Jirah.....

[Annael]

Feeling something brushing against her nose, Annael cocked an eye open and squinted at the little red and yellow butterfly on her nose.

 

"I'm sleeping here you know. Shoe." Blowing at the little bugger, Annael closed her eye, yawned and rolled over, right off her branch. Giving a little squeak of alarm, she opened her eyes as she rushed towards the ground. Grumbling about pain and she braced herself for the impact when she was caught up in a pair of arms. Staring up into a pair of blue eyes, Annael blinked in surprise.

 

"Where did you come from?"

 

"I was just going to ask you the same thing. It's not every day an angel falls into my arms." Giving a little wink, Jirah set Annael on her feet. Blushing, Annael straightened her skirt and turned to look up at the branch that she had been sleeping on. The little butterfly fluttered in the air for a bit taughtingly, then flew off to join it's brethern. Shaking her head, Annael was about to turn around when Jirah brushed his fingers over the scar running from shoulderblade to shoulderblade.

 

"Your wings...what happened?"

 

"I...they just....well, they shattered. I don't know what happened."

 

"Your wings shattered? I've never heard of that before."

 

Shruging as if it didn't mean anything to her, Annael turned and gave Jirah a bright smile. "Oh well, they were just wings. Where were you on your way to when I fell into your way, quite literally."

 

Jirah tilted his head to the side and looked down at Annael. He took in the fake smile, the sudden change of topic and the almost broken look in her eyes. "I was looking for you."

 

Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Annael rested a hand on her hip and just stared at him. "Really? Why don't I believe that?"

 

"No really, I was. You see, you owe me a date."

 

"What? I do not....oh goodness, I do don't I?"

 

"Indeed Miss Angel, you do. You haven't been around much, well in truth, at all. But I remembered the auction and that I had bid on you. So I'm here to claim my date."

 

"I didn't tell anyone that I was back at the Pen though. How did you know?"

 

"Well, the sudden appearance of butterflies might have had something to do with it...." Trying to hid a grin, Jirah looked up as three of the mentioned little buggers flew past them.

 

"Oh. Yes, well. Um...sure. Right. So yeah....I've never done the dating thing before. I have no idea what you want to do here."

 

"Then just let me lead the way."

 

Bowing before her, Jirah held out his arm and smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. Giving a grin and a giggle, Annael took his arm and they started off.

 

Walking along the grounds of the keep, the pair talked and laughed. Noticing that Annael tended to give a little hop every now and then, Jirah looked down and noticed that she was bare foot. "Ah, now I understand the little jumps. Avoiding stones are we?"

 

"Yup. I can't stand to wear shoes. I love being able to wiggle my toes on the fresh grass and in water and sand. You should try it."

 

Giving a snort, Jirah shook his head. "No way. I am not taking off my boots. You can just enjoy the experience enough for the both of us."

 

"Oh come on. It's not like anyone is going to notice. Do it." Poking Jirah in the ribs, Annael egged him on. "It's to die for. The grass is really soft!" To prove her point, Annael grinned, then did a quick side step and tripped Jirah. "What the..?" Jirah swore in surprise and grabbed Annael's arm on the way down. Annael landed on top of Jirah with a grunt and a giggle. "See? I told you it was soft." Laughing at Jirah as he mumbled to himself, Annael tried to untangle her arms and legs from Jirah's when she heard someone clearing their throat. Looking up she saw Peredhil standing above them. Covering Jirah's mouth with her hand to stop the swearing, Annael grinned up at Pered.

 

"Hiya P. Howya doing?" Jirah stopped trying to bite Annaels' hand and looked up at Peredhil.

 

"I'm doing fine thank you Annael. I'd ask you the same question, but it seems that you're having fun. It's good to see you laugh."

 

Annael grinned. "Its all thanks to this one here." Annael said and poked Jirah in the ribs again. "You know, for an Angel, you're a pain in the..." Jirah stopped, looked at Pered and mumbled "toe."

 

Peredhil gave a little nod. "Yes, she's a pain in the toe sometimes. But she's our pain in the toe. Take care of our Angel, Jirah. I wouldn't want to see anything happen to her." And with that, Peredhil walked away, leaving the pair on the ground to stare after him.

 

Glancing at Annael out of the corner of his eye, Jirah gave a little grin and got to his feet, bringing Annael up with him. "Your quick for a girl." Annael gasped and looked at him. "Why you little..." And gave chase as Jirah ran from her. Lifting her skirts up to around her knees, Annael flew across the grass, her bare feet barely touching the ground. Quickly passing Jirah, she laughed and looked over her shoulder at him.

 

"Okay, okay. You win." Jirah laughingly called out as he stopped running. Annael let out a whoop of elation, jumped up into the air, somersaulted and landed on her feet. "Tada! Quick for a girl. I'll have you know that I was running messages from one corner of the world to the other before you were even a twinkle in the eye of God! Pffft...quick for a girl." Shaking her head, Annael grinned at Jirah.

"The nerve of the young pups these days."

 

"Yeah yeah. Let's go get a drink. I'm thirsty." Laughing and nodding her agreement, they linked arms and started off for the keep.

 

"So is this what a date is?"

 

"Well, it is for us. You calling it to an end?"

 

"No, I was just wondering. Rolling around on the grass isn't usually considered a date to most women."

 

"Well, it would for some women, but that's different. And you're not most women. You're Annael." Winking, Jirah lifted her off her feet to avoid a patch of mud. "I'm glad that I bid on you. You're fun, and it gave me the opportunity to get to know you."

 

Smiling up at Jirah, Annael nodded. "And you. Now how 'bout that drink you mentioned?"