Nymph & Knight

The sweet taste of the cool air and the lingering touch of rain making its appearance known is as refreshing as a cold glass of water when it's warm or just very much needed. The warmth and chill in the large chambers are fighting the other for dominance and there will be either no winner or loser but it evens out. The hazy memories of a roaring blast of orange and red, the aches in her feet without bothering to move have her eyes cracking open, the twist and upward curve as a sigh of waking up escapes her.

The thrum of her heart is quiet in her chest but she can still hear the resonating beats of the drums of last night playing out as she glances up at the ceiling dazedly. She almost feels hungover from alcohol but she isn't. Her body aches but there's no headache and she feels...comfortable. Soft. Feeling almost jelly-like as she sits up, a subtle groan escapes her, her head falling back as she breathes in and out, tasting the cool air like it's water.

The taste of a cool spring morning was a different taste to the one last night where a bonfire blazed brazenly and alcohol permeated the air along with song and dance. Sighing, her legs stretched out under the blankets tremble with that perfect ache, and her back arches as she stretches her arms over her head, feels her hair brush or tangle around her face and shoulder, and sits up slowly.

The chill hits her first, sending a faint shiver and goosebumps along her bare skin as the thin blanket slides down her body and pillows around her hips like water and its ripples of fabrics. But just as quickly, the chill disperses into a comfortable lukewarm feeling, she felt quite warm anyway and the chill has evened out her temperature and she feels far more comfortable.

She's still not quite awake, gazing through bleary eyes at the window which she was facing, the curtains bear a decent gap between them and the early morning light is scraping through and with Spring turning to winter, the air was a torment of both cool and warm as nature prepared for sleep.

Shuffling the blankets around, her legs feeling a bit warm and the sheets tangled further around her ankles - the sheets were a chaotic mess all over the bed anyways - Maxi slides out from underneath them, slumping on the soft mattress and a curly rope of red falls over her eye. With a huff and puff, it flutters away as she rubs her tired eyes and glances back where the other side of the bed is a flatter but still rumpled mess.

A quick touch of the sheets reveals that Riftan's departure wasn't long ago at all and the lingering warmth is beckoning her to climb back under the sheets and never let go of that warmth.

Scatters of light catch the corner of her eye and she sees the crumbled mess of her dress laid in a heap in the trail from door to bed. Her shoes, the white heels she had cheekily kicked off set off a breath of laughter at the memory of Riftan's expression. Maxi could still hear the echoes of music from last night in the town playing in the back of her head, a delirium of warmth seeping through her—a fondness caressing her at the memories.

What a night it had been.

Maxi ran a hand through the top of her curls to get out of her face when she heard the click of the door opening. Looking over her shoulder, she watches Riftan step into their quarters, loosely dressed in casual wear and her face softens, warmth blooming her chest again as she gazes upon him. Just like he did last night, something about this man sent her thoughts into the clouds, her mouth parched and every part of her singing with life. The loose tunic that despite its size is still taut over him, even with the strands opened and loose over the collar and chest, the trousers over his long legs a little looser but still so finely attuned to his body. The glimmer of shadow and then light in his gaze had her cheeks matching the red fruit on the silver platter he balanced on his hands. Maxi clenched her fists on top of her thighs, almost like she was digging her finger into said fabric just so she could eradicate it but it was her grasp on reality and wonder.