<b>Allassiel left Thorgan, slipping into the training room to shed the armour with a sigh of relief as the air hit her sweat-soaked skin, quickly cooling her off. She tossed the leathers aside and reached for a soft cloth, rubbing at her arms and legs to wick up the last of the perspiration, before tossing it with the armour and reaching for her dress. <br/>
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As she dressed, she considered the young man waiting outside. His people interested her, certainly if they could forge such weapons they were more advanced than some of the humans she'd encountered in the past. The memories she had of dealings with men weren't all pleasant. Often she'd had to deal with their prejudices against elves and magic. <i>Yet they'd been willing to trade with us, when we had something they needed, </i>she thought with a snort as the skirts settled around her ankles and she sat to slip her shoes back on.</b><br/><br/><b>No, she'd not developed any real love of humans over her lifetime, spending most of her time with her husband as they kept their home safe – as safe as they could considering the threat from Dol Guldur. Her lack of contact with them, however, had slowed her learning of their language considerably, despite what Pegawen had taught her over the years, and the difficulty communicating didn't help matters. </b><br/><br/><i><b>If I'm to understand more, I need someone who can teach me, </b></i><b>she thought. She could ask Pegawen again, she supposed. Her cousin was a patient teacher, but even she was occasionally stymied by human speech. Her mind turned back to Thorgan as she headed to the door and she wondered if she could perhaps ask him.</b><br/><br/><b>Outside, she found him not far from where she'd left him and coming to a stop nearby, she lifted her chin. “I would ask,” she started, clenching her fist in the folds of her dress nervously, “if you could help me to learn the speech of your people better?”</b><br/><br/><br/><br/><b>The walk back to the rooms had been pleasant, his hand wrapped around hers had felt warm and oddly protective as they walked up the pathway to the house. Several times, elves had paused to greet them, a couple of the males looking at Lotharn enviously, while the females gazed upon Lotharn and then looked at Pegawen, surely comparing her to themselves. Pegawen didn't really notice any of that, only that they had spoken, her mind only on the hir and the kiss they'd shared by the waterfall. </b><br/><br/><b>Pegawen was a bit surprised, however, when he pulled her into his own room instead of walking her back to hers. She didn't protest, though she might have, and when he wrapped his arms around her and reached up to touch her cheek with his hand, she felt safe. Turning her head, she kissed the palm of his hand. “You will spoil me, with such words,” she replied lightly, even as she trembled against him.</b>