Never Trust Appearances

[Kaleb Morrington]

She was following him... why was she following him! Didn't she know to run?! Kaleb was about to bark at her to run to safety when Kaevad started laughing like a maniac. Kaleb turned and automatically shifted to shield Fyra, eyes still icey.

"Glad you found that amusing. You're in the wood between Shim and Marn, now go the fuck back wherever you came from." He would never admit the little thrill he got from hearing Fyra being called his wife, nor would he admit to how much more protective he felt of the little woman. He moved back so he was pressed slightly against her.

"If you won't run, shift, and I'll run for both of us." Kaleb murmured to her. For Kaevad he raised his voice. "My wife's not stupid. She's loyal to a fault, and I will not allow you to harm her. I see your wife there, the only one who isn't begging for you to set them free." He watched as the dragon's eyes widened in shock.

"Ye see them..." He rasped and Kaleb watched as his eyes glazed over, an internal debate obvious.

[Fyra]

Fyra was frozen. Wife?! I'm not! She blinked and a flash of anger crossed her face. Stupid?! But she was mostly stuck on the wife part. But she took comfort as Kaleb backed up, pressing lightly back against him. She blinked, feeling the itch increasing. She couldnt' hold her form much longer, and for whatever reason, this man was terrifying. She was shivering with the fear that was sending her heart racing, glad that he was willing to run for both of them, because she was sure that she couldnt' keep up with him.

And then she froze completely as Kaleb defended her, and called her his wife. WIFE?! Temper flared to match her fear, but now was not the time. Plus, he had complimented her in the same breath. Safyra shook her head, her body quivering, itching again. It wasn't the time, now she had to just get away from here. Kaleb was the only person she had run into that she could trust. She peeked around him at the scarred and icy-eyed man that was there, and her fear finally broke through her control. Magic exploded through her body, fur sprouted, and everything shifted.

Fyra popped out of her clothing, still quivering with fear, tucking herself behind Kyle still, half hiding behind his booted foot, her clothing in a pile behind him.

[Kaleb Morrington]

He felt the transformation, knew that dragon boy wouldn't take long to snap out of it, and spun. Down, grab clothes, scoop Fyra UP and FORWARD! Running, Fyra pressed close against him, trees whipping past him, faster, faster. He heard a roar of aggravation and ran for the river, hoping a dragons nose was like a dogs - water washes scent away. Down he dove, the water was freezing, up he surfaces with a quiet gasp, kicking through the water, just upriver enough he could barely hear the screaming.

Cold shivers wracked his body as he climbs out of the water, his teeth chattering, still he managed to keep Fyra close. Keep her warm, keep her warm. Walking home, cold, wet, keep Fyra warm. House... home... he stumbled inside. Door closed behind him, something trips him and he falls, blackness claiming him.

[Fyra]

She clung to him as he scooped her up and ran. Terror spun through her anew as the roar split the air behind them and she flattened her ears down to her head to block out the sound as Kaleb sped through trees towards the river, ever increasing its sound. The water hit her like an icy brick, and she nearly was torn from his grasp. As it was, she felt bruised all over, and her teeth sank into the collar of his shirt in an attempt to hold on more securely.

It seemed forever before they were out of the river and the way it tugged at her small body and washed through her fur. She rested securely in Kaleb's arm, both of them sodden. The way home was cold, even as he tried to keep her warm. She shook a little at first, but it didn't work as well as she thought, and she didn't think like an animal, to lick the dampness from her fur. Her heart was still racing, continuing to do so until they had crossed the threshold of his home.

At which point he tripped, over something, the doorway, Adrian, she didn't know, and didn't care. She went flying, to land painfully with a splat of water on the floor. Dark eyes looked behind her to see Kaleb, and she shook herself a little and focused, shifting back slowly, painfully. Naked, she didn't care as she pulled herself over to Kaleb, struggling to turn him over, and shivering with cold herself. I've gotta get the wet clothes off of him! It was the only way to get him dry, and warm, or he'd get sick, and Theogios knew she didn't know how to cure a cold easily. Fingers fumbled at his tunic, tugging it off of his body slowly, having to drag it from under him. She was stronger than she looked, but he was still a lot of muscle and bone to move. Tossing his wet shirt to the side, she hesitated before firming her own determination and tugging off his shoes and then the rest of his clothing

"Adrian! If you're here, you better come and help me!' The cat shifter peeked around from the kitchen 'Help me get him upstairs. Take his legs! When the streetboy hesitated, she snarled. "Now, or I swear, I will find something very unpleasant to happen to you next time you're digging through a garbage." The streetboy mumbled something about how she didn't have to threaten, and came to help her. It took far longer than she wanted to drag the lanky man upstairs and into the bedroom. But once he was on the bed, it was easy for her to dry him until he was at least mostly dry, with a towel, and wiped the water from her own skin as well, putting a blanket over him, and chafing his skin with it to help his circulation. But still he remained cold.

She curled up, wrapped in a separate blanket, and shivered as well. It was well over an hour before she dared to try what she had head stories of people who went travelling doing. She pulled both blankets over Kaleb, and then slid under them, pushing against his side, her arm and head on his chest, body twisted so that she could watch his face. The feeling of her skin against his was odd, but not unpleasant. It made her worry, how cold he was. If not for the shallow rising and falling of his breath, she wouldn't know that he was still alive. Fyra didnt' know how long she lay there before her own body started to feel remotely warm again, and, though it was shortly she didn't know when sleep gently wafted in and stole her away.

[Kaleb Morrington]

When Kaleb woke, it was slowly and reluctantly. Clearly he was dead. He was warm, comfortable, and he felt something warm pressed against him that wasn't a blanket. Skin, he decided when he managed so shift heavy limbs, definitely skin. Very lovely and soft skin in fact... Kaleb managed to move a hand, attached to an arm, to pull the warmth closer. He snuggled into it, breathing in a familiar scent. Safyra... was she dead too? Sadness settled in his gut. He didn't want her to die too - in fact he'd worked damn hard to make sure she was alive.

"I'm so sorry..." he husked, suddenly close to tears. "I thought... if I ran fast enough, I could save you at least... I didn't mean for you to die..." He still hadn't bothered to open his eyes. He pressed a kiss to the skin his head was resting against, apologetic, before snuggling into her, trying to keep himself from crying.

[Fyra]

The world was all warmth and darkness. There was a gentle rise and fall rhythm to her sleep. Must be in the ocean. Only the oceans that she had read about had a continuous rising and fall like that. She grumbled in protest as her warmth shifted around her, bringing her farther from the darkness. She was comfortable!

The husky voice brought her further from the depths that she had been pulled into. She tried with a small amount of confusion to place the words together. What was that about death? Her eyes fluttered lightly as memories came back to her, and a kiss feathered over her brow. Still half asleep herself, she grumbled roughly. "I didn't die, you moron..." Fyra yawned and stretched in his arms, smiling as warmth continued to slide straight from her skin to his and back again. "But I don't think I will ever, ever allow you to jump in a river with me again... bleeding cold, that was!" She murmured something contentedly meaningless and settled once more, already letting her mind slip back into the comfortable darkness of sleep.

[Kaleb Morrington]

Her sleepy voice and what she said, all but slapped Kaleb awake. They were both alive - indeed Kaleb could feel his own heartbeat now - and she was pressed rather intimately against him. Cuddling, actually, she wasn't actually- he broke his thoughts off and took a deep, calming breath, thinking of all the unsexiest things he could think of. Steadying himself, he opened his eyes and looked down at the semi-asleep Safyra in his arms. Pressed against him fully, eyes closed, mouth open slightly as she breathed... Changers. His eyes softened and he risked pulling her until she was almost fully on top of him, cuddling her closer as he allowed himself to drift.

[Fyra]

Fyra was so very comfortable. She was warm. Warmer than she'd been for quite a while. She wasn't out on the streets. And the only bed that she'd ever been quite this warm in was her own, with it's down-comforter and feather mattress. She snuggled a little closer into the warmth that she was sprawled over, feeling... That wasn't a feather mattress.

She shifted, not wanting to open her eyes to the bright light of the sun coming over the horizon. Her hand felt - Skin? And... she felt the light hair of Kaleb's chest, and his heart thudding underneath her hand. Her leg shifted a little from how it was hooked around his, and she could feel his arm around her, holding her quite intimately to him, her small breasts pressed against his torso, and her stomach and the rest of her body half wrapped around his side.

Dark eyes flashed open as her body suddenly tensed. Theogios save me! She scrambled backward away from him, succeeding in tangling her legs in one of the covers and breaking his grip, only to slip off the edge of the bed with a short shriek and a loud thump. Eyes wide, she clutched the blanket to her chest, hiding her body from site as she stared at the bed she had just fallen off of.

[Kaleb Morrington]

He was just waking up once more when he felt her stiffen. Oh shit... then she shrieked and scrambled backwards, falling off the bed and dragging the only covering Kaleb had left, with her. Well... shit. Kaleb had enough courtesy to lift the leg that faced her enough that it would mostly hide his... bits... from her before he sat up and stared at her sleepily.

"Ya really need to find a better way to wake me up, love... the screaming really isn't necessary at this point, don't you agree?" Kaleb ran a hand down his face before swinging his legs out of bed and stretching with a groan, showing a handful of scars along the back of his thighs. He turned, not enough to reveal anything past his ass, and eyed Fyra. "Ya want me out of the room so you can get changed?" Kaleb suggested, looking for his pants.

[Fyra]

He blinked at her, and she turned bright red, turning her eyes away from him despite that he had been kind enough to shift so that she couldn't see anything pertinent. But as he spoke, standing and stretching on the other side of the bed, her eyes moved back to him, eyeing rippling muscle and scar with quite a bit of admiration. Turning even brighter, she muttered "It's not like I think about it... you try not shrieking when falling off of a bed..." She pushed to her feet, clinging to the blanket that covered her and backing towards the dresser that had the bundle of extra clothing on top of it.

"No, it's fine... all of what you had on is downstairs anyways... i'll just, go change and grab it for you." She was trying to look anywhere but him, but her eyes couldn't quite keep from glancing. Theogios, I'm becoming some wanton... I can't do this! She grabbed at her clothing, managing to catch hold of the bundle and then turned to flee the room.

Unplanned for, she stepped onto the blanket, and caught between falling on her face or dropping it from her chest, dropped it. she froze for a moment, flushed completely scarlet, and then turned to run into the hall "Gods above." That moment of frozen pause had given a full view of her skinny body, which was quickly filling out with the large meals he had been feeding he the last several days. Creamy skin was unmarked from head to toe, and her chest was small more because she had been starving for a year. It was easy to see that her figure was built to be slender but still full.

[Kaleb Morrington]

She was running, Changers damn it all, he was getting a little tired of this cat and mouse game... when she froze, however, Kaleb took what he figured would be his only chance. He moved quickly and grabbed her wrist, quickly pulling him flush against him, pinning her arms to her side.

"No, clothes can wait a moment. I want to get something strait before I let you go. I will never hurt you intentionally or do anything against your wishes, okay? Also, you keep sending me doe-eyes then running away like a mouse cornered by a cat. Why? If you like me, tell me, simple as that." He was blunt from lack of sleep, his mind still not quite catching up to his tongue, so it never occurred to him that maybe, just maybe, this was a very bad idea and could ruin what little trust the girl had in him.

His eyes were direct, fuzzy from sleep, and thus, hooded. Either way, he wanted a bloody answer so he knew what lines he couldn't cross...yet.

[Fyra]

She had always thought she was fast. But obviously she was wrong. She had barely managed to turn before he had caught her wrist, having crossed the room in maybe two steps. Despite her struggle to pull away, he had tugged her up against him, pinning her arms to her sides and within milliseconds she knew it was futile to struggle, so she stopped, her feet settling slightly between his, and her body pressed intimately against his.

Her blush couldn't have turned any more colored, but Fyra felt heat rise to her cheeks with his groin pressed against her stomach. She dreaded meeting his eyes, but his words would allow nothing else. Dark brown rose to meet emerald green, and she felt lost for a moment, wanting to pull him down to kiss him. But his words made their way through, and temper rose once again. Frustrated, she cursed, feeling her blush heat all the more when she realized that she'd spoken aloud. It had been some random word that she'd heard in the darker side of the market place. Her voice was filled with anger born of fear. "So what if I like you?! You're the first person who's spared me a glance and cared more than to just give charity because the gods look well upon it. You're charming, for all that you're a flirt, and a girl'd have to be right far gone to not like your looks."

She growled slightly. "I can't help being modest. It's how I was raised, and it'll take more than a year on the street to break me of it. And you've been heaping up things and giving me plenty, and never asking for anything in return, but if there's one thing I've learnt it's that nothing is ever free with folks on the street, 'specially men! I seen more than one girl give herself to a man thinking she'd find a place and a home and a bit of protection, only to find herself out in the same position again a week later 'cause he found somebody he thought prettier, or more of a challenge. You giving me food is one thing, but now you've given me a roof over my head for a bit, and you gave up I don't know how much Bishani to get that list of shifters who could help me out, and both night's I've been here I've ended up sleeping in the same bed as you. Sleeping is all fine and dandy, but I won't give up my pride, so if you're wantin' something, you best tell me what it is so that I can tell you whether to fall of a tower or not!" She tugged at his grip trying to free herself again.

[Kaleb Morrington]

Kaleb was, to say the very least, blown away. Certainly he knew he had a way with women, he wasn't stupid, but this? She was scared, as any girl in her position would be, of getting hurt. So, he did what he knew best, he wrapped an arm around her wait to pin her just long enough to tilt her head back and cover her mouth with his. Gently he kissed her, trying to coax a reaction out of her, before pulling back.

"I recall saying I wouldn't intentionally hurt you. Throwing you out on your ass just because I find someone 'better' would qualify as that. I can assure you I have no such qualities unless you're a harlot." He was being blunt again, not that it mattered. "I don't want sex. Not unless you decide you want it. If I decide I really want to bed someone, I'll just go to the whorehouse, no danger to you. You're my friend and the closest thing I've had to family in a very long time. I'm not about to fuck that up because I can't keep it in my trousers... or so to speak." Emerald eyes were soft with a gentle affection.

"So, beyond that kiss, nothing happens without your consent, aye?"

[Fyra]

His arm snaked around her, pulling her, if possible, even closer. His other hand firmly tilted her head back and, even as she struggled a little, kissed her gently. Suddenly Safyra found herself, rather than shoving away from him, leaning into him, unable to think straight, knowing just that there was heat and every place that they were touching felt like it exploded into tingling sensations.

It was mere seconds before he pulled back, and she stayed where she was, shocked and unsure how to react. His words made sense, for all that she felt like flinching at the bluntness of them. I may as well be a harlot, the way I can't seem to not stare at you... But his eyes were soft as he stared down at her, and she could only nod in mute compliance for the moment, slipping from his arms slowly. The bundle of clothing had fallen apart and she crouched to pick up the blouse, slipping it on without looking at him, blinking swiftly as she tried to comprehend it all.

The blouse hung loosely around her, as it was designed to, and came down to her thighs, covering most of her, except for her legs. Dark eyes turned to him once more, her expression still confused. "Why?" She demanded, arms hugging over her stomach protectively. "Out of everybody you coulda run into out there, what made you decide that I was somebody that was worth keeping around?" Her eyebrows were tugged together in a frown.

[Kaleb Morrington]

Kaleb pouted to himself as he watched her get dressed. Really she looked much better with nothing on at all- what? Kaleb blinked then scowled at the question. "Ya don't even wanna know how many times I've asked the bloody question myself." He shrugged before grinning weakly. "Best explanation I got is I'm just pulled to you. I was at the graveyard, and seem to still be even now. He moved and sat on the bed, leaning his elbows on his knees, resting his chin on his meshed fingers.

"You're beautiful, certainly. You're also very temperamental and crazy." Kaleb grinned, his eyes lighting with humor. "But seriously love, you're right. I could've fallen for just about anyone, why it was you is beyond me." The sentence slipped without him noticing, though he froze once he realized what he said. He bowed his head and cleared his throat. "Granted we've only known each other for a short time, so a bit soon to be admitting anything so really that was a tad uncalled for, sorry... so err... hi?" he ended rather weakly, feeling suddenly rather vulnerable.