He smiled softly at the color, tilting his head gently. “I’m just making sure, Amira.” He murmured gently, letting his eyes slip closed for a moment as he sighed deeply. “Good gods you scared me a little. It wasn’t in good shape, Amira… I don’t want you dying on me.”
She furrowed her brows in a tiny frown, reaching up with her other hand to tap his cheek to get his attention. "Do I really look like the kind of person who dies? A serpent is nothing compared to near-daily accidental explosions. I will be fine."
He glanced up at her when his cheek was tapped, laughing weakly at her words. “Untreated wounds fester fast. Anyone can die from those. It doesn’t matter if you’ve escaped death a million times before.eave a wound untreated and it will get to you.” He retorted, but his words were gentle. He wasn’t sure why the thought of her dying upset him so much. Sure he mourned and hated the idea of his guild members dying but with her it felt different.
"I would not die." She said, shaking her head. "I would be forced to live and suffer through the infection. Death and Necromancers, funny enough, do not mix well when it is the Necromancer dying." The conviction in her words was enough to plant doubt in anyone's head about Death being almighty. "Besides. You have given me something more to live for." And I wouldn't want to leave you behind.
Nordali gently took her hand and looped their fingers together. He stared at their hands for a long time, almost like he were hesitating to say something. In the end he never said whatever it was.
“Something to live for huh? I’m glad you’ve found something like that here. My goal is to give people like us hope.”
"It really is working." She said softly, holding steady to his hand, seemingly content to never let go. The silence had Amira curious, wanting to know what he looked like he needed to say. "You've given someone without reason more than just that, and I am sure you've done it more times than you can count."
He laughed gently, a ‘thank you’ slipping from his thin lips. The male seemed much more docile than before, his eyes less fiery and more tamed. “I do hope what you’re saying is true. I’ve worked hard for my people… it’s funny how I fled a leadership role only to fall into another.” He chuckled lightly and ran his long thumb across the back of her hand.
“But somehow I like this role much better… it’s open and free and I don’t have to go out and marry because my parents told me so. I get to find me a bride or groom that I love.”
She shivered lightly as his thumb brushed over her hand, only to furrow her brow slightly at his talk of being forced to marry. It hit a bit too close to home. "We all have a place in the world. Most of us, at least. But we have to make them work ourselves. You were, it seems, born to be a leader. Just not the kind you were expected to be." She said, leaning to rest her head on his shoulder, sort of leaning against his chest. She had yet to figure out where her place was. Nowhere seemed to fit, like she was a stray puzzle piece who's puzzle was lost to the world.
“I am a leader of misfits it would seem. I enjoy it.” Its a change from being expected to rule over an entire kingdom…
His eyes lifted to meet her form, the silver catching the light of the lamps around as the daylight faded away into nothing. He found he liked it when she leaned against him. “Why don’t you stay? Find a place here with us?” With me.
Comfortable and safe. Maybe she could find a place here. But what if….what if she couldn't? She had tried before, to fit in places. And it never quite worked. "What if I do not? What if I really just do not have a place anywhere? I do not want to fall in love with a place and people only to…have to continue on."
Nordali pulled her into his chest, moving to sit on the cot next to her. “You have a place with me… I feel like you’re supposed to have stumbled upon me. My guild can be your home, Amira. You wouldn’t be out of place here… we’re making our own families together.”
The move caught her by surprise, but Amira snuggled against him happily, arms tucked to her chest. "Family…I miss that. Do you really think I can build one here? And would you-would you be willing to join it? I do not know much about building them. Or families at all."
He smiled softly and pressed a kiss to her head with a gentle sigh. “I really do think you could. And yes, I’d love to be a part of your family. None of us here know or knew how to build a family but we’re learning together. We’ve created this guild and each of us take care of one another.” He hummed, closing his eyes and breathing her in.
Gunpowder wasn't usually a great smell, but Amira made it work. The scent of exotic spices might have helped some. "So I guess that would make me a part of your family then. You built this guild up, inviting people in." She mused, her yes drifting shut as her voice dropped to more of a murmur. More tired than she'd let on, but she refused to sleep yet.
He chuckled lightly and smiled at her words. “My family… yes. In a way.” Nordali pressed his face into her hair, that beautiful smile of his plastered across his lips. “You’re welcome here, Amira. We - no I want you around.” He admitted sheepishly.
“I like speaking with you, and your energy, and the way you light up those around you.”
Too warm. Too safe. It was lulling her to sleep at this rate. His smile and his soothing voice, and his damned arms. "Those are…not things I have ever been told. That I make people that happy, or that my energy is good. To be fair, I do not think anyone has ever mentioned my energy."
He laughed softly, shaking his head. “They should have told you these things… you’re amazing.” He really couldn’t quite place why she made his heart flutter at that moment. But she did, and it made him giddy.
“That’s highly doubtful.” Amira murmured, playing idly with his hand. “And my mother and father definitely would disagree.” It was disarming, being this comfortable and happy being held. Butterfly wings.
He snorted, tilting his head to stare at her. “You have low self-confidence.” He stated with a small, cheeky grin. “I’m going to change that one way or another. After all, my guild is for the broken and lost.”
She opened one eye to look up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Is there really a reason for me to have high self confidence? I'm about as special and great as the pebble sitting outside the opening to the tent. The one Malakai is playing with now."
“But is there any pebble like it?” He asked fervently. “Is there any limits for that pebble? None. Maybe it’ll be carried away by some creature’s foot, or kicked into a river where it’ll travel for miles. Someday that pebble will turn into the sand and dirt beneath us, giving life to the things around it. Just because you may be small doesn’t mean you’re not worth something in some way.” He rumbled. Nordali always lit up when he spoke about nature. He felt connected to it in a special way through his powers. He could feel forests breath beneath his feet and it empowered him.
Both of her eyes came open as she listened to him talk, brow furrowed slightly in disbelief. He was so sure about what he was saying, and the excitement on his face as he talked about nature, a metaphor but somehow not at the same time, was adorable. Even if she didn't quite believe him. "Then maybe that pebble is more important than I am. I am not to turn into sand. I was born from sand, but I will not become it when I die. I will not be as important as that pebble."
Nordali huffed, pressing their foreheads together suddenly. He was the closest he had ever been to her, and yet he masked his fear and excitement with a seriousness “how could you say that about yourself when your life itself is so significant…? I don’t understand how something so beautiful and bright can feel so…” his eyes slipped closed, a sudden pain on his features. “… so unimportant.”
Amira's cheeks warmed as he pressed their faces close, but she didn't pull away, finding she strangely enjoyed it. "All my life I have been told for someone significant, I was so insignificant." She said softly, letting go of his hand to cup the side of his face. "Beauty and rhythm and regality were admired in my country, and according to my people, I was none of those things. I can't dance, I wasn't beautiful by my country's standards, or really at all in my mind, and I am….far from regal."
“Well, I much prefer this Amira. The clumsy, outgoing, stubborn Amira.” He rumbled, leaning the weight of his head into her hand. “You are very beautiful in my eyes. Like the nature around. Besides, you are no longer a part of your country, correct? You’re with us, and here, beauty isn’t as important, nor is it set to any standard.”