The tri-colored metal pendant flashed and glittered as it swung and spun on the end of its chain. The chain was in Devin's fist, wrapped around his fingers. He was lying on his back on the small couch wedged into a corner and staring at the spinning pendant raptly. It twirled, gradually slowed, and the runes on either side became readable. As they did, he reached up to flick the pendant again and set it spinning. Sunlight flooded the room; his own radiant heat kept the quarters warm against the chill outside. His face was in shadow.

While Paola strolled to Devin's abode, she absently brought her thumb to her lip to absently bite at the skin surrounding the nail. Sleep seemed to leave her now until the early hours of the morning, but she tried to best to cover any signs of her fatigue. Usual messenger bag on her shoulder, containing all notes and documents that required further attention. Abused thumb was forgotten as she took a deep breath, and knocked upon the door once she reached it.

Only one person who would be knocking on his door today. "Come on in, Paola. It's unlocked." So many fleeting thoughts drifted through his mind, wry or bitter comments to add to the end of the simple invitation, regret, reproach, and then were discarded. The pendant slowed again, the runes coming clear once more. Life. Knowledge. He lifted his hand to flick the pendant and set it spinning again as the door opened.

She opened the door upon his call, and let it shut behind her. She knew her way around enough to walk into the room where he was, and she paused. There were a flood of feelings that revealed on her face; sadness, anger, perhaps regret. They were all overridden with a small frown upon seeing him laying on the couch. "Are you unwell?"

At that he looked away from the pendant and lifted an eyebrow, and then gave her a cocky smile. After a moment he swung his feet down to the floor and sat up. "Oh, I'm never unwell. Haven't you heard?"? Masks, masks; he hadn't missed the rapidly changing emotions on her face, and wouldn't show how deep an impression they made. "So what's the plan, o thou lady of foresight and wisdom?"

"The plan is to complete the list of instructions so that we can begin experimenting by the next new moon, and time can either be a friend or foe. But first," she used long strides to reach him and stand in front of the couch, "I think we need to talk of yesterday."

The exhale of breath he let out wasn't quite a sigh, and he looked up at her through the mask of black hair fallen over his eyes. The cocky smile dropped away like it had never been and in truth, it never had. "Ah. Yesterday. The reckless Fire losing his temper again. I owe you an apology, I suppose." His voice was flat, and after a moment he stood to look at her levelly, with eyes black as coals.

"You suppose?" She kept her face and tone neutral, moving to sit in front of the couch so that she was looking up at him, "Do not apologize to me if you are not sure that you need to."

The flinch at her words, her tone, was almost invisible. After a moment he began to pace restlessly, with the chain to his pendant still wrapped and wound through the fingers of his clenched fist. He didn't appear to look her direction; he was watching her every motion, every hint. The words came out rough and ragged. "I owe you an apology but hells if I know what for. I lost my temper and at that I kept it better than I could have. I'd do the same again, too. He shouldn't have said anything against you or Storm, shouldn't have kept pushing."

"Not knowing what to apologize does not seem like I would need an apology." She watched him pace, her vibrant eyes locked on him, "I never asked for you to change anything. I think you assume too much of me. I thank you, for defending me. Now, I do not know about the punch," she absently began to bite on the skin around her thumb nail again, "but it was a nice shot."

Ceasing his pacing in front of her, Devin crouched to look her in the eyes and then winced, and shifted to rest the knee of his injured leg on the ground. Letting the chain in his hand slip free to dangle unheeded, he reached up to gently remove her thumb from her mouth. "Then why are you gnawing yourself to pieces?" There was a bare lightening of his eyes, from coal-black to deep brown, as he studied her face.

The smile as her lips brushed over his knuckles must have looked odd upside-down, but it was present. He gave her a wink as the journal was placed in his hand. ?I think I can manage that. Do you know who it will be helping us make the actual needles?? That was an idle question as he lowered the journal and then slung the chain with its small pendant back around his neck. The pages were flipped open, but he still had his gaze on her face.

"My guess is probably all four of the Earth Guardians, considering how many needles we will need. Yet, if they are relatively easy to make, it will probably be Laurin, as that is more of his strength than the others. Unless you have a preference?" She raised a brow as she looked down at him, her hand reaching into her pack for her notes.

A shake of his head dismissed that idea, and he finally turned his gaze down to the journal on his lap. The quick riffling through pages slowed and came to a halt as he settled on a point just past midway through the book. ?Not at all. I understand that Laurin is very capable. Do you have a spare piece of paper and a pen in there? Or should I fetch us extra??

"Of course I have extra for you." Said as if he should expect no less from her. Notes set aside, she fished into her bag further to produce a quill and parchment. "You will just have to share ink with me, if you do not mind." She pulled out her own parchment and quill along with a bottle of black ink. "Just do not spill it, yes?" A gentle tease as she opened it, and tried to find a place where it would be accessible for both of them.

?Oh, I?ll be careful. I?m very clumsy.? That was said very soberly as he took the offered quill and parchment. Catching her predicament with the bottle of ink, he grinned. ?And I think, comfortable as this is, it might be easier if I moved to sit up there. Or if we both moved to the cooking area, which at least has a proper table.? It was half-offer, half-question as he said that.

Pausing from trying to figure out where to put the ink, her eyes moved towards the kitchen area. "I believe that is a fine idea." Gathering all of her things, she tried to stand from her seat, but grinned down at him. "I cannot really stand until you are no longer leaning on my legs, unless you would like for me to fall."

He gave back a cocky smile for the grin she bore. ?Well, there is a certain appeal to you falling all over me? but then the ink would spill. And that would be a tragedy.? So with some exaggerated moaning and groaning he got to his feet, miming it as an epic struggle. He used the excuse to cling to her as he stood, and then leaned in to brush a quick kiss over her curls before he turned and with a jaunty stride that most hid his remaining limp, made for the kitchen.

She laughed low at his exaggerated struggle, and sighed softly at the brush of his lips over her hair. His stride did not completely hide the limp from her, and she frowned as she stood. "Perhaps you should go and see a healer about your leg. That way you would not be in so much pain." Following him into the kitchen, she began to arrange her things on the table to make a station for them and their research.

?I hate healers. And it?s doing well enough on its own ? another day or two and I?ll be able to go back to the rota.? He paused and considered that. ?Actually, there?s some I could do now, and probably should. Would you like something to drink or something to eat while we?re doing this?? Considering the table and the way she was laying out the papers, he swung one of the ladder-back chairs over closer and took a seat.

"While the last meal you made for me was excellent, it would only be for selfish desire rather than fulfilling a need. Water would be fine, if you have that." Her smile was easy, finding her setup suitable before taking a seat.

With a quick smile and a nod he levered up from the chair and fetched a glass of water and another of sweet iced tea. Setting down the glasses with the water in her reach, he resumed his seat and then arranged the journal, parchment and glass of sweet tea to his satisfaction. ?Later, then, when we?ve rotted our brains with this long enough to be hungry.? Flipping through the pages of the journal again, he settled back on that same point just past midway through it.

She laughed lightly, "This is not going to rot your brain." Easily pointed out just for the sake of it. She let comfortable silence grow between them, flipping through her notes for the page she desired. She had rewritten several pages of the journal, and was now looking over the exact explanation of the moon cycle. On a blank sheet of parchment, she was writing down dates and writing down the future phases of the moon cycle.

The silence was broken only by the faint scratching sounds of quill on parchment for some time. Devin?s writing was readable though not elegant, but he had a surprisingly fine draft hand. From the detailed description written in crabbed script in the journal he began to create a diagram, with measurements carefully penned beside each relevant portion. His brow furrowed some as he concentrated on getting the drawing correct, and occasionally he muttered something inaudible.

A small smile would appear every time he muttered under his breath, and she would occasionally look across to see his progress on the paper. Most of her attention was on her makeshift calendar, sometimes taking a drink from the water when she could remember. As moon phases were placed in dates for the next several weeks, she began to fill in possible training dates and the invasion dates. Stopping to over look her work, her thumb came up to her lips and she began to chew on the skin around her thumbnail.

Pausing to take a sip from his glass of sweet tea, Devin studied what he had on the parchment so far. An overall view of a hollow needle, greatly enlarged, next to a much smaller version in the actual size it would be needed. A cross-section, drawn on a slant, was starting to take shape. From there he looked across at Paola?s forming calendar, and then up to her. A slightly wry smile appeared as he saw her gnawing on the skin around her nail. He reached across the table to gently take her hand and bring it to his lips. ?You do have a habit of chewing yourself to bits, don?t you? What?s so distracted you now??

"Time. And I do not chew myself to bits." His lips on her hand distracted her enough to raise her eyes from the paper to him, "If we are going to try the bonding first, we have to do it by the next new moon, so that that everyone else will have enough time to learn and adjust. That is, if you still wanted to try first."

She simply laughed and shook her head at his logic. "You can be completely ridiculous at times." It was her turn to lean forward in her chair, her fingertips reaching out to gently brush against his lower lip. "I will compose a rational argument to dispute your theory? for next time." It was not certain that she was entirely focused on the conversation at hand.

With her fingertips brushing against his lower lip, it was easy enough to kiss them ? an action he promptly took before he smiled again, slowly. ?I may be ridiculous, but you have a lovely laugh. And I?d be interested to hear that rational argument, next time. I think it won?t work.? Gold and amber flared and shimmered in his eyes; it was quite certain that he wasn?t entirely focused on the conversation.

Unfortunately, that was proved when he lifted a hand and managed to knock over the half-full glass of sweet iced tea. It was sheer luck that it fell away from the papers spread over the table. ?Fething hells!? The words were spit out as he lunged from his chair to grab a dry dishrag.

Her attention on his scattered as the glass spilled it's contents onto the table. Her hand nearly jerked back towards her body, and she flinched back into her chair. The noise had startled her, but once she realized what it was, she laughed warmly. "Oh, you scared me to pieces." Slightly embarrassed by her over reacting, the tips of her ears turned a shade of red. Nearly smirking as he moved to get a cloth to clean the spill, her eyes took on a glow as she gently blew air onto the wetness to dry.

Turning back to the table with the rag in hand, he paused as he watched the moisture evaporate with impossible speed. The glow in her eyes was enough of a clue, and Devin leaned back against the small counter to watch her work. Folding his arms across his bare chest, he smiled crookedly as the final hint of the spill vanished. ?Well, that?s a useful trick. I?m sorry to have startled you.?

"It is fine. I did not know that you are of the clumsy sort also." She ran her fingers over the once wet spot to be certain that it was no longer. Grabbing his glass, she stood and moved to where he rested against the counter. "Perhaps you should be glad that you did not break the glass also." Smiling warmly, she offered the glass to him.

?Despite evidence to the contrary, I?m rarely clumsy. Every now and then, however, I become exceedingly distracted. I am glad the glass didn?t break.? Plucking the glass from her fingers, he set it carefully on the counter. Then he bent and brought his mouth to just a breath from her lips, and his voice was very quiet. ?You are exceedingly distracting, you know.? The gold and amber light was back in his eyes as he closed the slight distance to claim a slow kiss.

As he came close to her, her breath hitched in anticipation. Her fingers twitched to twine into his hair, and it was with unexpected waiting that her body stood still. When his lips finally met hers, her hands went up to rest in his hair as she wanted, and her body automatically moved closer to his, "Is this the kiss you claimed to have owed to me?" The words were barely over a whisper against his lips.

A soft breath traded between their lips as she shifted closer to him, and his hands came up to pull her snugly against his lean-muscled body. One hand slid up her spine as he answered in the same barely audible tones. ?No? that was just for me. This is the kiss I owed you.? And words were stilled as he kissed her again, slowly, sweetly and with a subdued heat smoldering at the edge and barely restrained.

She barely was able to muster a smile as she heard his words with absolute clarity. Body molded to his, her lips were once again captured by his. She could feel the restraint he showed, and wondered what was the cause. Her want to understand was dispersed by his kiss and the way it affected her. Returning the same affections, she let thoughts go to simply respond.

Her slim curves felt so right in his arms. He could feel her response to his touch, to the kiss, and he lost another fractional grip on his self-restraint as he deepened the kiss hungrily. Fingers tightened, woven through her curls, and sought to press her closer to him ? a feat not actually possible. Goddess, her lips were sweet. Long seconds passed in the kiss before he finally, slowly, so reluctantly drew back; his breath came ragged and unsteady. ?Goddess, Paola.?

She lost sense of time, wrapped in his arms. Her hands moved from his hair to his cheeks. When he finally pulled away, her eyes slowly fluttered open and it took longer moments still for her eyes to focus on him. Everything took time to function again, including words. "..... yes?"

Freeing a hand from the tangle of her curled hair, he cupped her cheek and looked at her with eyes that shimmered warm gold and deep tiger?s-eye brown. A deep breath, and another, finally steadied his voice. It took longer than that before he found words. ?You are so beautiful. And you deserve a great deal more than I have to offer. Especially now.? He was searching her eyes, and despite the words, he didn?t release his grip on her. For her, he was trying to be sensible, to control the recklessness and haste that had burnt out virtually every relationship he had previously had. It wasn?t working too well.

She tilted her head slightly into the curve of his hand. She loved watching his eyes, the way they changed colors depending on his mood. She didn't move, not even a breath away from him. "How much longer," she began in that same whispered tone as she looked up at him, "will you continue to say that? I do nothing that I do not wish." Her hands finally moved from his cheeks to rest on his strong shoulders. "How can you be all that you are when you hold yourself back?"

He grinned wickedly at her attempted pout, the slight quirking at the corners of her mouth completely gave away the expression. Letting his grip loosen further as she pulled back, only his fingertips rested at her waist as he teased her with gold sparks back in his eyes. "But if I let you go and you do come back, then I'll have learned something very valuable indeed. I think it might be time to pursue a bit of knowledge." At that he let the last remnants of his grip slip away. He looked at her expectantly and a bit curiously, then, with a lift of one black eyebrow.

She had not quite expected him to let her go, so she made no protest as she balanced well on her own. "And what valuable information would that be?" She continued to simply stand there, hoping to add more curiosity, and perhaps some doubt. Right when he was about to answer, her eyes took a quick glow as she built an air platform behind him, and gently but firmly gave him a push, her arms ready to catch him if he fell. She was laughing warmly the entire time.

Caught off-guard by the sudden solidity of the air pushing him forward, Devin staggered the short distance into her arms, and his laughter rang out with hers. His first reply had been cut off unspoken by the sudden manifestation of her powers, and he grinned at her before he re-formed words in answer to her question. "How far you're willing to go or let me go." He paused before he continued thoughtfully, "I'll have to consider the results of this experiment."

"This was an experiment... was it?" She was still laughing in it's truest form. Her hands moved up to thread through his hair and she moved her forehead close to lean against his. "Did it support your hypothesis?" As the words from her mouth were research at its best, she chuckled softly at herself, and enjoyed the close proximity.

"Disproven theory. I'll have to re-examine my initial assumptions."? Oh, it was a wicked smile he gave her from their distance of bare inches apart, the sparking gold in his eyes meeting and holding her vibrant turquoise gaze. "Then again, there's nothing like a bit of a challenge to theories to shake things up."

He had sparked her interest now, and that wicked smile only spiked her curiosity. Her fingers continued to play in his hair at the nape of his neck. "What was your theory?" Her voiced lowered despite her increased attention.

The wicked smile was still teasing at the corners of his mouth as he brought his lips to brush against hers. His own voice was lowered and slightly husky as her fingers brushed through the hair at the back of his neck. "That a woman would throw herself into my arms, given the proper stimulus, of course."? He didn't give her an immediate opportunity to answer, instead closing the remaining fractional distance between them for another long, slow kiss.

The faint brush against her lip was tantalizing, and her attention almost wavered. His words took just a fraction longer to process, which was probably why any chance for a retort was stolen. While his kisses still stole her breath and quickened her heartbeat, the familiarity of his lips brought comfort and stirred all at the same time. It made her lips that much more responsive to his.

When she responded so enthusiastically, the train of his teasing thoughts was entirely lost. He lifted his hands to cup her cheeks and continued the kiss, and this time there was none of the restraint he had previously imposed on the smoldering heat of it. She had asked that he release his masks; dropping them, even for the span of a kiss, felt like a burden being lifted from his shoulders, a burden he had not even noticed until then.

It was as if she could feel a change within the extended moment. She was not certain what it was, or what caused it, but she was overwhelmed with his warmth. It ran on a close edge of heat, but it did not harm her nor frighten her. It seemed like the kiss could have extended for her lifetime, but she knew it could not. She finally withdrew, but her lips still remained within a breath of his, "Devin." Her breath was faintly a whisper, her tone reflecting the many emotions behind it.

He left her hands lightly framing her face, accepting the slight withdrawal as the kiss ended. His breath exhaled slowly before he answered, her name a simple, quiet statement. "Paola." The corners of his lips turned up in a very small smile as he looked into her vivid eyes. Long moments passed before he finally let his hands slip down and away from her cheeks.

As his hand drifted away from her way, she let out a slow and quiet sigh. "I have a feeling we should prepare our meetings with intentions of distraction." It was now her turn to brush her lips against his lightly, before trying to make more defined distance between them; though she still did not leave his arm.

He chuckled quietly and ruefully. "I have a feeling you're right. Maybe we should meet next time in some public place, at least then any distractions would all be external."? He shrugged a bit and then glanced over at the papers, then back to her. "Do you think we're going to get any further useful work done today?"

She finally looked over her shoulder after all this time. It was a good excuse to lean her body closer to his in the motion. "I suppose we could, if that is what you wish. I suppose we could also stand here like this also, though at some point my feet will require to rest." The teasing was only evident in her bright eyes. "At this point, I am not sure that we have to research together. Maybe it would be best if we researched alone and came together to share the information. As I said in Lladrana, you have my utter devotion, and I will do which ever pleases you."