<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/hiW13Hj.jpg)<div align="center"><strong>Alizeh Cloudborn</strong> (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=299823.msg14660956#msg14660956)</div></div>Alizeh nods as the elf asks "Anywhere?" And then, then she is let go.<br/><br/>For a moment Alizeh feels as if she has been rejected again, and a great gnawing emptiness tugged at her insides as she felt as though she might start to tremble in the middle of the dance floor and have to get out as fast as she could before she broke down in front of everyone. Did she say the wrong thing? Did she come across too desperate? Too inexperienced? Not suave enough? She glanced down for a moment, ashamed of herself and embarrassed. But then those fingers, light as a whispering breeze, brushing against her reddening cheek and she glanced up, inhaling quickly and eye widening as if she could scarcely believe that this wasn't a rejection after all.<br/><br/>She was fully unprepared for the kiss, and completely defenseless against it. Taken off guard and by surprise in so many ways, the half-elf is frozen for a moment, but decidedly not cold at all. Her body in fact seems to almost radiate warmth, red-human-blooded warmth against the moon-blessed elf. He hands, trembling, came up around the elf in an embrace, or perhaps it was to hold on for dear life, nobody was less sure of which than Alizeh. Finally, after, what felt like a clumsy and inordinately tiresome length of time, she began to kiss back and not merely allow the elf to kiss her. By the time they split she had learned more of what a kiss was then she ever dared to dream she would. Her heart raced in her chest, her cheeks were flush and well, there were other indications that she had enjoyed the kiss very much. Her eyes, wide and doe-like, looked to the elf with the helpless desire of a creature completely overwhelmed.<br/><br/>Her mouth hung open for a moment, before she self-consciously closed it and glanced about, blushing anew as she realize she'd provoked a reaction quite different than applause (well to be fair, the elf had done most of the provoking). She glanced down, sucking her lips in as if she needed to think about it, then glanced up and nodded a nod that started off timid but quickly turned energetic.<br/><br/>It was just the job, she tried to tell herself. She just needed to get contacts, find out what people knew, work to improve their situation. Don't just spend the whole time gawking like a hopeless nerd straight from the clouds who's never been kissed before! Which was, unfortunately, exactly what she was. "Yes." She whispered, as if her nodding hadn't conveyed all that Ianora would possibly need to know.