((and so by "soon" I mean about a week later when my brian finally remembers that I needed to post something...^^; ..but yah...here's a bit more.....actually still several pages out from where its currently stopped.....wow..kinda crazy how LONG it is already..
; ....))
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“Ooohh…you mean “at all?”..oi..,” Mae blushed and looked down at her book, mentally kicking herself for not fully realizing how little Roman really knew. “Sorry Roman..unnnmmm…,” she looked back up at him with an apologetic and embarrassed half smile, “its unusual for any fae to not know…umm..well…so little about spell casting..heh..^/////^;”
Mae felt horrible and nervously looked back down at her book, probably looking like she was studying the spell on the pages infront of her. How is it that she kept accidentally insulting Roman? It was almost unbelievable to her that someone who had any magical ability seemed to have been taught so little about it. ‘Perhaps fae are just more….connected to their abilities and…maybe manifest them easier?…..oi..it would be so much more helpful if Roman was more of a mage…meh! What am I thinking?!’ Mentally hitting herself for thinking such a thing, she bit the inside of her lip so that she wouldnt start talking herself out-loud, which was a rather bad habit of hers.
Suddenly realizing that she was almost ignoring the huge elf near her, the Mae turned back to Roman with a sheepish smile. She was about to apologize again, but his rather timid smile caught her off guard and made her heart flutter just slightly. Mae smiled back, but now she felt mostly confused inside. How could she be falling for a guy that probably saw her as…a weird creature from the past?...as..an oddity?
‘He cant see me like he sees other girls…I mean…Im only about as big as one of his fingers and have wings…oi gods..’ But no matter how confused she was about it, the fae girl had to admit that as Roman’s honest and handsome face got closer (and remarkably bigger), that she almost froze up. Mae was practically always confident in her casting abilities, but now she was feeling some nervousness at having Roman watch her try and do this spell. ‘Oi! Its only because Ive never had to teach anyone and he’s practically watching to learn!..that has to be it!....its not like....like I have a lot of time to waste anyway…’
And then she realized that she was practically staring at Roman. ‘Though..>///>’…was he looking at me too?...oi! of course he was!..im about to show him some “fairy magic” or whatever…=///=’’ But then Romans gentle voice boomed into her thoughts, and making her blush.
“Oh..im not a full one quite yet….I still have to pass the test and then theres the teaching summer and other cerimonies and…….heh…but yah…I-I’m getting there..^////^;” Mae turned to face the plate of giant fruit infront of her, wondering why in any of the gods names his remark could make her stutter so damn badly!
But before the thought could distract her anymore, she took a deep breath in and slowly let it out so that she could focus. Closing her eyes, she felt for her magic and gently pushed at it so that it would manifest in her hands. Feeling it almost moving like a third lung, her magic spread to her hands and started to condense into a dark midnight blue cloud around her fingers, palm, and then stopping near her wrist.
She opened her eyes, still breathing evenly. Taking one last look at the spell, her aura covered hands closed it and set it down. She stepped forward so that she was almost at the edge of the plate, and started to chant. Feeling the magic channel through her words, she then raised her hands and continued to chant as her hands started to draw a few symbols. The dark blue aura from her hands formed the symbols as they stayed in the air as an odd, dark cloud that shifted at moments as her chants connected them and bound them into a single spell.
It only took her a few seconds to get the desired pattern. With a careful hand and a few words, she pushed at the symbols so that they moved forward till they ran into the apple on the plate. For a moment, the red skin seemed to stop the magic but with a small blue flash the magic sunk into the giant fruit. For a moment nothing happened, but Mae continued to chant the words that channeled her magic. The apple then seemed to be wrapped in her aura as it clouded around it, but then started to resize. After a minute it was a perfectly sized apple for Mae.
Grinning, Mae climbed onto the plate and picked it up. Holding it up so that Roman could see, she smiled at him…and found herself slightly expectant to receive his response to the magic. “And there we go…it is now a perfectly sized apple…..>////>…..soo..what do you think Roman?”
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The young elf leaned forward, blinking his blue eyes curiously as he watched the fae carefully study her book and prepare herself to cast. She looked so very focused, her brow creasing in an intense look of concentration. He envied that. Her determined focus. It was the drive that made a good mage, that much he knew. His eyes widened along with his grin when the magic began to gather around her hands, making her aura visible to him, the energy coloring it a deep, rich, midnight blue. It glowed and shimmered so brightly….like the halo that shone around the moon; a soft, pale, silvery glow……..
He listened to her small voice begin to softly utter the words, his pointed ears unconsciously tilting forward just slightly to better catch the spoken text in her smooth, even tone. It sent shivers through him and chills dance up and down his spine…..and he was pretty sure it wasn’t just because he could literally feel the unseen magic around him bending to her will. The thought made his face grow warm and he could almost feel the tips of his ears turn pink. Then Mae began to scrawl the runes out into the air, surrounding herself with glowing glyphs that hovered around her winged form until she had what she needed and she combined them all with a simple wave of her delicate little hand, swirling the magic into one command and releasing it upon her object of choice…..which was the fruit on the plate.
A subtle gasp of astonishment escaped the young elf’s lips and his jaw fell open as he watched the fruit shrink to a nearly invisible size. At least for him. O________O…..”W-wow………..it’s so……….tiny.” He whispers, then realizes that he’s gaping wide eyes and open mouthed at the poor fae and her work. He embarrassedly clamped his jaw shut with an audible snap and tried to recover, “er….I mean, it really worked well.” ^///^;;; “You really know what you’re doing with magic.”
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Mae laughed, the sight of Roman’s face almost too much for her as she practically bent at the waist as she laughed. “Well after spending all the time I did studying, you would have to hope that I would. ^///^” Still grinning up at Roman, Mae thought about how Roman was actually a blessing from the gods. Not only had the elf vowed to help her, but he had been able to make her laugh. ‘I didn’t laugh as much even before everything happened..’
Realizing that she was yet again, staring into Romans face with a rather fond and…well something else smile, she looked back to the other fruit on the plate. ‘Heh..plate..Im standing in a giant plate…..meh..well I guess that it defiantly just adds to the list of “Odd Things that I Never EVER Thought that I’d End Up Doing”’
“But…as you saw I mixed my chant with the aura symbols so that I could more accurately control the spell. My teachers say that once a mage practices enough that actually only thinking the chant and writing the symbols is needed, which can speed up the process once you become very proficient in both chant and symbols. But…that’s still aways away for myself…..” Mae let the thought trail off as she thought of her teachers. The last time she had seen the Council of Elder Mages…the whole hall had been slumped over in their chairs, the sickness causing them to fall into comas right there.
“Ummm…but anyway…,” Mae did her best to hide the tears that had collected in her eyes and just fallen down her cheeks, by looking at the fruit next to her and away from Roman’s gaze. “Umm…I was going to just resize the grapes here too and then I should be good…” She chuckled and hoped that her voice didn’t waver, “tomorrow though I just might have to demand bacon…...oh..I remember that you said your mother comes home late?...should I be hiding? And by what time do you think?” Mae let her questions ramble on, letting her natural tendency to talk to much take over so that she could mentally push away the pain of her memories for now.
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Roman leaned forward, his neck hurting a bit from having to stoop to be eyelevel with the fae, so he rested his crossed arms on the very edge of the desk and rested his pointed chin atop them. His ears perked forward with interest to Mae’s explanation to magic casting…and he wondered if elves were even able to use those techniques.
He smiled, very interested in what she had to say…..but the corners of his mouth twitched and turned down a but when he noticed her usually perky wings droop slightly as she spoke….then fell silent for a while, obviously thinking of something else. He wondered what it could be…something sad, he assumed by her body language……she seemed distant, and broken…….and his sharp eyes flickered. He was sure he’d caught the glimmer of a tear on her cheek as she turned away from him. “O-oh……it sounds very interesting.” He stammered, awkwardly struggling for words to change the subject and her mood. “Oh…m-my mom? Eh….” He lifted his head, thinking…..”Eh…..she should be getting home soon.” >///>; “I think you’ll be okay though….my family usually stays out of my room. Er…though…sometimes my brother comes in here to borrow stuff.” He frowned…having not considered that. He hoped that Kyle wouldn’t be needing anything from him for a while….”Um…we’ll figure something out for you. But…you need to eat food. You’re still a little weak from the magic and from being injured.” Takes on a more authorative tone and gives her a small, encouraging smile. “How are your wings feeling, anyway?”
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“Oh..your older brother comes in without asking?” Turning back around to face Roman, she pretended to move the hair from her eyes, only to really wipe the few tears from her face. “Huh..Im an only child so thankfully my room was protected from loosing things that way.” ^//^’
As she turned around there was a small and almost sad smile on her face. Mae was tired and starting to feel almost vulnerable. Though she knew that Roman wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, or give her away, the idea of being found by another huge person was starting to break what was left of her bravery. Remembering the people that she had known at home and how she had last seen so many of them had started it, and now she was finding that her resolve and courage were more fragile than she had thought.
“Umm…well I guess that I can always put up my invisibility shield quickly enough. It only requires a chant..” Sighing rather tiredly, she started to think ahead at what she should do tomorrow…trying to mentally gage the progression of the disease while she had been gone…how would she find supplies to sustain herself…….how long she was going to be with Roman..if Roman slept shirtless……….0///////0…. ‘Ohdeargods….where did THAT thought come from?!!’
Just as she was about to start pacing and mentally yelling at herself, the elf’s words finally cut through. “H-huh?....oh…heh..yah..might be a good idea. ^///////^;;;” Looking down at her hand, she saw that she was still holding onto the shrunken apple. She bit into it and nodded to up into Roman’s face to show that she was eating, feeling like a child receiving orders from a benign and attractive doctor. But as he asked about her wings, she started to realized fully realize and remember just how damn tired, sore, and generally bruised feeling she still was. ‘Whatever was left of my adrenaline rush must be wearing out.’ Sighing, she walked over and picked up the grapes too, feeling rather odd at walking on the plates shiny surface.
“My wings feel almost fully healed. The muscles are just a bit sore, but so is the rest of me..,” she stepped off the plate and sat back down by her stuff, wishing that she had already opened her sleeping bag. “Ive been flying practically non-stop for a few days, so its completely natural that I still don’t feel a hundred percent……though being back indoors for the night definitely helps.” Mae smiled warmly, feeling a slight blush creep onto her cheeks..yet again.
Pretending to set her food down and getting comfortable as she sat, she continued to talk as she hid her blush. “Umm…..well….seeing how you’ve been so..well…amazingly nice..^//^ ..and everything…..I guess that I should ask you if there is anything that you..unh….well want to ask me?..know more about my mission?....stuff like that?”
She continued to eat away at the wonderful tasting apple, as she looked up into the elf’s face. The fae was almost completely at a loss for actual topics of conversation at this point. There were about three-hundred questions that she wanted to ask about his everyday life, compare them with her own life, find out about his family and friends….any significant others. And then there were too many other things that she could think of that she should eventually tell him about her mission and ideas……..But as usual when she tried to have a “normal” conversation that didn’t include her rambling on about the things she knew, Mae’s tongue decided to stay tied up in knots. ‘Though of course I can blame it on pure exhaustion, and being overwhelmed by talking to a guy that is several times bigger than I am. =/////////=’
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Roman smiled softly, encouraged to see the exhausted faerie feeling better and eating food. “The soreness will go away in a day or two because of the bruising around your muscles. For now the griffin’s down will help keep the pain to a minimum; but let me know if it starts bothering you more and I’ll give you some crème to rub into your shoulders.” He settled down, still placing his crossed arms on the desk and tilting his head so his cheek was resting on his arms; that way he could still look at Mae and converse with her face to face.
“Meh, well, it goes both ways for my brother an I….I use his stuff and he uses mine.” He gave a slight shrug of his young, narrow shoulders, “It can be annoying at times…but at least I get to borrow some of his music and nicer stuff without him yelling at me for it.” Flashes a broad grin, thinking back on how Mae had mentioned that she was familiar with some of the bands he had on his wall. How strange to think that a fae living apart from the majority of the world would still know something like a teenage punk band.
He watched the fae take a seat beside the plate, and he halfheartedly mused about how………….well………cute...she looked sitting there and delicately nibbling on a piece of apple. Even the tiny tea saucer he’d put her fruit on looked big beside her. He felt his face warm with a blush and he reached up to rub his face as if he were tired to disguise it. “Oi….eh….” His ears straightened to hear her offer to tell him more about himself and he moved his hand away to look at her curiously. “Er……um….” He stammered. Of course he wanted to know more…know where she came from? What it was in this book that would help her.......and why she came on her own……A young pretty fae like herself….on a quest like this all on her own in a world a hundred times her size. It sounded like something out of a story. He admired her for her courage, and yet, he felt that it was wrong for her to have to take it alone. Not that he didn’t think that a woman was incapable of this sort of thing…..just….someone so….well…small and unfamiliar with this part of the world. Not that he was so much more qualified than her. But at least he could help out in some ways. Again he felt that feeling of purpose and responsibility flicker to life within him and he felt braver and stronger. Like the knight that would aid the fair maiden in her noble quest. The cheesy thought made him blush and he would have laughed at his own corniness had he not been able to bite it off and swallow it back down.
“Oh…w-well…” Eager to clear the thought away he began to ask her why she’d come alone, but his pointed ears perked up from under his dark, shaggy hair at the sound of the front door opening and a stronger, older sounding voice called out. “ROMAN? Oi….mum called and said that she and dad are gonna go out tonight and that we could order pizza or something….or we could head to the mall and get something to eat there.” Roman sighed, “Dammit….meh…that’d be Kyle….” He gave Mae an apologetic look and pushed himself up to stand, “Um. I’ll be right back…” He flashed her another look to say sorry before ducking out of his room, and closing the door behind him.
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Mae blushed a bit when Roman rested his huge face on his arms, putting him that much closer to herself. She found it interesting that she wasn’t actually as afraid of him being so close now as she was just nervous; the warm feeling in her stomach starting to grow till it caused her heart to flutter. Usually any decent looking guy could make her flustered for a bit, but usually she was able to push past the uncomfortable and awkward feelings to hide her feelings of attraction with her rambling knowledge.
‘I got over feeling awkward around Evan soon enough..but..why does Roman keep making me feel like some blushing and twitterpated idiot?’ As Mae ate away at her apple and listened to Roman talk about his brother, she quickly compared him to the sparrowman fae that she had been tutoring before…everything. Evan was easily one of the most handsome and charming fae guy she had ever met, which ment that she hadn’t talked to him a day in her life before he found her number at the tutoring center. Mae had signed up at the tutoring center at her college to earn some of her own money…and of course Evan was the first one to call her. ‘I guess I shouldn’t be too hard on the guy considering he actually is a nice guy too….but..>///>’
Before she blushed redder than the apple in her hand, Mae put all of her attention on the elf. “Huh…well I always did wish that I had a sibling growing up…my friends usually complained about theirs but..it would have been nice having a sister. ^//^”
Mae finished off her apple as she let Roman consider some questions again. The fae girl was feeling better after everything that had happened to her today, but she defiantly was starting to feel tired enough to almost pass out right then. As she bit through the last bit of the apple, leaving a rather skinny core, she reached away and put it down. With a slight smile, she looked back into Roman’s big eyes after she had heard him start to say something. But just then her ears twitched upright as the echoes of the front door reached Roman’s room just before the new voice rang out. Though she relaxed a bit as the sound of older elf’s footsteps went into another room.
“O-oh…ok Roman..^^;;” Mae watched as the elf’s huge form rose up and then walked out the door. After a few moments of sitting in the huge room she started to feel rather alone. Pulling her bag over to her, Mae pulled out her music player. Putting the ear-buds into her ears, she selected the band that Roman had the poster of and turned it up. The small fae girl picked up her grapes again and started to eat them one by one, letting the music wash over her so that she didn’t have to think too far in any one direction right now. ‘I wonder what Roman’s brother looks like?’
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Roman carefully closed his door behind himself, feeling unease twist his guts at leaving the fae alone. Not that he was worried about her, or didn’t trust her…….he just….didn’t care much about being away from her. It was hard to understand, especially for a young, confused elf like himself… “Gods, Kyle…do you have to shout across the house like that?” Roman rounded the corner to the kitchen where his older brother was pouring himself a glass of milk and munching on one of the huge oatmeal cookies their mom had made yesterday.
The older elf looked like a near identical, albeit older and slightly taller version of Roman…save for the fact that his raven black hair was cropped short and stuck straight up in the front instead of hanging down in his eyes in shaggy clumps the way Roman’s did. But they had the same facial structure and the family trait of cobalt blue eyes. “What? Did I bother you?” He mumbled out through a mouthful of cookie before washing it down with a gulp of milk. “Busy doing something…..”secret”…in your room?” He gave his little brother a dirty look which brought a blush and a furious scowl from Roman. “For crying out loud, grow up, dude! You’re disgusting.” Roman sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with a disgusted snort as he leaned back against the counter. “I was STUDYING, thank you very much.” He gave his brother a pointed look. “Unlike SOME people I actually care about passing my classes.”
Kyle shrugged and stuffed the last bite into his mouth, muttering around it, “Hey! I am passing! I’ve got B’s and C’s in all my classes. High enough to pass.” He gave a nod of his head and drained his glass. “So….food. I thought maybe we could head to the mall, get something to eat…maybe catch a movie. I texted Riley and he said he’d be up for it if we were gonna go.”
Roman pretended to consider the idea. Riley was practically the adopted third child in their family, being their next door neighbor that they’d grown up with; the three boys practically took turns living between the two houses. The idea of going out for food and a movie sounded fun, but there was no way he’d leave Mae alone for that long. “Meh…..that sounds fun. But I kinda already ate dinner…and…um….I have a big exam in history tomorrow, so I should probably study for that.” His ears flattened back in a look of mock-disappointment. “Sorry, dude…”
The older elf tilted his head to the side, giving his younger brother a bewildered look. “Ehhhh……Ro….tomorrow’s Saturday.” Roman paled and mentally kicked himself. Idiot. So much for that lie. “Oh…..eh…r-right.” He fidgeted, “Monday, then.” He floundered, seeing the obvious look of disbelief in his brother’s expression. “Eh….yeah, I’ll pass this time. I’m feeling pretty tired anyway.” He shuffled back towards the doorway.
Kyle gave a shake of his head, still looking at his brother with a confused expression. “Fine. Suit yourself.” He shrugged and shoved his wallet into his back pocket and grabbed his keys, “Tell mom an dad I’ll be home around midnight. Ciao, bro…”
The young elf couldn’t keep a slight sigh of relief from escaping his lips when the front door closed again. A deep blush colored his face and he slapped his palm over his eyes. “Gods damn it…….I can’t lie to save my life.” He muttered and stormed back to his room, giving a light knock before opening the door so he didn’t startle the fae. “Oh geez….So, yeah…pretty sure my brother thinks I’m doing something nasty or illegal in here.” He grumbled and shut the door again, slumping against it a moment, before walking back to his desk and dropping into his seat. “Sorry, Ma-….oh…” He stopped, blinking at the fae and taking notice of the fact that she had earbuds in and what looked like a tiny mp3 player in her hand. Faeries actually had that kind of technology? “What’s that?” o.O