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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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 Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 8:35 pm
(1/10)
If Elsheba was honest with herself, whatever dabbling she might have done with Ujiri was doomed to failure... before. He was a brat of a man, galling and mouthy, but she was a pit of self pity and internalized neglect, unwilling to allow herself even an ounce of joy out of some misguided attempt at self-flagellation.
... Going to Belrea and meeting with Nimueh hadn't fixed it overnight, but the long trip around the world had put a lot of things into perspective. The world was so big, compared to the tiny scope of her previous life... bright, colorful, intriguing. But by the end of it, she was eager to return home, homesick but also filled with a sense of anticipation. Hope, even.
Her first order of business was finally knocking down the decrepit, overgrown shack of a home she'd been living in before.
The second, was rekindling ... whatever she had with Ujiri.
Before, it had just been flirting, but now they were properly an item, and it was... overwhelming, but in a good way.
"You know, I've meant to ask." She said, conversationally, as the two sat beneath a tree. She a number of fletching materials she'd brought along with her, idly affixing feather pieces to the ends of wooden shafts with fine twine. "Your mother travels quite a bit. Do you never want to go out, and see the world?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 8:54 pm
While Elsheba sat with her fletching he was widdling. One of his sharp daggers being used to shave a small log of its bark so that he could begin working on making a small statue. He thought he might make it of his mother so that he could present it as a gift for her bloom day. He was actually content enough to sit under the tree with the Alkidike as she did what she did.
The question she posed had him pausing - his blade an inch away from the wood he held and his gaze moving from it to the ground out in front of him. The subject of his mother's travels had been a sore spot not all that long ago but he had grown out of his tantrum phase. He understood it better now. Though he had to admit he had no desire to travel around like she did. Ujiri understood it that she had a wanderlust that had been left unfulfilled and she was now doing something about it. His dark eyes went back to the wood as he lower his blade and scraped yet another bit off it.
"I don't feel a pull for it." If Elsheba worried he might one day up and leave then she could put such a thing to rest. "However, if a certain beautiful woman asked me oh so nicely to follow her.. I don't see a reason to say no." He smirked as he glanced to the side at her. "The view is nice."
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 9:12 pm
(2/10) Moments like these were unexpected, when he first began to court her. Honestly, Ujiri had come off like a playboy, with pretty words and handsome looks, and she hadn't given him nearly enough credit. The attention was flattering, and she enjoyed his fawning, but had fully expected him to lose interest and have forgotten her by the time she came home.
Instead, she returned to a bright eyed, boyish face who was more than eager to pick things up where they'd left off, and part of that had meant talking about their families, their lives.
She didn't know him well enough yet to sense his conflicted feelings, but apparently he knew her enough to sense hers. Her brows smoothed from where they'd furrowed, without her noticing, her lips pursing briefly before relaxing into a sheepish grin when he looked at her.
"Oh, well. As long as you get my good side." She said, lifting her chin a bit as if she were posing. Then she laughed and shrugged a shoulder. "It's not unappealing, travel." Elsheba conceded, lightly running her fingertip over a feather. "But only a short trip. Perhaps every few years. I've escorted enough people to the Oban border for a lifetime, by now."
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Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 9:22 pm
"You have a bad side?" He asked as his left brow lifted quizzically at her. From where he sat ever angle was nice. Elsheba was very attractive, even when she was mad. Heck, he might even like her if he was on the receiving end of her weapon. "No, travel has its good points." He would agree to that. "I don't mind going to Tale every so often to see my brother." It was a trip that was easy enough to make and then return home. "I just prefer having a place that is mine. Somewhere to call home. A place to return to when the day is done so I can relax." If that meant that other parts of the world would go unseen by him then he was okay with that. "Its even better when you have someone to return to every night." Ujiri gave Elsheba a smile. "I certainly wouldn't mind spending my nights in your bed." The hybrid flirted every chance he got. He felt that she deserved to know how beautiful she seemed to him or how interested he was in her. That way there would not be a moment when she had to question anything.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 9:31 pm
(3/10) To that, she gently swatted his hand with the end of her arrow, laughing. She was coming to appreciate that while he was playful, Ujiri knew when to be earnest and serious in his words. She nodded along with his sentiment, relaxing more as he spoke. She felt the same way; adventurous enough to want to see new things, but not the wandering spirit that her son Nimueh, or Ujiri's mother Ujana, were.
She couldn't imagine it. What if she'd been off exploring when her niece came to see her?
Elsheba was broken from her thoughts once more by Ujiri lifting the mood, although - while she would have laughed it off before, now she looked at him, cheeks reddening. "That's true." She said, slowly, overcome with the silliest, most childish urge to run her fingers through her dreads, just to have something to do with them.
"Though - only as long as you aren't crawling out the window again the next morning."
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Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 9:39 pm
The swatting of his hand had him moving after the fact, acting as if she'd caused him to mess up in the widdling of the small log. "Hey now, you'll ruin the masterpiece." Ujiri teased. When he noticed the reddening of her cheeks he lowered the log and blade to his lap so that he could turn his upper body to face her fully. "Oh, now that's a charming look. Apparently I'll have to mention your bed more often." The hybrid winked at her. Of course when she mentioned him crawling out the window afterward he gave a halfhearted snort and rolled his eyes. "No thank you. I'd rather stay for a possible round two.. Or make you breakfast." He wouldn't claim to be the best cook but he could make delicious food. Breakfast was the one meal he put effort into. Since he hated waking up early he needed something to make his day start off on the right foot. So a good breakfast was what he used to lift his own spirits. If he could share it with her then so much the better.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 9:57 pm
(4/10) Ah! No! Ujiri twisted to look at her, handsome face teasing, and Elsheba reached out to try and shove his face back, scowling with embarrassment. Although - her attempts paused when he finished his statement, so matter of factly that it was as if he didn't even realize what he was saying could be interpreted as actual romantic interest and not- er. Whatever they'd been doing the past few months.
Oh, he waxed 'poetic' quite a bit to her, always with pretty words of how beautiful she was, and how he was smitten. Yes, of course there were Aishans who were more lascivious than others, but Elsheba would always view male hybrids and earthlings as somehow more insidious about it, more fickle.
More and more, she realized she had been less than fair to Ujiri, because even now she kept holding him at arms length, half expecting him to be that way, and consistently and without fail he proved her wrong, so easily it was as if he was ignorant of her ever doubting in the first place.
At first, she thought that was its own sort of trap, but - no. He really was that honest.
"If you moved in, you could even stay after breakfast, you know." Elsheba suggested. And; in a first for their relationship (which, up until now, had been her huffing, puffing, and sighing while playing hard to get with him), she leaned in, almost nose to nose with the younger aishan. "Have a proper home to come back to, after visiting your siblings."
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Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 10:12 pm
He watched her attempt at trying to shove him back but grinned when she stopped herself. Obviously something he'd said caught her attention. And then she dropped those little words about him moving in and Ujiri felt surprise at that. Up until that point Elsheba had dug her heels in on everything, though she seemed to tolerate him well enough. He couldn't help the crooked smile that tugged at his lips. "I knew you'd like the breakfast bit." And then she leaned in. Ujiri watched her with more than a little curiosity. He didn't think she'd be bold enough to make a move on him. Both brows rose up the closer she got and when she seemed to stop just a few short inches from him he let his eyes drop to view her lips before coming back up to meet her gaze. "I like the sound of that." He didn't give Elsheba time to back away from him though. She'd presented the opportunity and he took it. Closing the gap between them he brushed his lips against hers, the log in his hand being abandoned so that he could reach up and place his hand at the back of her neck to keep her from jerking away. The second his hand was in place he made sure to distract the alkidike with a proper kiss. Nothing sloppy or too demanding - just something to show his continued interest. When he pulled away, leaving those original few inches she'd kept, he glanced down again - looking the woman over in a not so subtle way. "Although, I think I would like coming home to the proper woman instead."
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 10:29 pm
(5/10) (Okay, but who wouldn't love the breakfast bit?!)
Perhaps, Elsheba was a tad bit hasty with inviting him to move in. But - honestly, it wasn't strictly a 'you should move in now' request, and more a... confession that she wouldn't be opposed to it. Someday. Soon, or later. Either way, he seemed pleased with the suggestion.
She might even have been surprised by what he did next, except he had those earthling eyes that made it extremely obvious where he was looking. Even if he didn't think there was time for her to pull back, there was - that brief bit of time when he was looking at her mouth, and she was looking at him, watching.
But she didn't. Elsheba remained where she was, and Ujiri didn't disappoint. It was far from her first kiss, but it had been... a long time regardless. Instead he jolting back, she scooted a little closer, leaning so she could prop her hand against the grass by his hip, leaning into his space with a possessive greediness he probably wouldn't expect from her.
It seemed this younger man forgot that he wasn't wooing the younger girls his age, but someone who had been with enough partners to know what she wanted, once she set her mind to it. When the kiss ended, she was pleased with it, eyes crinkling a little as he looked her over. And he wondered why she doubted his intentions, when looked at her like that! She reached out to grip his chin, forcing his face back up to her own. "Of course, when I come home I want a proper man too. My standards are pretty high, just so you know."
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Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 10:41 pm
The fact that she had leaned into his space was a bit surprising. Enough so that he had both brows raised - one more so than the other. When she gripped his chin to direct where he was looking he brought his gaze back to her face and listened to what it was she said. He could have taken it as an insult if he twisted it around but all he could think about was the fact that she was being assertive with him. No elusive as she had been before. "Oh?" He questioned. "If I'm not mistaken, Beautiful, you've already come home to me once." She'd returned from her travels and he'd been waiting for her. She hadn't told him to get lost either. Ujiri gently moved his head, not really fighting her grip, so that he could tilt it to the side and allow himself to look her over again. When his eyes got back up to her own he had a lazy grin on. "If I'm home before you I have no issues having what you want ready." Be it dinner, a bath, or a warm bed, but he didn't tell her that as he'd rather she use her own imagination.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2023 1:07 pm
(6/10) What a brat! But that was what Elsheba had come to like about him. If Ujiri wasn't half as persistent and stalwart in his pursuit of her, it never would have happened in the first place. She hardly expected him to just give in because she'd exerted a little force on him.
So, him giving in, but also looking her over again almost defiantly made her laugh, softly. She lightly touched his lip with her thumb before she let him go, and instead set her hand on his shoulder, scooting a little closer so they could properly sit together, hip to hip. Elsheba was still twisted to face him, but eased back a little to give him some space. Once settled, that hand then slipped between his arm and body so she could hug it, then hold his hand. "You're a stubborn little man, do you know that? A sane person would have thrown you off a cliff by now."
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2023 1:44 pm
"A sane person would have backed away from you the moment you bared your teeth." Ujiri commented. Then again he was used to the females in his life having more than a little bite. His own twin sister was a force on her own. He watched her as she positioned herself to be closer to him. Once she was settled he smiled. "Besides.. it looks like you enjoy being close to me so I don't think throwing me off a cliff is an option." Ujiri chuckled. He watched her for a moment longer before he brought their hands into his lap. "You know, if you want me to move in with you then you should try some flattery. I don't cook breakfast for just anyone. I certainly won't give anyone dinner unless they deserve it." He used a playful tone but by the way he was sitting and the relaxed form of his body he was content where he was.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2023 5:59 pm
(7/10) Elsheba snorted back a laugh at that, but couldn't find it in herself to disagree, or even argue when he called her out on getting too comfortable. "Ahh, I see. You've about earned a token of affection, haven't you sweet boy?" She purred sweetly, squeezing their hands together where Ujiri had settled them in his lap. "You've been so patient, after all. Well, here it is - I want this handsome man all to myself, and the safest place is secure and safe in my home. The new one, of course, once it's done."
Because the old hovel would have been, frankly, embarrassing to bring a lover home to. "I'll bring you home the best things to cook breakfast with, and we'll always have a spot open for any of your family that drops in, out of the blue. Unless that horrifies you, in which case we'll build a cabin, far away, and let them stay there instead."
She grinned playfully, knowing full well he was fond of his family and such measures wouldn't be needed, but joking about locking the in-laws away was still funny, right?
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2023 12:29 am
He was surprised by the fact that she agreed to the fact that flattery would be nice. Ujiri expected some snarky response, so when she complimented him he had to admit it felt nice. The squeeze of their hands together only brough his focus to them and so he lifted them up once again and brought her hand to his lips for a kiss. "Don't worry, you have me all to yourself. I'm not interested in anyone else and I doubt anyone is foolish enough to try and take me from you." Ujiri also doubted anyone had an interest in him anyways. The joke about a cabin for his family caused him to snort. "Good luck. I'm pretty sure my mothers would make me sleep in the cabin instead." He had a feeling his mothers would grill him about Elsheba. While he wasn't ashamed of her or planning to hide his interest or relationship with her he was not looking forward to the million questions his mothers would ask. "Just remember, your family is also welcome to drop in." He gave her a wicked little grin at that. If she was going to tease him about his family then he could return the favor. "Maybe I can send them an invite. Are you willing to share your breakfast or would you prefer I offer them dinner?"
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2023 4:06 pm
(8/10) Well, that was delightful. Elsheba smiled, heart warm at the gesture of him kissing her hand. His lips were soft, and she was instantly reminded of their kiss from just moments before. "A smart man." She said back, then laughed heartily. She hadn't met his mothers yet - even though she knew OF his Alkidike mother, through reputation; but from what he'd said of them, she could see that!
"Oh, you wouldn't!" She would have been emotional at such a joke before, but after her reunion with Nimueh she felt warmer towards her family in general. "I think my mother will die on the spot when she finds out about you. So dinner - at least then I'll be entertained, hm?""
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