To The Tree!

[Melodia]

Her feet sunk into the moist ground as she trodden around the edge of her lake. Her gait was staggered, her shoulders pushed back from the position the cuffs kept her arms in. Eth was almost trudging, trying to keep her breath while struggling with her position.

When they arrived at her tree she stopped, straightening and staring up at it. The trunk was so far around that two of her could not fit their arms around it. The limbs were durable and the canopy leafy enough to conceal whatever was up there. Her eyes were wide and near pathetic as she stared up at it. Though, if Asher was smart, he would've learned by now that almost everything she did was an act.

She cleared her throat, her head twisting to the side to look at Asher and then behind at her wrists. "You know, I cannot climb with these things on my wrists," She said, her eyebrows raising slightly but couldn't be seen because her fluffy dark hair was in her face.

[raihnstar]

Asher stared at the tree. This was her hide out? Jeez. And he thought he wasn't doing good. "Fine. I'll climb it /for/ you." he snapped, and immediately felt sorry. Yeah, he was tired of all her games, but she still managed to pull at his heart strings with her voice. Asher sighed, rubbing his forehead. He allready felt the beginning of a migrane, and this one wasn'te ven because he'd used his power too much. Then he sighed, defeated.

"Okay. That was stupid. Sorry." he muttered, and moved behind her. Asher hesitated for a moment, and then touched the cuffs, desiring them to open. They opened, but before she could disappear, he cuffed an arm again. She would still have no magic. "There... go ahead." he told her, moving next to her and glancing at her. Curtain of hair in her face. Impulsively, he touched her hair and moved it to show her face. Embarassed, he folded his arms moodily and looked away. Whatever. He didn't care about her... >.> Not...not at all. "I just need my paycheck and...my badge."

His expression was an embarassed pout, and he kept sneaking glances at her now revealed face. Stunning...she's absolutely stunning.... And a thief. She was a thief too, and Asher felt his morals squirm. He couldn't-- She probably didn't even-- And then the most obvious argument... They'd just met yesterday, yet he was totally enfatuated with her...what the heck?!

[Melodia]

Ethereal grinned as he pushed her hair back. And this surprised her, for it was not part of the act. It was...involuntary, and part of this frightened her. Yet it was exhilarating. Her heartbeat was rushing and her head was spinning and she wasn't sure if she could actually climb the tree in this state.

She took a small breath, seeing as she had to regain her composure. But she took a few steps, the handcuff clinking as it dangled from her wrist. And then she gently put her arms around his shoulders and pressed her lips softly to his, tasting them for a moment before pulling away, laughing, and jumping into the lowest limb and pulling herself up.

Ethereal climbed rythmically, leaping and jumping from branch to branch, until she caught a foothold near the middle of the tree and hoisted herself in. There was a surprisingly flat surface a good foot or two around. She crouched down, her cloak draping over her knees. Her fingers worked around a limb until she found the notch, slipping her hand in and grasping the familiar wrap of leather.

She kicked off and scrambled up a thick limb that rose above where Asher was standing on the ground. She stretched out on it on her stomach, the leaves providing all the cover she needed. For a moment she hesitated. She didn't want to give it back. She, truthfully, wanted Asher Yates to stay. He was entertaining. And handsome.

She laughed again, and dropped the wallet to the ground directly above his head.

[raihnstar]

Asher had been in the middle of his elaborately planned embarassed pout, when he found himself staring into her face. Then her lips were on hers, and the world dissolved for a few blissful seconds. And just like that, she was gone again. He felt his heart skip a beat and looked up as she climbed the tree sinuously. Her movements were so practiced and flexible that she made it look like she was made of water, and she was sliding up the tree. Her laugh still seemed to echo in his head and Asher took a few deep breaths to steady himself.

Then there was the laugh again, and the wallet by his feet, and he was looking up at her with a dazed expression. Then without thinking, he began to climb the tree. He did it amazingly clumsily, and grunted, trying to leap from one branch to the other, and slipping on his shoes, and getting rather worked up, but very intent on his target. When he finally got there, though, he was at complete loss for what he had come up in the first place. There was a moment where hwas puffing and panting, trying to catch his breath (and avoiding her eyes), and he happened to catch the smell of her hair (like...fresh...grass? It smelled good, anyway...). Asher turned so quickly he almost lost balance, and had to scramble so that he wouldn't fall off. His chest was still rising and falling quickly, and his grey eyes took in her raw form. The shape of her eyes. The way her hair fell.

Then he forgot he was on a branch and leaned forward quickly, putting his lips on hers without a second thought. Despite the hastiness of his movements, he aimed correctly, and he felt a rush of fresh air course through him. One of his hands was firmly gripping the branch, and the other had strayed to her waste, to pull her closer. It was a lip to lip kiss, nothing racy (not for poor inexperienced Asher, who'd only been kissed by his mother), but he felt warmth rising up in him up to his toes.

[Melodia]

Ethereal turned, balancing perfectly on her side against the limb. Her eyes narrowed as she listened to the sound of someone coming up into her tree. Her very private, very enclosed tree. It was bigger than a squirrel (Nasty things. She'd killed a numerous amount of those in her lifetime) and it most definitely wasn't a bird. Her lips came together in a confused pout. And then she saw him break into the clearing in the middle of the tree.

Her first instinct was the laugh. He was all worn-out looking and tired and catching his breath. Her amber eyes sparkled and her fingers tapped the bark, and she began, "What are you doi--" And then she was quite abruptly cut off as he strode over with excellent coordination and took her waist and kissed her.

She loved it. She felt as if she were dying then this would be the last thing she'd want to remember in her life, and the first thing she'd want to find in heaven. Him. Asher. Her fingers immediatly went to his face and ran through his hair as their lips locked. Her nose brushed his and she took in his scent, sucking on his upper lip before pulling away.

Her breathing was heavy as she looked at him, not realizing that their bodies were touching, and that, for once in her life, she had been taken offguard. Eth stared into his eyes. Her heartbeat echoed loudly in her ears and she felt faint yet full of energy at the same time.

"Asher Yates...you are not what...I expected," She breathed, a flirtatious smile creeping onto her face before her lips touched his again.

[raihnstar]

He felt a little bit like an animal, when they parted. Protective, and careful. And trapped by her eyes. His own were looking back at her surprised, and when she spoke he felt her voice through his bones, and rise up to his head like wine. Then her lips were on his again and his hands were caressing her hair, and her back, aware of her hands on his neck and face and hair. Pleasant tingling crawl up his back and head, and his lips ketp trying to pull back into a goofy smile (they were otherwise enganged, however). When they /did/ part, each to catch their own breath, his face was still very close to hers, and his ears had turned pink again. "To-- to be honest, I'm not what I expected either..."

His words were shaky with shock and happiness, caught up in the wonderful moment, and his lips felt slightly bruised because of their new use. But the throbs in his lips managed to feel amazing and he felt like he had just kissed a godess. "A-are you sure you're human?" he asked, his voice a little steadier. He hardly felt worthy to be in her presence, as her skin gave off a healthy glow, and the sun hit her culrs so that they shone, and her eyes were two fresh golden flowers, or suns.

Two tiny suns dancing among his grey skies. "You're too...too..." he couldn't finish his sentence, because there didn't seem to be a word for what she was in his mind. "Do the godesses walk this earth once more, then?" It was a serious question, but once it came out of his lips he felt silly, and his face turned red. He wasn't...he didn't feel worthy.

[Melodia]

Ethereal laughed, her hand running down his face and resting on his shoulder. She felt vivid and real and all of this was just wonderful and new to her. True, she had used her looks to attract other men, but not in the way they assumed she intended. Men were vile, evil creatures, as witnessed by herself on numerous accounts. They lied and cheated and stole and raped and beat, and well...She cleared her head, deciding that she accounted for four of the five. But at least she had an excuse; they did not.

Asher Yates. He was a different kind of man. Nice and caring and...warm. She breathed and rested her head on his shoulder, pleasuring in the way his chest moved up and down as he breathed, and how solid he was. "I am no goddess," She said, her eyes flickering up to his chin, "but I feel as though I have been blessed. Do you not?"

All too suddenly she pulled away. Her fingers ached for the feel of him, but there was something they had to accomplish first. She held up her wrist, the one with the shiny cuff and the chain that the second hung from. Her amber eyes softened as they looked into his, and she whispered, "Do you trust me?"

[raihnstar]

Asher stared at the cuffs, and hesitated. "I...do." But I don't want you to leave me.... Swallowing away his nervousness he touched the cuffs, and wished them open. They opened obediently, and he shut his eyes, wincing. Afraid that a gust of wind had made her disappear. Slowly, fearfully, he opened his eyes. She was still there. Tangible, beautiful... His fingers went up to her face and stroked the curve of her chin, amazed that she was still there. "Why-- why havn't you gone?" he asked, feeling slightly confused, yet elated.

Why hadn't she left him? His finger traveled to the curve of her neck, down her shoulder, to her arm, rested on her hand for a moment. He wanted to touch all of her, feel all of her, let every inch of her rest against him, but he held himself back, content with the feel of her wonderfully smooth oily skin against his finger. "You-- could have any other man. You could have anything you wanted." Asher would give her anything. His finger traveled back up her arm and across her colar bone, and then, as if he couldn't resist, his hand joined his finger to touch her neck and face.

Every cell on his hand screamed with delerious happiness, and Asher had to keep himself from lurching forward to take her lips against his, to hold her against his body. His hand trembled and he felt slightly dizzy, trying to deal with the two conflicting emotions at once. He removed his hand, breathing deeply, almost afraid of himself. He didn't look her in the face, but sat on the branch, trembling at her close proximity, holding himself back.

[Melodia]

Ethereal smiled again. She couldn't help but smile. Her normal personality was dark, haunting and secretive. But as of right now she felt as light as air, and as if she could simply be...joyous. She stepped carefully above a little branch with her knee-high boots, her dark cloak slipping over the brushy leaves. She sat down beside him, crossing her tan legs and locking her finges within eachother.

"I...have money," She began. Asher might be charming, but he was still po-lice, and she didn't want him to take any more of her earnings. "Enough to buy a large home, clothes....yes. But I live in this tree because its what is right for me," She said and laughed softly. Her eyes looked down almost in embaressment and if she could blush, she would have. Her long, delicate hand moved and took his, and her head tilted to him. "And you are right for me, I think."

[raihnstar]

Asher sighed. Oh yeah. She was a thief... His heart tugged at him, and he wondered if he was betraying himself with her. Lying to himself about her. But her head was tilted up towards him, and the thought fizzed out of his mind. Yeah right. He leaned forward and touched her lips to his, gently at first, and then a little more intimately. He tilted himself too far and his other hand left the branch to hold her closer... which resulted in his dangerous teetering. Before he knew it he had slipped off the branch, and was holding on with one hand, looking down at the fall that could have broken his neck. "Oh." he muttered, blinking, his heart pounding. "Let's...I think we should...go down there." So I can kiss you without embarassing myself, or breaking my neck.

He pulled himself up onto the branch with difficulty, and smiled at her nervously. Asher turned to head down the branch, hesitated, turned back to give her a swift kiss that left him slightly breathless, and then scrambled down the tree, jumping from branch to branch and making the tree shake. Briefly he wondered how he'd managed to get up there in the first place, because the way seemed a lot more periolous than he remembered...

As soon as Asher was on solid ground he sighed thankfully. Much better.

[Melodia]

Ethereal grinned. She prepared herself, her hands running along the bark as she readied for the first leap. But suddenly she remembered that the weight of the cuff had vanished, and she quietly slipped into the tree and became a part of it.

She appeared before the ground in record time, as though she was eager to be there. And there Asher was, all proud and whatnot of hisself for climbing down. Laughter echoed quietly in her head and her form dissolved into the ground, forming like mist behind him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her head rested just near his neck. "You've seen. I can become things. What can you do, Asher Yates?" Ethereal asked softly, faintly remembering some display of power on his part. It had to do with her latest robbery-gone-wrong, but she couldn't recall what. It was like all time had stood still and her memory had been blotted out from it.

[raihnstar]

She was behind him. She was behind him. Why? Why wasn't she in front of him where he could kiss her? His mind protested this latest change in events idly and he forced himself to shut up. "Freeze the time in people...for short ammounts of time. I get horrid headaches from it, but it's why I'm such a good cop." he told her with a half grin, "I almost didn't get you, but you let yourself be visible...I can usually only hold it long enough to get the cuffs on the culprit, or to slow 'em up."

He turned his head a little, letting his nose brush hers and smiling goofily. Yeah. "It's not that great." he said with another short laugh, slightly embarassed that he had such a minor power. "I mean, if I use it right...but I rarely get the opportunity-- Sometimes I can stop death... for just a few moments... If that makes sense. I just stop the time in their body...dig out the bullet or something. The blood doesn't flow, and the heart doesn't pump... so I give them more time..."

[Melodia]

Her eyes lit up at his response. She wasn't one for using people, especially a person that held her heart in his hand at the moment. But still, Ethereal was brought up on instinct, on sharpness. So her brain lingered on the fact of his power. On, perhaps, if she fed him the right skills and supplied him with enough love to harbor the clearness of mind, he could do so much more. What a team! Him freezing a whole city, her running from person to person and cleaning them out. Richer than all of Lordight, that's what they'd be! Together!

She blinked and was suddenly pulled back to reality, there in the clearing with Asher. "How very int'resting," She grinned, walking a few paces away from him and then falling into the ground. She stepped out from a tree to his right, a dangerous look on her delicate features. "You like what I can do?" She asked, though it was more of a statement. "And my profession...are you okay with 'hit?" Now that was a question. One that had been brewing in her mind, ready to upset the balance of their harmonious "relationship."

[raihnstar]

Asher shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. Did he like what she did? No. She didn't know it, but he'd been starved for the past three days...Stealing...wasn't something he could ever commend. "I...like your power." he said evasively, not looking at her. "It's...nice..." But no...she wans't going to let him off the hook. Quietly he approached her and stood next to her unhappily. "Ethereal...I'm not okay with stealing. I'm a cop..." he trailed off, rubbing his head. "That said, I don't think I could stay sane if I had to throw you in jail. I...don't approve of it, but I'm not going to stop you, either. You're your own person, and I doubt I could stop you from doing what you wanted even if I threw you in jail."

"Please...I know it seems like this couldn't possibly work with me being a cop and stuff...but... I'll stay out of your business if you stay out of mine." he reached out and took her hand in his, kissing her fingertips. "I've only known you a day but..." he trailed off and blushed. "I...really like you a lot..." Not to mention you're the most beautiful creature on the earth. I couldn't let go of you even if I wanted to... He kissed her fingertips again with a sneaky sort of smile that didn't usually steal across his face, "A lot lot."

[Melodia]

"That could work as a compromise, I suppose," Ethereal whispered with a light in her eyes as his lips brushed the tips of her fingers. They gently brushed against the softness of his face and across his ear and she laughed, pulling away. Her amber eyes were no longer hard and dangerous but more soft, like pools of liquid gold. What intrigued her most about all this (she and Asher) was that she felt no urgency to use her gift at all. Normally she was on high alert, aware of her surroundings almost to near perfection. But as of now it was like she was in a fog. But a nice fog, a hazy, golden fog that smelled like roses and oatmeal soap.

Ethereal blinked. "Asher Yates, will you be leaving me soon?" She asked, knowing very well he had mentioned something about his mother earlier. The thought of going to sleep in an empty tree loomed in her mind. She had been doing it for nearly ten years of her life and not once had she longed for company. But, well, after today she knew that that would change. "Because, if you are," She spoke softer, taking up his hands in hers to feel the warmth again and stepping closer, "you will come visit me, yes?"