And then we were not

[Kaoru Asuna]

Ria almost cried, when Chad hugged her. He held her so warmly. She'd never been hugged like that by any guy other than reletives.


"Thank you," she said again, throat slightly choked up. "For everything. Everything you did yesterday, what you're doing now...and all the other wonderful things you'll do the rest of the time were stuck here." She pulled him closer, holding him there, her face in the crook of his neck.


He smells good, and he's so warm. I never thought I'd meet a guy as great as he is.

 

[Lothian]

chad returned the hug. he thought to himself that he could feel her in her pain and she, his in that moment. he could hear her choke up slightly witch prompted chad to hold on tighter. after a few moments they released in unison and chad looked her in the eyes and said "just so you know, you smell good." he looked away embarased but still smiling

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

"Thanks, so do you. That's nice to hear since I haven't taken a shower since yesterday. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen a bathroom in here yet. And I think I need to use one, so let's go find it. Hopfully there's a shower in there, too." Then her face turned pink with her momentary thought of Chad in the shower. "Come on." They stood and went down to the next floor, and started opening doors.

 

[Lothian]

Eventually they happened upon the bathroom and it was massive by bathroom standards. It was a his-and-hers. there were 2 of each a toilet and standing shower separated by a partition wall that had a sink. it was all in brass and marble and beautiful to behold. the wall thatbordered the outside of the tree was completely glass bringing in enough daylight to illuminate the room. "I'm totally gonna try the shower." he said excitedly before moving to one of the showers, "I guess this side's mine" as he took his shirt off

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

He has nice abs, Ria's first thought. Then, I think I'll try the other one.


"Me, too." She decided not to look at Chad's reaction, and went straight to the other shower. She pulled off her jeans from under the nightgown she was still wearing.


Hmm, maybe I should find a towel first... She looked toward the sink and saw a shelf above it filled with towels, and grabbed one.

 

[Lothian]

chad hopped in the shower . it was hot, maybe a little too hot. he didn't care. the shower felt great and he dared not touch it. he washed up with more bottles that never run out. as he showered he called out to arlandria "HEY RIA, how you doin over there?" he chucked not really expecting an answer. he finished showering and realized, with a nearly painful jolt, that he'd forgotten to look for a towel, but shrugged of the fear as his confidense quickly overcame him and he just walked out and reached around the corner to grab a towel befor swiftly retreating to dry himself. he smiled to himself thinking to himself that even if she were staring right at him she wouldn't be able to make anything out, it being so steamy in there. then the thought of seeing her crept into his mind and he shooed it away not wanting her to be able to see that he was thinking about her. he wrapped the towel around his waist and tucked it so that it would stay and called out again from his side "do you want me to go look for cloths or should I wait for you?"

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

"This is the most satisfying shower I've ever taken," she called when he asked how she was doing. Then she stepped out and dried off most of the way, wrapping the towel around herself. She stepped around the corner just as Chad asked,


"Do you want me to go look for clothes or should I wait for you?"


He was standing there with a towel around his waist, surrounded by steam, his hair all clinging to his head.


"You go ahead. I'm going to go check the wardrobe on the top floor where I found that nightgown last night. I have a feeling that thing works kind of like the bottles that never run out. I'm going to see if the clothes changed. Once you find some, meet me on the lobby level and we'll get some breakfast okay?"


She walked past him and up the staircase.


When she opened the wardrobe, she found she was right. The night clothes had all been replaced with jeans, skirts, t-shirts, shorts, and every other thing you could imagine wearing in the summer. She pulled a pair of dennim cutoff shorts, and grabbed her old red t-shirt from the floor where she'd left it.


Damn, I left my underwear in the bathroom. Maybe there's some in those drawers over there.


There were and she put them on alond with the t-shirt and shorts, plus her sandals. Then she headed down to the lobby to wait for Chad.

 

[Lothian]

Chad made his way to one of the rooms he'd discovered while searching for the bathroom. He had a feeling it was a mans room from the choice of decor. it had taxidermy, medieval weapons, books, and maps. "this is totally gonna be my room" he said aloud to no one. he found a closet and was surprised at the variety of things to wear. they had pretty much everything he could ever want. it crossed his mind that the closets have exactly what the opener wants. what are the odds the guy before him had all of his exact specifications. size 13 shoe and everything. he smiled evilly as he grabbed some things. he'd been wearing his pajamas since he'd gotten to the island, so it was nice to have on some real cloths. he found some underwear and put them on under his dark green, baggy cargo pants. he threw on a brown leather belt and some socks. then some black combat boots which he tucked the pants into before lacing them up tightly. he found a black shirt that had a 3 quarter length sleeve on one side and no sleeve on the other. "odd" he thought "but kinda cool". he put it on and admitted it looked a bit weird in the mirror untill he saw reflected in the mirror some armor on a dummy. It was hardened leather armor. it had a reliefed breastplate and smooth, contoured back and a shoulder pauldron on each side that consisted of 2 layers. he had to try it on. he put the armor on with a cheesy grin and looked in the mirror...the shirt didn't look goofy anymore with the armor over it. he thought he looked good, but then, he didn't care. he was gonna wear it. he pulled a celtic gladius off the wall and attached it's sheath to his belt before heading down to the lobby. he couldn't stop smiling. he was so happy to have protection in this place in the way of a sword. and the armor.....well he just liked the armor

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

Ria started laughing when Chad came down the stairs.


"Wow! Where did you find that? Was that in one of the rooms upstairs?" She asked him, admiring the armor. She looked closer, seeing all of the intricate details, and thought about all the time it must have taken to make. "Show me where you found this. I'll look stupid standing next to you if I don't find something like it to wear." She grinned as he led her upstairs to the room where he'd found the suit. She looked around, and her eyes lighted on a maniken.


"Cooool!" The wooden model was wearing a dark formed-leather chestplate, with small scrolled carving covering the surface, and leather gauntlets, along with a belt with a sword scabbard. It was simple, but she liked it. She pulled the plate off of the model and slipped it over her head, and the gauntlets over her wrists, starting to tighten the laces.


"Would you tighten the straps on the back?" She asked Chad.

 

[Lothian]

chad said "sure" and positioned himself behind her. he ran his fingers over the smooth leather and when he reached the bottom he started to fasten the straps one by one delicately until he reached the top. "could you lift your hair for me?" he asked and she did. He was given pause for a moment. he stared at her nape and his pulse quickened. he tried to ignore it and quickly finished the last strap. "well lets see it." he said, stepping back a couple steps. she gave a little twirl and asked him what he thought. "you're beautiful" he said. his face blushed and his heart raced. he had said it without thinking and couldn't take it back because he meant every bit of it. she was exceptionally beautiful before the armor he just hadn't meant for the words to come out so easily. so all he could do was smile genuinely.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

"So are you," she returned and smiled. Then she realised she had just called Chad pretty. "I mean...in a very strong, manly way..." Ria added quickly, suddenly very interested in a stain on the floor. No one, immediate family aside, had ever called her beautiful.


I can't believe he called me beautiful...he's so sweet...


"Come on, let's go get some breakfast. I'm starving."

 

[Lothian]

Chad smiled and was thankful she had alleviated the situation. He let her lead the way downstairs and outside. "No way" he said before pulling a wedge of cake from off the tree. "I havent had cake for breakfast since i was a kid." He scarfed down the cake and wasnt satisfied so he said "im not satisfied" he got rather giddy when he saw some fully cooked bacon hanging from a low branch and began stuffing it into his mouth. "Bacons my favorite next to beef jerky" he said between pieces. Once hed eaten his fill, he threw himself on his back in the grass and sighed with a smile upon his face. "Ive decided that life is good."


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[Kaoru Asuna]

Ria yanked some bacon from the tree and sat down next to Chad on the grass.


"This place is awesome," she mumbled through the bacon bits in her mouth. Then she took a piece of cake and sat down again.


"Wow. That's good cake...I think I'll have another." (*Eats another piece*)


She layed out next to him, liking how cool the grass was. There was even still dew on it. She ripped up a long piece of grass and stuck it in her mouth, and crossed her arms behind her head, looking up at the clouds.


"Hey, what do you think that one looks like," Ria asked, pointing to a big fluffy white cloud.

 

[Lothian]

"Looks like rain to me "he said with and chuckled. " kinda like a dragon. See there are the nostrils " he said scooting closer to her and pointing out the features. "And the eyes, horns, teeth like a sabretooth. But on a serious note, i think it is gonna rain. Probably tomorrow. My Knees always ache a bit the day before rain." He yawned and said " we're cool today though. Hey wanna see me show off?" He asked excitedly. He didnt wait for a reply before springing into action. He took the sword off his belt and laid it on the grass and sat indian style. He planted his hands next to him flat and lifted his body, and with his legs still crossed rotated his shoulder slowly into a handstand then proceeded to do vertical push ups managing 7 before losing his ballance and landing flat on his back and letting out a large breath on impact


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[Kaoru Asuna]

(Can you really do that? If you say yes, I'll probably think you're lying. Oh, and I can't do what I'm about to make my character do, just so you don't ask.)


"My turn. Have you ever seen a woman do one-handed spider push-ups?"


Ria turned over on her stomach, splayed her legs out and tucked her left arm behind her back. She centered her right hand under her chest and pushed up, let herself down. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Four more times and she collapsed, grinning and breathing hard.


"Oh damn that was harder than I remember. I haven't done that since last summer."


She kneeled her way over to Chad and splayed out next to him. She turned her head to look at him.


"Hey, can you teach me how to do a handstand?"

 

[Lothian]

(Perpetuating the "show me" state steriotype, are we? I spent 7 months in st joseph and never met such a skeptical ppl. I can rotate into handstand and do vertical push ups but i need to be against a wall to do the pushups for balance, but i cant link the two. and i can do one arms too, but only with my left if you saw my faceb**k youd believe me.)


"Well color me impressed" chad said with a grin. "If you have enough upper body to to one arm push ups you might be able to do a hand stand. It does use an entirely different muscle group though." Chad hopped to his feet and lifted ria up. He said " we should start with the basic headstand first. What you gotta do is put your head on the ground and plant your hands so you make a triangle with those three points of contact then lift one lleg at a time and put your knees on your elbows. Then lift your legs up in the air." Chad demonstrated and ria followed. As they faced each other upside down he said " this is to work your core to make keeping your balance when youre on your hands easier." When you have that down, with all your might, push up, but if youre doing push ups dont come all the way down again cuz youll never get back up." Ria didnt have the strength to get off the ground. "Thats more a balance exercise. Or you can do the ol' stand to stand method. Like this" chad got back on his feet and made a motion like he would do a cartwheel, but instead went from being standing to being ing a handstand. After a few seconds his arms gave out and he rolled onto his back. "Okay....im tired" he said matter-of-factly. Chad reached over and grabbed his sword and pulled it over before reattaching it. "We should explore the house some more...once i rest for a second" after about a minute chad got to his feet


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[Kaoru Asuna]

(Post a link to your FB and I'll take a gander. I believe you though. And I love that somebody mentioned my state slogan, which never gets used anymore. Also, I never realised I was included in it, despite the fact thast I live here♥;P)


"Okay. I'm going to practice doing hand stands." She stood, and tried to do the cartwheel-esk version...and fell flat on her back.


"Ow...this is why I never do this stuff...I always hurt myself..." But she still got up and tried it again, with the same result. "My problem is that I keep loosing my balance on the way up. I know I could do it otherwise... Alright, last try for today!"


She finally made it up, and managed to stay up for a few seconds before falling again.


She sat down next to Chad, breathing hard.


"You ready to go exploring?" Chad nodded, and they headed for the tree.

 

[Lothian]

Chad said "the trick is to do the cartwheel into a wall so you can use the wall for ballance. But you did good for a first attempt. You hit the ground hard, i hope youre okay." He led the way into the tree and immediately to the right was another wooden door theyd missed before. "Wonder where that goes." He said and opened the door. Behind it was a dark stone staircase going down. He led the way but upon making it halfway down realized it was too dark to continue. Detirmined they went and got a torch from off the wall in the kitchen and went down. At the bottom of the stairs was another door and when he opened it, a cool breeze came rushing out wih the smell of ages past. Beyond the door was a large room with a large rat the size of a medium sized dog that immediately attacked. Chad was in the lead and when he saw the rat lunge he drew his gladius and brought it swiftly through thought the animal from ear to sternum in one motion, more out of instinct than anything else. Cha said "stay close" as he walked deeper into the room it was a large square with another door opposite the one thy came through. Chad stared for a moment and said with excitement "oh my God! Its a dungeon, you know, like the ones in video games" we better go, we're not prepared for this"


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[Kaoru Asuna]

"Yeah, maybe you're right. Let's go back." Ria led the way back up, and into the tree.


"Let's start on this floor and work our way up to the higher floors."

 

[Lothian]

chad and ria walked around as they would if they were parousing a mall. there were items on fime tables that looked easily breakable and there were other things on the floor that looked quite heavy. each room seemed to have a distinct decor. there were ones that seemed gothic, others victorian, some african, and some native american. as they worked their way up the floors, chad decided that his favorite room was the one he got his cloths in earlier. it had all manner of weapons donning the walls and that suited him just fine. he was an amateur collector of sharp stuff in his old life. that's what he came to know it as. he came to terms with the fact that he might be on this island for a while and he didn't really mind. when they entered his favorite room, he noticed arlandria marveling at a templar sword. chad couldn't hold it back any longer. he spun her around and kissed her fully on the lips.

 

[Kaoru Asuna]

Ria couldn't believe it. He was really kissing her. Her first kiss.


"Wow," she whispered when he pulled back. "I, um... I've never been kissed like that before. Or really at all..." She touched his cheek with the back of her fingers softly. "Please do it again." She leaned in really close and kissed him, gently, holding his head close with her hand on the back of his neck.

 

[Lothian]

Chad wrapped his arm around her petite waist and let his hand rest on the small of her back. He kissed her hungrilly, this time with all the passion he so despirately wanted. He pulled her close so they were pressed against one another. She was warm, almost feverish, but he liked it. He ran his free hand up her back and when he reached her neck gently ran his fingertips over it on his way to her head. She shuddered slightly under his fingers but did not pull away. Chad found the dimple at the base of her skull and used it as the entry point for taking his fingers and disappearing them in her thick brown hair. After what seemed like an eternity in that moment that was in all actuality only probably a dozen seconds, chad pulled away slowly before opening his eyes. He watched arlandria open ber beautiful green eyes and said with a smile. "Ria, we got work to do" he spoke gently and slowly released her from his passion filled embrase. Then he smiled and said back in his normal, jovial tone "i dont think theres been anything ive wanted to do that bad since we got here"


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[Kaoru Asuna]

She didn't want him to let go. She would have just stayed like that, with him forever, in that room filled with violence and death, she was peaceful, and calm. And really happy. Happier than she'd been in a long time.


"What work? I can't think of anything we need to do right now," Ria said thickly, still standing close to him. "That was my first kiss. Did you know that?"

 

[Lothian]

Chad turned red when he heard he was her first kiss. He smiled and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead and then a quick one on the lips before pulling away from her grasp "and that was your second." He said "and this ..." He said as he moved closer once more making no room for air between them, "is your third" he whispered moments before putting his lips to hers again. He squeezed her as their tongues touched delicately for the first time. He felt his mind go foggy as the testosterone coursed through his veins. He pulled away again, not trusting himself to stop if he waited any longer. "We still need to find out whats at the end of that dungeon" he said out of the corner of his mouth. "Unless you dont want to know whats...down there?" He said and ran his thumb swiftly across her lower lip, pulling it down only to snap back quickly with a pop sound.


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[Kaoru Asuna]

(Damn! How the hell did you get so good at writing like that?!?!?! I'm so jelous. And I can write some sexy shit when I have complete control of both characters.)


Ria turned red, focusing on something close to Chad's foot.


"No, I want to know what's...down there. But I want to take this slow. I've been kissed three times in one day. I've never even been on a date. And I've never had a boyfriend. So I really want to enjoy this new experiance. I want to remember this day, and this moment for a long time." She said all this quietly, feeling like if she said it too loud, it would disturb something, but not really knowing what.


"Do we need anything else before we head down there?"