<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff4da6">“I would never have let the humans kill you.”</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#bfbfbf">He looked up at her at this simple declaration, a question causing his eyebrow to turn. He didn't say anything at first, allowing her words to wash over him. He had found it was better to give the woman time to come to her thoughts and he was rewarded when she continued,</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff9999"> </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff4da6">“I don’t regret saving you and I would do it again, just as I know you would do the same for me.”</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#bfbfbf">He gave a shallow nod in answer to that. Yes, he would have. In a heartbeat. In his younger days he would have done more than just save her. He would have found the first soft spot on the ground and have her remember his name for the rest of his life. However, he had suffered terrible abuse at the hands of the humans. Things he could not countenance to think about at the moment. He felt his eyes drift away from hers in remembered shame and he closed his eyes tightly in a vain attempt to escape the pain of those memories. However, there was no relief and his memory betrayed him; flashes of the pain he had endured painting a gruesome tableau in his mind's eye. </span><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff4da6"><br/>
“I don’t think they will kill us, but I still don’t trust them.”</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#bfbfbf">Her words saved him and he once more found the courage to open his eyes and look up at her as she spoke,</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff4da6">”Ry'kanos, we Stick together.”</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff9999"> </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#bfbfbf">That brought a ghost of a smile to his lips and he gave a more enthusiastic nod to her words. No. In just the short time he had known Raida, he could not imagine the idea of parting from her now. </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff4da6">“You did what you had to do and there is no going back.”</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff9999"> </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#bfbfbf">A pained expression married Ry'kanos' face and he shook his head briefly in the negative. No, there had always been something else he could have done. Surely it did not come down to having to kill his own kind did it? He looked towards the fire, watching the flames dance before him as something moved at the corner of his eye. It was Raida, approaching him slowly. Something about the way she moved had him drawing his eyes to her figure and he felt something inside him race at the sight of her sensual curves and graceful movement. <br/>
<br/>
He turned slightly to face her as she took a seat next to him and watched in numbed silence as she placed a hand on his shoulder. Some time in the ensuing time since the fight with Heston, he had been shed of his armor, as if the elves here had worried that it would give him some advantage over them. He felt something quicken in his chest as the warmth of her simple touch penetrated flesh and began to radiate through Ry'kanos.</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff9999"> </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff4da6">”You need to forgive yourself and we need to just make things right in the present there is nothing that can be done about the past now.”</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff9999"> </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#bfbfbf">She was not done torturing him. Now, both her hands rose and began to rub his shoulders and he groaned at the simple pleasure of her touch, his eyes fluttering closed as he felt himself relax utterly beneath her skilled hands.</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff9999"> </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff4da6">“We both need to relax.”</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff9999"> </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#bfbfbf">He nodded at he words and turned around to face her, grabbing her hands in his and placing them in his lap.<br/>
<br/>
He spent a moment not saying anything, merely enjoying being close to her and staring in to her eyes. As he did he felt himself come to a resolution inside heart and mind and the smile he gave her was both warm and pleasant. He let go of her hand with one of his and gently brushed away an errant strand of her hair from her face before he found his hand cupping her cheek in his hand.</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000">"Thank you Raida.. for giving me more than freedom but a will to live."</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#bfbfbf"> His hand was rough and calloused, but his touch was warm and inviting. He found himself leaning forward and, slowly, agonizingly, he found his lips brushing hers.</span>