“Mhm. I always remember the music.” Amira said, tapping her temple and shooting him a smile. “It annoyed my mother to no end, that the only thing I could remember was music, useless facts, and how to blow things up. This is Duke Wantin’s home, by the way.”
Nordali chuckled lightly, his fingers tracing the lines of the map. “You’re incredible.” He praised, walking to her. “Absolutely miraculous.” He dipped down to steal away a small kiss, humming in delight. “The most stunning woman I’ve met.”
“I think that might be a bit of an exaggeration.” Amira said, shaking her head with a laugh. Still, she was practically beaming at the praise. It was something she never received back at the palace, and here he was, giving it away so freely. “But I am glad my maps will come in handy.”
“Oh not at all, my lady! You are quite brilliant!” He hummed excitedly, letting his diction switch to its old ways for a moment. “They’ll come in handy for sure.” Nordali kissed her cheek for good measure and smiled away, letting his eyes flicker to his own maps. “One of these days you should really teach me how you do this.”
“I will gladly teach you, since you seem to find it so fascinating.” She promised, hands coming up to rest on his chest. “But we really should decide on a destination for this. A target. Before we do…” She smiled almost sheepishly, one hand moving up to tap his lips in question. “And then we can be productive again.”
“I’ve never seen someone do anything similar.” He admitted. “None of my guild have been so skilled in this area of map making.” A softer smile than before made its way onto Nor’s face only growing as she tapped his lip. “A target is in need.” He replied slowly, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her in close. He studied her face for a moment, a little sheepish as his brain turned over her words. “If you want something, then say so, love.”
“I like mapping out places I’ve been, places I want to go, and even places I’ll never be. A map is like a song, in a lot of ways.” She said softly, a small noise slipping from her lips as he pulled her closer. She huffed at him, bottom lip sticking out slightly in an adorable pout. “You know exactly what it is I am trying to say. But fine. I am requesting a kiss, hallaski.”
"That sounds beautifully poetic, Amira." His soft breath seemed to slow as he brought their faces closer, humming in amusement. Nordali traced the shape of her lips with a gentle finger, that amused smile turning into a proud smirk. "A kiss? Hmm… I'd have to think about it." He teased, letting his eyes meet hers.
"Why do you have to think about it?" Amira asked, almost whining in disappointment. Her cheeks were red, a product of the sight of his smirk and the gentle way he was tracing her lips. For all her big talk and teasing earlier, handling teasing aimed her way was not one of her strong suits.
His smirk widened. “Because if I don’t, my lady, you won’t act as cute.” He was close enough their noses brushed, and yet he made no move at the moment to kiss her, much preferring the cute pout on her face.
“Mm fine. I’ll give you a kiss.” He responded, finally giving in to his own want for a quick kiss. Nordali brought her closer, closing the gap between their lips.
She opened her mouth to complain again, still pouting, when he kissed her. Her pout lingered for a bit, but melted away eventually, replaced by a happy tilt to her lips paired with a hum carrying the same emotion. "I can still be cute without the teasing, hallaski." Amira huffed against his lips, tightening her hold on his shirt.
He chuckled lightly, pulling back only moments later with a stupid grin on his face. “You’re cute when you pout, my lady. But you are correct, you’re always adorable.” He ruffled her hair and winked, suddenly releasing her and moving to his desk. “Now, shall we continue?”
"Right, right. The maps." She nodded, pushing her hair back from her face as she made her way over to stand next to him. "You can do one of tow things. You could choose a map at random, or we could discuss particulars. Things needed and whatnot, so I can find somewhere best for them."
“Particulars would be best. We need a place close by, and somewhere we can attain a large amount of food.” He replied with a soft sigh, bringing his fingers to his own lips with a small smile.
“So that cancels out these ones.” She said, moving aside over half the maps without looking at them. “Leaving us with these. I think I have a map of a cannery in here, and this guy stores up food in case of an apocalypse or something, so he has plenty of non perishables.”
“Non-perishables are good to have.” He replied with a curt nod. This was a much different side of him, serious and authoritative. “How many would you out on a raid team?”
"How many? As in people?" Amira asked, looking up at him for a moment. She was already setting to work sketching the maps, this time only humming bits if she got stuck. "I have never had a team for something like this, at least not a regular team. I joined a group of thieves a few months ago, and helped them break into a stronghold in Turia. Mostly because Turians….do not exactly like my people. It was a bit of a revenge deal, in multiple ways. I guess, maybe five? Keeps it small, more controlled than a large group of people, but enough people in case things with one or two go wrong."
"Yes, people." He replied, smiling at her. "I'm offering a team, the raids usually go better with more than one person." Nordali listened to her speak, his eyes softening. A gentle hand found her head and pushed it towards his own, soft lips pressing against her forehead. He hummed and released her. "Five sounds perfect, my lady."
Instead of fully stepping away, she leaned into his side with a smile, continuing her mapwork and leaning against him. "Then five it is. You know…I think I may have a friend in this area who could be of some help. He was actually on the stronghold break in, you know." She said stronghold as though it wasn't the main hub of operations for the Turian government. "One person raids are what I am used to, but yes, it might work out a bit better with more."
"Feel free to invite him. I wouldn't mind." He let out a soft rumble for her, wrapping an arm around her waist and nuzzling into her neck playfully. "I want to keep everyone who goes safe, especially you, Amira. You don't even have to attend if you feel like just relaxing."
She bit her lip, stiffling the giggle trying to slip past as she attempted to keep working. "No, no, it is going to be fun. And I wish to help, Zar. I am glad you are alright with him coming along, though, because he is one of the few people I trust to have my back during something like this."
Nordali pressed butterfly kisses to the skin where his lips met, trying to bring out the giggle he loved so much. "Anything for my lady to feel comfortable and safe. I'll give him whatever he wants from the raid. Anything that's not too far out there, at least. For one, he can't have you."
"Chrys is-is absolutely fine with his cat and his c-cottage. But he might have some-things he'd be interested in." Amira said, words stuttering as she tried to keep focused and composed. "And he def-definitely doesn't want me, of all things." She couldn't help it, then, setting the pencil down and pressing a hand to her mouth to muffle her giggles. "I am trying to be serious!"
He chuckled lightly, pulling her in for a hug and kissing across her face when she finally broke a little. "Good, because I would love to have you by my side." He hummed, smiling stupidly at her and giggling. "Oh? You are? You can't be serious for long around me, Amira."
She scrunched her face up, other hand resting on his cheek as she laughed. "Well I could at least try, hallaski! It was working, for just a little while, you know." She complained, obviously not at all upset by the turn of events. It was nice, feeling so innocently cared for like this, the warmth from the interaction lighting her up.