A+romantic+passionate+afternoon+in+Heroes'+Rest

Kale was out by the training area, with the practice dummies. He was practicing his footwork and strikes, and had been working out for a while. He was very focused on his work, and didn’t hear the quiet steps of the elven witch approach. Wren carried a little basket and walked softly up the path, watching Kale. She smiled as she observed him, putting his all into a strike onto one of the dummies, his muscles rippling even through the light leathers he wore to work out. She stepped close to get his attention, and he heard the slightest footsteps in the dirt behind him. He turned with trained instinct, swinging his sword to meet the noise. He stopped short, when he seen Wren back up a few steps, eyes wide. She stared at him, her eyes fully open and unblinking, “Hi?” She smiled a little nervously.

“Wren!” He looked at her first with surprise, then concern. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?” He reached out for her with one hand, and sheathed his sword with the other. She nodded and accepted his hand, letting him pull her closer. “What are you doing sneaking up here like that? You know I can be a little on edge.” He chastised her while still looking her over to be sure she was alright. Her hair was down, and she was wearing a vivid purple flower tucked behind one ear. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to startle you… I just… thought you might like to have lunch,” she smiled and held up the basket, “You looked like you were working up an appetite… but I think I was a little off on my timing.” She caressed his cheek tenderly, “I’ll come back later.” She smiled at him and turned to walk back down the path.

"No...no...wait." Kale smiled...mastering his temper, really...she was so impetuous...always acting before thinking...it was infuriating...yet sometimes sexy as hell. Especially when she'd risen up out of the bathing pool at the elven embassy wearing...nothing but a bit of foam left over from the sudsy water below. He'd been...transfixed. At first he'd been mad at Erevin for selling him out...but...now he'd have to show the young ranger his appreciation sometime.

"Why don't we go somewhere...a little...nicer where I can clean up." Kale held her hand and they walked down to the stream in comfortable silence...he breathed in the sweet scent of her hair...which smelled of flowers like the one she wore. They walked upstream to the waterfall...where water came out of a cleft in the mountainside and fell into a large pool before then heading down into the village of heroes. He smelled of sweat and leather so he helped her spread out a blanket...and then stripped off most of his armor and clothes, all except a pair of leather pants. Wading into the pool, he rinsed himself off, allowing the water to cascade over his long...dark hair and chiseled bare chest. He smirked at her, wringing out his hair. "In repayment for your own...show...mi'lady..."

Wren watched....becoming a little breathless...she'd never seen an elf so well...muscled...and with so many scars. What had happened to him...in that other world to cause such? She itched....to trace them...they were like a map of his life...

Wren grinned wide and teased him, "Well... if that's the case... you're wearing too many clothes." She winked.

She spread out the little picnic on the blanket while she watched him. He watched her on her hands and knees, setting out little plates and glasses, slices of cake, wine, and various little dishes of food. She was wearing one of her thin gauzy, short dresses. This one was black, low cut, and just kept her decent, bent over on her knees.

Kale tilted his head back into the waterfall one last time, and when he opened his eyes... there she was... in the water beside him. He reacted a little calmer this time, though she still tested instinctual defenses. "Wren... what is it with you and surprises today..."

She smiled innocently, "Well... you didn't have a sword this time... so I thought I might be safer." She reached out and softly traced one of the scars high on his chest. She smiled up at him invitingly, "Hungry?"

He grabbed her suddenly, pulling her tightly against him "No...definitely not...safer..." She squealed from the sudden rush of cold water that now engulfed her as well as him as he pulled her underneath the waterfall. Her giggles suddenly cut off by his lips covering her own in a deep kiss. She suddenly...didn't feel cold at all. In fact...she felt very warm. How long they kissed underneath the waterfall Wren couldn't tell...time seemed to lose...all meaning until finally he pulled away.

"I'm famished...." He laughed....taking her hand and leading her out of the water, her own hair now wet and dripping. By the look he gave her...she wasn't sure it was the picnic food he was hungry for! But he sat down on the blanket and she joined him as he poured a glass of the Dursear wine that Azarius must have picked up from the marketplace....

She walked with him through the water, elated, and a little breathless, her cheeks pink from the warmth in her body. He had never just impulsively grabbed her up quite like that... and kissed her so long... so passionate! He left her longing for more. She sat next to him, and accepted a glass of wine. She sipped it slow, her heart still beating a little fast...

"You know..." she grinned at him as she popped a warm fruity pastry in her mouth, "Lately when I'm with you, somehow I get all wet." She let her hand linger on his, as she took another slow sip of wine. She winked at him.

"I know!" Kale laughed "You're always seeming to fall in water...or rise up out of water...or get doused...with water. It's almost like you’re being punished for some reason." Not that he minded at all...she looked rather...appealing right now in her wet clothing, the way the fabric clung to her slender elven body...the black fabric almost embracing her like a lover.

Wren giggled...she'd never thought about it...but she did have a lot of mishaps involving water. Perhaps it was her mother’s...patron...punishing her for not choosing them over deception.

Kale finished his wine, setting the glass down. It was a unique taste...different than elven wine...but strong. He looked at Wren and her still dripping clothes. "You know...you'll catch a cold if you wear wet clothes. You should probably take those off...and let them dry." His voice...with the hint of a challenge.

Wren raised an eyebrow at him with a little grin, “My, my… forward… passionate… daring… I should come interrupt you more often.” She winked at him. She sat up on her knees, and crawled over closer to him. She leaned in and brushed her lips softly against his.

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She leaned back to sit on her knees again, and took a last sip of her wine before setting the glass down. <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She glanced at the pool of water and then back at Kale, “Punishment, huh? Hmm it’s an interesting form of torture.” She grinned.

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Wren stood up and stretched, the dress clinging to her every curve. <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">“Well… I think if you want it off this time… you’re going to have to work a little harder,” she flashed him a playful grin, “and come take it off.” She giggled and leapt into the water.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Kale grinned, giving a salute to the air, chanting softly "For Parthia...and Myth Coramanth!" as if he were going into battle, before wading into the water after the elven temptress. He certainly hoped that wasn't one of her favorite dresses because he was sure as hell going to rip it off of her.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Wren didn't seem to mind, her smile encouraging...as she took him into her arms...and the stars twinkled playfully above them as they embraced...

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">*fades to black*

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Wren lounged lazily halfway on top of Kale on the blanket, tracing one of the scars on his chest. She smiled up at him, "Tell me the story about this one." <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">He lied on his back, with his arms wrapped around her. He grinned at her, "You're always so curious. It gets you into trouble, you know." <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Wren grinned back at him, "Well... I'm sure the water will find a way to punish me later," She winked at him, "but I'll risk it." He laughed heartily and shook his head at the beautiful witch who laid with her still naked body against his. What was left of her dress barely rested on the shoreline, with part of it trailing into the water.

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"Alright then, if you're going to make it so difficult to say no..." he smiled at her and gently brushed the hair back from her face, "That one... I was on patrol with a soldier named Samuel. We were checking the western border when we ran into a group of men we called black baggers." <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Wren looked at him quizzically, "Black ... baggers?" <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">He nodded, "They were known for massacring groups of people, leaving the dead with their black veils, and stealing some of the children... placing black bags over their heads to haul them away to be converted." <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Wren looked at him in shock, "Converted?! ... converted into what?" <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"Converted to their religion... to believe in the One True God... it's a very long story, Wren... and it really is a terrible place full of despair and suffering. There is little love... and little hope," he paused and caressed her cheek, gazing into her curious eyes, "I would spare you from that world... from knowing more. It's not really a place you want to know about." <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">What must it have been like there, she wondered. She frowned, and he leaned up and kissed her lips. <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"You're prettiest when you're smiling..." he teased her. She grinned. <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"Alright... so you and ... Samuel. You ran into these .... black bag people. Then what happened?" she asked more cheerfully. He grinned at her. Really! She was so stubborn.

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"Well... there was this beautiful elven woman..." he smiled at her teasingly, knowing he captured her attention, “they had captured her... she was breath taking... I had to save her, of course." Wren stared at him, wide eyed and entranced. "So... there we were... we had killed the group of men without a scratch... and I took the woman into my arms and gazed into her captivating gold eyes..." Wren's eyes grew wider as she listened. "And she leaned in, so grateful for her rescue... to kiss me... and with her lips, just a breath away from mine..." he leaned his lips close to Wren's, "She transformed into a demon and stabbed me with her great claws of passion!" <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Wren stared at him. He was grinning from ear to ear. It wasn't... there was no woman... he was... Wren gasped and slapped his chest, "You're a LIAR!" Kale laughed.

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"I can't believe you! How could you just... and I... What //really// happened?!" she nudged him. <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Kale laughed again, "It was just a lucky shot in battle... I was striking the man on Samuel's back, and another got a lucky opportunity and sliced me open. It took a couple of days to heal, but I lived..." He smiled at her.

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She traced the small scar along his abdomen and eyed him warily, "What about this one?" <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Kale grinned at her, "Well... there was this elven woman... she was breath taking..." <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Wren slapped his chest again. He laughed and wrapped his arms around her, and rolled the two of them over so his top half was lying over her. She gazed into his eyes looking down at her. <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">He smiled adoringly at her, gazing into her eyes, "So... there was this elven woman... she was breath taking... with captivating gold eyes." Wren grinned up at him. He kissed her, long and passionate.

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"You know..." he looked down at her, "sooner or later... someone is going to come looking for us, or to use the waterfall... and you'll probably want to be dressed." They both glanced at the material along the shoreline and Wren giggled. She got up and collected her "dress" and put everything into the basket. <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"Well... I can't go down looking like this..." she giggled. She gracefully flowed her hand through the air in front of her face and spoke the elven word for vanish... and like that, she was gone. He watched the basket disappear and heard her giggle. Kale started to get dressed, and while he was unbalanced on one foot, he felt a soft push and fell back into the pool, splash! He heard Wren's laugh moving farther away as she dashed off, invisible, back down the path toward the houses.