Chapter Text
She looked across the fire at the wild man before her his light brown hair matted and wet from the blizzard they had just ducked out of. They had been traveling through the mountains, a supposed shortcut when the snow began. The party holding tight to each other in an attempt to stay together but, then there was a sneeze, a shake, and then a large avalanche separating them. Don’t get her wrong, Myra was grateful to the large man. Despite his savagery, he managed to grab her and yank her out of the way of the falling Cliffside, holding her close to his large chest as the snow rushed down right next to them. When the snow finally settled, the road they had been walking on was completely blocked off and their comrades were nowhere to be seen. They started walking, looking for a way around the fallen rock and snow when the storm began, and leaving the two almost blind. Lucky for them, Halsin was a great survivalist and managed to spot a cave. 30 minutes later, they were tucked away from the storm, huddled around the small fire she managed to build as Halsin checked the deeper section of the cave for any predators. The elven woman brought her knees closer to her chest, trying to cut the chill from her wet clothing. She had not prepared for snow when they began traveling that morning, so she sat clothed in nothing but the linen shift she wore under her armor and a blanket from her bedroll. She held her knees tighter, trying to hide the shiver running through her body.
“Myra, are you alright?” His deep voice in the silence startled her; she looked up and gave a curt nod. “I am fine. You do not need to worry about me.” Her voice was harsh, but he did not flinch, just raked his eyes over her body, making her hold her knees tighter to her chest. “Wild man, Stop staring at me that way. I am fine.” She narrowed her eyes in a glare, and scowled further when he sent a small devilish smile her way. “You do not look fine, Sparrow. Come sit by me, we can share our body heat and keep warm through the night. The temperature is just going to drop.” Myra almost sneered, the thought of crawling over and sharing any warmth with the savage was unthinkable. Who knew the last time he had showered and what covered those clothes of his. Absolutely not, she would be just fine where she was, on her bedroll by the fire. She could hear him chuckle but she ignored him, continuing to stare into the fire.
She was not sure when she had dozed off, but she woke to a sudden envelopment of warmth and wafting smell of cloves and earth. It was comforting, the scent soothing. She blinked her eyes open to see Halsin settling himself on the opposite side of the fire on his own bedroll again, now missing his fur cloak, his large arms and shoulders bare to the elements now. The flame light glinted off his tan skin tantalizingly, small chill bumps appearing, but the man seemed completely unaffected. Myra huffed and sat up, the fur sliding off her shoulders and pooling at her waist. She glared at him across the fire. Guilt covered his face when they locked eyes. “I apologize; I did not mean to wake you. Your lips were turning blue and the shivering was getting unbearable to watch.” The high elf stayed silent, glare still in her eyes as she stood up, grabbed the fur and her bedroll and walked over to him. She plopped next to larger elf and set about laying out her bedroll again and placing the fur over their laps. He looked down at her curiously. “It will not do us any good if you freeze to death out here. We will share the fur and stay close for warmth until morning.” Halsin chuckled softly, lifting his arm and nestling her closer to him. He felt her stiffen, and then relax into him, her head resting on his shoulder. Halsin was starting to get comfortable when he picked up the faint sound of…sniffing? Confused, he looked down at the woman next to him, only to lock eyes with her and her looking just as confused. “Is…everything okay?” She shifted and brought herself to her knees to bring herself a little closer to his face. “You do not smell how I thought you would.” Her face was close to his, he could feel her breath on his cheeks, her floral perfume wafting towards him. Her statement baffled him. “What…what is that supposed to mean?” He turned his head to face her, their noses almost brushing from the closeness. “I expected a wild man such as yourself to smell of, oh I don’t know, dirt? Sweat? Filthy, unbathed.” He was used to her calling him wild man; he was used to her rude comments. However, her statement almost made him laugh. “You think because I am a druid and spend my days among nature, that I do not bathe and take care of myself?” She nodded as she sat back on her heels, still facing him. “The druids I have met in the past do not, so I assumed all had the same mindset.” Halsin could not hide the amused smirk that crept onto his face. He leaned his face closer to the smaller woman, their noses almost brushing again. “And what DO I smell like, Sparrow?” Myra leaned back away from him best she could him her current position. “Ex..excuse me?” His question caught her off guard, something he had come to realize didn’t happen often, the woman usually poise and not easy to perplex. Grinning, he turned to face her a little more, leaning towards her again. “Tell me, what do I smell like?” Myra could feel a faint blush creep up her neck as she attempted to lean further away from him, losing her balance and falling backwards. Halsin shot his arm out, catching her around the waist, making sure she never fell from her bedroll. A chuckle rumbled deep in his chest as he pulled her up and into his lap. She struggled against him softly, reminding him of a cat, unhappy their owner was holding them. He kept a firm hold on her hip to keep her still as he wrapped the fur around both of them snuggly, then cradled her close to his chest, locking in all the heat between them. Myra, a little stunned by his gentle manhandling of her, kept her mouth shut and soon was relaxing into his hold, letting her head fall to his chest. After a while, her eyelids grew heavy. His warmth and scent lulling her into a surprisingly restful trance.
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Myra shifted slightly, a kink in her neck causing continued trance to be impossible. She groaned softly and stretched her arms up, her hand colliding with something hard. That’s when she remembered what transpired the night before and how she fell asleep. She peaked her eyes open, and looked up at the face above hers. Halsin’s head rested against the stonewall of the cave they hid in, eyes closed still in his trance, giving Myra a little time to look over him without any sarcastic comments from the elf before her. She couldn’t deny he was a good looking man, for a savage. His light brown looked surprisingly soft, the braids he normally kept unraveled from the wind and snow they endured the day before. The tattoo across the right side of his face was interesting. She would NEVER tell him that. Nevertheless, it fascinated her. She was also curious about the scars that adorned his face. She reached a hand up and gingerly traced the scar over his left eye, rough claw marks, probably from some type of beast. His brow furrowed under her fingertips, his hand closing on her wrist before she could pull away. “Do you always stir your companions from rest by stroking their face, Sparrow?” His voice was hoarse, rough from not using it for a few hours. Myra looked at him again; his eyes now open, staring down at her with a curious twinkle shining in his hazel eyes. “I…I did no such thing.” She attempted to pull her wrist free, but he refused to let up, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. “A she-bear got me.” Myra peered up at him, confused. “What?” Halsin let out another laugh and lifted her hand to his forehead. “I was roaming in my bear form, unaware it was mating season. The she-bear was pretty offended.” He chuckled softly at the baffled look on the face of the woman before him. He released he wrist, but she didn’t move it away from him, running a fingertip along the scars. Goosebumps formed on his arms at the delicate touch. For such petite elf, her hands had a roughness to them, from years of wielding a mace and shield he assumed. She met his eyes again, her eyelashes casting a small shadow on her cheeks from the weak light casted from the dying fire. He leaned in closer to her, taking in her scent, their noses brushing softly. If he tilted his head just right, he could close the gap between their lips.
Myra pulled away suddenly, standing up with urgency. “It is morning, we need to get going.” Halsin’s lap felt cold suddenly. The chill in the air meeting his skin once again. He watched the elven woman set about putting her armor back on. Fascinated with the way her skilled fingers swiftly buckled each piece into place perfectly. He stood from his spot against the wall, stretching any kinks and pops from his body from the awkward way they slept that night. Once their small makeshift camp was packed, he watched Myra head to the mouth of the cave. “It looks like the storm has passed completely, finding our company should be easy.” He joined her at the mouth, looking out over the landscape then down at her. She had small chill bumps along the curve of her breasts and neck, the parts that were not covered by her armor. He pulled the fur from his shoulders and placed it over her then took her pack and headed into the snow. “Well we better set off then, Don’t want to miss them.” Halsin smiled to himself when Myra, for once, did not argue with him, and then fell into a comfortable silence as they trekked through the white plane, in search of their friends.