longer stiff and to the point of fighting in her hands, they stilled and he just looked at her. Did she not know how to laugh. Was that why her face was so stone cold just moments ago. He shivered slightly. Not just because he was cold, which he was, but because of the seriousness the conversation had gone. He wanted her to elaborate, suddenly he wanted to know everything there was to know about her. His new goal was to get her to laugh, even if it didn't happen tonight he made a personal vow to himself. "Bloody hell... I'm not saying you shouldn't win because your a woman or anything like that. I know your tough already. I want you to laugh for you and I'd like to leave with a bit of dignity because I was trying to impress you. Not because I have some complex that your a woman. I was liking that fact until I found out how damn difficult you are because of it."
Now what exactly did make Naevah feel good? She thought about it for a moment before answering. "Winning. Defeating a man that underestimated me and thought he could bring me down... Getting a new weapon. And being respected and seen for what I'm capable doing..." She'd leave all the emotional sappy good feelings behind, never really ever feeling those things firsthand, anyway. Though he stopped is fight against her grip around her wrist, she still held onto it tightly, eyes watching him closely as he admitted he wanted to leave with some dignity because he was trying to impress her. That had caused an eyebrow of hers to raise, but she remained quiet as he continued speaking. She grinned slightly at his last words and shook her head. "Aren't most women difficult, anyway?" Naevah wasn't like most woman though, and she probably was more difficult than they were, but in a completely different way.
"Nothing for fun though? You don't do anything besides work?" He wiggled his wrist free, not by force but because she let him. His fingertips, slightly damp from the snow, traced their line over her rounded nose and her full lips. It left in it's wake a trail moister. From there, off it slipped and so did he. Her one hand was still gripping strong to his wrist and his own hand in turned shifted to grab hold of her arm, hands interlocking wrists as he helped her up. He hoped that wasn't going to cause another riot from her and make her explode in fury again. "I guess you have gotten joy out of tonight, beating a man. Except I didn't underestimate you." His green eyes lowered and he picked up his cloak with his still free hand and shook it out. "In fact I think it is you that have underestimated me."
It would seem that way that Naevah did not do much for fun. She mostly kept herself busy with her work, anyway and hardly had time for fun. She stared up at him as he trailed his finger over her nose and lips, but said nothing. When he helped her up, she stood back up out of the snow, and released his wrist, hands moving to brush the snow from the back of her dress. Blue eyes found him again when he spoke, eyebrows furrowing slightly at his last statement. "Have I?" Naevah was used to men telling her that she was incapable of fighting and winning in battles. So she spent her time with them, always needing to prove herself, just to earn the respect she wanted. They never had to worry about being underestimated by her, because they always believed themselves to be stronger than she was. She just stared at him in wonder, as if he saw her as an equal and did not underestimate her. Lips parted and that deep, strong voice spoke quietly. "I'm sorry, then, if I have..." She nodded to him. "Have a good night..." And before he could say anything else to her, she walked away, heading back to the military building to her quarters.