Sarinah focused almost too much on the instruction the grinning wick provided her, not shying away from his hands as he corrected her movements, desperately wishing her face didn’t feel quite as hot or that her heart didn’t race quite as fast. The hands were subtle, manageable, even the brush of his foot to fix her stance was okay. It was the leaning, the gentle guidance with his hip that was the part that the dancer could feel herself becoming flustered by. He was so close the brunette found herself almost shyly glancing from his guiding movements to his face, looking over the bow of his lips or the captivating steely grey of his eyes, before looking away with a smile.
As she turned into Tristaan, grinning and quite entirely delighted with herself, it wasn’t without being painfully aware of how his warmth wrapped around her. His laugh was infectious, and she giggled again as he shifted her elbow out of the way to lean closer still, the warmth of his breath tickling the curve of her ear. Sarinah held herself in check as a shiver ran up her spine, her smile faltering and lashes fluttering closed for just a moment, her breathing shallow almost in anticipation.
“Advanced moves?” She muttered distractedly, before the man’s sudden movement snapped her back to reality with a sound of surprise, unable to react or untangle herself as Tristaan spun and ultimately tripped her. He was taking her down, forcing her to the ground with a strange sort of gentleness that would never be given in a real situation. The dancer felt the panic in her chest, gripping desperately to the trust she’d said she had in him against the unwanted familiar position she found herself in. Instinctively, Sarinah raised her arms to protect her face, one leg curling up as he’d suggested, but all other instruction lost in the rushing that filled her ears.
I. Paid. For. You.
The words were near on four maw old, but they rang in her mind as though freshly screeched at her face. The dark haired dancer breathed heavily, tears springing to her eyes as the blurring between the past and present faded away, bringing her back to reality with an almost dizzying sensation. She blinked rapidly, trying to shove the emotions back into their box as she lowered her hands.
“Oh..oes. Kicking’s good. I…can we take a break kov?” The woman asked as she took his hand, turning away to compose herself with a shamefully awkward laugh, hair falling from it’s messy bun in a cascade of raven locks.
“Just need a pina manna to…uh…to catch my breath. Ye chen.” She rested her hands on her hips, wandering a bit away and taking a few deep breaths, lifting one hand to press the palm against her forehead and closing her eyes. Rolling her shoulders, she turned back to Tristaan with a wan smile.
“It ent good ne, but you just get used to it. Hawke seems reluctant to put anyone else on the job. Dze. Can’t blame them, who want’s to work at a tumble hut? Regardless of who ye are. No glory looking after broken chips.” Rubbing her arms as though warding off the cold, Sarinah bit her lip, before cursing deep tek, and laughing again.
“Alioe forgive me. Ye are a benny kov Tristaan, too benny to be wasting your morning with a woe-is-me chip that can’t keep herself together. I ent sure why ye care, I ent worth it. I ent worth this.” She gestured at him, before running her hands through her hair and resting her hands on her head, unable to hold the wick’s gaze for too long.
She had felt the warmth in her cheeks, the flutter of butterflies in the stomach and her heart had raced when his words had brushed the soft skin of her throat. There were thoughts there, lovely daydreams, but in the end that’s all they were. Pretty daydreams for a silly witch with a stupid crush. He’d blushed, she’d been enamoured by it previously, but then what did that even mean?
This was a mistake.
“I should go.” She said, looking at the floor between them but making no move to do so, as though her feet were unwilling to obey her head. Sarinah laughed again, making another awkward sound and grimacing a little.
“Ye make it easy to forget what’s waiting back home.” She admitted with a blush, looking up with a tilt of her head.