disclaimer: long! Kylie paused at the center of the main room at the DragonMyst, not having traveled entirely toward the bar, and thinking all well and good if there was a greenish sort of fellow there just now grasping the wooden edge. She turned at the sound of someone on the stairwell and her features lit up at the sight of Jackson descending. Fine-looking, fair-haired Jackson. She moved forward, her hands outstretched. "Jack...do you need help with all that?" Jackson lifted his gaze toward Kylie, his smile brightened immediately. Tossing over one of the bags of paint, he quipped, "Well, it's about time you showed up to help, what am I paying you for?" Offering her a playful wink, he made his way toward the mural. Kylie smirked, catching the bag in one hand and cradling it to her stomach as if it were the most precious cargo, "Hmm...indeed...you know, I had to hire on a boy at the stables because of the workload..." she strides behind him, her eyes moving over his back admirably. The joking tease wouldn't quite leave her tongue however. "Ah anyway...I'm just glad to see you...even if it is when you're laden down with work..." she set the bag on the far back table which was draped with a dropcloth. "Not much work tonight, just going to finish the face. That has to dry before I can do the overlay of glimmer." He spoke in his own terms for his art, really unsure if she knew what he meant or not. With another grin, he set down the bag and kneeled beside it to rummage through its contents. Lifting his eyes, he gave her a once over. "Beautiful as always, Miss Ravenlock." Kylie crouched down next to him while her eyes lifted to the mural, "Aye...everything you touch is beautiful..." she wasn't being coy, she's merely so in awe of his talent. The ever-present long locks of late fell across her line of vision and she swept them behind her ear. "What can I do to help you...?" To Kylie, there never seemed enough that she could do for Jack. She touched his arm lightly and her throat went dry. "Hmm...? Something to drink?" "Yeah...everything I touch, huh?" He smiled at her again, shyly, and dipped his head faintly as he lifted one of his slender fingers to press the lock of hair behind her ear, just after she did. He nodded his head and takes back his hand, reaching down to take his brush. "Tea would be wonderful, Kylie." Kylie pressed her lips together, resisting the urge to press them to Jack's cheek. "Tea...it shall be," she could have known that. He was so comfortingly normal, it grounded her. She stood and left him to his work with a touch to his shoulder. Smiling, she didn't bother Khelti and made her way behind the bar of the quiet inn. How in the world did it stay in business, she thought, without a full bar every night? She didn't mind the quiet, she just didn't want her and Jack to lose their haven. Jackson set to work on the face of the dragon, mingling a bit of purple with the green, creating more of an emerald in the eyes. Those eyes might look familiar to some, but quite familiar to Jack, oh yes. The dragon itself was a purplish silver in color, surrounded by the mists of the isle. It was only half finished, but already it stood out and could be comprehended by the eye of the beholders. Kylie poured the hot water into the mug and watched the sachet of tea leaves bleed their colour into the clear liquid. Propped up against the bar's edge with one hip resting against the smooth wood panel, the other leg was bent at the knee, supported by her boot heel against the last rung of a barstool. Kylie quickly pursued the handwritten notes regarding several issues at the stable. Some brought the corners of her lips upward into a smile; others lifted her brows as she read. ~...Young Bresnen would dearly love another lesson with you Lady Ravenlock...he speaks of the experience overly much...~ Kylie was certain this student in his approaching 10th winter was hardly as interested in learning to ride a horse as he was in showing off for her or his friends. His antics during the lesson had nearly driven Kylie to lose her temper as she struggled to remind herself it was merely his growing hormones that caused him to act so foolishly. Still she'd had to go to great lengths to explain to Bresnen that attempting to stand on top of the horse while it was trotting around the ring was something best left for gypsy performers. Beneath such island notes, was a letter from her father and mother. She ran her fingers along the edge of the parchment and caressed the wax seal, the thick R standing out prominently. The letter had likely arrived via the only gryphon delivery to the Isle during this Drachian plague crisis. She would save it and read it later, sticking it into her bootleg. Kylie grabbed Jack's mug of tea and all the other bits of mail, including what seemed to be a dirty flyer, and headed back across the room to one of the most interesting souls she'd ever met. Jackson put the last finishing gleam in the eye of the dragon, and leaned back to inspect it. He grimaced slightly, displeased with it, though it looked rather stunning. Always the perfectionist, he leaned forward to place a few more tiny strokes onto the coloring. Giving a glance up as Kylie approached again, he finished up, and then set the brush into the small cup of spirits. Reaching out toward the mug of tea, his hand brushed against hers as she offered the drink, "Thanks, lovely." Kylie nodded, smiling to herself as it seemed that if it wasn't a brush or palette, it was a mug of tea in his hands. Looking past his shoulders, she spied the vibrant shine of the creature's eye and her brows rose appreciatively, "Oh that tiny bit makes all the difference...how alive it appears..." She looked back to Jack's face, "Don't you think so?" "I think it needs to be redone." He frowned slightly, pursing his lips as he turned his eyes back to the wall. "It's not right. I don't want it to look evil, I want it to look enticing. Friendly, like a welcome of sorts. Right now, it looks as if it's going to eat me alive." He chuckles and shakes his head, taking a sip from the mug. Sitting back, he turns his striking blue gaze back to her and smiles. "But that can be fixed later. Right now, I'm breaking." Kylie looked surprised and almost asked, 'You are?' incredulously. He was usually so intent upon his work. Kylie wasn't too sure a dragon was ever meant to look friendly and welcoming, but Jack looked enticing standing there. She waved her hand with the mail in it toward the sofa. "Well I know a place not too far where we could sit together for a spell..." she winked. Jackson followed her gesture with his eyes and smiled. Standing, he nodded, and took her hand to lead her toward the couch, tea in his free hand. "That sounds wonderful. I'll take that offer." Kylie gripped her hand in his and a soft sigh of content slipped from her lips as she settled to the soft comfort, letting the cascade of mail fan out from her hand to the table before them. The dirty flyer peeked out from beneath all the others. The Tabloid. But Kylie hadn't seen it, her eyes trained on Jack as she watched him sink next to her. He didn't look as if he'd slept much lately. She tapped her fingers against his shoulder once he'd settled. "So...how've you been..." she jests softly as if she hadn't seen him. "Ahh...I've been alright. Working a lot. I've had a lot of clients lately." He sipped from his mug, and turned his eyes back to her, peering through the veil of bangs. "And what about you, Miss? How've you been? Any dashing young spunks trying to take you off my arm, hmm?" He jests right back, since they both knew that neither of them was officially attached to the other. Although... Kylie 's smile widened. How sweet Jack was...she wondered how he'd come to be in her life. And what it meant to her to have him there. It meant comfort and companionship as she'd never known. She glanced to her fingers tracing the sleeve of his shirt as she spoke, "Well, there's a ten-year old boy who tries to impress me by not paying attention in class and attempting to do tricks...but other than that, no one holds my attention but you." That didn't quite answer the question did it? She shrugged, still smiling but she lost that laughing tone. "If that troubles you, I can try to ....do something about it..." "Do something about it? Kylie Ravenlock, the 'only' thing I'd change about that is having me hold your attention more." He sticks out his tongue, playfully, though his tone is serious. He chuckles softly into the cup as he sips from it again, casting his blue gaze to the fire. Kylie chewed her lower lip and watched the fire as he did. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, it felt soothing. Just Jack, the fire, the scent of mineral spirits and paint. How...unnatural? Kylie frowned away that thought, most likely leftover from that True Essence conversation with Du`tan. No, that's not what she'd been thinking. Shifting to face the fire instead of Jack, she leaned her head on his shoulder, and she asked softly. "And...how about you Jack? You seem so..." Ah hell, she didn't want to complain. She just felt concerned. And she was curious. "...distracted lately." "I have been..." He admitted. Nothing to hide at all. "The paintings I've been doing. I'm not happy with them. They're not turning out the way I've wanted them to. And I cannot shake the feeling that the woman in my dreams wants something more than my paintings." Kylie grows protective, defensive of those she cares for. She always had and she always would. She moved away from his shoulder, sat up, crossed her legs a moment, then uncrossed them, flustered. "Well I should say so...judging from her perch outside your blasted window," Kylie raked her hand through her hair and glared at the table. "I ...can't help it Jack. She unnerves me." "I think she was in my room once.." He pondered quietly to himself. "I don't know, I just felt it...while I was sleeping." Turning his gaze back to her, he reached out and took her hand to hold it gently. "What's got you so uptight?" Kylie's hand throbbed with life force energy. She moved her other palm up and down her thigh. She didn't meet his gaze, "I don't know...it's my instincts...they're never wrong...I didn't trust them once and I lost a lot in my life Jack." She swallows and chances a look to him, shrugging as if to tell herself it was ok, it was casual. But it wasn't and she knew better. But could she make him understand? "I just don't...want to lose you too..." "Why in the world would you lose me?" He asked quietly, lifting his hand from hers to take her chin and turn her head toward him so that he could look into her eyes. "I wish I knew," she blinked slowly, opening her eyes with a well of tears, "There's something ...I don't know what it is, but it's undeniable, it's here," she moves his hand to her chest, pressing it against her ribcage. "It's a part of me..." maybe it was all the loss she'd survived spilling over into the present or maybe it was the future seeping into the moment to warn her. "What? What is it?" He questioned gently, lifting a blonde brow in inquiry. Squeezing her hand, he smiled to reassure her. "Kylie, I'm not going anywhere. I don't think I could if I wanted to, anymore." Emerald eyes sparkled with a newfound sense of surprise and hope at his words, searching his blue eyes for an endless path of possibilities. The feeling remained in her side, and she didn't try to force it away. Instead, she leaned in and very softly placed her warm lips against his. Jack smiled at her gentle touch and placed his own kiss to her temple before bringing her closer to lean against him on the sofa. Kylie sat snuggled under the crook of his arm, her head resting against his chest. And it was then that she saw the words "The Drache Tabloid" on the table staring up at her. "Oh look, our least favourite newspaper...wonder what it says about you these days Jack..." She nudged his ribs playfully and reached for it. Moments later, the humour was lost as Kylie read aloud in a halting voice of shock and disbelief, what had happened to Shyne. She felt her muscles tighten, her fingers curling around the paper in a deathgrip. Forgetting for a moment that what she read was by mere title, a questionable newsworthy tabloid, Kylie lowered the rag and pushed it toward Jackson to read. <<As reported in the tabloid: "Shyne Blake Kurakolis rider in the Royal Guard Aerial Squad has been the victim of an arson attack. The tempestuous temptress, recently revealed as the secret daughter of Dark Mage Morgaine Kurakolis, has obviously made some enemies with her violent temper. We are, however, concerned about the burning out of any royal guard as we wonder if this the start of a trend of violence against our noble guard brought about by the new movement for the abolition of the current government and those who oppose the closing of part of our fair city as a quarantine zone. We do hope this is just an isolated incident and not a trend." >> Sitting on the edge of the sofa now, elbows propped on her knees, her face in her hands, Kylie's voice wavered. "Arson...? Secret daughter...? Royal Air Squad...? " Kylie spoke softly and ran her fingers across her closed eyes. And where was Shyne now? Was she alright? Sure she was. She was a survivor. Kylie sat still, very still, for a while before she finally spoke. "Jack...I need to get to Drache somehow...see Shyne, and check to see if the cottage still stands..." she smoothed back her long hair and turned to look at him, pressing her knee up against his and trying to sound matter-of-fact and unemotional. A hopeless case for one as extreme as Kylie. With a flicker of her eyes to his, she lowered her voice, "I know there's a risk..." She wished she could ask him to come with her, but she believed he was too talented a painter. She couldn't think of losing him, even as the chill of exactly that curled up against her ribs. Goddess knows the plague had likely killed off the artist population dramatically. She would rather be without him and know he was alive, than have him with her and know that he might die because of it. http://www.bittersweet.f2s.com/kylie/ ~~~~~~ "she looked so fine, i said baby what's on your mind? she said 'i want to run like the lion released from the cages, released from the rages burning in my soul tonight...'" _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. -- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe dragontales" in the body of the message.
