Hiding in Plain Sight

[Elflady]

[DASH=#990033]Managing to keep hold of Dagger's reins as she landed roughly on the ground Irmelin had little room for a refined landing and she was quite rustled when the world stopped moving. At first she thought nothing of her ruffled clothes until Colzack came over, offering to help her up and she noticed his reaction. During her close meeting with the ground her worn leather vest had been ripped open and her white shirt had shifted as it was too big for her in the first place.

</SPAN></SPAN>Cheeks warming up in embarrassment and she quickly adjusted her shirt and vest before accepting Colzack's outstretched hand. At a loss for words at first she fixed the reins on Dagger and looked him over, both to make sure he was okay but also to avoid having to face Colzack. It shouldn't be this bad, she had known him for barely a day and perhaps it was better to have been discovered early on than later, and so far he did seem like a nice guy.</SPAN></SPAN>

"Yes," she finally admitted with a sigh, turning to face him, not that she really could deny it. "I'm a girl, I thought it would be best to travel as a boy. You may not have bad intentions but others can be far worse so I stole my cousin's clothes." In a way this was a relief, she didn't have to be feel like she had to think about every word she said.</SPAN></SPAN>

Noticing that Colzack looked as embarrassed as she did Irmelin actually felt a bit better. "My real name is Irmelin, but all else I said was true, though I had no disagreements with my family, at least not openly. My parents probably don't know why I ran away even," she said, trailing off at the end as she thought about how her actions had affected her family. She had never really thought about how her family would react to her being gone after the festival, she'd only thought about her own interest, now she started feeling bad over her decision though she did not want to go back. Nervous about how he would react Irmelin fiddled with her fingers and kept her hazel eyes on Kuja still graxing by the river, though the mare kept looking up as if wondering over the endless predicaments of humans.[/DASH]</SPAN></SPAN>

 

[Anime-Otaku12]

Colzack swallowed hard, trying to get his nerves in place before turning to her again.

"I understand why you had to do what you had to do, but you still could have told me. I'm your traveling companion. I have a duty to keep you safe and you me. We look out for each other...Ok?" His face was still a little red. He watched her. She seemed to be pondering something, all the while, looking just as nervous as he was. He outstretched his hand, placing it on hers, trying to offer comfort to her. He tried to muster the best smile he could while still being a bit flustered and embarrassed.

"Your predicament is almost like mine it seems....That makes it all the more reason for us to travel together...that and...I...like your name...It's beautiful...." He had not ever been in the same company as a girl. This was his first time. However, he could see himself calming down. Her smiles, he remembered the ones they shared up till this point, made his day, no matter if he first thought Irmelin was a boy. If anything, this rugged adventurer was already falling for this beautiful maiden. He would have to keep his emotions in check. If he didn't, this could cost him his adventuring for a while. That and he didn't even think she felt the same way he did.

He pulled a shirt out of his pack, handing it to her and smiling gently, the blush slowly fading, but still ever present.

"This shirt is too small for me, but I kept it just in case I needed it for rags or something. You can wear this till we reach the next village. It's not much, but I hope it will do...." handing it to her, he confirmed that Dagger was secure and then went back to carving his almost complete bear so Irmelin could have this chance to change in privacy. He watched the sun set, making it a beautiful backdrop to his woodcarving, waiting to see if Irmelin would join him or not.