[PP-F5] Revenge of The Dragon <<DHA:5>> (Telrenya)

[Jomei 0]

Continued from [PP-F4] Attack of the Dragon <<DHA: 4>> Telrenya

"Y-yeah.. we should.." Jomei said back to Erin, his voice still shaky as he shivered from the cold. Taking a step back from the masked woman, Jomei turned to look at Mercury. "I-I misjudged you.. t-the last time w..we met." The ginger released one of his hands that hugged at his elbow, slowly extending it out towards the bespectacled man. "T..Thank you.."

With the three in agreement that they needed to return to Snowfrost, they began their journey back the way they had came. The path was mostly clear, but now that the sun had mostly gone down, the air was even colder than it was before. Jomei huddled himself in his his cloak, trying to quell his shivering. Despite most of his body still feeling a bit numb, a smile broke through the pain on the man's face at the thought of getting back home, and warming up and falling asleep in Estelle's arms. 

The path back to Snowfrost was clear, as it was on their journey up. Mercury did not hesitate to hop onto the platform and warp to another floor, probably somewhere much warmer and far away from any dragons. Jomei turned back to Erin once again, "T-Thanks again.. for saving me.. I-I really .. owe you one.." Jomei took a step up onto the platform, "I..'ll message you when.. I find out more on the last dragon." Offering one last smile and a wave, Jomei warped himself back to the Eleventh floor, and began his slow walk back to the Eastern part of town.

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya offered a nod and a small wave back, her own body still shivering as well from the frigid air on her damp skin, clothes, and even the hair tied away behind her head. The Irishman called out the name of the main settlement on the eleventh floor, and it took a couple of seconds before she came to the realization that Taft was the same place that she was supposed to be right now.

The frozen-over gears in her mind struggled to figure out what she should do. With mental fingers crossed, she stepped up to the teleport gate and commanded the game to carry her to the same location. Appearing in the busier city of Taft, Telrenya immediately tried to disappear among the crowds. Though the weather was still regulated for the winter season, it was noticably warmer than Snowfrost, and for that she was grateful.

Telrenya spent the next few minutes rushing home while trying to avoid crossing paths with Jomei on her way there. A decent memory of the city's layout and a fresh surge of adrenaline made the task possible, and she reached the familiar door while she dug the small key from her pocket. Slipping through the door and pulling the mask from her face, Telrenya was still out of breath after she'd hurried up the stairs and into the bathroom.

She hastily pulled up her menus, swapping her soggy clothing and equipment for the first pieces of casual clothing she saw. She pulled her still-wet hair down, mentally cursing as she knew she wouldn't have the time to wait for it to dry. Turning to the mirror, Telrenya took in a deep breath through her nose that she exhaled steadily through her mouth in an attempt to steady herself.

[Jomei 0]

Taking in a deep breath of Taft's air into his lungs, Jomei was relieved when a fog did not accompany the breath he exhaled. The slightly warmer temperatures of the Eleventh Floor worked on thawing out the nearly frozen man, the frost that had clung to the ends of his hair and clothes beginning to melt, turning into droplets of water that fell to the cobblestone streets. Slowly, the man walked through the streets, drawing the eyes of some passer-bys that noticed the man's shivering, as well as his health bar that was moving back into the green at a snail's pace. His fingers clutched at the fabric of his cloak, pulling it together as tightly as he could to try and warm his body a bit more. All he wanted was to just get home. 

Turning the corner to the familiar Taft street, Jomei felt a wave of relief pass through him. The thought of changing out of the soaked, freezing clothes and seeing Estelle again made his walk just a bit faster as he moved straight to the door. Jomei released his grip on his cloak, allowing him to shove his hand into his pocket to find the small bronze key to the house. The ginger shut the door behind him using his back, letting out a heavy sigh as his back pressed against the wooden frame. Pushing himself forward, Jomei made his way to the end of the hall, and turned around to move up the stairs and into their bedroom. 

The man felt an immediate sense of warmth and security as he stepped into the lit bedroom. Olive eyes turned to the closed door of the bathroom, a small line of light coming from the space between the door and the ground. "S-stel, Its.. me" Jomei said, his voice still a bit shaky as he tried to quell his shivering. Jomei's right hand slowly rose to open his menu, his fingers tapping on the see through screen, removing bit by bit of his armor. Leaving the man only in his underwear for a moment, a long sleeved back shirt appeared over his chest, with a slightly lighter colored pair of pants over his legs. Despite wearing dryer, warmer clothes, his hair was still damp, and he still could not help but shiver from still feeling frozen. "Hopefully I warm up soon.." he said to himself under his breath.

[Telrenya 0]

She curled her fingers together, holding on to her still-chilled hands in an attempt to warm them up. In a last-minute thought the girl moved to open up her menus again, summoning a thin, peach-colored cardigan over the sleeveless dress that she wore. Seconds later, Telrenya perked to attention when she heard Jomei's weak voice call from the bedroom on the other side of the door. She froze up for a second, reminding herself with a quick inward pep talk, 'Okay, you weren't just out fighting a terrifying lake monster. You didn't watch Nick get dragged into the water and almost drown. You've been hanging out at home, just enjoying a day off...' She hadn't even gotten halfway through her thoughts when the sight of Jomei being pulled into the frozen lake's dark waters replayed in her mind, causing her blood to run cold while the color drained from her face.

She brought her hands up to crash her palms against her cheeks. Telrenya steeled herself, turning to the door and pulling it open. When her eyes fell upon Jomei's shaken and exhausted frame having just changed clothes, her heart throbbed in her chest and she rushed to close the distance between them. "Nick!" She called his name with a voice full of concern. "A-Are you alright?" The second time she would have asked him that question, her hands moved with one pushing the wet bangs from his face while the other rested on his shoulder.

[Jomei 0]

The sound of the door opening drew Jomei's attention towards the bathroom, his olive eyes locking with chocolate brown, Telrenya's eyes filled with both happiness to see the man, and deep concern for the state he was in. "I'm.. fine now." he said with a smile, looking lovingly into the girl's orbs that made his heart flutter in his chest. The calming touch of her hand on his shoulder, the other brushing the wet locks from in front of his eye was a relief to the man that he had, in fact, made it home to the woman. The man let out another shaky breath before speaking, "Erin an I .. found one of the d-dragon on Frostbite Lake..After we ..defeated it.. I-I accidentally woke up some sort of.. sea monster under the lake.. It broke through the ice and.. and dragged me under before.. I could get to land." Jomei took another step forward, to close the distance even more between himself and the blonde. His chest pressed against her's while his head lowered to rest on her shoulder, and though not as much, his body still shivered from the cold. "I.. I almost drowned.. My the time I finally had gotten free.. everything went hazy.. and I thought I was.. going to die.. But Erin dragged me out of the .. frozen lake.. kept me from drowning.." Jomei's arms moved to wrap themselves around Telrenya's waist, holding her tightly. "I.. I was scared.. I-I thought I was.. not going to see you again."

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya could feel her heart aching in her chest as Jomei recalled his experience on the fourth floor. She fought against her own fresh memory of the event, simply wrapping her arms around his shoulders and holding the man as tightly as she could manage. She couldn't help the tears that welled at the corners of her eyes that his words evoked, and she bit down on her bottom lip to keep them from spilling over. "Nick... I'm just so glad you're okay..." She trailed off, lost for words. Telrenya gave him a long squeeze before she would eventually pull her upper body away. She withrdrew her arms from where they were wrapped behind his neck and her fingers slid over his cheeks to hold Jomei's face in her hands.

She forced a smile, pushing herself up a couple of inches to press her lips against his forehead. After holding the soft kiss for a long second, Telrenya faced him again with a wamer expression. "Come on, let me take care of you." Her loving smile stretched wider when she took half a step back to fully part from their embrace. She took his hand, gently leading Jomei from the bedroom, down the stairs, and into the living room where she would urge him to take a seat on one of the cream-colored couches. The blonde hurried to the kitchen a few paces away, working to prepare tea for them both. In the short time before the water would boil, Telrenya took quick steps across the room and back the way they came. She retrieved a small towel from the bathroom and was quick to appear back downstairs, setting the cloth down over the back of the couch as she passed by.

Telrenya set a white mug down on the table before turning and handing the other to Jomei. "Here," She gave the man a soft smile and moved behind his seat once her hands were free. The girl took the soft white towel in her hands and worked to carefully dry the man's hair that was still left wet from the frozen waters. Her hands ran over the sides and back of his head, her thumbs occasionally making slower movements to glide more tenderly over his hair beneath fluffy cloth. All the while she was quiet, still unsure of what to say as she played the role of the uninvolved third-party.

[Jomei 0]

Olive eyes closed as Jomei felt Telrenya's arms slide past his shoulders and hold him in a tight, warm embrace. The man's shivering began to cease, aside from the occasional shudder of his shoulders whenever he felt a chill run through his body. His lips curled into a smile as he heard Telrenya address his real name, as she always did whenever the two were alone, his face warming up with the blush that overtook the skin of his cheeks. As the woman's torso separated from Jomei's, his eyes opened again once he felt the palms of her hands press into his face. He looked across at her smiling face, expressing another smile of his own as she rose to the balls of her feet to plant her lips atop Jomei's forehead. 

Once the two had parted from their embrace, Telrenya's offer to take care of Jomei caused his cheeks to redden yet again "O-Okay." the man stuttered, before being gently led out of the bedroom and into the living room. As the two emerged into the room, Telrenya gestured for Jomei to sit on one of the couches, which the man did without questioning. The man watched as the blonde entered the kitchen, setting a kettle of water to boil on the stove top. Afterwards, she hurried back out of the living room into the hallway, where Jomei heard the light footsteps of the woman move up the stairs and into the bedroom. Moments later, she returned with a white towel, which she placed upon the back of the couch while she finished preparing a cup of tea for herself and Jomei. 

Jomei watched her lovingly as she approached the man with the two mugs, handing one to Jomei and placing the other on the table. "Thank you love." Jomei said with a smile, before Telrenya moved to the back of the couch. The ginger only needed to wonder where she had disappeared to for a moment, before he felt the softness of the white towel upon his wet head. His green eyes closed as Telrenya began to rub the towel on his head, working to dry his hair. The man let out a satisfied hum before speaking,  "So how was your day today?" he said as he rose the mug of tea up to his lips. 

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya had almost started daydreaming, losing herself in thought with the rhythmic motions of her hands until Jomei's soft voice pulled her back to the present. "Hmm? Oh, well... Pretty boring in comparison, it sounds like." She felt her stomach twist slightly as her brain told her that wasn't the case at all. It was only an hour after she'd bid Jomei farewell that morning that she'd found herself rushing to the third floor after her messenger's terrible planning skills and oh-so-convenient slip-up. She opted not to forge any more details of her day, lest the sense of guilt grow stronger.

She pulled the towel away from Jomei's head, having to hold back a giggle when she saw how the combination of its drying and her tousling through the cloth had left his orange hair even more wild than normal. She set the towel off to the side, switching her focus to gently combing her fingers through the length of his hair in an attempt to tame it back to its typical style.

Once she was finished with her task, the woman leaned forward to place a kiss atop his head before she would circle back around the side of the couch. She retrieved her mug from the table in front of them and tucked her left ankle underneath herself as she took a seat beside Jomei. She brought her drink to her lips and enjoyed the sweet warmth that slid down her throat. Telrenya let out a tiny sigh as her own weary muscles had a chance to relax, and she leaned to the side until her temple made contact with Jomei's shoulder. Her eyes closed, "I'm glad you're back, though." Despite having spent the whole day with the man in reality, she was more than happy to return to their peaceful lives at home. "We can just have a nice, relaxing night together."

[Jomei 0]

The ginger chuckled softly to himself as he lowered the white, ceramic mug from his lips. "After what I went through today.. I would have preferred the boring day." The man let out a soft, pleased exhale through his nostrils, enjoying the feeling of Telrenya gently massaging his scalp with the soft towel, drying the ginger locks. As Tel discarded the towel, Jomei caught the girl trying to hold back a tiny laugh. Jomei's eyes opened as he let his head fall into the back of the couch, trying to look up at Telrenya. "What's so funny?" Jomei asked with a rising brow, before raising a hand to his hair. His hair was usually a bit messy.. but this was on a whole new level. Jomei's cheeks burned bright, letting out a small laugh of his own. "I probably look pretty crazy right now." 

The pinkness of his cheeks remained, but the embarrassed smile turned to one yet again of satisfaction once he felt Telrenya's fingers gently comb through his hair, trying to style it back to how it usually sat on his head. Jomei's shoulder's dropped in relaxation, absolutely loving the feeling of Telrenya's hands pushing through his hair. "Mmm.." Jomei hummed as his eyes closed yet again, "I love you." he said in a soft voice.

Jomei snapped out of the trance he was in once he felt Telrenya's hands pull from his head, turning to watch the girl round the couch and sit beside him, her head falling to rest on his shoulder. "Mm, yes, I agree. I'd really don't want to be anywhere else right now." he said with a smile, letting his now dry head rest upon the top of the blonde's. After simply enjoying Telrenya's presence just for a moment, a small chuckle bubbled up from his chest. "You know, at first I did not know what to think about Erin.. with her being mysterious and never around and all.. But after running these quests with her, she's seemed a lot more trustworthy. She's a lot stronger than I had thought too..Hopefully she sticks around for awhile." 

[Telrenya 0]

The girl let out a tiny, curious hum at the sound of Jomei's soft chuckling. If it weren't for her attention on the full cup of tea in her lap, she might have started to nod off. When he started to speak, Telrenya brought the warm liquid to her lips again and took another long drink. His words began to register in her mind, and she found herself swallowing a bit harder than she normally would have. "Oh, well that's good." She responded lamely at first before hurrying to find more enthusiastic words. "I'm glad she sounds like a good person after all." Though she wasn't directly facing the man, she forced another smile.

Through the living room windows, Telrenya could see the changing hues of the sky as the virtual sun was setting over Taft. She smiled softly as dusk approached, taking another drink before gently nuzzling the man's shoulder with the side of her head. "So, will it be an early night tonight, then?" She asked, half out of curiosity and half trying to change the subject. Although if she was being honest, she didn't at all mind the thought of crawling into their warm bed and just holding the man close until she fell asleep.

[Jomei 0]

Picking his temple off of the top of Telrenya's head, Jomei rose his hand that held the mug of tea up to his lips. The cup tilted gently, the warm liquid sliding down his throat as he swallowed, each sip doing wonders to warm his cold and weary body and soul. Not only did the heat of the smooth drink relax him, but the taste was also wonderful compared to the tea that Jomei usually made for himself. Eyes trailed from staring into the contents of the mug to the blonde head of hair that had nestled itself into his shoulder. The ginger nodded his head at Telrenya's question, the feeling of exhaustion finally hitting him from the work him and Erin had put in during the day. "Mm, yeah definitely." Jomei rose his tea to his lips, taking another sip, tired eyes shifting to a mischievous gaze as they gave Telrenya a sidelong glance. A smirk could be seen over the brim of his cup, "Unless.. you had any other ideas to keep me up" passing his love a quick flirt, he rose his tea to his lips again to finish the contents of the cup, watching Telrenya for her reaction.

After finishing his tea, Jomei rose to his feet, taking his empty cup, as well as Telrenya's, and walked them into the kitchen, rinsing them out in the sink before rejoining the girl and moving from the living room and into their bedroom. Already being in his clothes for sleeping, Jomei walked his way over to their bed and sat down on the mattress. As his body hit the soft bed, Jomei let out a heavy sigh of relief, before turning his hips and swinging his legs up along the mattress and letting his back fall onto the bed as well. The last time their bed felt this comfortable was after coming back from the boss fight.. something about being in near death experiences made this bed seem that much better. "Estelle.." Jomei started off, shifting his olive gaze from the ceiling above him to where the girl stood, a smile forming on his face. "Thank you. For everything. For taking care of me, for being there..I don't know where I'd be.. if I hadn't run into that anxious looking girl in the center of Urbus." Jomei chuckled, "Miss Telrenya.. I remember calling you that."

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya turned her head just slightly to kiss his shoulder over the fabric of his long sleeves before straightening her spine and working to drain her cup of its contents. She felt Jomei's eyes on her after he agreed on the thought of an early night's sleep, and as she pulled the mug away from her lips she turned her chin to meet his playful gaze. An expression she wasn't expecting, his words were even less anticipated. Their meaning was clear though, and caused a heat to rise to her cheeks almost immediately. While the couple had taken their time to grow comfortable and more intimate with each other, she had to wonder for a fleeting moment how serious the man was by his suggestive taunt.

Regardless of her opinion on the matter, the wave of exhaustion that hit her when she rose to her feet after Jomei was very convincing to dismiss any such thoughts. The color was slow to drain from her face, but she finally let out a small puff of air through her nose. "One of these days I'll get used to your teasing." She gave a small pout in return before the couple would move back to the bedroom.

Telrenya was quick to slip away into the bathroom to change, taking only as much time as was needed to pull up her menus and swap out her dress and cardigan for a white camisole and a pair of light grey pajama pants. When she had crossed the room back to the bed, she was met with Jomei's smiling face gazing up at her. She returned with a warm smile of her own while her open hand found his nearest arm and her thumb gently ran over the curve of his shoulder. "Nick..." She repeated his name in kind, a faint pink hue dusting her cheeks while her smile stretched wider with his heartfelt words. She bent down over him, moving to tuck her blonde locks behind her ear. The motion did little to stop her hair from spilling over her shoulder as she hovered above the man. The same hand then reached forward to place her palm upon his cheek and she lowered herself the rest of the way to press her slightly-parted lips into his. She lingered, her fingers beginning to slide towards the back of his head and run through his ginger hair as a hint of greed got the better of her.

When she pulled away, she continued to hold her face close to Jomei's, a light blush still coating her cheeks as she spoke up again. "I can't explain how grateful I am to have met you that day." She chuckled lightly herself, the fond memory of their first few meetings coming to light. "And for every time since then that you've appeared at my side."

[Jomei 0]

The ginger immediately spotted the flustered look on Telrenya's face as her cheeks turned a beat red, the gears of her mind seeming to turn, thinking on Jomei's words and how to respond to them. Jomei simply responded with a teasing grin, "You're so cute when you get flustered. I'm only teasing you." He made his way into the kitchen to clean their cups, Telrenya's pouty comment reaching Jomei's ears. "Never gonna happen." the man said with a chuckle as he rounded the counter and walked up to the sink to rinse out the ceramic mugs. The playful jab at Telrenya's bashful nature left a curious thought in his mind--what would her reaction have been if he was serious?

Once finished and the two had gone back upstairs, Jomei waited on his bed for Telrenya to finish dressing herself in the bathroom. After emerging in her sleeveless top, Jomei smiled across at her with a light dusting of pink on his cheeks, thanking the girl for everything she had done. The man shifted his body to the side to allow for the blonde to sit beside him on the bed. Hearing the girl speak his name, his real name rather than his username, always made his heart skip a beat. His olive eyes looked up at the girl as her hand found itself on the man's shoulder. Blonde curls fell from Telrenya's shoulder stopping at full length before hitting the bed aside his head. Eyes shifted from the woman's slowly closing chocolate brown eyes, to her parted lips as she closed the distance between herself and Jomei's face. Lids over his olive green eyes closed as he felt the touch of Telrenya's palm press against his warm cheek, soon followed by her soft lips pressing into his. 

Jomei's hand rose from his side, sliding under the arm that extended and touched the man's cheek, and wrapping around so his palm gently pressed against the woman's shoulder blade. His touch slowly trailed down the side of her back until his arm was stopped by her thigh's, his hand remained placed on her hip. Their kiss lasted for several long second before finally parting, Jomei wishing the moment shared between the two could have lasted longer. Their faces remained close as Telrenya revealed how grateful she was to have met Jomei as well. The ginger brought himself up by propping his body up onto his elbow, pressing his lips into Telrenya's once more, this exchange much quicker, and lasting only for a second. "And I always will be there. Through good and bad.. Jomei and Telrenya.. Nick and Estelle." The man smiled before wrapping both of his arms around the blonde's waist and chuckling, "You're gonna get sick of me." he said with a teasing laugh.

[Telrenya 0]

She smiled in the midst of their more fleeting kiss. As they parted a second time, Telrenya shifted the hand beside his face to run the tips of her fingers along his fringe and carefully brush his long bang aside to reveal his elusive right eye. Though they would fall back into place when her hand slipped away, she let out a giggle at his sudden embrace. "Absolutely not. Never." She affirmed in between her laughter.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as well, pulling their bodies closer while she rested her chin on his shoulder. After the day's events, she was even more grateful to enjoy every peaceful moment they might be able to share. Just spending their night together at home, as if all the dangerous parts of Aincrad were just a far-off dream brought her a comfort and serenity that she wouldn't trade for the world.

The girl climbed into bed beside Jomei a minute later, and her body was immediately grateful. Though she had grown more comfortable with the physical aspects of their relationship over time, perhaps it was the days' extreme chain of events that left her a bit more affectionate than was typical of her. She was quick to gravitate back to the Irishman once she had slipped under the cover of the soft blue sheets, wrapping her arms around the man and once again bringing their bodies in close as exhaustion was quick to wrap its heavy arms around her just the same. Telrenya placed a soft kiss on his bare skin before burying her face into the crook of Jomei's neck, enjoying each second of their closeness. "I love you so much, Nick." She didn't last long before sleep would come to claim her, but she was sure to whisper a few words before she would drift off.

[Jomei 0]

As the man’s body rose to wrap his arms around Telrenya in a playful grasp, he felt the girl’s own arms gently snake around his shoulders, causing Jomei’s embrace to loosen into one that was more loving. Once the two had parted, the ginger pulled the sheet out from under him, allowing both himself and Tel to move their bodies under the blanket. The exhaustion that was once lingering had hit Jomei all at once. A yawn worked its way up through the ginger’s chest, leaving him to quickly pull a hand up from under the sheet to cover his parted lips. As he wiped his teary eye, he felt the body that laid next to him close the distance between them. Smiling eyes looked at Tel lovingly as her arms wrapped around the man again, Jomei doing the same with an arm around her shoulders to pull her in close to his body. The soft kiss that Telrenya placed on the exposed skin of Jomei’s neck coated his cheeks with a fresh shade of red, a tiny gasp escaping his lips at the tingling sensation it has left. Telrenya’s words of love caused a smile to stretch across Jomei’s blushing face, “I-I love you too, Estelle.” Jomei replied, his voice a mere whisper due to the small distance between the two. The steady heartbeat and gentle breaths of the sleeping girl lulled Jomei, the exhaustion finally catching up to him as he fell into a deep sleep with a lingering smile on his lips.

The prior day’s events ended up putting much more of a strain on the ginger’s body than expected. As the sun rose the next morning, Jomei did not at his usual time. The man laid with the back against the mattress, and arm stretched out to the side where it had resided under Telrenya’s shoulder, while the other sat with slightly curled fingers atop his chest. His chest slowly rose and fell with each breath he took, his lips very slightly parted, still sleeping soundly.

[Telrenya 0]

The blonde resting beside Jomei slept just as soundly as he while the virtual sunshine poured in through the balcony window. As the previous day took a heavy toll on them both, the couple seemed to be in for a lazy day of sleeping in. That is, if it weren't for a certain redhead who happened to be incredibly bored while he strolled through the streets of Urbus.

Erin took on an impish grin as he panned through his menus, landing on his friends list. His hand hovered over Telrenya's name for a long second, but the man hesitated. He seemed to have a second thought, and instead of typing up a message to the blonde princess he scrolled over to his guild menus. He had a better idea in mind.

Quote

To: Jomei
Subject: Go Again?

Heyo! I had a lot of fun yesterday. I hope I'm not being too forward, but... Do you want to meet up again today? I'm free like any time, so just let me know the when and where!

-Erin ♥

With a smirk and a chuckle, Erin would wait for a possible response from the guild leader before he would send blondie her half of the surprise.

[Jomei 0]

The shared bedroom remained mostly silent throughout the morning, the only sounds piercing the silence being the muffled sounds of the Taft street, and their own breathing. It was no surprise that when Jomei received a message, that the normally soft bell chimes that accompanied the notification pierced the tranquility of the room. The ginger groaned, his brows lowering before his olive eyes fluttered open, glaring at the not lit up icon in the corner of his line of sight. Staring for a couple of seconds, Jomei rose the arm that was not currently under Telrenya to tap on the icon. The Irishman squinted to read the message, as his eyes were still adjusting to the screen. It was a message from Erin about meeting up again today.. again, signing the message with a heart next to the name. Did... did me talking about my relationship with Telrenya not change her mind? he asked himself 

Not bothering to reply, or close the message even, Jomei let his arm drop back down to his side, "Nnnnghhh." he whined, before picking his hand back up to slowly type out a reply to the girl.
 

Quote

To: Erin
Subject: RE: Go Again? 

I told you I'd message you once I found out information about the next dragon.. I was originally hoping to take the day off, but I suppose we could make quick work of the next one. I'll message my broker to see if she has any more information about the next quest. I'd prefer not the wander out in the hot desert all day.

Jomei

PS. I don't know if its your thing or not.. but don't sign your name with a heart when sending me a message. It makes things awkward. 

Jomei let out another heavy sigh, opening a second message to send to the info broker he was currently using about information on the dragons. He made the message short and sweet, simply asking if she had any other information. With the second message sent, Jomei closed his menus and turned his head to face Telrenya for a moment. The sleepy man then rolled over towards the girl, bringing his other arm up and wrapping it around her body and pulling her in close to him. "Erin asked if I can meet up to hunt more dragons today." the ginger replied in a half-asleep, raspy voice, "I'm gonna see if I get any more information from the broker first before I-" Another chime of bells interrupted the man's plan for hopefully not leaving their bed, "F***..." Jomei said through a sigh.

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya first began to stir when she felt Jomei's arms wrapping around her. It was a pleasant feeling, being pulled in close to the man's chest while the thick cloud of sleep still clung tightly to her mind. Without her full instruction, the girl's arms slipped around him to return the embrace. "Nooo, jus' five more minutes..." She mumbled and buried her face against his chest, cuddling close to him while his words began to slowly register in her half-asleep mind. "Mm, no I didn--W-wait...what?" She was lucky that the fog in her mind had cleared just enough for her to catch herself before she said anything too damning. Even under the haze of lingering sleep, a straightforward response like that was hard not to seem suspicious.

Telrenya's brows furrowed before her eyes blinked open. Her hold on Jomei tightened just a bit before she pulled her face away enough to look at the man properly. "Mmm, what do you mean...? You got a message?" She asked, retracting a hand only to rub at the corner of her eye. Her brain still wasn't able to connect all the dots back to the redheaded troublemaker, and she was simply left tired and grumpy at the thought of having their morning interrupted.

[Jomei 0]

Despite the man being slightly pestered by Erin's message that woke him up, Jomei still could not help but smile at Telrenya's soft, mostly asleep voice. The ginger chuckled before kissing the woman on the top of her head. "Good morning love, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." After holding the man tighter for a moment, she let go, her brown eyes slowly opening to look at Jomei, causing him to smile again. "Yeah.. Got a nice little message from Erin. She wanted to meet up again.. You know, here." Jomei swiped his hand up to open his messages, first opening the one he had received from Erin. The ginger then turned his body, so Telrenya could get a better look at the message Erin had sent to him. ".. Yeah.. acting a bit awkward if you ask me." Jomei said with a nervous chuckle, before sighing, "But.. She's the only other person I know who has gotten this far in these quests.. and its not like I can do them on my own." 

Jomei let out another small groan before sitting up, removing his arm from under Telrenya. The man sat there for a moment, glaring at the wall in front of him, contemplating if he really wanted to get up or not. With another swipe of his hand, Jomei checked the other message he had received, which was the information he had requested for the dragon. The ginger let out a small sigh, "Of course.." Lowering himself back to his elbow, Jomei turned his body and playfully climbed over Telrenya, stopping as he hovered above her, a hand pressed into the mattress on each side. "I'm sorry Estelle, I know we were going to just spend the day together." He lowered himself down so his chest just hovered above hers, gently planting a kiss on her lips and holding it there for a few moments. After parting and lifting himself back up, Jomei slid himself the rest of the way off of the bed, turning once more to Telrenya with a playful wink, "I owe you one." 

Walking to his dresser on the other side of his room, Jomei began to swap out his pajamas for his battle attire. Rather than equipping the long green coat, Jomei left himself wearing the slim fit, sleeveless black shirt with his armor placed atop it, leaving his arms bare, save for the armor on his left shoulder, and the gloves on his hands. "According to what the broker told me.. looks like I'll be taking a nice trip out into the desert.. fun." the man said sarcastically, before walking back over to the bed where Tel was. Jomei gave the girl one more kiss on the forehead before beginning to walk towards the door to their bedroom, "I promise I'll keep myself safe this time." he said with a soft smile, "I'll see you later love." After warping down to the Fifth Floor, the heat of the desert sun immediately hit Jomei "Jeez.." Jomei said under his breath, before stepping from the small platform he stood on and walked across the square to wait for Erin, his arms crossed at his chest, still a bit annoyed from being called out on his day off.

[Telrenya 0]

"Huh?" Telrenya propped herself up slightly onto her elbow when Jomei explained that he had received a message from Erin. Her brain was trying to tell her that couldn't be the case, as she hadn't spoken to the redhead since his rude instruction of their meeting the day before. But then it clicked into place, and she suddenly realized that the man seemed to be taking far more liberties than Telrenya was comfortable with.

She had to stop herself from bristling with anger towards the player who really had the name Erin--both after her realization and after seeing the message that he had sent to Jomei. 'What in the world is he thinking?! I swear, he's really starting to cross the line...' She had to fight against her scrambled, annoyed thoughts showing through in her expression, and settled for her brows knitting together in concern. "O-oh... Hrmm..." She struggled with her response for more than one reason. "Maybe she's just trying too hard to be friendly?" Telreyna brought a hand up to the nape of her neck as she tried to offer some sort of excuse for the 'girl's behavior.

As Jomei's frame stopped halfway to hover over her, she stared up at the man before a loving smile took over her features. She returned his kiss with a gently fluttering heart, catching sight of the wink he shot at her shortly after with a faint pink hue on her cheeks. Telrenya sat herself up on the bed as Jomei get himself ready to head out. She smiled warmly at his promise, and they exchanged farewells after she was sure to let him know that she might take a trip out of the house herself today. Depending on how things went, she would rather avoid the pressure of having to pretend like she was home the whole time for a second time.

She only waited a few seconds after hearing the front door swing shut to pick herself up to her feet and angrily open her menus. While preparing and meeting up with Jomei was pressing, she had a more important task to complete first. The girl put together more than a few words for Erin, sternly instructing him not to send another message to anyone in their guild without contacting her first. After venting a bit of her anger towards the redhead, Telrenya hurried to swap out her pajamas for her leather combat attire. She selected a couple more items in her inventory, the hue of her hair shifting to a jet black while her eyes took on a dull jade color. "Just in case..." She muttered to herself while fixing her hair into a low ponytail and slipping the silver mask over her face.

"Oh gosh, why does it have to be the desert?" Telrenya was asking herself just moments after appearing at the teleport gate in Fortaleza. 'Now to try and fix things from his stupid stunts...' Quickly recognizing the ginger on the other side of the square, she hurried to approach Jomei. "Hey! I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking straight, I should have waited longer to message you." Despite the accessory covering her features, she avoided looking into the man's eyes and her hand stuck to the back of her neck. "S-sorry. I'll try not to do it again, but if I ever say something stupid just, uhh... Tell me, I guess." She hadn't planned out her words ahead of time, and had little to go off of when it came to the real Erin's direct interactions with Jomei, but she only hoped her words would suffice to smooth things over.