At your question, his eyes widen. His face turns red in embarrassment. His eyes look to the side and his finger makes patterns on the floor, like a child does with their foot when they're in trouble. After a while, he signs: 'A gnome teammate of mine showed me a scroll with the spell back in my third year. Thought that it would be very beneficial with all of the possible uses on enemies. But, the spell is part of the curriculum of the college.'
He continues to do what he was doing before (tracing patterns on the floor, not looking at your eyes). After a while, he looks at you, his green puppy dog eyes showing shame. He signs: 'Am I in trouble?'
She shrugs. "Well, if it was on the curriculum, then it was on the curriculum. I just hope nobody was seriously hurt..."
She leans up and kisses you deeply on the lips. A small smile is on her face when you part, her eyes partially lidded. "No, you're not."
Pressed against her like this, you can feel her heartbeat going faster.
He kisses you back. Deeply. Tempting you. At your remark, his cat grin comes back. He signs: 'I'm not in trouble. Good. I thought that you would... punish me. Though, I think you would prefer the other way around. Right, love?' He then waits for your answer, tracing circles on your exposed collarbone.
Looking out the window, he gauges on the time. Realizing it's late, he turns to look at the bedroll you lent him. He then looks back at you. He smiles. 'Oh, this will either be fun or really bad.' He signs: 'Goodnight, love. See you in the morning.' He kisses you on the lips and nose. He then lays his head on your chest. He closes his eyes, the sound of your heartbeat lulling him to sleep, snuggling closer.
She says nothing after the kiss in reply... she just nods.
She looks out the window, at the night sky. She replies to your good night kisses with her own before lying back and letting you rest on her.
Not very comfortable, sleeping on the floor. I'll probably have cricks in my back and legs. And I could care less right now.
"Good night, Piper-kun..."
She shifts slightly under you as you stroke her hair. Her arms hold you a bit tighter, her lips twitching into a smile.
Eventually, he moves a bit up, dragging his body on your body. He then smiles before kissing your collarbone. He then moves up your neck. Your cheek. Then on your lips. Then up your ear. 'Wake up, darling.' To aid in his efforts to awaken you, he licks the tip of your ear, occasionally lightly biting it.
It then moves to her collarbone... up her neck... her cheek...
Her eyes begin to flutter open after you kiss her lips again.
She fully wakes up when your lips touch her ear--"EEP!"
She giggles when you lick her ear and nibble on it, making her squirm.
"I'm awake! I'm awake!" She manages to gasp in between bouts of laughter.
In fact, she'd likely take you up on it if her legs weren't all tingly.
"Piper-kun, would you please get up? My legs are kinda sorta still asleep." She asks, squirming a bit. She lets her arms fall back, near her head.
She looks over at you with a mischievous smile. Crawling over, she nips at your ear before kissing you on the lips. You can feel her tongue flicking against yours for a second before she pulls back.
"There." She says as she does her armor back up.
Eventually, he sighs and stands back up, donning his own leather armor. In his flustered state, he seems to have trouble tying and tightening some of the straps, especially behind him.
As he works, he signs: 'So, Alara, how did you sleep last night? Because... I hope we could sleep like that more often. Well, except for the "sleeping on the uncomfortable floor" thing.'
"I slept quite well, actually. You're a good blanket." She says as she fiddles with your armor straps. "And I agree: I'd rather not have to sleep on the floor again."
Once she's finished helping you with your armor, she moves in front of you and kisses you again, tongue and all.
This time, she doesn't pull away.
He then turns and tries to fix his hair. He groans as some of it won't go in place. You can tell that he's upset that it isn't going like he wants it to. He looks at you, as if asking for some help.
She turns a shade of pink as you indicate the bed, and nods.
Without a word, she leans over to the side of the bed and reaches into her satchel, pulling out her grooming kit. She takes the comb from the kit and begins combing your hair the way you want it.
You can feel her trembling against you, her heartbeat racing.
When you part, she watches you as you sign to her.
"My reward?"
She rises from the bed, trying to control her breathing.
"How about a great date when we're back in Sandpoint?" She asks, in a timid voice.
When you head out the door, you find Piper leaning on the wall, waiting for you. He offers his hand. You two walk, side by side, hand in hand. Before you head downstairs, he signs, 'I'm curious to know if there's anything else you want for a reward. Don't be shy. You can whisper it to me.'
Your remark about her being able to inspire lust causes her to smile. As you leave, she pulls out her tooth powder & chewing stick, using them quickly before joining you in the hall.
The mention of a reward causes her to blush as she leans in to whisper into your ear.
"For my reward... I want you." She winks at you as the two of you head out to face the day.
"That's all I really want. Thank you."
She heads downstairs with you, practically skipping.
"I know... but, Piper, I think that Shelyn would want those relationships to be fair. I'm afraid that if I pursue Shae-chan--er, Shalelu--" She blushes. "--that I'll end up being unfair to you."
That, and I've never had this happen to me before... sort of a 'fear of the unknown' sort of deal.
Her trembling is beginning to settle down.
He shakes his head before continuing. 'What I want is your happiness. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters to me. Now, love, tell me and be honest. Do you want a relationship between me and Shalelu?'
Alara reads Piper's face well enough.
"No, Piper. It does matter what you think. You're just as much a part of this as she is, and if I'm going to have both of you, I don't want to be unfair to either of you." She takes Piper's head in her hands. "See, this... this is new to me. I've never felt torn like this before, and I don't want to break anyone's heart." Again.
"So... yes. I want a relationship with Shalelu as well." She admits, a guilty look on her face. "The question is... well, what do you think of her?"
At your question, Piper signs: 'Don't look so guilty. There's no need to be. As for your question, I'm not sure. She would make occasional stops into town. She seems to be good friends with Ameiko. But, I never got the chance to actually get to know her.'
He absently mindedly signs: 'She's really pretty though...' Realizing what he just "said", he signs furiously: 'Not that you aren't pretty! I mean, you are! You're beautiful! Most beautiful woman I've seen! More beautiful than Ameiko! Not that Ameiko isn't beautiful! She's gorgeous! N-Not that you aren't gorgeous...' He continues to sign furiously, with what appears to be no end in sight.
She blushes deeply when you say she's too sweet to break your heart. Intentionally.
As you start panicking and signing, she grabs your hands. "Piper. Relax. I know what you mean." She says, giggling nervously.
"Still, it's nice to know we can agree on Shalelu being pretty..."
"...yeah. That's sounds about right."
She covers her mouth with one hand, giggling into it. "Great, now I'm picturing your classmates having a conniption over you seducing two beautiful elf women at once. Either that, or begging you for details on how you did it."
"Yes. I want to give it a try. I want to trust you with this, since you're trusting me with this as well." She says, pulling you into a hug.
After a while, she releases you from the hug. "Come on, we should get back to the others. I'll bet Ameiko-san is waiting to hear all about our goblin hunt!" She says with a wink and a smile.
At your suggestion, Piper nods, smiling. He grabs your hand and leads you back to the group.
As you lead her back to the group, a playful smile appears on her face, contemplating how all this will come together.
She blushes. "Glad to hear my stomach agrees." She gives Piper a smile before stepping into the Rusty Dragon.
The Date
Ameiko's argument with Masamune seems forgotten as she sees to your dining needs cheerfully and not without a wink or two as she teases Piper with a laugh. "And remember, if you have a good tale for the bar, a private room is cut rate," she says, nudging him in the ribs with an elbow. She doesn't even wait for a blush to rise before she's off to the kitchen.
The Date
Alara rests her arms on the table, her ears twitching and burning as Ameiko teases Piper.
I'm not in a hurry, Ameiko--
A thought crosses her mind, causing her to check her satchel. Did I remember?
The Date
Piper blushes at Ameiko's teasing, but "says" nothing. He turns back to Alara. He signs: 'So, Alara. I'm sure you might have some more interesting tales about Minkai.'
The Date
Alara looks up from her satchel, catching Piper's signing.
"Minkai?" She closes her satchel back up and straightens up in her seat. "Well, did you have anything specific you wanted to hear about?"
Of COURSE I forgot to bring some... I didn't think I'd need it...
The Date
Piper strokes his chin in thought. He signs: 'Well, maybe some adventures of your youth. Like... what was it like training to be a ninja?'
The Date
Alara looks up in thought. "My ninja training?" She looks back to Piper, shifting in her seat.
"Well, it wasn't like anything I ever heard of in the stories. There wasn't any walking across rice paper without leaving footprints or holding onto hot coals to build resolve. No meditation under waterfalls or anything like that." She scratches behind her ear.
"When I was really little, Mom wasn't around much at home. She had a lot of work to do for the Amatatsus, but she spent as much time as she could spare with me and Dad." Alara folds her hands on the table. "She never told me what she was doing for them... every time I asked she told me that it was only for a fellow ninja's ears."
She smiles, giggling a little. "So I begged her to train me. She asked for time off from the Amatatsus, and then started teaching me how to be one."
"I thought we'd start with something out of the old stories... maybe standing at the edge of a cliff to build resolve, or venturing into a deep, dark cave filled with bats to learn how to control my fear." She blushes. "Instead, she had me wear armour everywhere to learn how to properly get used to it."
The Date
Piper smiles. He signs: 'Sounds like my training when I arrived at the White Grotto. All of the bards have to learn how to properly wear light armors and be able to cast magic without having the armor interfere with our casting. Very long process.' He silently chuckles. He signs: 'Any other special training? I'm interested.'
The Date
Alara rests her head in her hand and thinks. "Well, the armour training was the most extensive, by far. Mom was fond of telling me stories about ninjas who neglected to train in their armour; they couldn't move without being impeded by their own clothing when it counted the most." She looks over at her boyfriend, leaning back in her chair. "After that, she started teaching me how to wriggle out of ropes."
She rubs her wrists. "Mom can tie some mean knots, I'll tell you that right now. It certainly game me incentive to really learn how to be stealthy afterward; once I learned how to slip bonds, Mom was intent on teaching me how to avoid being captured in the first place."
"In case you're wondering, the weapon training came last on Mom's curriculum. Before all that, I had to learn how to be a proper Tien lady... that meant being able to speak eloquently, being able to listen to and retain information, and being able to participate in and host tea ceremonies." She blushes a bit, her ears turning slightly pink. "If I'd known how much work went into being a ninja, I don't know if I'd have gone through with it. Still, I wanted to make Mom proud."
Piper smiles at hearing her stories on her lessons. He signs: 'Well, you're a fantastic ninja, Alara. Your mom is no doubt very proud of you.' He looks a bit down for a bit before returning to his chipper self.
He smiles and signs: 'So, your mother taught you how to be a Tien lady. Does any of that include how to use your charms on bards?'
The Date
Alara beams with pride at Piper's compliment.
'So, your mother taught you how to be a Tien lady. Does any of that include how to use your charms on bards?'
Alara turns slightly pink. "Well... some of it. Really, it was more on how to be charming in general." She clears her throat. "But being good at singing and being good with your fingers were... well, I don't know if they were important, but they were certainly helpful in that regard."
Her stomach rumbles, causing her to blush again.
The Date
Piper smiles. He signs: 'I see. Singing and performance is a very good hobby to take and lesson to learn. But it's pretty much essential for bards. Though, there is something about crafting you own songs, music, plays, and the like. Your art can gain a life of its own. As you've shown, you're a very talented singer. So, how much training did it take to learn how to move silently quickly and make an additional attack?'
The Date
At Piper's question, Alara scratches her head in confusion. "Well... Piper, do you remember back at Walthus' place? When I came downstairs without making any noise? I wasn't even aware I was doing it until you pointed it out to me. And when that skeleton samurai gutted Masamune, I felt something inside me just 'click'; everything just flowed from there."
"Mom told me that I'd be able to things like that someday: being able to walk around like a cat and strike with the swiftness of a summer breeze." She looks at her feet. "I remember asking Mom how she was able to do all the cool stuff she did; she told me that it stems from her inner ki."
The Date
Piper leans in interest. He signs: 'So, those abilities are... natural? Fascinating. That is amazing! I could never do any of those things."
After a minute, he looks at Alara and signs: 'So, anything you wish to talk about?'