|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 7:09 pm
Her breath caught inside her chest. Forgiveness? Her eyes took his actions in with a soft tenderness Jia did not think to conceal. "Forgiveness is yours, YingXiong, if you feel you require it from me." Her voice was soft and quiet as she spoke. Jia dipped her eyes down, holding her feelings at bay. "I would not be worthy of your pleasant company if I could not give it to you."
She was certain he would be able to see the way she quaked inside. On one fin she knew he had been less than proper taking her fin as he had. On the other... she still very much wished that he would do so again. The notion troubled and thrilled her all at once. "It is enough for me that you have returned."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 8:54 pm
All his worries and fears melted away from him as Jia freely gave her pardon, manifesting as a sigh of happiness as the relief washed over him. Ying thought back to the internal debates he had held within himself. Yes, he had been angry with himself for neglecting propriety, but he did not once regret the action itself, especially now that he knew that the female Beta did not think any less of him for it.
He smiled and could not help the laugh that accompanied his words. "I am more than blessed that you still welcome my humble presence. Please do not insult yourself to condescend to my position." Gazing at her through warm brown eyes, he took in her glowing beauty. Ying's smile softened, thinking that for all her elegance, she could have been an empress of the sea. And I would forever be content to be her lowliest soldier.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:25 pm
Could she tell him that she not only welcomed his presence but had been longing for it since he fled her company the night before? No. Not yet. Not like that. Perhaps someday she could admit to her improper thoughts of this moment, but for the time being they must remain thoughts only.
But Jia could not allow him to belittle himself in such a fashion. Not when his laugh created such a resounding feeling of joy within her. "You are honorable, Ying. I will do as you request, but only if you will please cease to abase yourself in such a way. If you have such a view of me that you speak so kindly of my worth, please trust at least that I should hold you in the same regard." The possible sharpness of her words was softened by the tone they were spoken in. More than a graceful and courtly softness, there was a tenderness to them that hinted at love unspoken.
With a tiny sweet laugh Jia glanced towards the entrance of the coral. "Shall we?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:40 pm
The way she gently rebuked him created a new notion in Ying's mind, that perhaps such cultured propriety was silly and excessive. This sense of decorum... was it really necessary? If not for propriety, surely YingXiong would be able to express his feelings in words he had so far only kept hidden in his heart. Surely, he would be able to tell her that he...
The male lantern shook himself from these thoughts. No. He could not risk making another mistake. As she honored decorum, so would he. It would be unfair to her honor and an insult to her worth to do otherwise.
At this decision, he thought he felt a pang in his center, but he dismissed it. He concentrated instead on the sound of her voice as she laughed. Had he ever heard anything more beautiful, more uplifting?
Smiling, determined not to take even a moment with her for granted, Ying bowed and gestured with his fin at the coral. "Of course. If Xiao Jie would be pleased to enter first."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 8:16 am
She could not see what he was feeling, what thoughts went on behind his kind eyes. Jia bowed lightly with a soft smile before entering into the coral. And if she swam past him as close as she could without touching who was to say for certain why.
The female lantern really was uncertain how she could let her feelings be known within the strictures of propriety. Not by touch, surely. Openly flirting was out too, as not only would that run the risk of making her appear uncultured but it was completely against her nature. This single opportunity of swimming perhaps too closely, she prayed that it was not too teasing. Ying deserved better than that. But how else could she convey the pull of her heart?
Her movements were graceful and light, dancing through the water with a joy that had been absent the previous night. Even could she not confess aloud her inner feelings that she suspected could be love -if not full blown certainly the beginnings- Jia could not conceal the joy of such emotion within her. Not in his presence. Not as she glided into an easy dance through the waves between the purple coral. Should it take weeks of such nights as this for anything to be said Jia YaHuo knew that she could wait and be happy. Just to be with him.
Twisting gracefully she glanced back at Ying and smiled. There was a quiet invitation in her gold flecked brown eyes, entreating the male to join her in dance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 1:56 pm
His brown eyes were fixed on her as she moved into the coral field, widening as she came so close to him he could feel the gentle wave of her passing.
YingXiong's heart beat faster and his bones seemed to ache. Such tantalizing proximity... yet he could rightfully do nothing about it. Instinctively, his tails and fins fanned out as he followed the female Beta into the coral. He longed to reach out to her, if only to brush his fin against a single scale. His glow steadily burned brighter as he struggled with his feelings. No. He could not betray himself... he could not betray her trust this way!
Drinking in Jia's beauty as she danced, Ying felt the warmth in him grow, and he smiled in awe. She moved with such life, such heart... had he ever observed anything more exquisite? This beauty that she shared with him so freely... he who could hardly be called worthy... No other honor could compare with this moment, and all other moments, he spent with her.
Ying smiled back at her as their eyes met. The simple acceptance he saw there was invigorating, and yet it also revitalized the pain. If only she could see what was in his heart... Slowly, cautiously, he moved toward her and tried to coordinate their movements. How much longer would he be able to bear this dishonesty, this separation of feeling and action?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:31 pm
He looked so handsome, tails and fins fanned out as he approached. Her eyes glazed appreciatively, slowly blinking to interrupt her improper stare. Did it matter what he looked like when being with him made her feel so wonderfully alive?
Her glow brightened as Ying joined her, the tempo of her heart speeding beneath her scales as she noticed his caution. Jia did not know of the pain she might be causing the lantern male or her light would have dimmed with the ache it brought her. Her pulse was the beat of the dance, moving her on. If he only knew that the heart showing through her motions was already his...
If only ... but were there not the codes of decorum would she have what was needed to let her feelings show?
Jia YaHuo kept the dance simple, adding only a graceful spin here and there were she was certain such moves would not interfere with Ying dancing with her. She had so little to go off of for how to progress. Her heart was singing & the only way she could think to share it was through the dance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 9:25 pm
At first, his motions were stiff, awkwardly attempting to avoid bumping into the female Beta. However, as he watched her glide and twirl through the coral, he forgot his worries, surprising himself at the gradual fluidity of his movements. Ying was more of a fighter than a dancer, but he found that every motion he made around Jia YaHuo felt right when he relinquished the battle with his emotions and instead allowed them to guide his dance, emphasizing the elegance of the female lantern's dance instead of trying to keep up with it. He already knew there was no way he could compare.
Guang YingXiong kept his eyes on Jia always, not wanting to chance missing even a moment of her beauty. His light glowed ever brighter as the warmth in his heart increased. He relished this exquisite event of dancing with her and watching her dance, her scales glowing golden in the moonlight. Out of the blue a line of a song he'd once heard echoed in his mind, and he smiled, humming the refrain softly. Ni shi xin zhong de ri yue...
You are my inner sun and moon...(( Edit: Found a video with the music on it! =D ))
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:40 pm
She both saw and felt through the motions of the water as Ying relaxed into the dance. In some ways dancing was much like fighting -or at least the sparing aspect of such training which she sometimes was able to watch through the window her tank was in.
From time to time she could feel his eyes upon her and would glance at him with a warm smile and lightly catch his eyes. But only for the briefest of moments. Jia knew she could not look at him long or she would become lost, ceasing her dancing to drift into his fins where she found more & more she wanted to be.
A soft hum that was not part of her inner song but that seemed to fit well with it caught her attention. It was faint... so faint she barely heard it, but being the only sound save the move of their bodies in the water & her own pounding heart it seemed louder. The female lantern slowed the dance to smile questioningly at her dance partner, realizing he was the source of the enticing tune. "That tune is lovely, YingXiong."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 5:48 pm
Ying only realized he had been humming when Jia turned in her dance to smile and comment on it. He stopped suddenly, blushing under his reddish scales. "Ah- ...oh. No, no... my singing is not good at all." Under his Chinese brand of modesty, Guang YingXiong was embarrassed that he'd been heard humming a song of this romantic quality, especially since he could not be sure she felt for him what he felt for her. He found, however, that he could not regret it. The song in his heart described what the elegant female Beta was coming to mean to him, and he had no intention of ceasing it.
How he wanted to sing to her, careless of who else might be listening, disregarding the restrictions of propriety. How he wanted to move closer to her and sing the song softly in her ear, letting the lyrics convey everything he felt within.
But he could not. Hasty actions could cost him everything he hoped for, and if he could not have her and be likewise hers, he must content himself with simply being her companion. Fighting hard against his impulse to take Jia in his fins and share with her all the joy of the song, Ying lowered his head, bringing his fins before him, and apologized. "I must apologize for my thoughtlessness in interrupting your dance... no song I could sing would compare with the loveliness of Jia XiaoJie."
Surely it was not wrong of him to say such... a lady such as her deserved honest praise. Whether or not she took his words one way or another, Ying resolved not to regret them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:48 pm
Her smile was soft, tender. It became softer still as Ying spoke. "If you say so. Still it was a lovely melody."
There was a sinking of her heart from her eyes as he apologized. Sad and pained and aching fluttered in their golden-brown depths. There was a flash of joy and thrill to her heart at the wonderful compliment but... her heart could not sit idly by and let him speak in such a way of himself. Not when she was so sure of her feelings.
"Certainly I am not so lovely..." Jia demurely contended, her eyes shifting downward as she blushed heavily, her light flashing brilliant, than fading back. "There is no need for apology, Ying. I can always dance again but who knows when I will hear that song again." She was smiling despite the ache in her heart, still feeling a warm blush for his compliment of her. "Please do not belittle anything that is part of you, YingXiong. As for your song..."
How to tell him how she longed to hear more of it? How could she convince him that he had not interrupted, that she was in ways glad for this moment of closeness -her heart beating faster in closeness to him than from the dance? Was it as simple as asking? Would that be proper?
"Perhaps someday you will sing it for me so that I may form an opinion." There was a hint of wistfulness to her words rooted in an honest hope. However Ying sang, Jia wanted to hear it. She knew it would be beautiful, because it was his -it came from him. Could she tell him that? Dare she? "I cannot imagine how I could do anything but like it, should it come from you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:26 pm
"How can one deny the truth?" he replied, smiling back at her, softly, tenderly, with a hint of melancholy in his eyes he did not know had slipped through. There was another truth that lay within him unspoken, a pinprick in his heart growing larger by the minute.
Jia's blush flashed not only in her face, but seemed to cross her whole body in the sudden intensity of its glow. His smile broadening, Guang YingXiong's fin began to raise, the instinct to gently stroke her cheek pulling it toward the female Beta. It was halfway forward before he caught himself, and the male lantern's face darkened a moment as he cursed himself inwardly. Was there not even a single moment he could let his guard down?
Her suggestion made it no easier for him to control his feelings, and he wanted to cry out from the pain of holding it all in. Someday... oh, how he hoped someday he could sing it to her... but now... now was too soon. Wasn't it? "I... Perhaps I shall. A lady such as Jia XiaoJie can surely be no less than a good judge of music." Brightening at this thought, he smiled again and voiced another. "Would I be wrong to presume that XiaoJie sings?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 12:31 am
"One can't..." She whispered, loving the tenderness in his eyes; catching the sadness and wondering how she could make it go away while keeping the rest.
Jia found herself slightly drifting to his slowly rising fin. Not enough to be noticeable, even by her. And she missed seeing his fin, her eyes downcast at the time. But that did not halt the secret wish she had inside her that Ying would touch her again... or at least ask to touch her. But she could not voice or show that desire. It was unladylike and certainly improper. What would he think of her if he knew?
She lifted her eyes, golden flecks bright with eager hope. "I would like that, Ying." Then she blushed, her glow shifting to hues of red the tiniest bit. From his smile as much as his question. "No. It would not be wrong. I... can sing. Passably."
Which in her family meant fairly good, though no where near as accomplished as Madrigal or even their human -both who put their lives into their vocal training. Her nightmare-angelic tanksister the more so, since she did not have an ever growing family of multiple species to care for & keep track of.
But now she was blushing again. Why had he asked?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 3:26 pm
Grinning at her criticism of herself, suspecting it was of the same brand of modesty as his own, Ying proffered his fin, inviting her to sing if she so pleased. "Surely it is beyond bold of me to even think so far, as you have already deigned to bestow the honor of this dance upon me; but even so, would you consider further granting your humble companion the supreme pleasure of hearing your voice in sweet melody?"
It could not be anything but sweet, Guang YingXiong knew, without thinking to himself how he knew it. If it came from such a lady who was beautiful both inside and out, the sound of her song could only match.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:04 pm
Jia lowered her eyes, then brought them back up slowly softly seeking Ying's. Raising her fin she brought it within touch range of the male's proffered fin, heart pounding. "I can not deny my honorable companion his kindly worded request."
Her heart was beating, uncertain how to proceed. She would have liked to hear him sing as well, but she could not properly ask him again. Yet she could not deny his request, for she both wanted to please him and to see him happy.
"But..." She said softly, a dimmed look in her eyes. "What shall I sing?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
